You can't short circuit a lamp. A short circuit is a circuit with no load.
Try yellow pages for an electrician - you need a step down transformer to convert 240V into 120V.
The Wattage rating of the transformer should match or exceed the Wattage rating of your two lamps
Amazon sell a 100W unit for £21 - a cheaper solution...
https://tinyurl.com/nkdafyc
Good luck...
June 2015