The Great Ocean Road has its 85th birthday

On November 26, it will be exactly 85 years since the iconic Great Ocean Road officially opened.

The Great Ocean Road is a memorial to the lost lives and sacrifices of the Australian diggers in World War I. More than 3,000 returned soldiers built the section of the road between Eastern View and Cape Patton from 1919 onwards, conquering steep cliffs, rugged terrain and dangerous weather so that the isolated towns along Victoria’s stunning western coastline could be joined together. Since its official opening in 1932, the Great Ocean Road has breathed life into the local communities along it and become a mecca for tourists. It is an engineering marvel.

Seeing the current maintenance works on the Great Ocean Road using modern equipment, it is hard to fathom the work that was accomplished by hand and shovel some 85+ years ago, taking more than 13 years to complete.

It is a credit to the vision and fundraising efforts of Howard Hitchcock and the members of the Great Ocean Road Trust, with funding from community donations and the sale of land, and with the combined efforts of many people. The meticulous planning of the engineers and surveyors nearly 100 years ago is amazing in itself.

The Great Ocean Road has many stories and memories for people that are regularly recounted.

Celebrations are being planned to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the construction of the road, when more history and stories will be relived and created.

To discover the story of the Great Ocean Road you only have to look around Lorne’s iconic guesthouses and hotels or simply drive the road linking all the towns together.

Discover more…
The Lorne Historical Society opens its doors every Sunday from 10am-noon with a ‘Remembering Lorne’s Guesthouses exhibition’.

There is The Great Ocean Road Story Exhibition at the Lorne Visitor Centre and a recently completed guide book produced with funding from an Anzac grant titled: “The Historical Drivers guide to The Great Ocean Road” available from the Lorne Visitor Centre.

The Great Ocean Road is a story in itself, with Lorne having an affiliation with history and its people.

This week we see school leavers arrive for a week of well-deserved celebrations, having completed their 13 years at school. It gives these young people the opportunity to make their own lifelong stories and memories of our lovely town, which hopefully they pass onto generations to come like those before them.

So come on down to Lorne and discover and create your own special story.

Lorne Visitor Information Centre