Lorne, Victoria

Prior to British settlement, Lorne was part of the traditional lands of the Gadubanud or King Parrot people of the Cape Otway coast according to Ian Clark,Ian D. Clark, pp119-123, Scars on the Landscape. A Register of Massacre sites in Western Victoria 1803-1859, Aboriginal Studies Press, 1995 {{ISBN|0-85575-281-5}}

Lorne is situated on a bay named after Captain Louttit, who sought shelter there in 1841 while supervising the retrieval of cargo from a nearby shipwreck. The coast was surveyed five years later in 1846. The first European settler was William Lindsay, a timber-cutter who began felling the area in 1849. The first telegraph arrived in 1859. Subdivision began in 1869 and in 1871 the town was named after the Marquess of Lorne from Argyleshire in Scotland on the occasion of his marriage to Princess Louise, one of Queen Victoria's daughters. The Post Office opened on 29 April 1874.{{Citation | last = Phoenix Auctions History | title = Post Office List | url = http://www.phoenixauctions.com.au/cgi-bin/wsPhoenix.sh/Viewpocdwrapper.p?SortBy=VIC&filter=*Lorne* | access-date = 23 February 2021 }}

In 1891, the area was visited by Rudyard Kipling, who was inspired to write the poem Flowers{{cn|date=February 2024}}, which includes the lines:

{{quote|Buy my hot-wood clematis,

Buy a frond of fern,

Gathered where the Erskine leaps

Down the road to Lorne.}}

By 1922, the Great Ocean Road was extended to Lorne, making the town much more accessible. The first passenger road service to Geelong was established in 1924 and guesthouses began to appear after 1930.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Lorne Magistrates' Court closed on 1 October 1984.{{cite web | url=https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/images/stories/committees/lawrefrom/legal_services/final_report.pdf | title=Review of Legal Services in Rural and Regional Victoria | publisher=Parliament of Victoria Law Reform Committee | date=May 2001 | access-date=12 April 2020 |pages=291–292}}

File:LorneMainStreet.JPG and the main street of Lorne. The Lorne Theatre can be seen on the right hand side of the street.]]

Popular local activities include traditional beach pursuits such as family bathing and surfing, as well as pier fishing for barracuda, whiting, and trevally. Teddy's Lookout lies at the end of George Street on the town's southern outskirts and offers fine views over the town, coastline, and Great Ocean Road. The Great Otway National Park is nearby; the Erskine River, which rises in the park and contains the Erskine Falls, has its mouth at Lorne.{{Citation | title = Lorne - Tourism Victoria

| url = http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/great-ocean-road/Destinations/lorne.aspx

| access-date = 2013-07-10

}}

The town's population swells to around 13,000{{cn|date=July 2023}} each New Year's Eve when the Falls Festival takes place. During the first weekend of January over 20,000 spectators visit Lorne when the town hosts the 1.2 km Pier to Pub swim (described in the Guinness Book of Records as "the largest organised ocean swim in the world" and currently capped at 4,000 competitors[http://www.lornesurfclub.com.au/Photo?Gallery=21 Lorne Surf Life Saving Club]), the 8 km Mountain to Surf run, and the Lorne Surf Boat Race. Terminating in Lorne on the Queen's Birthday was the Great Otway Classic Foot Race (no longer held). Fair on the Foreshore occurs on the first weekend in November.

File:St Georges River along the Great Ocean Road March 2019.jpg, just outside Lorne along the Great Ocean Road. March 2019.]]

The town has two pubs (The Grand Pacific Hotel and Lorne Hotel) and a number of cafes, restaurants, and bakeries, mostly located along Mountjoy Parade. As usual in a tourist town, there is a large number of boutiques and clothing stores, as well as a book store, art galleries, and craft shops.

Lorne has the Great Ocean Road Museum, which describes the history of the road. Things to do in Lorne include strolling along the Great Ocean Road, visiting the Lorne Pier, surfing or exploring the Otway Ranges National Park. There are also many art galleries and cultural events to enjoy.{{Cite web |last=Craig |date=2023-04-30 |title=Best Things to Do in Lorne {{!}} Your Ultimate Guide |url=https://finderhub.com.au/things-to-do-in-lorne/ |access-date=2023-05-02 |website=Finder Hub |language=en-US}}

The town is home to the Lorne Football Netball Club, which competes in both Australian Rules football and netball in the Colac & District Football Netball League.{{Citation|last=Full Points Footy |title=Lorne |url=http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/Lorne.htm |access-date=2008-07-25 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080424091606/http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/lorne.htm |archive-date=24 April 2008 }}

Golf and tennis are played at the Lorne Country Club on Holliday Road.{{Citation | author= Tourism Victoria | title = Lorne Country Club | url = http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Activities-and-attractions/Outdoor-activities/Golf/Lorne-Country-Club.aspx | access-date = 2013-07-10 }}

Lorne has one school, Lorne P-12 College, that facilitates both primary and secondary education.

Lorne has a local magazine, Lorne Independent, published monthly. The local newspaper sold in Lorne is the Geelong Advertiser, published daily except Sundays.

Five free-to-air television networks, Seven, WIN, Network 10, ABC TV and SBS, all broadcast a service to Lorne. Unlike Anglesea/Aireys Inlet, the Ballarat channels are being broadcast into Lorne instead of the Melbourne channels via a translator in the coastal city, although the Melbourne channels can be received in Lorne with a high-gain mast antenna system aiming at Mount Dandenong.

Lorne receives radio stations from Melbourne and Geelong. Previously, Mixx FM was broadcasting into Lorne via a translator on 92.7 FM, but this was turned off in August 2021 due to low listenership and the clear reception of Melbourne and Geelong FM stations. A translator for OCR FM on 88.7 FM is available for local radio in Lorne.

