Committee for Lorne: LORNE HISTORICAL SOCIETY to get a facelift

The façade of the Lorne Historical Society’s rooms is to get a muchneeded facelift.

As you come into Lorne, the current façade is the drab, cedar wall with treated pine poles you see as you cross the Erskine River and turn into Mountjoy Parade.

The only highlight on the façade is a series of panels which were installed in around 2002, decorated with coloured handprints of children in the community as a community Arts Project.

Now, with the financial support of Surf Coast Shire and the in-kind support of a lot of people in our community the façade is to be upgraded, providing a more visually appealing experience as visitors and locals alike, enter town.

About four years ago, the Surf Coast Shire carried out an extensive refurbishment of the interior of the Society’s rooms, giving us a space more suitable for the current operations of the Society. Removal of a toilet and small storage rooms allowed us to create a space more suitable for themed exhibitions; the Society’s current plan for exhibiting material from its extensive collection. Installation of air conditioning, a fresh coat of paint, repolished timber floors and an office for our computer equipment, made the space far more functional and visually appealing.

Two years ago, the Committee turned its attention to the exterior façade. Local architects Bob Sinclair and Chris Wood volunteered their expertise to design a new façade which would transform the outside of the building and at the same
time be achieved within a reasonable budget. The images accompanying this article show the current façade and the
conceptual design for the new look. The key elements of the design are:
• Panels of timber battens fixed to the existing structure
• A large window providing opportunity for a look into the Society’s display space
• A series of metal panels etched with historic photos from the Society’s collection
• A new entrance
• As architect Chris Wood said, “It will be simple and dramatic. It’s an exercise in carpentry”.

The Surf Coast Shire committed $50,000 to this project to be provided on a basis of matching dollar for dollar, in-kind contributions and donations from our community.

This first significant contribution  was from Barwon Timber who have donated all the timber to construct the panels and fixed the battens. That Timber  is now stored at the Lorne & District Men’s Shed. The Shedders are also a very significant contributor having volunteered their services to construct all the timber panels. The Society has carried out fundraising over the past two years and we have also been the beneficiary of some generous  donations. Under the watchful eye of
Bob Sinclair, the first panels are now under construction.

Prior to commencement of construction, it is important that the community are informed of the proposed new look and to assist with that, a couple of panels will be placed on the façade so that people can see what it will look like. This has been a
true partnership project with Surf Coast Shire, and Council will be providing more details to the community in the coming months.

Peter Spring
Vice President
Lorne Historical Society