Lorne Victoria Australia

Lorne people with family names starting with N.

• Newcombe, Bryce and Samir Bereiki
• Nicholls, Lara (2017)
• Nisbet, Chris (2017)
• Norton Family

Newcombe, Bryce and Bereiki, Samia (2016)

2016, Bryce Newcombe, baby daughter, Samia Bereiki

Bryce, initially came to Lorne from a hotel in Bateman’s Bay, NSW, to become general manager at The Grand Pacific Hotel, a position he held for ten years.  Now with wife Samia, he has his own business, Lorne Central, a comfortable, welcoming meeting place for locals and visitors to eat.

Growing up in a New Zealand family who ran hotels and motels, hospitality was an obvious career option for Bryce.  At age 17 he came to Australia to study at The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School.  After graduation his first job was in Melbourne, at what was then Sheraton Towers.  His work ultimately took him all over Australia and the South Pacific.

Sam, born in Egypt, went to university in the UK.  She came to Australia as a backpacker from Canada where she had worked for 3 years with the Fairmont Hotel Group.  Her plan was to spend a year in Lorne and found employment at the Grand Pacific Hotel working for Bryce at the front desk.  They became friends.  Then followed some travel, until the pull of Lorne became overwhelming and she returned.  After some time, her friendship with Bryce became serious and they married a few years later.  Last year, they travelled to Egypt to meet Sam’s family and spent time exploring Spain.

On their return to Lorne they seized an opportunity to start their own business.  Three months ago, their daughter was born so Sam is finding baby and business are vying for her time.  However, as we sat for this interview, cosily in front of the restaurant open fire, baby slept peacefully looking very much part of the scene.  It was exciting to hear of the plans they have to provide activities for the community.  They were preparing for a regular Trivia Night, a local was busy at one of the tables with his computer, some younger fellows were sitting at the bar and I noticed Bryce stocking shelves with interesting produce .

Bryce and Samia are involved with the community through kids groups, footy club, hospital and the vocal group whenever baby and business permits.

CW

Nicholls, Lara (2017)

Lara Nichols (2017)

The curator for the 2018 Lorne Sculpture Biennale, Lara Nicholls, was born in the Lorne Hospital in 1968. At the time her family owned the Arab Restaurant but when she was two years old they moved to Melbourne, where she grew up and was educated.

At Melbourne University, she graduated with a double major in art history. A year travelling Europe followed. On her return, Lara was appointed to manage a city art gallery, until the desire to study further took her back to University to pursue a Master’s Degree. She returned to Trinity College as a resident tutor and curator of their art collection, which she catalogued and exhibited at the University in 1997. She completed her research in France as a resident at the Cité des Arts, Paris.

When she returned to Melbourne, Sotheby’s offered her a position as an Australian painting specialist, where she worked for three years until her children came along. She began a private art consultancy and worked in her family’s financial services business. When that chapter closed in 2010, art endured and she returned to the fine art auction world at Deutscher and Hackett as their Head of Corporate collections.

2013 was a turning point. Lara questioned whether the commercial art world was really her preferred career path as she longed to return to the curatorial fold. Sacrificing a comfortable lifestyle in her home city, she relocated with her three daughters to Canberra to become the Assistant Curator of Australian Painting and Sculpture at the National Gallery of Australia, a position she still holds. With her mother living in Lorne, they return regularly for holidays.

Having dreamt of curating a public art event, adoring the familiar environment of Lorne and her long family history here, the job as curator of our 2018 event fitted perfectly.

Her curatorial practice can be enjoyed when her NGA travelling exhibition, Abstraction: Celebrating Australian Women Abstract Artists opens at the Geelong Art Gallery on 25^th February.  She will be giving a guided tour on Saturday 25^th in the space at 11am.

In her spare time, Lara enjoys cooking and travel and admits to a life-long love of writing.

CW

Nisbet, Chris (2017)

Chris Nisbet (2017)

By Christmas, the adventurous amongst us could well be swinging in the trees at Chris’s and his son, Luke’s, Live Wire Park at the back of Lorne. Having obtained all the government permits and community approvals required, they are on standby to begin construction.

How does one arrive at an idea to do this?  Chris was sitting on a CfL sub-committee looking at affordable housing in Lorne when it occurred to him, out of season activities would be essential to help such a scheme be sustainable. A friend on the Peninsula had created a tree rope course which was enjoying enormous success so when Chris approached him about his idea for Lorne he received enthusiastic encouragement. After further support came from conversations with locals and friends, Chris and Luke formed a company, Live Wire Park, Tree Adventures and for the last five years have been planning the project. They are excited about their opportunities to employ local people and the contribution they hope their business will make to the economy of our town.

Chris has wide experience in business, not least in the family’s 69 year long commercial refrigeration company which he joined when he left school. He has also been involved in property development mainly in inner Melbourne.

As a nephew of Lornites Gloria and Rusty Norton, Chris has known and loved the region for a long time and his wife, Ruth’s family has a long connection as well. They had three children and now have six grandchildren who are regular visitors to their home, built to accommodate them all.  Lorne is their permanent address as it will soon be for Luke too, once the project gets under way.

Although Chris has enjoyed overseas travel in the past, further trips could be on hold until their tree adventures are up and running.

See you in the trees !

CW

Sources

• Lorne Historical Society Collections
• Surf Coast Times, Committee for Lorne Page, Community Profile by Cynthia Wynhoven.