History Spot

HISTORY SPOT: LOVERIDGE LOOKOUT Now Victorian Heritage Listed

By Jan Morris, Anglesea & District Historical Society

We nearly lost it in the early 2000s. It had concrete cancer and some people thought it would be best to just demolish it. BUT ... others recognised its historical significance and fought for it.

These people included Jim Tutt, who was councillor at the time, architect James Kelly, historian Lindsay Braden, shire employee Peter Bromley and others.

They were able to convince authorities of its historical significance and obtain government funding to have it restored. It stands today as one of the memorials to the Second World War (WW2). As we celebrate 75 years since the end of WW2, Loveridge Lookout has just received a Victorian Heritage Assessment. This means it is to be preserved and kept in good order for future generations. Just why is it important as a WW2 memorial?

Prior to WW2, James Loveridge, a wealthy importer, built a house, maybe better described as a mansion, just above where the lookout stands today. He and his wife Bertha retired to Anglesea from Melbourne. They not only had a beautiful house, they had their own electricity plant, water pressure from a high tank, a Graf & Stift car (equivalent to a Rolls Royce) and a considerable number of staff to run their household. They certainly enjoyed their retirement and were very generous to Anglesea. Each day, James Loveridge walked down along the cliff where the lookout now stands. Folklore says that he kept a supply of his favourite alcohol in the shrubs there. That may or may not be true. However, it was certainly the spot he visited frequently. After he passed away, Bertha had the lookout built in 1938 in his memory. Little did Bertha realise that only a few years after being built, the lookout would be used for important war defence.

A small temporary room with a stove was built beside the lookout, as volunteers staffed it 24-hours-a-day. They had direct access to centres at Geelong and Preston. The Volunteer Air Observers Corps (VAOC) was formed to establish a series of continuous and regular observation posts. The books in which they kept details of all spottings, are in the museum at

Spotters working at Loveridge Lookout during WW2. Anglesea History House, as is their Morse Code sender and other memorabilia relating to the VAOC activities.

Different people over the years have attempted to have this lookout declared a Victorian Heritage Site. In 2020, the assessment of the Loveridge Lookout was a joint project by the Veterans Branch in the Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPC) and Heritage Victoria, to commemorate the 75 th anniversary of the end of WW2.

The Heritage Council of Victoria committee recommended just two sites this year, and Loveridge Lookout was one of them.

On 8 August, it was announced that Loveridge Lookout was officially recognised and now holds the status of being a Victorian Heritage site.

Tech Angle TWITCHERS’ CORNER By Chris Dos Written and illustrated by Kaye Traynor

Striated Fieldwren

Calamanthus fuliginosus

The Striated Fieldwren, or Calamanthus, is not one of our readily identifiable small birds. However, they are often present in our local heathland areas. Their habitat varies from low, dense heath, saltmarsh, sedges and tussock grasslands –often treeless, or near wetlands. The Striated Fieldwren is more often heard than seen. It possesses a melodious and prolonged song with canary-like warbling notes and trills. Although it can be heard calling all year round, it sings most frequently in the Spring during the breeding season. Characteristically, these little birds are often observed throughout our heathland, usually calling from a higher branch protruding through a clump of bushes. In appearance, the Striated Fieldwren is a small, blackstreaked bird. Upper parts are a dull olive-green or olivebrown, streaked black. Underparts are buff to yellow, streaked black. It has a comparatively short tail, which is carried cocked upwards, and also moves from side to side. Males and females vary slightly in appearance, but the male has heavy white eyebrows, lores and throat. There are shades of brown on the female. Immature birds are also similar but plainer and generally light brownish. Much of their time is spent on the ground or in the undergrowth foraging for insects and seeds. Breeding season occurs through late winter to early summer, and if conditions are suitable, they can produce two broods per season. They will lay their eggs in a nest hidden on the ground, under tussocks or bushes. The nest is a dome-like structure constructed from coarse grasses and other fibres. They line the interior with softer grasses, feathers and down. They will lay three or four pale, chocolate to purple-brown eggs, indistinctly freckled with darker shadings, with a distinct cap at the larger end (22 x 16 mm). Ref: The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia –Graham Pizzey & Frank Knight. The Australian Bird Guide –Peter Menkhorst, Danny Rogers, Rohan Clarke, Jeff Davies, Peter Marsack, Kim Franklin.

By Chris Dos

The digital revolution has devastated traditional media but at the same time created greater opportunity for voices that weren't previously heard.

For decades, Australia got by with only two major sources of news shaping public opinion. While they were generally trusted, recent times have seen them less holding those in power accountable and more influencing upon whom that power is bestowed. While the new platforms have certainly democratised news, we are learning that there’s no guarantee of truth in any of these forums. Considering their power and possible motives in guiding the readers’ opinions, a discerning eye is needed to sort today’s news from tomorrow’s fish wrapper.

Consumption of online news already exceeds print media and is not far behind television. Recent wholesale sackings of TV news departments indicate that no-one sees this trend reversing. Politicians and others are quick to denounce unfavourable reporting as ‘fake news’, and with people turning to Facebook and other social media platforms, the difference between fact and opinion can be rather blurred.

As algorithms tailor content to our interests, we see fewer items we disagree with. It’s easy to trap ourselves inside a bubble of news designed to shield us from the outside world or worse, spread disinformation. The sheer volume and breadth of news and opinion these days requires more involvement on the readers’ behalf to separate fact from fiction.

We have far more choice, diversity and ways to engage with and talk about the news. As with so many of the technological changes we’ve embraced, the responsibility falls back on us to be either the organ grinder or the monkey. So always be wary of scribes who misuse famous quotes to reinforce their opinion. “Believe only half of what you see and none of what you read.”* *Excepting this publication of course.