Lorne Guesthouses
At the beginning, sawmill workers who lived rough, often in tents, came into town for their night off on Saturdays. They wanted a good meal and somewhere to stay overnight. The families in town, the Stewarts, Clissolds, etc, had many children as well as taking these workers in, and so began to add more bedrooms. Some built bungalows in their grounds. The owners were often good cooks, so some places became famous for their meals like Kalimna. It had up to 60 guests and staff.
Most guesthouses had a passage up the middle with bedrooms off it and bathrooms and toilets shared at the back. No one minded this arrangement. They played croquet and tennis, had dress-up parties, and took long walks to fern gullies and falls. Barbecues and billie tea were highlights. Many romances and marriages developed in these places. “making whoopee” it was called. There were many competitions between the guesthouses. This lasted until the 1960s and then came the rise of the self-contained motels. Gradually the guesthouses were lost as visitors began to prefer modern accommodation with ensuite bathrooms.
Stribling Challenge Cup
This cup was donated Hector Stribling of the Hotel Pacific to be competed for by teams from the guesthouses and Lorne team. A knock-out system was adopted. The cup was later donated to the Lorne School by Stewart Stribling to become the House Athletics trophy.
Stribling Cup winners. (LHS photo B445)
The Guesthouses
Guesthouses by Robert Coy
Lorne had three hotels and many guesthouses in its heyday. The hotels were The Lorne, The Quamby a private hotel, and The Pacific.
The guesthouses included:
- Argyll House
- Ben My Chree
- Bonnie Doon
- Carinya
- Chalet
- Clovelly
- Cora-Lynn
- Cumberland
- Erskine Cottage
- Erskine House
- Ewerby
- Gracedale
- Iluka
- Kalimna
- Kia-Ora
- Lorne Hotel
- Minapre
- Nenthorne
- Ozone
- Pacific Hotel
- Quamby
- Riverview
- Santoy
- Yendalloch
Video
Video showing a summary of Lorne Guesthouses.
Sources:
- Lorne a Living History by Doug Stirling
- Talk given at Lorne Historical Society meeting by Doug Stirling, October 2023.
- Notes from Sandra McComb, January 2025
- Lorne Historical Society collection, Lorne News
- Remembering Old Lorne Guest-Houses and Hotels by Malcolm Graham and Lindsay Braden, 2002
- “Holiday Guest Houses 1994: A State-wide Typological Survey, published by Heritage NSW, by Gabrielle Moylan and Philips Watt
Argyll House
Argyll Guesthouse, VALENTINE SERIES No. 627. Argyll House was located where the Lorne Squash Courts were located, then Qdos, then Phoenix Appartments, at 60/62 Mountjoy Parade Lorne. In 1943, British citizens were evacuated from Malaya during World War II, billeted at Argyll House, and the children attended Lorne School. Argyll Guesthouse Writing on rear...Read more
Ben My Chree
Ben My Chree (LHS photo 1501) The guesthouse was located at 1 Roadknight Street, with proprietors George Holland, George and Agnes Floyer. Now used as a private holiday home. The name “Ben my Chree” means “girl of my heart”in the Manx language, a Gaelic dialect spoken on the Isle of Man. In 1941 Ben My...Read more
Bonnie Doon
Located at 15 Clissold Street, corner of Polwarth Road and Clissold Street, with original proprietors Albert and Isabella Sanger (née Belle Stirling). Mr Sanger built Bonnie Doon and later sold it to Fred Alsop, who was the owner in 1938. The buildings were demolished in the early 1960s and the land subdivided into home units....Read more
Carinya
Carinya guesthouse was located at 62 & 64 Smith street, opposite the Cumberland Resort tennis courts. Carinya, an Aboriginal word that means ‘happy home’ or ‘peaceful home’, was a stylish up market resort by the standards of the day. As a guesthouse, it is reflective of the early popularity of Lorne as a tourist resort....Read more
Chalet
Located at 4 Smith Street Lorne, originally built for Robert and Rita Sanderson in 1937, after the guesthouse boom era of the 1920s. It had a maximum capacity of 64 at the time. Later in 1951 the ownership of the business had changed hands to D. & K. Dawson. By 1961 the Dawsons had expanded...Read more
Clovelly
Clovelly Illustration by Roy Coy Clovelly was a guesthouse at 48 Otway Street. It was reported in Lorne News, as a recollection of Don Stewart senior, that “Miss Gaynor used to be the local librarian and lived at Clovelly. She used to take a short cut across what is now the football ground and people...Read more
Cora-Lynn
Cora Lyn was opened in 1925 at the height of the guesthouse boom. It was ideally situated at the entrance to town to attract passing trade. It was a large timber structure on an elevated site, with an undercroft below the principle floor reportedly used as staff accommodation. In 1941 Cora Lynn was run by...Read more
Cumberland
The story of the Cumberland is the story of the changing face of accommodation in Lorne. It was built on the corner of Bay Street and Mountjoy Parade, replacing the Summerland Cafe and Dance Hall. Summerland Cafe, before The Cumberland Guesthouse was built. Frank Beaurepaire built the Cumberland Guesthouse for £30,000 in 1938. The architects...Read more
