Lorne: Gadubanud Country, Waterfalls, and the Heart of Eastern Maar Land
The coastal town of Lorne, situated between the rolling surf of Bass Strait and the lush forests of the Otway Ranges, lies on the Traditional Lands of the Gadubanud people, a clan of the Eastern Maar nation. The Gadubanud — sometimes referred to as the “King Parrot people” — are the Traditional Owners of the rugged rainforest plateau, waterfalls, and coastline extending from Aireys Inlet through Lorne to Apollo Bay and Cape Otway (Clark 1990; EMAC 2023).
The Gadubanud Country forms part of the broader Eastern Maar Traditional Lands, represented today by the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC). This land, known for its towering forests, creeks, and sea cliffs, holds profound cultural, ecological, and spiritual significance. In this place, songlines of water and forest connect the mountains to the sea, the ancestors to the descendants.
Traditional Owners and Country
Eastern Maar and Gadubanud People
The Eastern Maar Nation includes the Gadubanud, Gunditjmara, Kirrae Whurrong, Peek Whurrong, and Kuurn Kopan Noot peoples, whose lands stretch from Port Fairy and Warrnambool east to Aireys Inlet, inland to Colac and Camperdown, and south across the Otway Ranges to the coast.
The Gadubanud people — known as the “King Parrot people” — were the custodians of the rainforest plateau and coastal valleys from Lorne and Kennett River to Cape Otway. Their deep knowledge of the rugged terrain, forest ecology, and ocean currents enabled them to live sustainably in an environment that was both abundant and complex (Clark, 1990; EMAC, 2023).
Their Country, now within the Great Otway National Park, remains rich with sacred sites, freshwater sources, shell middens, and songlines connecting the forest to the sea.
Wadawurrung Neighbours
To the north and east, the Wadawurrung people — represented by the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (WTOAC) — occupy Country stretching from Werribee and Geelong westward to Ballarat and Anakie, and south to Aireys Inlet.
Lorne thus sits at the southern boundary between Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung Country, forming a cultural meeting zone rather than a strict border.
Meaning and Origins of the Name “Lorne”
Pre-colonial Naming and Aboriginal Place Meanings
Before colonisation, the area now known as Lorne was part of the Gadubanud landscape — a region of interconnected creeks and waterfalls that held ceremonial and practical significance. Although the original Aboriginal name for the exact site of modern Lorne has not survived in written records, the Gadubanud people used descriptive and spiritual naming systems — often identifying places by:
· Ancestral beings or Dreaming events associated with the site,
· Natural features, such as rivers (wurne), forests (barramul), or hills (borung), and
· Ecological functions, such as places for fishing, eel harvest, or gathering reeds.
The rivers and creeks flowing into Louttit Bay — such as Erskine Creek, Sheoak Creek, and the St. George River — would each have had individual names in the Gadubanud language, representing their roles in the broader web of life.
Unfortunately, due to the devastating effects of colonisation — including the destruction of local languages and the near-wipeout of the Gadubanud population by the 1840s — many of these names were lost (Clark, 1995).
European Naming of “Lorne”
The town name Lorne was adopted in the 1860s, after the Marquess of Lorne (John George Edward Henry Campbell, 9th Duke of Argyll) — who later married Princess Louise, daughter of Queen Victoria. The naming reflected a common colonial practice of honouring British aristocracy and replicating European identity across the landscape, effectively erasing Indigenous names and histories.
Before it became “Lorne,” the area was sometimes referred to by early settlers as “Cumberland”, after the Cumberland River, or “Erskine”, after the nearby falls (Lorne Historical Society, 2020). Both river names were derived from early European explorers and surveyors during the mid-19th century.
Thus, while “Lorne” itself is not an Aboriginal word, the Country beneath it remains Gadubanud, with stories, names, and meanings far older than any colonial map.
Landscape and Ecology Before Colonisation
Rainforests, Creeks, and Coastal Plains
The Gadubanud landscape is characterised by its temperate rainforest, which is rich in myrtle beech, blackwood, messmate, ferns, and tree orchids. Creeks and waterfalls, such as Erskine, Cumberland, and Sheoak, descend through steep valleys, forming freshwater networks that support abundant wildlife.
Gadubanud life followed the cycles of these ecosystems:
· Fishing and Aquaculture: Eel traps and woven nets were used in creeks and estuaries.
