Moolap is a residential and industrial suburb of

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

, Victoria, Australia. The name Moolap is derived from an Aboriginal word for nearby Point Henry, moo-laa, thought to mean 'men gathering to go fishing'. Moolap is located in the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census ...

. At the 2016 census Moolap had a population of 1,373.

History

Among the first settlers in the area, in the early 1850s, was politician

Horatio Wills Horatio Spencer Howe Wills (5 October 1811 – 17 October 1861) was an Australian pastoralist, politician and newspaper owner. Biography Born in Sydney in the British penal colony of New South Wales, Wills grew up on George Street with h ...

and his family, including son

Tom Wills Thomas Wentworth Wills (19 August 1835 – 2 May 1880) was an Australian sportsman who is credited with being Australia's first cricketer of significance and a founder of Australian rules football. Born in the British penal colony of Ne ...

, star cricketer and founder of Australian rules football. The first Moolap Post Office opened on 1 May 1864 and closed in 1890. A Point Henry Post Office opened on 1 January 1867 which was replaced by Moolap Railway Station in 1887 and by Moolap in 1893. This latter office closed in 1962. A Geelong East office open since 1871 was renamed Moolap West in 1921 and closed in 1951. In 1888, Richard Cheetham established his saltworks at Moolap - an industry which survived more than 100 years. The Cheetham Saltworks site, located on Portarlington and Point Henry Roads, is listed on the

Victorian Heritage Register The Victorian Heritage Register (VHR) lists places deemed to be of cultural heritage significance to the State of Victoria, Australia. It has statutory weight under the Heritage Act 2017. The Minister for Planning is the responsible Minister. ...

Timeline

Some events in the history of Moolap: Pre-European Settlement the area inhabited by Bengalat balug (Clan) of the Wathaurong Tribe First European explorers were Lieutenant John Murray (January 1802) and Captain Matthew Flinders (April 1802) 1803 to 1835 - William Buckley the first European living in the area 1854 - Whitehorse Hotel operating on the corner of Queenscliff Road and Whitehorse Road 1855 - Moolap Inn operating on the corner of Moolap Station Road and Bellarine Highway 1855 - Parsonage built on a site near the present State School 1858 - United Methodists Free Church chapel built 1871 - Moolap State School No. 1143 opened 1882 - 16 occupiers using Moolap address 1888 - Cheetham Saltworks established

Point Henry

Point Henry is an industrial

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on al ...

of Geelong, located approximately 5 km east of the Geelong central business district. Only one sealed road leads to Point Henry, being Point Henry Road which leaves the Portarlington Road at Moolap and travels to the Alcoa Point Henry aluminium smelter and smaller surrounding industries. A small weather station is also located on the peninsula. Point Henry is named after Henry Reed's boat Henry.

Census population

* 1921 - 319 * 1947 - 651 * 1991 - 565 * 1996 - 568 * 2001 - 554

References

Suburbs of Geelong {{BarwonSouthWest-geo-stub