For many years, an Australian and New Zealand fur seal +/- his or her family … the accurate sexing of a seal is not one of my strong points, has called Point Grey and the Y-shaped end of the Lorne pier ‘home’.

Doubtless, ‘our’ Sammy [I will call him a ‘he’ for journalistic ease] has been replaced by one or more new models over the years — given that the average lifespan of an Australian fur seal is from 12 to 30 years, with females living 8-10 years longer than males — but whatever the current sex or model, he will always remain just ‘Sammy’ to the Lorne community. That is, until recently, for the Sammy we have grown to recognise and love seems to have disappeared in recent months. Some smaller seals pop by occasionally, but according to Keith Miller, Commodore of the LAAC, the seal we have called ‘our’ Sammy hasn’t been spotted for some time. Has he met with misadventure, a foul deed, a shark mauling, or simply been levelled by age or illness? There is no way to tell. This is why I have chosen the title ‘Where’s Sammy’? for this story. If you are out there reading this, Sammy, know that we miss you!

Our original Lorne seal was dubbed ‘Sammy’ years ago by local living legend Henry Love [in the late 1970s] when a rather tame seal would pop by the Fish Co-op each day for some snapper or flathead tops and tails. Quick to learn that a feed was always ‘on’ at the pie, Henry’s ‘Sammy’ and his nearest and dearest have delighted our visitors and infuriated the local pier fisherfolk ever since. In those earlier days, Henry was his only human hand-to-mouth feeder. He knew what and how much to give him … a morsel, but not too much!

Sammy [the most recent one] is — or was — as sly as sly! He has been amazingly adept at taking a fish from a pier fisherman’s hook, chopping it off at just the right place to snaffle the body but leaving the head [and the hook] still on the line. While exasperating for the fishermen, our Sammy is [or was] one helluva skillful seal!

But … why is a seal so often called ‘Sammy’?

Though many unique names have been coined by local coastal communities worldwide where individual human-friendly or interactive seals have been befriended and adopted, Sammy is undoubtedly one of the more frequently recurring English language names used for a seal. Some others [among the many] include Flipper, Finn, and Oscar for the boys and Lily, Misty, and Daisy for the girls. Here, again, is the male/female conundrum.

The strong association with ‘Sammy’ as a name appears to have emerged in 1959 when Syd Hoff wrote and published his seminal children’s book ‘Sammy the Seal’. Since then, named and renamed locally-treasured Sammy the Seals have popped up at Lorne, Emu Point, South Boston in Massachusetts, Esperance, multiple zoos, Constitution Dock in Hobart, and the Sydney Opera House, among many other places around the world. Furthermore, the US Navy Sea, Air and Land team [the SEALS] have adopted ‘Sammy’ as the official name for their mascot and logo. One possible other origin for the name Sammy comes from the scientific research literature where a juvenile male seal is routinely referred to as a sub-adult male [SAM] … but was the acronym SAM designed to fit the existing and commonly used nickname? … or was it vice versa? Who knows?

While shorter-lived, a fully grown male is commonly more than twice the size of a female, weighing from 220-360kg compared to the 50-120kg weight of a female. While both sexes have identical umbilical scars, a male has a thin penile slit hallway between its belly button and its hind flippers, while two small mammary nipples protrude from a female’s belly. Both characteristics are only evident from very close-up … and closer than most of us are likely to get.

There are three suborders of the genus Pinnipedia: true seals [Phocidae], fur seals and sea lions [Otoriidae], and walruses [Odobenidae]. True seals do not have ears but earholes, while fur seals, sea lions and walruses have proper ears. Our Sammy[s] have all had ears, as do all Australian fur seals. Our local Bass Strait seal population of Australian fur seals has only just survived the relentless hunting of the species to near extinction in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Indeed, the Bass Strait islands [King, Flinders and others of the Furneaux Group] and towns like Port Fairy and Portland along the abutting coasts of Tasmania and Victoria were all first sealer-settled.

As described by Gary Ayton in his history of Victorian whaling and sealing website: “… by 1802, there were 200 sealers in Bass Strait with a ready market for oil and skins in England and China. The oil was used for cooking, lamps and as a general fuel, while the fur was greatly prized for its high quality and was used in making hats, shawls, and other goods. A shipload was worth more than £10,000 in England – a fortune considering how easy they were to catch.” https://tinyurl.com/ayton-whalers.

