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Mrs & Mr Wright, the toll gate keepers.
The first toll-gate on the Great Ocean Road, at the foot of Stradbroke Point, was opened on 2 December 1922.
Returned soldier WD Mackay, who had worked on the Road since 1919, became the first toll-gate keeper.
Mr and Mrs Wright replaced Mackay six years later and the toll-gate was moved closer to Lorne.
The Wright family’s adeptness at catching toll-dodgers became legendary!
“When the Wright children played on the beach they had the responsibility to run up the hill and report any ‘toll-dodgers’ who would often try to sneak down the beach with their suitcases in hand to try to avoid the toll.
On hearing the news Mrs Wright would often lock the toll-gate and run down the well-worn track to the beach to apprehend and lecture the guilty passenger.”
– Doug Stirling
The first toll gate
An original toll ticket
This is what Devil’s Elbow first looked like
Reference and photos: Lorne Historical Society
Where bush meets the beach. Set between the sparkling waters of Loutit Bay and the majesty of the Otway National Park, Lorne is a spectacular and refreshing place.
Aireys Inlet a gorgeous coastal hamlet where the familiar curves of the Great Ocean Road and dramatic nature of the Great Otway National Park begin.
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Great Ocean Road Regional Tourism acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Great Ocean Road region the Wadawurrung, Eastern Maar & Gunditjmara. We pay our respects to their Elders, past, present and emerging. We recognise and respect their unique cultural heritage and the connection to their traditional lands. We commit to building genuine and lasting partnerships that recognise, embrace and support the spirit of reconciliation, working towards self-determination, equity of outcomes and an equal voice for Australia’s first people.
