Lorne Guesthouse

Cora Lynn was built by Percy William Hunt of Deans Marsh and named after the family home which was burnt down during bush fires. The white weatherboard guest house opened for its first season in the summer of 1925-26 and has since lived a varied life. Timber to create the homestead and surrounding bungalows was brought into the Lorne Port by the ship called “Erskine”.

It was the era of the quiet retreat at the beach. The Chalet, Erskine House and Cora Lynn were popular guesthouses and staunch competitors. In the early days each guest house had their own cricket team. Erskine House, being a little more upmarket attracted professional cricketers so needless to say their team was more than often victorious. So when the lads from Cora Lynn came out victors over the boys from across the road a great celebration was had.

Day long picnics up to Erskine Falls were popular in the early years. Lorne photographer William Anderson would take photos of the guests on site and have them developed by the time they returned. What makes Cora Lynn so unique is that it has never left the hands of the Hunt family. P W Hunt’s daughter Grace Jean later owned Cora Lynn in 1996 and it was with great sadness that she has had to put it up for redevelopment.

Jean and her sister Thelma, who live almost directly behind Cora Lynn recall fondly the huge dinners of steak and crayfish, the balls and the many regulars to frequent the guesthouse. Their mother Louisa prepared most of the dinners, though a cook was hired during really busy times. They remember swaggies calling at the door, after wandering up from their beds under pine trees on the beach; then there were the Indian hawkers regular trips through the town. Andrew Peacock’s family were regulars as was Sun newspaper’s artist of the 1930’s McGurney.”McGurney used to decorate our menus”, the sisters said. From the “gaytimes” through World War Two and a room for 30 shillings per week, Cora Lynn experienced a huge change with the onset of the 1960’s. Under its new status as a bed and breakfast, Jean said the guests of the 60’s were “a sex mad surfie crowd”. In 1975 Cora Lynn’s doors were officially closed.