In retrospect, the sealer industry — and the whaling stations that stood side by side with it — were cruel, brutal, bloodthirsty, and abominable. Both seals and whales were nearly wiped out and are only now returning in significant numbers as nature conservationists attempt a reparation. That said, we still have much to learn … as can be seen by Tony Wright’s sobering story in The Age [21.6.19] about Portland’s ‘Sammy’: “The sorry tale of Sammy the seal, who never needed that free feed” [see https://tinyurl.com/portland-seal].

Tony’s story is well worth reading. It teaches much and is a salient reminder of how an overly enthusiastic but careless and unthinking public can so alter the patterns of behaviour in a creature [or creatures] of the wild that tragedy still enters the final full stop. The human ‘isn’t he wonderful ‘embrace of Portland’s ‘Sammy’ led to an eerily similar end — only he was killed by kindness, and not by clubbing.

Lorne’s current Sammy has wisely remained at a semi-safe distance at the end of the pier, at least — evoking the portent of sadness in the title of this piece — I can only hope so. While all good seals must eventually meet their maker, a part of me hopes that our Sammy is still out there, somewhere, as sleek and as saucy as ever, fishing for a King Whiting with a grin from one actual ear to the other!

John Agar

Feature Writer

A Word From the Chairman

Hello

It looks like the Point Grey redevelopment is finally getting back on track after a two year hiatus following the VCAT ruling against the previously proposed Beacon restaurant. The Community Reference Group (CRG) met last week with GORCAPA and the new design consultant team.

NMBW Architecture Studio, the newly appointed principal design consultants, introduced their design and consultant team. Interestingly, they had submitted for the previous Point Grey Design Competition in 2018, and their design team remains largely intact from that time, so they are very familiar with the precinct, its importance to the community and the significance of the site.

We were then provided by GORCAPA with an overview of the legislative, policy and strategy framework the planning team will have to navigate, together with the VCAT decision, to bring the project to fruition.

Some of the key issues are:

• The Geelong City Deal, under which the funding for the precinct redevelopment is being provided, requires (amongst other things) that there be “provision for casual dining offerings including options for coffee, takeaway and al fresco seating”.

The VCAT decision did not support a “destination” or “tourist “restaurant as being appropriate for the site.

Therefore the question now is “what is appropriate?” I am sure there will be much further discussion about this.

• The Geelong City Deal requires a new Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club (LAAC) building and the VCAT decision supports the LAAC building as an appropriate use of coastal Crown Land.

The design of the LAAC building which was approved prior to the VCAT hearing is now subject to review as a result of new policies and requirements including coastal hazard risk assessment (sea level rises). There is a requirement to prepare an adaptation plan to manage these risks. Consideration may need to be given to the use of relocatable buildings which can be moved in the event that structures are affected by such coastal hazards in the future.

While there is a lot of work to be done in the planning process, I am confident that we now have the right team on board and a commitment by all parties to ensure an outcome that will respect the heritage of the site and provide practical and usable facilities for our locals and visitors.

*****

Don’t forget that our Lorne Cricket Team is playing in the Grand Final against Tomahawk Creek on Saturday in Colac. It has been an amazing effort for the team to make it through all the way in only the second season since its resurrection last year. The team has knitted together well this year with some outstanding batting and bowling performances. Let’s get along and support the boys.

Cheers

John Higgins – Chairman

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

March

• 5-10 Open Studio Anna Reynolds

Join artist in residence for talks, informal workshops, printing, painting at Lorne Community Connect 10-4pm daily. No bookings needed.

• 9 The Fire Next Time

Join Associate Professor Peter Christoff (editor) to discuss the revealing analysis of Australia’s most extreme bushfire season. 4pm at Lorne Community connect. Bookings: www.trybooking.com/cpghr or call 5289 2489

• 10 Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 2

Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.

• 17 Deans Marsh Festival, Live music, local harvest, market stalls, dog jumping, kids events and much more

10 am – 6pm at Deans Marsh Reserve.

• 28-13/4 Photographic Exhibition, at Lorne Community Connect

1st prize $1,000, 2nd prize $500 submissions close 19 January 2024

• 30 Lorne Market

9-4pm https://www.lornemarkets.com/

• 31 Lorne Aquatic & Angling Club – Major Fishing Competition No 3

Weigh cut off 12.30pm. Free roast lunch for competitors, $10 non-fishing members.