Lorne Victoria Australia

The Benwerrin Post Office, inland from Lorne, opened in 1886 and William Mountjoy was awarded the contract to run a mail coach between Birregurra and Lorne via Dean’s Marsh and Benwerrin. In 1889, the Deans Marsh Railway Station opened but a coach was still required from the station to Lorne, passing through Benwerrin. It was uphill from Deans Marsh to Benwerrin, then downhill to Lorne, a trip taking about four hours. The coach stopped at the Benwerrin post office and soon refreshment rooms opened to cater to the passing tourists.

Benwerrin c1901. State Library of Victoria http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/4189378

Mary Ann Curtis was born around 1860 and spent much of her life in the Otways. She married James Granger Henderson in 1883 and they settled in the Lorne district and raised a family. Around the early 1900s, James had his leg amputated as a result of a sawmill accident. It was also in the early 1900s, the Benwerrin Post Office and Refreshment Rooms were for sale. At some point, James and Mary purchased the business.

“Advertising” The Argus 24 December 1904, p.10 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article10357060

In 1906, fire swept through the district and the refreshment rooms were lucky to survive after catching fire twice. The stables and barn were destroyed. James died in 1925 and by 1927 Mary closed the refreshment rooms due to falling clientele brought about by the increasing number of motor cars and the opening of the Great Ocean Road to the east of Lorne in 1922. Mary moved to Geelong but died only months later in 1928.

After the closure, a journalist from the Geelong Advertiser remembered stopping at the refreshment rooms. ”Tables laden with all sorts of delicious homemade edibles that would tempt anyone to eat. And above all, succulent strawberries of super-size, fresh from the garden, and an abundance of cream produced on the place. To have them once was to create a longing for the return journey when another issue would certainly be demanded.”