Osborne House is a historic building built in 1858 in the North Geelong for the wealthy cattle farmer Robert Muirhead. He named his property in honour of Osborne House in Isle of Wight, England. Muirhead lived in the house until his death in 1862, at which time the house was sold. For several years, the mansion changed hands until in 1900 the Victorian state government purchased it to house the country seat residence of the state governor. However, the house was never used for this purpose used for that purpose.
In 1905, Osborne House was purchased for AUD $12,000 by the Geelong Harbour Trust Co. Geelong Harbour Company. In 1910, a dining room and seven bedrooms, which allowed the company to use the mansion as a guest house for several years.
In 1913, the Australian Navy accepted an offer from the Trust Company to house a naval school in the building. The house was renovated, and barracks for bachelors were built nearby barracks for single sailors were built nearby, as well as two classrooms and a large barracks for 28 cadets. That same year, the school was officially opened by the Governor of Victoria, Lord Thomas Denman, in the presence of the of Australian Prime Minister Andrew Fisher. The school housed 28 cadets, 4 officers, 10 sailors, teachers and support staff. Interestingly, in order to be among the first cadets at the Naval School, the young men had to work hard - just had to work hard to be among the first cadets at the naval school - 137 people in all! It was thought that the school would become a permanent base for the Navy because of the proximity of the railway and the safe anchorage at Corio Bay, but in 1915 it was moved to the town of Jervis Bay.
During the World War I, Osborne House housed a military hospital, and during the period 1919-24 it was used as a base for the Royal Australian Submarine Service. Already in 1929, the Geelong Harbor Trust Company regained control of the building, the only occupant of which for a long time was the caretaker. From 1939 to 1945, the house and the surrounding area were used by the Ministry of Defence as a military training centre. Today houses the Geelong Maritime Museum and is the meeting place of various community organisations.
