Friends of Lorne Newsletter

Occasional Newsletter January 2020

Happy New Year to all members from the Committee of the Friends of Lorne.

Friends of Lorne has been active during 2019 in all ways except in the writing of newsletters. But that changes today! In 2019 the incoming Committee met the Mayor and CEO of the Surf Coast Shire Council. We also met shire officers on matters ranging from weeds to climate change. We are active contributors at the Committee for Lorne and have been approached about joining other Surf Coast organisations.

Our efforts in submission writing and education are on our new under-construction website to be found at htpp://friendsoflorne.org.au (click on the link or type it into the address bar of your browser - the year is bringing a range of IT challenges). The website holds copies of submissions of various sorts – Lorne foreshore, walking tracks, new administrative arrangements for the Great Ocean Road region, and others. Please take up with the Committee any matters you think deserve attention.

The fires already experienced this season are obviously matters of great concern to towns like Lorne. A consultant's report to the Surf Coast Shire Council about fire-related regulations and controls that affect strategic planning for Lorne can be downloaded from our website. (NB It is not about personal fire plans). Feedback would be welcome before the Committee meets (which will be soon) to discuss some of the findings in the report.

We have had some admin. glitches at Friends of Lorne. Some are IT matters - already alluded to. Let us know where on the scale of readable to impossible the formatting of this newsletter falls. We may need to hold a short Special General Meeting to get our affairs in order - watch out for a notice.

Happening in Lorne

Lorne's Fishing History

While the Great Ocean Road Coast Committee makes its plans for Pt Grey, the Lorne Historical Society has nabbed the space where the fish co-op shop used to be and turned it into a historical display area for Lorne's fishing history. Stop by between 12 and 2pm on weekends and take a look at how the couta boats went about their work. Read the first-hand account of an attack by a great white on a local fishing boat. Watch a short film about Christos Raskatos who, in the words of Jo Vondra, "with his charm, his poetry, and his incredible salesmanship turned the retail shop into a Lorne institution".

More than that – you can help. If you think you may have a spare 2 hours this year, contact us (committee@friendsoflorne.org.au) and join the roster of volunteers to 'man' the display. All training will be provided (i.e., pretty much just how to turn on the video). It's a great way to learn more about Lorne yourself and meet others keen to preserve our heritage.

Poetry Prize

Anna McIldowie reminds us that the Christos' Poetry and Freedom Prize, a legacy of Chistos Raskatos (see above), will close within a few days of you receiving this Newsletter
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The theme of The Christos Prize 2019/20 is 'Lorne, the Ocean and the Otways'. Entry is free; take your work to Lorne Beach Books by January 18th.

The judge is Gregory Day who was short-listed for the 2019 Miles Franklin Award. He lives on the Surf Coast.

When you deliver your entry to Lorne Beach Books (or even if you don't), read the notice in the window. The owners Meryl and David Bartak are planning to 'move on'. Lorne has been well served by them and their bookshop. We hope someone will keep the business going.

Unfortunately the Lorne Sculpture Exhibition is not about to happen. It's been postponed for the foreseeable future due to financial woes. Friends of Lorne has supported past exhibitions and it is a matter of great regret for us that the exhibition will not go ahead as planned. Qdos of course is open and is hosting a range of exhibitions and events.

Support from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Pictured here (L to R) are Andrew Shaw (Commonwealth Bank), and FoL members Carol Baker, Lindy Pearce, Penny Hawe and Bev Bigmore (Commonwealth Bank).

Last month, Friends of Lorne was delighted to accept a $500 donation from the Commonwealth Bank in Lorne. Our local branch has a history of supporting local community organisations. We were singled out for our focus on preserving and protecting Lorne's natural environment.

Natural history note

One of the Friends of Lorne, John Agar, writes a column for the monthly Lorne Independent. In the August 2020 issue John wrote about cowries (shellfish) the dead shells of which were used as a form of currency, i.e. money, in many parts of the world.
John usually sees 2-3 cowrie shells on his daily walk on the beach, a remarkable rate as other spotters will confirm. Living cowries are rarer, in fact John says he has never seen one. The following photographs of a cowrie living near Lorne were taken by Mary Lush

Cowries are snails - the snailly bits are labelled. You can also see the shell-producing mantle extended over part of the shell's surface.
Mary comments that to make sure it was a cowrie she lifted the shell out of the pool to look at its undercarriage. Although she returned it unharmed to the part of the pool she found it in, she says that in retrospect she should have left it alone.

John is not the only Friend of Lorne who is an active columnist. Ian Stewart, in his role as Chair of the Committee for Lorne, writes a weekly column on Lorne matters for the Surf Coast Times.

Image credits: Christos related photographs are courtesy of the Lorne Historical Society.

The Committee of the friends of Lorne can be contacted by email at committee@friendsoflorne.org.au