The Grand Pacific Hotel Lorne

In 1879 Henry Gwynne built the impressive three-storey Grand Pacific Hotel on land adjacent to the pier. Architecturally designed in the Gothic style, this magnificent structure had two ornate  balconies heavily decorated in iron lace, complete with a bell tower and flagstaff. Naturally the hotel became a magnet for early tourists.

Henry Gwynne suffered a serious budget blowout during the construction. His original estimate was £6.000 ($12.000), however this proved to be nowhere near enough to build an extremely elegant hotel with many expensive features including a billiard room, smoking rooms, a dining room seating 200 and an ornamental park in the three and a half acre grounds. The final cost of £12.000 ($24.000) was double his original estimate, but nevertheless the hotel was a magnificent asset for the growing town.

Anxious to get the construction underway, Gwynne had thirty thousand bricks shipped in from Melbourne. This was not cost effective so the remaining 300,000 bricks he needed were made in Lorne from good quality clay found in the area. Richard Anderson established a brickworks business in Lorne after trying his luck on the gold fields at Ballarat. His kiln and puddling hole were in Otway Street above the present sports oval and his large family each contributed to the business in different ways. Richard’s son William and his team of workers constructed a road from the main street up to the brickworks and William Street was named after him.

 A tall pole was erected on Bald Hill above the pier at Pt Grey upon which a flag was raised to alert passing vessels such as the Manawatu and the Moonah sailing from Warnambool to Melbourne to stop and pick up passengers. Henry Gwynne’s daughter Gracie was a regular passenger to Melbourne or Warnambool, apparently mostly for shopping. Gracie was often seen standing at the helm of the Moonah in her sou-wester and was affectionately known as ‘Sailor Gwynne’. The Gwynnes were keen travellers and it was on a trip to California that they were inspired to build their elegant American style Grand Pacific Hotel next to the Lorne pier.

Manawatua and passengers at Lorne Pier 1910

1898

Thomas Anderson who was the first licensee of the Grand Pacific Hotel, helped to make it a great success. At the time it was regarded as the best ‘watering place’ in the Colony. Baths were fitted in each of the corridors with the ladies on the right side of the building and gentlemen on the left. The bedrooms each had running water and guests were provided with a special dressing house for sea beach bathing. Individual electric bells were connected through to the servant’s quarters, dispensing with the disturbance created by the old hand operated bells in the hallways of other hotels. In those early years the weekly rate for all that luxury was 2 guineas ($4.20).

Opening day was on the first of January 1880 and Cobb & Co Coaches provided a special express service for the early guests. They built stables behind the hotel and their coaches met the train at Winchelsea every morning and drove guests directly to the hotel.

Locally quarried stone was used at the base of the Pacific Hotel. The stone was found on the southern bank of the Erskine River near the lower reaches of the river rapids. Each stone had to be transported across the river twice, first at a specially constructed ford at the quarry site and then at the old ford near the present Erskine Bridge.

 

The Grand Pacific Hotel 2024

On Wednesday 2nd October 2024 the Grand Dining room opened again and the very much loved Fishos Bar. The renovators and new licensees Maryann and Matt Humphries got the keys in November last year after months of discussion with owner Josh Rudd. The Grand Pacific Hotel was built for Charles Gwynn in 1893 serving the tourism industry, timber and fishing industries for over a hundred years.

L-R, Mathias Van Hecke, Matthew and Maryann Humphries and head chef Michelangelo Hindmarsh, photo by LEON WALKER

Approximate Timeline of the owners of The Grand Pacific Hotel

  • 1893 – 1922 Henry Gwynne
  • 1922 – 1929 Frank Beaurepaire
  • 1929 – 1950 Hector Stribling
  • 1950 – 1966 Ron Todd
  • 1966 – 1975 Jonathan Crawford
  • 1975 – 1999 Angelo Kambouris
  • 1999 – 2021 Peter Brook
  • 2021 – present Josh Rudd

 

Sources:

  • Lorne A Living History by Doug Stirling
  • Lorne Independent October 2024, article by Janet Goud THE OPENING OF THE GRAND PACIFIC
  • Lorne Independent April 2024, article by John Agar, PUTTING THE ‘GRAND’ BACK INTO THE PACIFIC