GEELONG, one of the leading towns in Victoria, coeval with Melbourne in the history of Australian settlement, is pleasantly situated on Corio Bay, an extensive western arm of Port Phillip, 45 miles S.W. of Melbourne, in 39° 8' S. lat. and 144’ 2Γ E. long. The town slopes to the bay on the north side and to the Barwon river on the south, and its position in this respect, as well as the shelter it obtains from the Bellarine range of hills, renders it the healthiest town in the colony. Its streets are wide and laid out at right angles, and there are many handsome public and private buildings. It has a botanical garden, and two parks maintained by the municipality. The public buildings comprise a mechanics’ institute (with a library containing nearly 12,000 volumes), a public library, a town hall, a fire-brigade establishment, a handsome and commodious hospital, a supreme court, and orphan and benevolent asylums. The town is supplied with water from large state-constructed reservoirs in the Brisbane ranges, some 25 miles distant. As a manufacturing centre Geelong is of considerable importance. It contains extensive woollen mills and tanneries on the Barwon river, and paper of good quality is largely made in the neighbourhood. Geelong harbour has area and depth enough to hold all the navies of the world. The bar at the entrance has been cut (at an expense of .£6000) to admit vessels of heavy draught, and some of the largest wool ships are able to load at the wharves, which are connected by railway with all parts of the colony. The population of the city proper is a little over 12,000, but with the adjacent boroughs of Geelong West, Chilwell, and Newtown the total is increased to 24,000.