Monday, 7 September 2026 · Melbourne AboutContributeContact
Australian sport, reported and explained — from the A-League and the AFL to the pathways behind them. Pitch a story

Archive · Research & publishing

The history of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce

Archive material. This page was published on sesasport.com before the current editorial desk took the domain on. We keep it online for readers and researchers; it is not the work of the present desk, and personal contact details of the original authors have been removed.

This is the story of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and its members since its foundation in 1853. After a hiatus in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the chamber was reconstituted as the Geelong Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers in 1891. Since then it has represented business interests in Geelong and its region and promoted the economic development of the area. Today the chamber is Geelong’s leading voice of commerce and fosters an attractive and viable environment for business and industry in the region. The chamber provides the people of the region with a progressive and dynamic future, by offering creative and innovative leadership, advocacy, coordination and the promotion of business interests.

Current home of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, Victorian Business Centre, Moorabool Street, Geelong. Photo: Roy Hay.

Bust of Queen Victoria. The only surviving remnant of the original Geelong Chamber of Commerce building of 1859, which was sold in 1875 and became the Geelong Free Library. It was demolished in 1955. Picture by permission of Richard Annois. Photo: Roy Hay.

Geelong Chamber of Commerce building of 1859 with some of its tenants and others on the steps. Photo: Copyright Geelong Heritage Centre. This picture may not be downloaded or used without the written permission of the GHC.

Roy Hay and G A McLean, Business and Industry, Geelong: A History of the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, 1853-2005.

Image by courtesy of the City of Greater Geelong. The book was published in May 2006 by SESA in association with the Geelong Chamber of Commerce. Copies are available from the Geelong Chamber of Commerce, Victorian Business Centre, 69 Moorabool Street, Geelong, 3220.

Geelong Chamber of Commerce

← Previous Next →

FILTER BY CATEGORY

FILTER BY DATE

More from the archive

Research & publishing
SESA is still in business

SESA is still in business

SESA is saddened that Dennis Jones had to put his distribution company Dennis Jones & Associates into administration…

The Game That Never Happened

The Game That Never Happened

SESA is delighted to announce the publication of ’s The Game That Never Happened: The Vanishing History of Soccer in…

From the desk

Front page