 Development in Geelong started on the shores of Corio Bay in what is now the inner city.Development later spread to the south towards the Barwon River, and the hill of Newtown and Geelong West.Major development south of the river in Belmont did not start until the 1920s, stimulated by the construction of a new bridge over the river in 1926, and the extension of the Geelong tramway system in 1927.