T H E
C O M M I T T E E
F O R
CHARLIE GALLAHER
November started in sunshine with the Melbourne Cup long weekend giving us a short taste of what lay ahead. Last Saturday the town was abuzz and overflowing at the seams, people enjoying the beach and the ocean but by Sunday the temperature had almost halved and our visitors were reaching for umbrellas. Spring, what a great time of the year it is and the launching pad for what lies ahead, and there is plenty. This weekend the Lorne Hotel will be hosting Casey’s Super Sunday Session supporting Casey Tutungi and his family. The event kicks off at 2.30pm and will feature Brian Taylor’s AFL Footy Show including Cameron Ling, Steven Johnson, Michael Turner and more, see live bands Test Pilot Molly, MikelAnglo, DJ Tommy O and comedian Evan Hocking. This fantastic line up of talent will provide a great afternoon of entertainment as the people of Lorne and the greater sporting community gather round and continue to support Casey and his family. Last minute tickets are available from the Lorne Hotel, Great Ocean Road Real Estate or www.rollerdigital.com/lornehotel Another great new event to hit the Lorne scene is fast approaching with the opening night of Lorne Film on Friday the 15th of November. This 3 day festival is a celebration of local and international film and the people who make and watch them. Lorne Film’s aims are to create and nurture film culture in Lorne and the Otway region for the duration of the event and beyond. Lorne Film will achieve this through screenings, workshops and live screenplay readings. For all details on the program and ticketing on the event go to www. lornefilm.com.au and help ensure this new addition becomes a permanent addition to the Lorne calendar. Interesting to hear a couple of reports over the past week about progress (or lack of) with our famous Erskine River Swing Bridge. I won’t say too much until I am 100% clear on all the facts, but it appears highly unlikely that it will be re-opened by Christmas, the target date given. If it hasn’t, not only will it be extremely disappointing, but there is bound to be even more scrutiny on the processes between two of our major Government Agencies, who we hoped were working together to produce the best outcomes for our town. This key pedestrian bridge provides major pedestrian linkage to the northern end of our town, across multiple Government agency boundaries, and the outcome of our investigations will be very relevant or otherwise to many of our residents as to whether this Governance Structure is in Lorne’s best interests!
Community Conversations It’s hard to imagine that our continued run of wet spring weather will eventually pass and that before we realize it, Lorne will be in the midst of the summer rush, with the town full of holiday makers all enjoying the delights of the town, the beach and the bush. And the bush is where our greatest danger comes from. The summer rush will coincide with the approaching bushfire season and you may already be noticing that the national newssheets are already featuring stories about devastating fires in New South Wales. Our local papers and news feeds are also telling us about projects that will help our town minimise risk and keep our family and friends safe. One of these projects is a series of ‘Conversations’ being conducted by the Lorne Community House and ex-Lorne schoolteacher and retailer Murray Walding. Similar conversations are being held by Community Houses in Deans Marsh, Anglesea, Forrest, Gellibrand and Lavers Hill so the content of the conversations may vary greatly. Our Community Conversations are designed to help Lorne people discuss their own issues and potential hazards within our township; discuss potential solutions and have input into programs that will better equip us to deal with natural disasters. Planning for a potential disaster such as bush fire is no easy thing. There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution for Lorne or its neighboring communities and this is where the Community Conversations project comes into its own. The conversations are based around the idea that communities become more resilient to disasters such as catastrophic bushfires when the members of the community can get together, in small, informal groups to discuss issues important to them. Some of our conversations have looked at issues that have ranged from: s THE lRE SIREN AND WHAT IT EXACTLY MEANS
