Welcome to the final edition of Urban Excursions for 2009 and what a year it has been!  The Global Financial Crisis, vacancy rates in the Brisbane Office Market continued to increase, Rove calls it quits and Queensland wins State of Origin four series straight – phew, we can only think what 2010 has to offer.  But before we say goodbye to 2009 and welcome in the New Year, we thought we had time for just one last little excursion.  With a map in one hand and the car keys in another, we venture down to AFL country and check out Geelong with Louisa.

Life beyond Melbourne
 
Thanks to my brother deciding to move to a little town called Lethbridge in Victoria (about a 30 minute drive north of Geelong) I have been introduced to life outside of Melbourne and more specifically Geelong.  Home to over 210,000 residents, the Geelong Cats (2009 AFL Premiership Winners), Port Phillip Bay and the Ford Discovery Centre, there has got to be something special about this place.
 
If you ask my brother to show you the sites of Geelong you’ll probably find yourself at the pub, with a beer in one hand and a pool cue in the other.  Fortunately at 8am in the morning he knows that we’ll probably have to wait until at least midday before we can check out the local, so off to the waterfront it is. 

Geelong Waterfront

Hugging the shores of the harbour, the Geelong waterfront development captures a mix of history, recreation and leisure.  From the scores of kids with their Dad’s fishing off the pier to the enthusiastic runners grasping for air, to taking a ride on the fully restored 1892 carousel, the Geelong waterfront is a great place to relax and unwind.  Geelong’s waterfront development cost $30M and attracted over $300M in investment.  With that much money spent you can only hope you get your money’s worth, and they did.  The waterfront is a good example of creating intergenerational space within the urban environment.  There are restaurants and cafes for the adults and grassy areas and a swimming lagoon for the kids.   

As we strolled along the waterfront, I couldn’t help but notice all these wooden carvings (called Bollards as I later learnt) dotted along the waterfront, as a pair, as a group or standing in solitude, the Bollards depict some of the history of Geelong.  They appear to be a popular hit with the tourists trying to snap just the right shot.  I was even more intrigued to see how many teenagers were hanging around until we came across the skate park/basketball court.  To the naked eye, you would consider it to be some sort of sculpture with its iron arches and rustic look but to Council it’s known as the Youth Activities Area and developed to be visually aesthetic and skateable. 

While my brother reminisces about his days as a skater and about the time he reckons he beat me at basketball (despite the fact I was probably only 2), I can’t help but be impressed that it doesn’t look like your typical skate park.  Here it is, kids skating right on the waterfront while workers eat lunch on the grass and don’t seem to be bothered by it.  It’s not run down, there’s no graffiti, and adults really don’t seem to mind.  For me the Youth Activities Area was the thing that stuck out for me along the waterfront.  It was nice to see a community place that actually catered for the community and encouraged kids to have some ownership over space that was theirs and within the heart of it all.  The Youth Activities Area has won a number of awards for its overall design and functionality as dedicated public space particularly in light of its primary use as a skate park. It also includes performance stages, climbing wall, multi-media area and wireless internet connection. With Council chipping in around $900,000 towards the project (with a total project cost of $1.8M) it is definitely something Council should be proud of.  While it might not be at the top of your places to visit, Geelong definitely is a place I have come to enjoy visiting.  While there is not enough room to fill you on what else Geelong has to offer, I definitely recommend the waterfront as a good place to start, particularly if you’re waiting for the pub to open so you can sit back and relax with a beer while you beat your brother at pool.

Things to Do
 
•Take a ride on the fully restored carousel (adults are big kids at heart so here’s a good excuse);
•Check out the skate park, even if you’re not a skater I’m sure you’d be impressed; and
•Even though it’s probably more for the guys, check out the Ford Discovery Centre while for the ladies Westfield Geelong is just a street away.

~Louisa Davies