A grand time to be in Geelong

WITH GARETH KENT

I am a Geelong fan, both the team and the town, have been since birth, and what a great couple of weeks!

Living and working in Geelong, it’s easy to see everyone has a spring in their step.

I started thinking about the impact that sentiment, confidence, and a collective good mood might have on our lives. Geelong has been a microcosm for the study of sentiment and confidence since 2007. Footy is our religion. I would argue that it’s likely we have more local AFL clubs than there are active church groups (but I stand to be corrected). To demonstrate the power of our footy gods, buzzing together in collective harmony, I revert to 2007, 2009, and 2011, a period of Premiership glory.

In 2007 Geelong had waited 44 years to win an AFL Grand Final. Before the flag, at the August 2006 census, Geelong had a population of 137,222, mostly a stagnated, slowly dying manufacturing economy and slow population growth. And then, from 2007 to 2011, we won three flags! Costa and Cook had taken the reigns of the club and, in some respects, the town. Armstrong Creek developments got under way, and housing construction took off. By 2011, the population had spiked by 29 per cent to 177,023 people. One of the fastest growth periods our region has experienced. This also correlated with housing price increases.

In 2007 the median house price in Geelong West was $270,000; by 2011, it was $342,000, up about 12.6 per cent. Remember the Global Financial Crisis? If you lived in Geelong, you probably wondered what all the fuss was about. It simply had no impact here, perhaps we were insulated by the good vibes we were putting out!

In 2009, we drafted the Transport Accident Commission, which brought 600 white collar jobs, and 200 existing employees from Melbourne and Sydney to our town. Sure we had a few leadership changes; we swapped a Bomber for a Scott and a Harley for a Lingy. Ford announced its closure, so we drafted in the king of spin, Darryn Lyons, and then Lingy handed the rains to a kid called Selwood!

They called us old. They said without our manufacturing; our town was dead! But Just like our team, our city kept proving them wrong. We kept competing, innovating and looking for a new mix. In 2013, we drafted WorkSafe. And we picked up a father-son with Carbon Nexus’ inception in 2014, we did well at trade week and swapped Shell for Viva Energy, and the following year in 2015, another low draft pick, we added the National Disability Insurance Agency to our stable. The team remained competitive, and so did the town. Between 2011 and 2022, the Cats have been in 17 finals. Over the same period, Geelong has been one of the country’s most consistent and fastest-growing cities. The median house prices in Geelong increased by 106.2 per cent in those last 10 years! Our population has grown to 274,647, up 55 per cent since 2011, and the two largest employers are now Barwon Health (4944 FTE) and the Department of Education (3,474 FTE). Far different from Ford and Shell!

So the 2022 flag brings more confidence; it’s everywhere. And again, this time, there are some significant changes. Our town’s true captain, Joel Selwood, retires. And to him we offer our thanks. Oh, Captain, my Captain! But the next generation is already here for the town and the club. The recent announcement that KPMG will open an office in Geelong is terrific recognition of how far we have come. The signs are already out there. Spring is in the air, our team won, and the property market is starting to buzz. Go Cats, and thank you again Joel!

For more information on PRP, head to prp.com.au