Lorne has an oceanic climate (Cfb) with mild summers and cool, damp winters.

{{Weather box

|location = Lorne Pier Head

|metric first = Yes

|single line = Yes

|Jan record high C = 42.5

|Feb record high C = 42.6

|Mar record high C = 39.6

|Apr record high C = 33.4

|May record high C = 25.7

|Jun record high C = 19.7

|Jul record high C = 21.6

|Aug record high C = 26.0

|Sep record high C = 29.0

|Oct record high C = 33.8

|Nov record high C = 36.3

|Dec record high C = 42.2

|year record high C = 42.6

|Jan high C = 23.2

|Feb high C = 24.0

|Mar high C = 22.3

|Apr high C = 19.9

|May high C =17.2

|Jun high C =14.6

|Jul high C = 14.1

|Aug high C = 15.0

|Sep high C = 16.5

|Oct high C = 18.3

|Nov high C = 19.9

|Dec high C = 21.8

|year high C =18.9

|Jan low C = 14.1

|Feb low C = 14.8

|Mar low C = 14.0

|Apr low C = 12.1

|May low C = 10.4

|Jun low C = 8.6

|Jul low C = 7.5

|Aug low C = 7.9

|Sep low C = 8.7

|Oct low C = 9.8

|Nov low C = 11.2

|Dec low C = 12.6

|year low C = 11.0

|Jan record low C = 7.2

|Feb record low C = 8.1

|Mar record low C =7.3

|Apr record low C = 5.2

|May record low C = 3.4

|Jun record low C = 3.0

|Jul record low C = 2.2

|Aug record low C = 3.0

|Sep record low C = 3.8

|Oct record low C = 4.2

|Nov record low C = 4.7

|Dec record low C = 6.1

|year record low C = 2.2

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm =41.9

|Feb precipitation mm = 33.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 61.6

|Apr precipitation mm = 69.7

|May precipitation mm = 72.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 77.4

|Jul precipitation mm = 87.3

|Aug precipitation mm = 96.9

|Sep precipitation mm = 92.2

|Oct precipitation mm = 80.7

|Nov precipitation mm = 69.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 49.6

|year precipitation mm = 839.4

|Jan precipitation days = 9.7

|Feb precipitation days = 7.1

|Mar precipitation days =11.7

|Apr precipitation days = 13.4

|May precipitation days = 16.2

|Jun precipitation days =17.7

|Jul precipitation days = 19.5

|Aug precipitation days = 20.8

|Sep precipitation days = 17.8

|Oct precipitation days = 16.1

|Nov precipitation days =14.0

|Dec precipitation days = 11.9

|year precipitation days =175.9

|humidity colour=green

|Jan humidity = 64

|Feb humidity = 63

|Mar humidity = 68

|Apr humidity = 68

|May humidity = 73

|Jun humidity = 74

|Jul humidity = 73

|Aug humidity = 69

|Sep humidity = 70

|Oct humidity = 68

|Nov humidity = 67

|Dec humidity = 65

|year humidity =69

|source 1 = {{cite web

| url = http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_090148_All.shtml

| publisher = Bureau of Meteorology |title = Climate statistics for Lorne PIer Head |accessdate = 6 October 2021}}

|date= 6 October 2021

}}

Lorne contains a number of heritage listed sites, including:

• 35 Mountjoy Parade, Erskine House, Lorne[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/4375 "Erskine House (H1812)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
• Great Ocean Road[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/14228 "Great Ocean Road (H2261)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
• 242-244 Mountjoy Parade, Jura, Lorne[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/664 "Jura (H0822)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
• 222 Mountjoy Parade, Leighwood[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/663 "Leighwood (H0604)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
• 76-80 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne Cinema[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/112539 "Lorne Cinema (H2230)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.
• 18 Smith Street and 15 Grove Road, Lorne Primary School[http://vhd.heritage.vic.gov.au/places/result_detail/662 "Primary School No. 2161 (H1716)"]. Victorian Heritage Register. Heritage Victoria. Retrieved 2014-03-23.

• Pier to Pub
• Falls Festival (New Years)
• Great Ocean Road Marathon
• Lorne Festival of Performing Arts
• Lorne Film
• Lorne Sculpture Biennale
• Schoolies Week
• Swing Bridge Model Boat Regatta
• Caulfield Cup Punting Bonanza
• Cox Plate Punting Bonanza

• Rod Sims (born 1950), former chair of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC){{Cite web|date=2019-09-29|title='The most feared man in Australian business'|url=https://www.afr.com/work-and-careers/leaders/the-most-feared-man-in-australian-business-20190904-p52o10|access-date=2022-02-14|website=Australian Financial Review|language=en}}
• Jack Steven (born 1990), former AFL footballer at the St Kilda and Geelong football clubs.

File:Lorne Victoria z.JPG|Another view of Lorne

File:Cumberland Lorne Resort along Mountjoy Parade in Lorne, Victoria.jpg|The Cumberland Lorne Resort on Mountjoy Parade

File:LorneErskineRiver.jpg|Erskine River in Lorne

File:Lorne new pier.jpg|Main pier at Lorne, opened in 2007 to replace the previous one

File:Lorne Pier from Teddys March 2019.jpg|Lorne Pier from Teddys Lookout

{{reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions/Great-Ocean-Road/Destinations/Lorne.aspx Lorne Tourist Information]
• [http://www.visitgreatoceanroad.org.au/lorne Great Ocean Road info]
• [http://www.lorne.com.au Lorne Visitor Guide - Lorne.com.au]

{{Towns in Surf Coast Shire}}

{{Great Ocean Road}}

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Category:Towns in Victoria (state)

Category:Surf Coast Shire

Category:Coastal towns in Victoria (state)

Category:Seaside resorts in Australia

Category:Western District (Victoria)