 On the eve of World War II, the International Harvester works were opened beside Ford at North Shore, along with a grain elevator at nearby Corio Quay, and the Shell Australia oil refinery.Government housing was constructed in the suburbs of East Geelong, Norlane, North Shore, and Corio from the 1950s.The banks of the Barwon River burst in 1952, inundating nearby Belmont Common.