Lorne in the Fifties and Sixties

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 with the beat generation: pop music and the beach life in general.

On the foreshore at the end of Grove Road there was a collection of buildings providing entertainment for the younger generation including the Fun Parlour, Skating Rink, Wild Colonial Club and Dodgems. On Mountjoy Parade The Arab was an iconic coffee café, along with surf shops proliferating on both sides of the road.

The Arab Lorne Restaurant

The Arab coffee lounge was opened in 1956 by the brothers Graham, Alistair, and Robin Smith. The Arab was modelled on European coffee bars and its espresso machine was only the third in Victoria. It was a bohemian style coffee shop, a refuge for beatniks (the coolest thing a teenager could be called in those days) and many others who were lured in by the aroma of Italian coffee wafting into the street. Patrons often sat on large cushions on the floor at low tables. When getting nostalgic about this era, people remember the Smith’s advertisement at the Lorne theatre that announced “ Spaghetti, Spaghetti, Spaghetti Ah, The ARAB”! This was all new and revolutionary in those days and it added to the growing popularity of the town with younger visitors who had become much more mobile by the late 1950s.

Dr Malcolm J. Turnbull  (not our former PM, but a historian who has documented the Australian folk music scene) described it this way:

“…a long narrow eatery, an avant-garde structure of bluestone, glass and canvas which modelled itself on European coffee bars. Its espresso machine was only the third of its kind in Victoria. Bikini-clad waitresses served cappuccino, milk-shakes, toasted sandwiches, pasta and a range of colourfully-titled desserts (the “Porgy and Bess” and “Harem Girl” sundaes among them) to Toorak surfies or to holidaying students who sprawled on cushions discussing poetry and Plato, debating world issues or listening to music (canned or live).”  

The Arab even inspired a local balladeer, Hayden Rickey, to rhyme:

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.

The Wild Colonial Club

In 1957 Lorne residents and tourists got their first taste of what has become the town’s modern cosmopolitan character. Alistair and Robin Smith rented the ‘dance hall’ and ran a spectacularly successful club they called The Wild Colonial and did they pack them in. The Smith family infused a lot of character into the town and their style really caught the imagination of the public.

The Wild Colonial Club was a dance hall in the old picture theatre, also run by the Smith brothers. It was a significant cultural icon in Lorne during the 1950s and 1960s. It was located on the foreshore at the end of Grove Road. It was known as a beatnik and jazz venue for its live music and parties. The club was founded by Alistair and Robin Smith when they rented the ‘dance hall’ that was set up in an old cinema. It had a mezzanine floor that looked out through cypress trees to the surf.

 

Fun Parlour

Skating Rink

Dodgems

Darell’s Barbecue

Darrell’s Barbeque,Lorne, was located at 181 Ocean Road, near the Stony Creek bridge, and the building was destroyed in the Ash Wednesday bushfires of February 1983. . It was located immediately on the Geelong town side of the Stony bridge where we now turn in to the Camel Walk. Walking through the entrance led into a courtyard with a fountain – better described as a water squirt! – and some ripper summer nights. ensued inside . .

Sources:

  • Google search 2024
  • Lorne Community Facebook site 2024
  • https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/the-arab-cafe/#
  • https://australianfoodtimeline.com.au/the-arab-cafe/
  • Generative AI Gemini response, April 2024
  • Lorne A Living History by Doug Stirling
  • https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10227344651295644&set=gm.6418221798205594&idorvanity=2457799027581244
  • Gary Joseph Oreo post,  http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/66518
  • Facebook comments by John Aga