History and Architecture of Geelong
Building 1 - Deakin Waterfront Campus Geelong
I was born in Geelong. I've lived here nearly all my life and I've always had a passion for history. Geelong has so much history to share. A lot of the old buildings, especially the wool stores, are still standing. What a testament to well built structures.
Geelong's architectural marvels are best discovered on foot, especially if you want to photograph them. Walking the streets of Geelong gives you a chance to look at the old buildings up close and to imagine how they were used and to think about how they played their part in the history and making of Geelong.
A mix of the old Wooden Structure and the New Building
I will highlight some of the buildings throughout this article. Please go and explore, take a few photos, wait for the sunset and take a few more. The Deakin Waterfront Campus buildings look amazing as the sun sets behind them.
There are some great opportunities for photographers to snap photos of some of the buildings. Visitors to Geelong may not even realise the significance of the buildings in Geelong. As tourists (this includes me) we head to a tourist spot, like the beach, and we may stop in a town on the way to buy some food, or to pick up some sale items or groceries. However we are so focused on getting to our destination that we may not take the time to stop and smell the roses or photograph the old style architecture that abounds in the cities we drive through or or drive past.
With my love of history, and my hobby of photography, I usually go out with my camera eyes on (they're my normal eyes, however if you are a photographer I believe you see everything with a different perspective, almost like having lenses for eyes). I take lots of photos of the same thing, hoping to snap that one photo that will make me famous (dream on Cassie).
Steel and Carpet meld with Original Wooden Structure
As you walk through Geelong there are many old buildings sitting there waiting to be photographed. A lot of the old buildings still have the original facades and you can see the names of the original owners or companies who built or owned the buildings.
Entrance to Deakin Waterfont Campus
One of the biggest takeovers of an old building - out with the old and in with the new - is the new Deakin Waterfront University. The building was originally a Wool Store. A lot of the old, original building is still intact, with the Deakin University Campus built around the old facade.
Metal Stairways and Original Wooden Beams
This massive brick structure was originally built by (or for) Dalgety and Company Limited. The entire building takes up a massive block, with the following streets around the outside perimeter - Gheringhap Street, Western Beach Road, Cunningham Street and Brougham Street.
As you walk through Deakin University, you can see the original structure wherever you walk. There are huge upright columns of wood in most parts of the building. The University has been built around the structure. The original building was a masterpiece, with most of the uprights made of wood.
Old Brickwork, new Doorway
Then Deakin University's architects have built a university around the old wool store, whilst retaining the original facade and a lot of the original structure. It really is amazing to see the old wooden uprights and to see the old wooden beams across the tops (and bottoms) of different parts of the building.
Old Wooden Beams, Old Brick Work
I wonder how many people know about the history of this building. Quite often we take our surroundings for granted. As I walked around the building today, I am certain that I could smell "wool fat" in certain parts of the building.
