Lorne History and Exhibition
The Lorne Historical Society has exhibitions in various venues around Lorne. As well as these exhibitions, items held by the society are progressively being photographed, scanned or described and uploaded to the Victorian Collections.
100 Years of Disasters
On 16th February 2024 the Lorne Historical Society opened its latest exhibition, “100 Years of Natural Disasters”. The opening coincided with the 41st anniversary of Ash Wednesday. The exhibition curated by Gary Allen, is more than bushfires. It looks at the effects on our township of floods, high seas, storms and the pandemic. The exhibition...Read more
Bushfires
Lorne has been threatened by bushfires numerous times. Even the grounding of the Hinemoa in 1908 was largely due to poor visibility caused by fires in the Otways. The most destructive fires were the Black Friday fire in 1939 and the Ash Wednesday fire in 1983. The Rural Brigade log Friday January 1, 1939 is...Read more
Cool Times
Lorne became a popular holiday destination in the fifties and sixties as the baby boomer generation became more mobile and the appeal of the guesthouses for their parents’ generation had waned. Lorne was a desirable destination for surfing on the West Coast of Victoria and youth of the day were drawn to popular culture associated...Read more
Fishy Tales
Fishy Tales at Lorne Pier Location The Fishy Tales exhibition is held in the old coop building at Lorne Pier. Opening Hours Saturday and Sunday 11am until 1pm. Gadubanud Scientific evidence shows that the Gadubanud language group gathered shellfish from rock platforms along our coastline. In the Lorne district there are eight middens and the...Read more
Great Ocean Road Exhibition
The Great Ocean Road Story is a purpose-built permanent exhibition in the Great Ocean Road Heritage Centre. Located in the Lorne Visitor Centre, 15 Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, Victoria, Australia. The centre is open every day except Christmas Day, 25th December, 9am-5pm. Phone (03) 5289 1152 or 1300 891152. The Great Ocean Road is a...Read more
Lorne Pier
The first pier was built in 1879 to provide easier sea access for tourists, to serve the logging industry, and to deliver supplies to the town. Previously boats had to be beached and propped up while being loaded and unloaded, a dangerous operation. The original pier went through many configurations, it was triangular, L shaped,...Read more
Shipwrecks
Hinemoa On 21 January 1908, the large sailing ship Hinemoa, foundered on rocks near the Lorne Pier. The ship was re-floated the next day and towed to Melbourne. Stranding of “Hinemoa” Pt Grey LorneSurfing
In 1920, Louis Whyte from Geelong surfed using a solid redwood timber surfboard at Lorne beach. Whyte had travelled to Hawaii in 1919, spending six months at Waikiki learning how to surf. He purchased four solid redwood timber surfboards from Duke Kahanamoku and brought them back to Australia. Whyte is believed to be the first...Read more
