Geelong has a significant collection of terrace houses which unlike many other similar cities contains many examples within what is now the CBD area as well as in its inner suburbs.

Distribution

Terrace houses can be found within 2 kilometres of Geelong’s city centre.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data (2006), postcode 3220 which includes Geelong CBD and inner suburbs consists of around 14% terrace or semi-detached housing.

Significant clusters can be found along Yarra Street, Gheringhap and McKillop Streets, Eastern Beach and Western Beach Roads as well as at Latrobe Terrace in suburban Newtown, however they are rare elsewhere.

Unusually the majority of Geelong’s terraces are double storey and it is obvious that this was the preferred mode for such housing in the city.  While there are some single storey terraces, there are no examples taller then two storeys in Geelong.

Regional Variation

The majority of Geelong’s terraces are the parapet style, however the parapets tend to be far more conservative and restrained in their display than their Melbourne’s Italianate counterparts.  Considerable effort, however was made to decorate the verandahs, however.

History

The earliest terraces in Geelong appeared in the 1850s, however they reached popularity during the 1880s when the style was at its peak in Melbourne.

Although Geelong’s growth accelerated in the 20th Century, terraces fell out of favour much earlier than other regional Victorian cities, reflecting the suburban expansion which was favoured in Geelong as early as the 1890s.

Since the 1990s, several new medium density developments in Geelong adopted the nostalgic replica Victorian terrace.

Significant Geelong Terrace Houses

• Wellwood Terrace
• Austin Terraces

References