A Managerial History of Lorne

Back in the day, the geographical, trade, access, and communication isolation of Australia’s regional towns bred an ethos of self-sufficiency and community can-do. They learned to manage for themselves—they had to—and they greatly benefited from doing so. Our towns bore the stamp of individuality, preference, and invention.

Further, as the ubiquitous 30 km separation between towns—the distance of a single day’s comfortable horse ride—discouraged easy ‘tradie’ interchange, local expertise [jacks of all trades] provided the local workforce. As local problems were often solved in creatively different ways, our towns became charmingly unique.

Lorne, isolated by its landward topography and an often fractious sea, grew into a resilient town full of proud, “we’ve got this” townsfolk who resisted being pushed around by outsiders. Although small interest groups were often formed to solve specific issues, an overarching assembly of respected citizens evolved to provide overall direction. Enter the Marram Grass Committee [MGC]—a community group formed to import and plant marram grass—a native North Sea native dune grass from lowlands of the Zuiderzee—after a brutal 1881 easterly washed away the dune barrier and destroyed the wooden sea baths.

However, marram management was not the only game in town. A growing interest in tourism, camping [and camper control], cricket and football [then played on the Mountjoy flat], tennis, bowls, and other beach-related activities demanded an over-arching management approach. Thus, the MGC was replaced by the Lorne Foreshore Committee [LFC]—in effect, a ‘defacto’ town council—which first met on Friday, 29^th May 1896.

From inception [1896] to final dissolution [2004], the LFC served Lorne as its overarching management group for 108 years. While other interest groups came and went according to need, the LFC was Lorne’s unchallenged bridge to its regional administrator, the Winchelsea Shire. On behalf of the town, the LFC negotiated, jockeyed, and [sometimes] went to battle with the Shire, utility providers, state government departments and their ministers.

It had teeth and got stuff done. True, the townsfolk did not always agree with the LFC and fierce [and sometimes bitter] disagreements did occasionally erupt over specific issues, plans, and proposals … but the LFC never wavered from its single, laser-sharp focus: it fought for Lorne, and Lorne alone.

Arguably, the 90s was when stuff began to ‘go wrong’ for many tight-knit, self-confident regional communities, like Lorne … though hindsight is a powerful tool. On 9^th March 1994, ninety-eight years of co-existence ended when the Winchelsea Shire was merged into the Torquay-based Surf Coast Shire.

The Kennett government had formed the view that bigger was better.  ‘Amalgamation’ was its catchphrase. Local councils were summarily disbanded or merged into mega-councils that ‘managed from a distance’. Regional shires were combined [210 became 78], and towns—perhaps an unintended consequence—were stripped of autonomy and self-destiny.

Like triffids, new centralised ‘decision-makers’ evolved with a brief to streamline and save. Many now would argue that the opposite occurred and that our now ever-bloating bureaucracy—paralysed into inaction by red tape and regulation—literally ‘knows not what it is doing’.

The Winchelsea Shire had been a generally benign parent. Broadly, it had allowed Lorne to be Lorne. Of course there were tiffs … but none were ever major. 1994 changed all that … not just for Lorne but for vibrant, quirky towns state-wide. While some benefited from the changes—especially those chosen as hubs—others did not fare so well.

Relocated [along with Winchelsea] to a larger and seemingly less-caring Surf Coast administration where Lorne’s voice dwindled to that of a single minority councillor, the benefits seemed few while the losses accrued. As the LFC lost heart and influence, and as our hard-working but out-voted single councillor fought a plethora of uphill battles in the council chamber, it was increasingly frustrating work. But, as some say, worse was to come.

2004 was another seminal year for bureaucratisation. Coincident—and to compound the problems—the government introduced a new coastal ‘mothership’, the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee [GORCC]. This even less-caring behemoth was tasked with managing all coastal land from Point Impossible to the Cumberland River and thus the demise of the Lorne Foreshore Committee.

Always hampered by the ‘who is responsible for what’ conundrum, GORCC and the Surf Coast Shire played a lot of keepings-off with roads, rubbish, and maintenance as their communities drifted along in the middle.

Though heavily promoted as an improvement, a series of non-decisions quickly soured GORCC’s relationship with Lorne’s townsfolk with disappointment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, and disinterest dominating the Point Grey debacle and a betrayal of community trust over the pool precinct agreement. Other unrealised projects also died on the GORCC vine.

On 1^st December 2020, Lorne awoke with new hope. GORCC had been ‘executed’ and replaced by the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority [GORCAPA] under the Great Ocean Road Environs Protection Act 2020 [https://tinyurl.com/55w35ydp].  As the dedicated land manager for ~950 hectares of coastal reserves between Point Impossible and Marengo, GORCAPA would surely heal some of GORCC’s festering sores. Four years and counting, 2025 is now zinging past.