· Food and Plants: Murnong (yam daisy), fern roots, bracken rhizomes, and forest berries were staple foods.
· Tools and Ropes: Grasses, reeds, and lomandra were plaited into ropes, baskets, and fishing lines — techniques noted by early settlers and still taught through Eastern Maar cultural programs (Zola & Gott, 1992).
· Fauna: Black swans (kunuwarra), parrots, wallabies, koalas, lyrebirds, and possums featured in both diet and Dreaming stories.
Waterfalls, Songlines, and Sacred Sites
Lorne’s famous waterfalls — including Erskine Falls, Sheoak Falls, and Cumberland Falls — were sacred places of renewal, where water connected sky to earth, and ancestors to living people.
In Eastern Maar cosmology:
· Waterfalls were spiritual gateways where the voices of ancestors could be heard in the constant rhythm of falling water.
· The Otway Ranges formed part of a major songline that ran from inland volcanic plains to the sea, linking the creation stories of mountain spirits, water beings, and sea creatures.
· The black swan, a totemic being of Lake Connewarre and the wider Maar world, symbolised the continuity of water and life — connecting inland wetlands to coastal lagoons.
Colonial History and Frontier Impacts
By the 1830s, pastoral expansion from Geelong and Colac reached the Otway Ranges.
· The rugged forest limited settlement initially, but by the 1840s, colonists began logging, grazing, and clearing valleys for tracks.
· The Gadubanud population, already small, suffered from introduced disease and violent conflict. Colonial records note “dispersals” — often code for massacres — around the Aire River and Cape Otway districts (Clark, 1995).
· By 1846, the Gadubanud people were thought to have been wiped out as an independent clan, though descendants survived through intermarriage with neighbouring Eastern Maar and Girai Wurrung peoples.
The township of Lorne was officially surveyed in 1869, with a post office opened in 1874, marking the consolidation of colonial settlement (Lorne Historical Society, 2020).
Logging, tourism, and later the construction of the Great Ocean Road (1919–1932) transformed the landscape — often without recognition of its deep Indigenous heritage.
Contemporary Recognition and Cultural Renewal
Today, the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (EMAC) represents Traditional Owners of the Lorne region under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 (Vic).
Their work focuses on:
· Protecting cultural heritage sites within the Great Otway National Park,
· Partnering with Parks Victoria and Surf Coast Shire for joint land management,
· Reviving language, ceremony, and placenames through education and interpretation programs, and
· Reconnecting the community with the Country through healing walks, waterway restoration, and fire management.
The Surf Coast Shire Council now formally acknowledges both the Gadubanud/Eastern Maar and Wadawurrung peoples as Traditional Owners of the region — recognising their shared histories and enduring custodianship.
Conclusion
The story of Lorne is layered —ancient rainforest and songlines beneath a colonial town name, with Gadubanud custodianship surviving through renewal and recognition.
While the name “Lorne” reflects a British colonial legacy, the spirit of the place remains Gadubanud. Its waterfalls still echo with the ancestral voices of the Eastern Maar, and its forests hold the memory of a people whose connection to land continues unbroken through time, resilience, and story. To experience Lorne is to see beyond its beaches — to hear the waterfalls as the songs of Country itself, speaking the language of the Gadubanud that still flows beneath the surface.
References
· Barwick, D. (1998). Rebellion at Coranderrk. Canberra: Aboriginal History Monograph.
· Blake, B. (1991). Wathawurrung and the Colac Language of Southern Victoria. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.
· Broome, R. (2005). Aboriginal Victorians: A History Since 1800. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
· Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Melbourne: Monash Publications in Geography.
· Clark, I.D. (1995). Scars in the Landscape: A Register of Massacre Sites in Western Victoria 1803–1859. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.
· Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation (2023). Eastern Maar Country Plan. Warrnambool: EMAC Publications.
· Gammage, B. (2011). The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
· Lorne Historical Society (2020). A Short History of Lorne. Lorne: LHS Publications.
· Presland, G. (1994). Aboriginal Melbourne: The Lost Land of the Kulin People. Melbourne: Harriland Press.
· Surf Coast Shire Council (2023). Reconciliation Action Plan. Torquay: Surf Coast Shire.
· Zola, N. & Gott, B. (1992). Koorie Plants, Koorie People: Traditional Aboriginal Food, Fibre and Healing Plants of Victoria. Melbourne: Koorie Heritage Trust.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 06/10/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.