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Lorne
Lorne is a fashionable seaside resort situated 140 km south-west of Melbourne and 29 km from Anglesea on Louttit Bay. Behind Lorne are the lush rain forest covered slopes of the Otway Ranges. Lorne's popularity in summer can mean booked-out accommodation and traffic jams although it is generally much quiter other times. The sidewalk cafes, eating houses and boutiques of Mountjoy Parade, along with the ocean setting, lend the town something of a Mediterranean air.
Golf
The fine golf course in Holiday Rd overlooks the town.Fishing
The pier is a popular fishing spot in an area noted for its snapper, garfish, salmon, trevally, couta, whiting, barracuda, trout and bream.Population: ~1200
History
Prior to European settlement, the area was occupied by the Kolakngat Aborigines. Lorne is situated on a bay named after Captain Louttit, who sought shelter there in 1841 while supervising the retrieval of cargo from a nearby shipwreck. The coast was surveyed five years later in 1846. The first European settler was William Lindsay, a timber-cutter who began felling the area in 1849. The first telegraphQueen Victoria's daughters. arrived in 1859. Subdivision began in 1869 and in 1871 the town was named after the Marquis of Lorne from Argyleshire in Scotland on the occasion of his marriage to one ofIn 1891 the area was visited by Rudyard Kipling who was inspired to write the poem Flowers, which included the line "Buy my hot-wood clematis,/ Buy a frond of fern,/ Gathered where the Erskine leaps/ Down the road to Lorne."
By 1922 the Great Ocean Road was extended to Lorne, making the town much more accessible. The first passenger service to Geelong was established in 1924 and guesthouses began to appear after 1930. The local fishing industry expanded significantly in the 1930s and 1940s. The Ash Wednesday bushfires swept through the area in 1983, destroying 76 houses.
Tourism
Popular local activities include traditional beach pursuits such as family bathing and surfing. Teddy's Lookout lies at the end of George St. and the town's southern outskirts and offers fine views over the town, coastline, and Great Ocean Road. The 220 km² Angahook-Lorne State Park is nearby.The town's population swells to around 13,000 each New Year's Eve when the Falls Festival takes place. The Mountain to Surf Swim is held on the first Friday evening in January and several thousand swimmers participate in the Pier to Pub Swim on the following day. The Great Otway Classic Foot Race on the Queen's Birthday terminates at Lorne. Fair on the Foreshore occurs on the first weekend in November.