Lorne, Victoria, Australia

Queens Park

Or the 23rd July 1881, a public meeting of Lorne residents resolved to make applications to the Honorary Minister of Lands and Agriculture, Melbourne to reserve a site for a Public Park. The site selected was an area of 63 acres 2 roods and 19 perches, situated on the southern boundary of the township of Lorne. The land was gazetted in 1883 and trustees for the management of the land were appointed.

The park was listed as a permanent Public Park in 1895 and came to be known as Oueens Park. No documentary evidence is available as to the naming of Queens Park. However, it has been suggested that it could have been named in honour of the reigning Monarch Queen Victoria in the year of her Diamond Jubilee (1897).

1926 saw the rebuilding of the Rotunda the original of which was destroyed by fire. In 1995, a viewing platform was added to the point known as Teddy’s Lookout, which commands spectacular views of the St George River estuary and Otway Ranges.

Teddy’s Lookout is a popular site for visitors to Lorne.  It is on top of the hill behind Lorne and provides a great view of St George River estuary and the Great Ocean Road heading south to Apollo Bay.

Teddy’s Lookout was used during World War II as a lookout for enemy movements as well as the Spotters Hut in Queens Park Caravan Park. Jamie Trigg’s grandad (Percival Claude Matthews) and uncle use to keep lookout for boats etc. during WWII. They kept a pile of dry gum leaves to light up if they saw something at night to notify Aireys and then a green pile of gum leaves for the day time.

But who was Teddy?
There is a number of suggestions as to the origin of Teddy as the name for this famous lookout. From historic records,  the place has been known as Teddy’s Lookout from as early as 1878.

  1. Prince Albert Victor Christian Edward (1864-1892), grandson of Queen Victoria, known as “Eddy”, may be the likely source of the name Teddy. Lorne was formerly known as Loutitt Bay and was renamed as Lorne in honour of the marriage of Princess Louise (Queen Victoria’s daughter) to the Marquis of Lorne in 1871.
  2. Surveyor Edward Cowley’s name was used for the highest peak of 670 m in the Great Otway National Park, being Mount Cowley. Could Teddy’s Lookout’s name be linked to Edward Cowley?
  3. Ted Babington, of Babington’s sawmill, has been suggested as a possible source of the name for Teddy’s Lookout. However Teddy’s Lookout was known by this name as early as 1878, well before Babington’s sawmill.
  4. A drover called Teddy used the lookout to search for stray cattle, as mentioned on page 4 of the Camperdown Chronicle of the 4th of February 1883.
  5. Doug Stirling tells a story of a Lorne local who owned a donkey called Teddy. Teddy was a naughty donkey who would often wander too close to the edge of the vantage point. When asked if he was worried his donkey might slip over the edge, the man replied “Well that would be Teddy’s lookout wouldn’t it”

Sources:

  • Doug Stirling
  • John Agar, August 2024
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Albert_Victor,_Duke_of_Clarence_and_Avondale (accessed 17 Sept 2024)
  • https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/199283559?searchTerm=Teddy%27s%20Lookout
  • Jamie Trigg, https://www.facebook.com/groups/2457799027581244 (accessed 18 Sept 2024)