Committee for Lorne: A word from the Chairman

Those close to Lorne will have continued to notice the works going on at the Stribling Reserve Oval with the erection of the steel structure for the new electronic scoreboard coming out of the ground and foundations and footings for the four new light towers going deep into the ground.

After one of the driest early autumn periods on record just as these works started, so did the weather begin to change.

As heavy machinery and concrete trucks prepared to complete the scheduled works, the heavens opened and have been somewhat relentless since.

The bad weather has meant that the new light towers will not be installed till the end of the footy season. In order to install the towers, the contractors need a 60 tonne crane on the oval. The risk of damage to the surface has been assessed as too great and hence the reason for the delay.

The outcome has seen the need to transfer this weekend’s scheduled home game against Colac Imperials to the Western Oval in Colac. The Stribling Reserve Committee of Management are confident that the Stribling Reserve will be fit to host
Lorne’s next home game on the 17th of June; fingers crossed that the weather gods will be kind.

This slight inconvenience pales into insignificance, given the home games will be returned to Lorne on the return journey to Lorne later in the year. I “remember when” prior to the current facilities at the multipurpose centre of the Stribling Reserve, all we had at the reserve was an ancient small home and visitor change room facility with “third world” shower and toilet facilities.

To make way for the current complex, the old were totally demolished and temporary change rooms, showers and toilet facilities were created in tents behind the old library hall (site of the current Police Station). Hot water was not an option, ground access was a steep uphill climb, but fun was aplenty. At this same time our permanent population facilitated a very lively female weekly Friday night netball competition – such good times in “Old Lorne”.

Tomorrow we look forward to welcoming the representatives of the Surf Coast Shire for two important functions, albeit different in nature. We kick off the day with a working group bringing together community, Shire Council and Great Ocean Road Coast Committee representatives to try and define the next stage of work in “Accommodating Lorne’s Future”. Guided by a Shire facilitator we will be focussing on listening, thinking, sharing, agreeing and disagreeing on how we work together to help achieve the aspirations we have for Lorne.

At lunch time, the Committee for Lorne will be hosting our 2nd community luncheon for 2019 and we are fortunate in having Surf Coast Shire Mayor Rose Hodge, CEO Keith Baillie and Chris Pike, Manager of Culture and Community, as our guest speakers. We have continued to build on the collaborative approach, relationships and trust that have been building over recent years. We have come a long way of recent times and the excitement is building for Lorne’s future.

A very last chance to register for tomorrow’s Lorne community lunch from noon at the View at the Lorne Hotel which is certain to be one of our most informative of 2019, but you must RSVP to [email protected] by the end of today.

Ian Stewart
Chairman – Committee for Lorne