Lorne

Howey family holiday home, built 1927, photo courtesy of Garry Smith

The family has been associated with Lorne for well over 100 years. George and Una Howey  purchased a block of land at 14 Grove  in 1927. The land had been a horse paddock, believed to be the horse paddock for the Mountjoy Stables, that used to be in Smith Street. They built a holiday home on the block in 1929, that stood until 2023. The property is now being developed into two townhouses, that will hopefully stand for the next 100 years.

Howey Family, back row: Ian Howey, Una Howey, Esna Howey, George Howey. Front row: Hilary Howey, Alison Howey (Photo courtesy of Garry Smith)

George & Una Howey, purchased 14 Grove Road and subdivided the land in 1927. Previously the entire block, bordered by Grove Road and Smith Street, was the paddock for the coach company’s horses. George and Una were dairy farmers from Swan Marsh, a small town west of Colac. Una had holidayed in Lorne with her family, the Cowley’s all her life. The Cowley family isolated in Lorne during the polio epidemic in the early 1900s.

The original home at 14 Grove road  was completed in 1929 and was the only house on the entire block. There were uninterrupted views of all Louttit Bay and the surrounding bush land. George Howey with Mr Sanderson, Mr Jarrat and Mr Holiday, defended their houses with buckets of water during the 1939 bushfires. The rest of the family evacuated to their bathing box on the beach where the Lorne Pavilion (Almyra) now stands.

Hilary Howey (née Cowley), with the Cowley family would relocate from Swan Marsh to Lorne on Melbourne Cup weekend and return to Swan Marsh at Easter every year. Una Howey died in 1987, and she continued this ritual until her death. Whilst in Lorne, Hilary, Alison, Esna and Ian all attended the Lorne School.

In 1931, Mr Holiday purchased 3 blocks to our East. In 1932 he built houses for each of his three children, George, Allan and third son. The houses were similar in size and construction to the Howeys. Mr Sanderson approached George Howey to discuss plans to build a guest house ( The Chalet) on his land to the west and north of us. Once plans were prepared, Mr Sanderson realised he could not build what he wanted, unless George sold him a triangular shaped portion of our block on the northern boundary. Our block originally finished in a point on the north-west corner. George was happy to support this and handed over the land for a modest fee.

Greorge Howey played cricket for Lorne in the days when the oval was on the foreshore. George’s grandson Garry Smith, remembers seeing a mounted cricket ball with George’s bowling figures on it. It was the actual ball used when Lorne won the grand final in the late 1930s . Una Howey’s brother, Charlie Cowley, owned a home in Hall Street for many years. I believe it was sold in the early 1970s. Una’s sister Leila and husband David Dillon rented the unit adjacent to Mr & Mrs Crab in Smith Street for many years. They were keen bowlers and played for Lorne Bowling Club when they were in town.

Una Howey’s (née Cowley) mother was Emily Cowley (née Pell), whose father was John ‘Brickie’ Pell. John Pell built houses around Birregurra as well as the Lorne Hotel and the Lorne Post Office.

Source:

1. Garry Smith, grandson of George and Una Howey, email March 2025