Recently, on social media, a commentator recounted his experiences of visiting Lorne in the heyday of the Arab Café and the music venue, the Wild Colonial Club.
In that article, there is a reference to another article written in 2015 containing observations on Lorne in the 60s and what a mecca it was for the “groovy people”. So many people who come to Lorne recount memories of a lifetime holidaying here. There are generations of families who have holidayed here and it’s not uncommon to hear that the family has been visiting here since grandmother and grandfather came here on their honeymoon. So, for those of you who are in Lorne for these few special weeks of summer and for those of you wistfully wishing you were back here, here is an observation of Lorne in those glory days:
“Of all the towns I’ve visited along the Great Ocean Road, Lorne has always struck me as the most similar to Melbourne. With its upmarket vibe, bustling main drag and manicured foreshore, it comes across like a well-heeled city suburb. Admittedly, I’ve never holidayed there, so my impressions could be way off the mark…
What I do know, however, is that during the 1950s and 1960s, Lorne was about as hip’n’happening as a Victorian holiday spot could be. Come summer, every man and his dog descended upon Lorne: from surfers to beach-babes; beatniks and rock’n’rollers to families on holiday. Hell, the only folks missing were Annette Funicello and Frankie Avalon!
Not only did Lorne have sensational surf and idyllic beaches, it had a bohemian coffee house boasting one of the State’s first-ever cappuccino machines AND a jumping live music venue that hosted all the coolest Melbourne bands and hippest punters!
Arabs and Wild Colonials
It’s hard to imagine what the town’s residents must have thought when local brothers Graham, Robin and Alistair Smith opened their coffee house The Arab in 1956. After all, this wasn’t moody Greenwich Village or downtown Paris, it was the sun-drenched Australian coast. But somehow, it worked. In his poem, “The Arab”, Lorne poet Hayden Rickey reminisces:
This is where in ‘58
In a summertime of fun
We scattered cushions on the floor
Then sat upon our bum
This is where the action was
The coffee strong, the best
Where plans were hatched for conning birds
Then practised with much zest.
This was where the “Spinning Wheels”
Having played “Wild Colonial Club”
Relaxed by eating bowls of spag
Too weary to stand up.
I live at Lorne all year through
And write and pound the beat
I try to pass the Arab’s door
But can’t control my feet.
By 1958, The Arab was so popular that the enterprising brothers decided to open a larger, live-music venue in an old hall down on the beach’s edge: The Wild Colonial Club. Starting out as a jazzer/beatnik haunt, it hit its rock’n’roll stride once surf culture took off in the early 60s.
Over the course of the decade, bands such as The Spinning Wheels, Max Merritt and the Meteors and The Loved Ones played to high-spirited crowds still buzzing from a day on the beach. And if the wild tunes weren’t enough, likely lads such as Hayden Rickey (he of the ‘conning birds’ remark) and surfer Murray Walding (a surfing memorabilia nut who waxes nostalgic about the era), were never short of a foxy chick to twist, stomp and flirt the night away with Beach blanket bingo, baby! No doubt about it, Lorne was where it was at.”
Thanks to Murray Walding for approval to use images form the Trevor Lemke Collection.
This article reprinted with the kind permission of the author, Samantha Wilson. You can read this original piece and others here – https://tinyurl.com/sammy-lorne
If you are interested in reading the article recounting a visit to Lorne in the 60s, here is a link – https://tinyurl.com/Lorne60s
