Committee for Lorne: A word from the Chairman

Labour Day Weekend 2019 in Lorne will be memorable for years to come for so many of our community for many different reasons.

Those that continued to enjoy the Indian Summer would think there is no better place on earth than our very special town, while our locals were equally as excited as some won Grand Finals and others witnessed major financial announcements for lorne,. It was a landmark weekend!

The Federal Election is looming, and the May showdown will be on us before we know it and at the weekend our local Federal MP for Corangamite, Sarah Henderson, continued to demonstrate her strong support for the Lorne Community. At the Lorne Bowls Club at 4pm on Saturday, Sarah announced funding under the Building Better Regions Fund of $85,000
which will be matched by the Club to provide a much-needed new bowling surface.

Then, at 5.30pm came the “big one” at the Stribling Reserve Leisure Centre. An announcement by Sarah of enormous proportions that is set to provide facilities that Lorne has never experienced. New facilities that will benefit so many from our major users of Stribling Reserve, including the Lorne School, the football and netball club, the exercise classes, the basketball, the function centre. Stribling Reserve will become a community hub for our town. Sarah announced a contribution, once again from the Building Better Regions Fund, of $3.27M which will be matched by a contribution from the Surf Coast Shire. These funds will be used to build a netball pavilion with all required facilities and a new two-story pavilion on the site of the current leisure centre providing updated facilities all sports and facilities for broad community use. That a total amount of $6.5m is to be injected into Stribling Reserve is nothing short of brilliant.

I was lucky enough to be a “low key, back row observer” at both these announcements at the weekend and on the back of the recent promise of $8m to the Point Grey project there was only one thing more special to me than the total funds promised that really warmed my soul. That was how our town has “come together” to work as one and chase the goals that many perceived as only dreams. These funding promises don’t land to create dreams. They are granted to “shovel
ready” projects that have been years in the planning involving so many volunteers in or community, and that’s something that many just don’t realise.

Unfortunately, there was one fellow at the Stribling Reserve announcement who must have not had this knowledge or known of the overall importance of the announcement to the wide spread user user of this magnificent proposed new building. It was sad to hear him question why funding hadn’t been allocated to providing new tennis courts at the Lorne Country Club?

I am still bewildered, and somewhat disappointed, as to the context of the comments, especially in light of the significance to the town of the big picture goals. My current involvement on the Country Club Committee includes a commitment to
commence a plan for a formal costing of, and fundraising for, construction of two mod grass tennis courts in the near future. The knowledge that this person is obviously not aware that the Country Club is on privately owned land, that he is not a Country Club Member and has not been a financial contributor to the funds raised so far, prompts me to consider options as we move forward. Not the least of which is a personal invitation to this person to be part of the team which works to deliver the courts – stay tuned!

Ian Stewart
Chairman – Committee for Lorne