The Old Lorne Post Office

The Lorne Historical Society was very pleased to recently receive an anonymous donation of the clock face and the brass letters from the front of the old Lorne Post Office. The clock was wound by hand. This required a climb up a ladder through a manhole to get to a door at the back of the clock. Doug Stirling recalls it was wound once a week. The names of the people who wound the clock from 1889 to 1985 were written on the back door to the clock. The LHS already had this door in its collection, and a list of names of those who wound the clock can be seen on the LHS website.

John Waghorn, Postal Historian, tells us that on Wednesday 29^th April 1874 the first Post Office was opened at Lorne in Erskine House. The first postmaster was Thomas Mountjoy whose annual salary was £10. Telegraph facilities were provided at the Post Office in January 1876.  Mountjoy continued in that office until 9th May 1882 when Alice Fyans took over the position. It seems the Post Office was transferred from Erskine House in 1882.

 

The Post Office moved to 62 Mountjoy Parade, the site of Thomas Mountjoy’s house, called Roslyn and later renamed Argyll. The Post Office was raised from non-official to official status at that time, as Alice Fyans was a permanent officer of the Department. During 1882, she was paid £65 per annum, plus living quarters, fuel and water. This sum was increased to £80 per annum by 1885.

By 1888, the population of Lorne was approximately 150, and it was decided to provide an official Post Office Building, large enough to cope with postal requirements of the district for many years to come. The contract was let on August 18th, 1888, to Joseph Wykes, and the building was completed and occupied in 1889. Mary Parkinson was the first Postmistress appointed to this office, according to Mr D M Baker, Post Official Historian, Victoria, Public Relations Section.

The photo of the old Lorne Post Office shows the original foundation stone and clock face, both back now in Lorne and able to be enjoyed by the community as we remember past times with great fondness. The Post Office which stood on the current Cumberland site, was deemed unsuitable for classification by the National Trust and was demolished in1985.

Following the demolition, the foundation stone’s location was unknown. Fortunately, it was found at Winchelsea Golf Course, being used as a paving stone, and was recovered and returned to Lorne. It was then suitably mounted and placed near its original location close to the present-day Post Office.

 

The Post Office building was mainly used for accommodation. The front two rooms that fronted Mountjoy Parade were the business part of the building. The left front room was the actual Post Office, and the right front room was for telegraphic purposes and the location of the early manual telephone exchange. Morse code was used for communication until 1961. Telegrams could be sent and received until fax and modern-day text message became the norm.

Telegrams were a great form of communication, where you could send a message, just like the modern text message idea. The Post Office would receive the text from another remote location where the sender had to pay for each word that was sent. The telegram then was written out and delivered by hand, usually by the telegram boy on a bike.

You can learn more about the history of the Post Office and view a number of images at this link – https://tinyurl.com/lornepostoffice

If you would like to share more of Lorne’s history, please visit our website (www.lornehistoricalsociety.org.au), or if you have photos or objects that help tell Lorne’s story, please consider donating them to the Lorne Historical Society.

Linton Ferguson

Lorne Historical Society

 

A word from the chairman

Hello

Last week the Point Grey Community Reference Group met for the seventh time with a focus on traffic management and parking. The GORCAPA approved information to be shared publicly is as follows:

o Outside of coastal hazard adaptation planning, traffic and transport engineering and design will have the most significant influence on the development outcome at Point Grey.

o Any traffic and transport configuration must meet modern design specifications and safety standards, in line with the Austroads Guide to Road Design and the Victoria Planning Provisions.

o We are currently investigating four traffic and transport design options, each with different outcomes and impacts on site functionality and usability.

o The project team and consultants are weighing the pros and cons of each, and your feedback at Wednesday’s meeting was invaluable to this process.

o Key considerations include:
• Boat trailer movement, parking and beach access.
• Emergency service vehicle access (fire truck and ambulance).
• Universal accessibility (all abilities and disabled parking and access).
• The LAAC’s desire for a boat wash, directly adjoining their clubhouse building (in line with the community aspiration to retain the LAAC in its current location).
• Pedestrian access and public safety (both pedestrian and vehicle).
• Safe and compliant traffic movement and management.
• Land zoning as a public park and provision of public open space.
• Coastal hazard risk adaptation.
• Cultural heritage management and EMAC assertions.
• Geotechnical constraints related to topography and cut-and-fill restrictions.
• Car parking provisions for the LAAC, food and drink premises, and public park.
• Minibus and LAAC courtesy bus movement and parking.
• Impact on existing trees from traffic and transport infrastructure
• Visual impact of traffic and infrastructure on the coastal environment, including views to and from the pier.

After some further refinement it is intended to issue an Urban Design Framework for community consultation in the near future. We were also advised that the current program is for project completion in mid-2026.

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This week sees the launch of the highly anticipated 2025 Lorne Sculpture Biennale. This year’s event titled “Strata” will run from March 1-30 and includes works by 29 artists at 16 precincts around Lorne, together with a Small Sculpture Exhibition at Lorne Community Connect. The Biennale also includes a suite of public programs, performances and presentations titled “Sculpture Plus”. The Biennale has become a major event for Lorne and we commend the organisers who have provided the opportunity for us to have this world-class exhibition on our doorstep. I encourage you and your friends to be a part of the experience. For more information go to www.lornesculpture.com.

*****
Our unstoppable cricketers have secured a spot in the Grand Final after trouncing ladder-leaders Forrest by 134 runs in the searing heat at Colac last Saturday. Batting first, Lorne piled on 204 runs before demolishing Forrest for 70 runs, an amazing effort! The boys have a week off before returning to Western Oval, Colac on Saturday March 8 to claim the Cup. Get there and support them.

Cheers

John

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

March

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

6 – Small Hall Concert, Hat Fitz & Cara (Aus) & Lucy Farrell (UK) 5.50pm BBQ, 7pm start. Tickets: deansmarshcottage.org.au

9 – Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 2, Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.     

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.