Part 7: A Shack by the Beach

Holiday accommodation is often a simple affair, whether a tent on a bush block or a beach shack lovingly constructed by its owners.

Edna Walling, one of Australia’s most influential garden designers, began building a holiday home at Lorne in the late 1940s. Many years later Walling wrote an account of this period of her life. She called it the Happiest Days of My Life. Walling’s photographs and this manuscript touch on many of the themes in the Victorians on Vacation exhibition. She loved the simplicity of life camping on her beach block prior to building her holiday house. Even the mundane task of washing clothes was enjoyable, as she recounts:

We were very anxious to get a driveway down to the creek to do our washing. We found this a most pleasurable task, the beautiful soft water made easy work of the rubbing. What a difference from the piped water in Melbourne! We would be musing upon the many delights that one foregoes in modern life as we gently rubbed away at our singlets and pants. Yes, life is the sweeter for these experiences that come to so few nowadays. I know I would not have missed them for any luxury that might have come my way.

Because Walling’s block was so steep, she could not find a builder who was willing to take on the daunting task of building the house. So she reluctantly decided to build it herself with the assistance of her friend Joan Niewland, fondly known as ‘Twid’. But she quickly came to terms with this decision, explaining ‘It was only for holidays, so the simplest of shelters and a tank or two were all that was necessary’.

The house was built from driftwood, local pink sandstone and cheap building materials. Visitors were often pressed into service, building, painting or scavenging for driftwood. The humble but sympathetic bush home that resulted was a far cry from the large architectural monuments that dot the Great Ocean Road today.

Designing and acquiring makeshift furniture for the holiday house was another enjoyable activity. The first dining table was found on the beach. Walling notes:

It was from the beach that we got our first dining table - a disused fish crate - mercifully no longer smelling of fish, thanks to the sweetening influence of the sea and sun... Of course, we had nothing for legs but we didn’t mind sitting on rolled-up sacks...

Walling’s holiday home was eventually destroyed by bushfire, and the property was given to the Bird Observers Club. A transcript of Walling’s manuscript Happiest Days of My Life is available on the State Library’s website.