As winter fades and Spring starts to bring some colour and warmth back to Lorne, we start to witness the return of the homeowners to Lorne. So many of the permanent population migrate to warmer climes over winter and are now returning. The part time residents are now arriving and preparing the homes for the influx of family and friends so closely related to the summer and in particular, the holiday season. The feel of the town changes, the mood of winter is forgotten as Lorne starts to prepare for yet another holiday season. And it has ever been thus.
Today it is primarily residents, family and friends coming to stay in holiday homes. But there are also the caravan parks which fill to bursting and the accommodation in places such as Mantra, Cumberland etc. and the multitude of B&Bs in town. Lorne has always been a popular holiday destination. As the Geelong Advertiser of 18 December, 1884 reports, “The ever-charming scenery of Lorne is again attracting the attention of Christmas holiday visitors from Ballarat, Melbourne and other distant parts. ·The Township is beginning to wear a more animated appearance than has been the case for some month’s past, and the coaches from Birregurra are well filled with passengers almost every trip.”
In the halcyon days of the 1920s and 30s there were 21 guest houses and 3 hotels in Lorne, all thriving.
The biggest of all was Erskine House. The late Keith Dunstan, author and journalist, recalls his holidays at Erskine House. “Every year, dad booked the entire family into Erskine House, a large, gracious guesthouse at Lorne, which had been there since the 1880’s. We stayed there from immediately after Christmas until the first week of February, although dad sometimes returned to the city and came down at weekends. Erskine House had its own gate right on the surf beach, its own grass tennis courts, bowling greens, croquet lawns, ballroom, billiard room and even its own 9 hole golf course. There were both ancient areas and modern.
The expedition to Lorne was always a grand affair. In the early days we went in an Essex sedan. Several suitcases would be strapped to both running boards, others lashed on the luggage carrier at the rear. By 1939 our travelling had been refined. Dad sent a Herald and Weekly Times van on ahead. This was loaded not only with luggage, but also with enough whisky, gin, vermouth and beer to last a month. There was also ice. It was tricky trying to find ice for a whisky out in the bungalows so dad also carted ice to Lorne in large insulated boxes. This way he was able to entertain in style.
At Erskine House we were always a large community of several hundred. All meals were provided, breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus morning and afternoon tea, in the dining room. Bells called us to meals. The week’s program included tournaments for bowls, tennis, golf, croquet and table tennis, complete with a treasure hunt and a sand castle competition for the children.”
The guest houses of Lorne became an integral part of the history and culture of the town. To this day, people recall their holidays at the guest houses. In many cases, the holidays came as a result of parents having their honeymoon in Lorne and family holidays subsequently became part of the family ritual, spanning generations.
This weekend the Lorne Historical Society will be opening a new exhibition which recalls those halcyon days. Photographs of the guest houses, stories recalling those days, old movie footage showing the fun and games of the day and recollections of the wonderful experiences and lasting memories of the people who knew that era.
The exhibition will be open every Sunday at the Lorne Historical Society rooms, Lorne Community House (opposite Visitor Information Centre), from 10am till noon. The exhibition will run till end January. Please come along and experience an insight into this wonderful part of Lorne’s history.
Lorne Historical Society
