Lord Somers Camp

Last updated

Lord Somers Camp, or "Big Camp", is an annual week-long camp for boys and girls held in Somers, Victoria, Australia.

Contents

Founded in Anglesea, Victoria, in 1929 by The 6th Baron Somers, the then Governor of Victoria, the camp has been running continuously since 1929, excluding the Second World War years of 1941-1946 [1] when the site was occupied by the RAAF. The 2021 camps have both been postponed due to COVID-19.

There are two camps, one for young men and one for young women, typically taking place in the 2nd and 3rd week of January each year.

History

The original camp was set up in 1929 by the then Governor of Victoria, Lord Somers. Somers aimed to duplicate the success of the hugely popular Duke of York Camps which were held in the United Kingdom. The first and second camps were held at Anglesea, Victoria, with the assistance of the Anglesea Scouts. The camp moved then relocated to a purpose-built site, designed by Stephenson and Meldrum in Somers in 1931. Only two of the original buildings still stand today, including the Executive Hut (staff quarters) and the Mess Hut (dining hall).

Power House

In order to provide a meeting and social outlet for the camp's participants, a clubhouse located at Albert Park Lake in Melbourne was built in 1932. Called "Power House", the activities expanded into sporting clubs, including rowing, rugby, athletics, hockey, and Australian rules football. [2] Whilst the clubs were originally set up solely for the use of Lord Somers Camp members, gradually the clubs forged their own identity and separated into their own legal entities due to public liability insurances issues in the 1980s. Today, they operate completely independently.

Today

The camps are operated and staffed completely by volunteers who even have to pay for privilege and give up a week of their holidays. The exact program has been adjusted in line with community expectations and social changes over the years.

In 1986, a female equivalent of the Camp, Lady Somers Camp commenced [3] and has arguably been more successful. It typically follows the boys' camp in January each year.

Other programs followed, including Diversity (for the intellectuality and physically challenged), VSK (Very Special Kids), and more recently Mirabel. Again, all managed and operated by LSC&PH volunteers.

The township of East Balnarring was renamed Somers, Victoria after the camp.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kilda Football Club</span> Australian rules football club

The St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed the Saints, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St Kilda, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of the Melbourne central business district, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. St Kilda recorded a population of 19,490 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers</span> British army officer

Arthur Herbert Tennyson Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers,, was a British Army officer who was the 16th Governor of Victoria, from 1926 to 1931 and Administrator of Australia in 1930-31. He had a long involvement with the Boy Scout Movement and became the Boy Scouts Association's Chief Scout of the British Empire from 1942 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elwood, Victoria</span> Suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Elwood is an inner suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 8 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip local government area. Elwood recorded a population of 15,153 at the 2021 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melbourne Grammar School</span> School in South Yarra & Caulfield, Victoria, Australia

Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private Anglican day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior school for boys from Years 7 to 12. The three campuses are Grimwade House in Caulfield, Wadhurst and Senior School, both in the suburb of South Yarra.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caulfield Grammar School</span> School in Victoria, Australia

Caulfield Grammar School is a private, co-educational, Anglican, International Baccalaureate, day and boarding school, located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1881 as a boys' school, Caulfield Grammar began admitting girls exactly one hundred years later. The school amalgamated with Malvern Memorial Grammar School (MMGS) in 1961, with the MMGS campus becoming Malvern Campus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley College, Melbourne</span> Independent school in Victoria, Australia

Wesley College is a co-educational, open-entry private school in Melbourne, Australia. Established in 1866, the college is the only school in Victoria to offer the International Baccalaureate (IB) from early childhood to Year 12.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junction Oval</span> Australian sports ground

Junction Oval is a historic sports ground in the suburb of St Kilda in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nicky Winmar</span> Australian rules footballer, born 1965

Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar is a former Australian rules footballer, best known for his career for St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs in the Australian Football League (AFL), as well as South Fremantle in the West Australian Football League. An Indigenous Australian man, he was the first Aboriginal footballer to play 200 games in the AFL, and was named in the Indigenous Team of the Century in 2005. He was involved in several incidents of racial vilification during his career, and a photograph of Winmar responding to one such incident during the 1993 season has been described as one of the most memorable images in Australian sporting history.

Ian Harlow Stewart is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St. Kilda Football Club and Richmond Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He later coached South Melbourne and Carlton before returning to St. Kilda to serve as general manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wels Eicke</span> Australian rules footballer (1893–1980)

Wellesley Hastings "Wels" Eicke was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Corey McKernan is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Kangaroos and Carlton Blues in the Australian Football League (AFL). A dual Premiership player, a one-time All-Australian at North Melbourne, and a one-time club best and fairest winner and leading goalkicker at Carlton, McKernan was at one time considered to be one of the very best players in the country. He is the older brother to Shaun McKernan, who played with Adelaide Crows, Essendon, and St Kilda.

The 1985 VFL season was the 89th season of the Victorian Football League (VFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Taylor (Australian rules footballer)</span> Australian rules footballer (1901–1962)

Richard John Taylor was an Australian rules footballer who played for Melbourne and North Melbourne in the Victorian Football League (VFL).

Australian rules football was first organised in Victoria in 1859 when its rules were codified by the Melbourne Football Club.

The Collingwood Football Club is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">W. F. Waters</span>

William Francis "Bill" Waters was Scouts Victoria's Headquarters Commissioner for Rover Scouts between 1930 and 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglesea Football Netball Club</span>

The Anglesea Football Netball Club is an Australian rules football and netball club situated in the township of Anglesea, near the city of Geelong in Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tramway Museum, St Kilda</span> Large tramway museum in Adelaide, South Australia

The Tramway Museum, St Kilda is Australia's principal museum of the 19th and 20th century trams of Adelaide, South Australia. It is situated at St Kilda, 24 kilometres north of the centre of Adelaide. It is operated by the Australian Electric Transport Museum (SA) Inc., a not-for-profit volunteer organisation affiliated with the Council of Tramway Museums of Australasia. It is dedicated to the study, conservation and restoration of trams that were used in Adelaide or built there, and likewise with a small bus and trolleybus collection. Trams provide rides for visitors along a 1.6 km (0.99 mi) purpose-built track between the museum and a large adventure playground.

References

  1. ↑ Gregory, Alan (1994). It's only the Game that counts. St. Kilda, Victoria: Lord Somers Camp and Power House. p. 368. ISBN   0646201905.
  2. ↑ Gregory, Alan (1994). It's only the Game that counts. St Kilda, Victoria: Lord Somers Camp and Power House. pp. 79–88. ISBN   0646201905.
  3. ↑ Gregory, Alan (1994). It's only the Game that counts. St. Kilda, Victoria: Lord Somers Camp and Power House. p. 313. ISBN   0646201905.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.