• Point Grey? … a stalemate.
• The pool? … who knows?
• The rest? … announcements a-plenty, but action—nil.
• The manpower? —office-based administrators galore but only three pairs of maintenance hands for Lorne through to Aireys.

Then, the scariest thing of all … a ministerial letter to GORCAPA [dated 23/12/24] requiring the Authority to ‘… upscale its management activities [from its current] 950 to ~170,000 hectares.”

Yes, you read correctly … ~170,000 hectares.

This acquisition will: “… encompass the delivery of all management activities except for broad-acre forested land in the Great Otway National Park” and will: “… encompass GORCAPA’s organisational capacity, physical presence, and field management of sensitive coastal areas and higher visitation areas of national parks such as trails, trailheads and viewing platforms, camping sites and visitor destinations”.

Do I sense entry, parking, and other infrastructure constructs ahead [all with charges applying] and all built in previously natural/pristine places? You betcha!

But there’s more. GORCAPA is “… to assume control of the seven marine parks and the coastal, shore, marine and fisheries currently overseen by the Victorian Fisheries Authorities and work with DEECA and Parks Victoria to achieve the transition by 01/07/2026”.

For those seeking a big brother … you’ve got one now! Lorne and our coast and its hinterland are about to change … but will it be for the better or the worse? Meanwhile, drowned by myriad ‘have your say’ surveys, mummified by butcher’s paper and mollified with ’take them home’ coloured crayons at workshops, I fear we are being herded like cats by a juggernaut.

Our coast is changing quickly … don’t blink, or you’ll miss it.

 

John Agar

Feature Writer

 

A word from the chairman

Was that the end of summer? Maybe, maybe not, but we certainly got a taste of some cooler weather and some much-needed rain last weekend. And the mornings are definitely getting cooler and darker. The mermaids will soon be wearing headlamps! Remember, daylight saving time ends on April 6.

*****

I’ve been thinking about “life” this week, not in a morbid sense but just how a simple word can mean so much and so many different things.  Maybe it’s as a result of a recent birthday that seemed to go on for weeks.

The start of life is a time of great joy, and trepidation for new parents. The miracle of a newborn baby, a unique member of our community who will develop their own personality and tread their own path. As grandparents we watch with amazement as they go through development stages and then in the blink of an eye they are 10 years old with their own interests and attitude.

As they grow, we hope and pray that they will stay safe, make good choices and decisions and find happiness.

Each stage of “life” brings different excitement, happiness and challenges, which should be embraced and shared.

As we move into our senior years of “life’ we face different challenges, often to do with our health. Recently two good friends have received diagnoses of serious illnesses which have thrown their lives into turmoil. Both recently retired after lifetimes of service to the community, they now find their lives absorbed in medical appointments, tests and treatments, and “getting their affairs in order”. Not the future they had planned and worked for!

This reinforces the importance of not putting off the things you want to do, which could be travel, time with family and friends, taking up new interests or spending more time enjoying existing interests, whether they be sport, family or cultural pursuits. Equally important is doing a stocktake of how you are currently spending your time, and getting rid of the things that have become habits but are not adding value to your “life”. I know I have a few to throw out!

`*****

A recent incident with a family member has caused me to think about something I have always taken for granted, plumbing. The rupture of a water inlet hose while they were away from home led to extensive water damage throughout their house, which has caused major disruption to their lives. Fortunately the damage was covered by insurance, but the claims process was tedious and time-consuming, and now some 10 weeks later they have had to find alternative accommodation while the extensive repairs are completed. All because of a $6 hose!  Maybe we should consider replacing these hoses as a part of routine maintenance, or at least turn off the water mains tap when you are going to be away from the property for an extended period of time.

Cheers

John

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

March

1-30 – Lorne Sculpture Biennale, on the Lorne foreshore. www.lornesculpture.com

29 – Lorne Country Club V Lorne Aquatic Club Golf Challenge, 10am for 11am start at LCC followed by BBQ. Everyone welcome.

30 – Deans Marsh Festival, Live music, local harvest, market stalls, dog jumping, kids events and much more. 10 am – 6pm at Deans Marsh Reserve.

April

17 – Photographic Exhibition Opening night, @ Lorne Community Connect Thursday 17 April 6 pm – 7.30 pm.             

18-28 – 2025 Photographic Exhibition Routine and Ritual. Info: lornecommunityconnect.com.au

19 – Lorne Market, 9-3pm www.lornemarkets.com/

20 – Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 3, Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.

May

4 – LAAC Winter Comp No 1. lines down after 6am, weigh in at the Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club at 12:30 followed by BBQ lunch.