Editing Geelong (section)

===1860s: The 'Sleepy Hollow'===

The gold rush had seen [[Ballarat]] and [[Bendigo]] grow larger than Geelong in terms of population. Melbourne critics dubbed Geelong 'Sleepy Hollow',<ref name="story" /> a tag that recurred many times in the following years. A number of industries became established in Geelong, including Victoria's first [[Textile manufacturing|woollen mill]] at [[South Geelong]] in 1868. In 1869, the [[clipper]] ''[[Lightning (clipper)|Lightning]]'' caught fire at the Yarra Street pier and was cast adrift in Corio Bay to burn, before being sunk by artillery fire.<ref name="time" /> Improvements to transport saw Geelong emerge as the centre of the [[Western District, Victoria|Western District]] of Victoria, with railway lines extended towards [[Colac, Victoria|Colac]] in 1876, and to [[Bellarine Railway|Queenscliff]] in 1879.<ref name="rg" /> Construction of the [[Corio Bay|Hopetoun shipping channel]] began in 1881 and completed in 1893.<ref name="gex150" />

The [[Geelong Cup]] was first held in 1872, and Victoria's first long-distance [[telephone]] call was made from Geelong to [[Queenscliff, Victoria|Queenscliff]] on 8 January 1878, only one year after the invention of the device itself.<ref name="gex150" /> Geelong was also the home of a prosperous wine industry until the emergence of the sap-sucking insect ''[[Phylloxera|Phylloxera vastatrix]]'' at [[Fyansford]] in 1875, which led to the Victorian Government ordering the destruction of all vines in the Geelong area to prevent the spread of the pest, killing the industry until the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Taborsky |first1=Jan |title=Did you know? Geelong phylloxera disaster |url=https://www.thelostterroir.com/did-you-know-geelong-phylloxera-disaste/ |publisher=The Lost Terroir |access-date=2021-01-02 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref name="gex150" /> Between 1886 and 1889, the [[Geelong city centre|central business district's]] major banks and insurance companies erected new premises in a solid and ornate character.<ref name="story"/> The existing [[Geelong Post Office]] was built during this time and the [[Gordon Institute of TAFE|Gordon Technical College]] was established. Further industrial growth occurred, with the Fyansford cement works being established in 1890.<ref name="rgfyns">{{cite web|url=http://railgeelong.com/lineguide.php?line=fyansford|title=Fyansford Line Guide|work=Rail Geelong|access-date=2007-12-16}}</ref>

The town became referred to as "The Pivot" in the 1860s, owing to its being a rail and shipping hub for [[Western District (Victoria)|western Victoria]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intown.com.au/locals/geelong/historical/default.htm | title=Geelong - a brief history|work=Intown Geelong website|access-date=2011-01-28}}</ref>