Company lit up Geelong
ONE of Geelong’s earliest firms, the Geelong Gas Company, was opened in 1860 on a site next to the Geelong to Melbourne railway line at North Geelong.
The company had been incorporated in 1858, and was the oldest gas company in Victoria when it was taken over by the Gas and Fuel Corporation in 1971.
The company had survived an earlier Gas and Fuel Corporation takeover bid in 1964. No reasons were given when the corporation subsequently withdrew its 1964 bid.
When the Geelong Gas Company works opened in February, 1860, gas mains had been laid to most of the town, but while the company was able to proceed with the sup- ply of gas to shops and houses, street lighting was delayed, supposedly by the tardiness of Geelong Town Council in supplying street lights.
Nevertheless, the gas works were decorated with flags and streamers for the official opening, which took place on February 10, 1860.
The proceedings were interrupted by a dust storm, which saw the festivities adjourn to the nearby Nugget Hotel, on the northwest corner of Victoria St and Melbourne Rd.
The Nugget Hotel was modified and extended in 1923, and became the Oriental Hotel, something of a landmark in North Geelong. The Oriental Hotel was closed in 1970, demolished to allow for the widening of Melbourne Rd and to continue the four-lane highway from Norlane into Geelong’s CBD.
The Geelong Gas Company works, which were on the other side of the Melbourne railway line from the hotel, were demolished for different reasons.
Shortly before the Gas and Fuel Corporation takeover of the Geelong Gas Company in 1971, Geelong had been connected to natural gas from Bass Strait.
Existing gas appliances in Geelong and other parts of Victoria were progressively being converted to take natural gas, making the North Geelong gas works redundant. Contact: peterjohnbegg@gmail.com