Many Melbourneites go to Queenscliff to enjoy
the ocean breezes and watch the surf breaking on the shore. While St.
Kilda may be called the Coney Island of Melbourne, Queenscliff is fairly
entitled to be considered its Long Branch.

On their return to Melbourne, the youths found at their hotel an
invitation to make a trip on the following day to Geelong. When Dr.
Whitney read the invitation to the youths, Harry asked where Geelong
was.

"Oh, I know about that," said Ned; "I happened to be reading about it
this morning."

"Well, where is it?"

"Geelong is a town forty-five miles from Melbourne," replied Ned, "and
it is a fairly prosperous town, too. It is not quite as old as
Melbourne, but at one time the inhabitants thought that their town would
outstrip Melbourne completely."

"How is that?"

"The town stands on Corio Bay, an arm of Port Philip Bay, and has a good
harbor; in fact, the harbor at that time was better than that at
Melbourne. The people of Geelong went to work and built a railway from
their city to Melbourne, with the idea that if they did so, all the wool
that was being shipped from Melbourne would be sent to Geelong for
shipment, while the cargoes of foreign goods that landed at Melbourne
would be landed at Geelong."

"The plan did not work as they expected, did it?"

"Not by any means. As soon as the railway was built, wool coming into
Geelong was sent to Melbourne for shipment, and goods that were intended
for Geelong were landed at Melbourne and sent over by railway. In this
way the measures they had taken to increase their trade worked exactly
the other way and diminished it."

"Don't they have any foreign commerce at all at Geelong?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes, they have some, but nothing in comparison with Melbourne. We
will learn something about it when we go there."

As there are three passenger steamers running between Geelong and
Melbourne daily, the party went by railway and returned by water. In the
railway journey they had a pleasant ride along the shore of Port Philip
Bay, and arrived at their destination in a little more than two hours
from the time of starting. They found the town pleasantly situated on
Corio Bay, being laid out on ground sloping to the bay on the north and
to the Barwon River on the south. Along the streets were fine shops,
attractive stores, and every indication of an industrious and prosperous
population.

In the suburbs, where they were taken in a carriag