By NOEL MURPHY
IT HOSTED quoits, skittles, croquet and bowls in its heyday, even elegant balls.
Now historic Corio Club on Villamanta St, Geelong West, is a vacant lot – with 17 sophisticated townhouses planned for sale.
The Pennant Green development will host apartments priced from $439,000 to $649,000 in two, three and four-bedroom configurations.
Hayeswinckle Agent has referred to the units as a “new luxurious level in the hyeart of trendy Geelong West”.
The former Corio Club, on a sprawling site a stone’s throw west of Latrobe Tce, was a members-only affair that went through numerous tenant and name changes after its inception in 1876.
It was initially Geelong Recreation Club, set up by James Sladen, one of Victoria’s earliest premiers, along with Charles Ibbotsen, Hugh Strachan and Stephen Buckland on James Austin’s land.
Yorick Club then bought the site, with the ballroom and skating rink were relocated closer to Johnstone Park in 1890 but destroyed by fire in 1947.
The site was sold to the education department and the club acquired properties on Villamanta St.
In June 1957 the new buildings were opened for business. Membership was in decline by the late 1960s, although it remained an active sports and social club for many years before finally closing its doors in January 2000.