s WHICH BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL remain open in Lorne on Code Red days, s JUST WHAT THE TERM @EARLY MEANS WHEN PEOPLE decide to leave early,
s DOES ,ORNE NEED A lRE RATING SIGN s DO WE TURN GUESTS AWAY IN EXTREME WEATHER s CAN THE COMMUNITY SET UP A SAFE HAVEN IN A nearby town like Torquay, for those that do plan TO LEAVE ,ORNE ON AN EXTREME DAY All the conversations have had spirited discussions (over tea, scones and coffee) and everyone has quickly realised that discussing concerns in small informal groups is not as daunting as trying to get your concerns heard at a boisterous community meeting. Participants have found that they have neighbours with like concerns and experiences, and importantly, they share a desire to get in and help address the issues raised. This is the real strength of the Community Conversations project – local people can get together and decide what they need for their local community to be ready and capable of coping with a disaster. Once the final conversation has been held participants will be invited to help prioritise all the ideas. Our community will be able to work on real outcomes based on the information you give the Community House at these conversations. Our next Lorne Ward Community Conversations are as follows: s ,ORNE #OMMUNITY (OUSE ON &RIDAY .OVEMBER 18 at 10 a.m. s 'ENTLE !NNIE "ERRY &ARM 0ENNYROYAL 6ALLEY Road, Deans Marsh on Sunday November 10 at 11am. If you are unable to attend, pop in to see Katy at the Community House or ring Murray on 5289 1088. Further information to help us all will be shared at an Emergency Evacuation Community Workshop run by the Surf Coast Shire on Thursday November 14 at 6.00 pm in the Senior Citizens Hall and a Bushfire Planning Workshop will be held at the Community House on Saturday November 23rd at 2.00 pm. Let your voice and your local concerns be heard to help us all become more resilient. MURRAY A WALDING
COMMUNITY PROFILE Charlie is to Lorne what apples are to pie! There would be few people who haven’t eaten a meal he has cooked somewhere in town. Charlie became the chef at The Arab in January 1990. He has also worked at The Pier Restaurant, between the two chalking up 14 years in their employ. He spent a year baking at Grandma Shields Bakery, then six months at Kalimna’s restaurant before cooking for over four years at Babalu. He spent a year as chef at Qdos Artz Café where manager, Gillian Oliver says Charlie was loved by all adding flamboyance and flare to the ambience and food. The eldest of four boys all named after Kings, he was born in Papua New Guinea. He completed primary school there before being sent to boarding school at Nudgee College in Brisbane until year 10. Although keen to be a chef, his father insisted he apply for apprenticeships to be a tradesman. Much to his relief his applications were unsuccessful leaving him free to apply as a chef’s apprentice at The Chevron Paradise Hotel, Surfers Paradise. He remembers his commencement day well - 5 May 1970. After topping every year and gaining honours in his final year, more awards followed, including in 1973, Queensland young chef of the year and a Golden Award for Cooking. He married and had three children. He has twin grandchildren. On March 1st this year he and his new partner Geoff held a commitment ceremony at Qdos. CW
LORNE WARD EVENTS CALENDAR NOVEMBER 10
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IAN STEWART CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE FOR LORNE
FOLLOW US ON TWITTE R
@Committee4Lorne
P.O Box 168, Lorne 3232. info@committeeforlorne.org.au www.cfl.org.au
Casey’s Super Sunday Session, from 2:30pm at the Lorne Hotel, bookings through www.rollerdigital. com/lornehotel Lorne Film, inaugural celebration of Australian and International feature films, and the people who make and watch them, at various venues. www.lornefilm.com.au Lorne Emergency Evaculation Community W Workshop, 6-8pm at the Lorne Senior Citizens Centre, RSVP to Lauren Watt, 5261 0501 or lwatt@surfcoast.vic.gov.au Lorne T Toy Library Launch, 10am at the Lorne Community House (aka Figtree), membership fees are from $40 p.a. (with a $20 seniors discount) Lorne Life Saving Club’s Start of Season Get T Together, 7pm at the Grand Pacific Hotel, $20 on the door, dress code is “loud shirt or dress” Lorne Community Hospital AGM, 5pm at the Lorne Country Club, light refreshments and finger food will be provided, RSVPs by 11 Nov on 5289 4300
Please forward the dates of your Lorne Ward community event via the contact details at the bottom of this page.
Phone: 0438 843 258