Erskine Cottage / Bridge House
Erskine Cottage, tall building is Anderson Photographer building Originally built for Mr Ferguson at 16 Mountjoy Parade, it was later run by William and Martha Snowden. At first named Erskine Cottage then changed to Bridge Cottage when the bridge over the Erskine river was built. It was located immediately across the road on the West...Read more
Erskine House
The Mountjoy family built the first dwelling in Lorne consisting of just two rooms. As interest in Lorne grew, the Mountjoys extended their premises to cater for visitors whose numbers continued to increase as the word spread about the beautiful scenery and abundance of fish and game. They called their first building The Temperance Hotel...Read more
Gracedale
Gracedale was established on a site used in 1880 by George Stewart as a blacksmith shop. The guesthouse was originally built for Elizabeth and Robert Clissold. It was advertised as being two minutes from the beach, with hot and cold water and sewered, with two tennis courts. The photograph below shows the frontage of Gracedale...Read more
Ewerby
Mrs Roadknight’s “Ewerby” guest house at Lorne, circa 1908. Postcard from the SLV’s Shirley Jones Collection of Victorian postcards. The Ewerby guesthouse was located on the corner of Charles and Roadknight streets at 2 Charles street Lorne. c1908, Ewerby Guest House Sources: LHS Collections State Library of Victoria Facebook post by Gary Joseph Oreo, 23...Read more
ILuka
The Great Ocean Road Trust opened up a subdivision of 140 allotments name the “Big Hill Estate” in 1924 to raise funds for the continue construction of the road. A guesthouse called “Iluka” was built on the new road, but burned down in 1926. ILuka was a guest house well known to patrons from all...Read more
Kalimna
Kalimna was started by Arthur and Sarah (Sadie) Stewart in 1912. The Geelong Advertiser of 22 May 1926 reports that Kalimna was burnt down, leaving only the bungalows at the back A new house was built by December 1926. Kalimna Guest House c1926 Kalimna was located on the Great Ocean Road, with a North facing...Read more
Kia-Ora
Kia-Ora Guesthouse, Tennis Court, Ballroom Kia-Ora, 9 Clissold Street (originally the street was named Torquay Road) was built in 1914 for Sam and Isabella Clissold as a private home that provided accommodation to timber cutters and coach drivers. In 1920, it became a guesthouse and later it included Glenora, a guesthouse next door, and the...Read more
Minapre
Located at 6 Armytage Street on the corner with Mountjoy Parade. Built for George and Nellie Schram, later proprietors Alex and Edie Heatherwick, Norm and Inga Grange. It was a popular accommodation for early Lorne fishermen. Later replaced by the Ocean Lodge Motel, then redeveloped into private units. Minapre c1920 Pier View Apartments, photo 2025...Read more
Nenthorne
Nenthorne, Lillian Beaurepaire’s house Nenthorne was locate opposite Carinya Guesthouse on the corner of Bay Street and Smith Street, now Cumberland Resort. It is reported in the history of the Armytage family, Felix Armytage of “TURKEI’l’H” Birregurra and “NENTHORNE” Lorne. It was once the home of Frank Beaurepaire. At the time he owned Carinya. Nenthorne...Read more
Ozone House
Ozone Guesthouse Ozone house was a small guesthouse owned by Tom Allen, located at 128 Mountjoy Parade on the corner of Williams Street. An entry dated 1915 in the Lorne News reported of a very enjoyable Fancy Dress Carnival at Ozone House. 9591, Ozone House Sources: Lorne Historical Society CollectionsQuamby
Quamby is believed to be an Aboriginal word meaning to stop and rest a while. Located at 128 Mountjoy Parade, proprietors Ern and Daphne Murnane, Bob Mellor. Now Sandridge Motel corner of Mountjoy Parade and William Street. 1938, view from verandah of Carinya 1936, Quamby Interior of the Quamby Snack Bar 1942 Sources: Lorne Historical...Read more
Riverview
Located at 12-14 Polwarth Road, Riverview is associated with the guesthouse and tourism industry in Victoria and ultimately, in 1960s, of the demise of the guesthouse industry. It operated as guesthouse from 1884, reported to accommodate 24 guests in 1961 and was being run by Mr & Mrs Hunt. Areas of the front lawn of...Read more
San Toy
The San Toy Guesthouse and Cafe was located on Marine Parade (now Mountjoy Parade) diagonally opposite Lorne Picture Theatre, on the corner of Grove Road and Mountjoy Parade, on the Ocean side. Proprietors include Trans Otway Ltd., J. Sutherland was the manager. Named San Toy by Mrs Morris. At first used to accommodate workers, then...Read more
Yendalloch
A.E. JARRATT Photo Located at 62 Otway Street Lorne. First known as ‘Melba House’. Proprietors originally Len and Grace Allen, later on Mr and Mrs R. Cuzens. Later demolished and subdivided into home sites after being sold in 1968. Yendalloch was originally a small guesthouse which came from Dalways at Reedy Creek and called “MELBA”...Read more
