Outback Tours

During the May and August vacations, program, and thanks must be given to Ms. 156 Glen Waverley students and 21 staff Crothers and Ms. Mottram, Mr. and Mrs. and parents ventured to Australia. Barker, Mr. and Mrs. De Young, Mr. and Travelling by coach, air and four wheel drive Mrs. Kent and to Messrs. John Gellie, Steve vehicles, these intrepid adventurers visited Richards, Peter Sugden, Trevor Gale, Craig such places as , Tibooburra, Glass, Greg Wilms, Garry Berry, Ross Ayer's Rock, the Stony Desert, Birdsville, Vernon and Dave Mclnnis, all of whom Oodnadatta, , the Flinders Ranges, made the program possible. Marree, William Creek, the Olgas, Yulara, To the students themselves, whose King's Canyon, the Simpon Desert, behaviour and general demeanour was Cooper's Creek and Innamincka. outstanding, congratulations on a job well Tracks such as the Strzelecki, Birdsville done. You have supported and represented and Oodnadatta, were utilised wherever your school and yourselves admirably. possible. These famous tracks were opened almost 100 years ago to overland cattle from Central Australia to the southern states. Cattle are no longer driven on the hoof along these routes, but are transported by road-train. The end result is still the same!

One of the great attractions of the Tours program is the diversity of experiences that can be had by everyone involved. These mm WAKNinv HI experiences range from riding camels to e!:TR£Mf HtftT ^m DOIPT AND OTHfft MAZASO*, S£YON£ 'Hl*^ i'OiN'^ eeOUiSl &**VCtAL PE?6CfiL'l>0»«s flights down Cooper's Creek or across aU AT MARSEI POUCI STATIOH Ayer's Rock and the Olgas, from lying FOR AWtCE BWOM MWRtURE. alongside a remote waterhole to climbing

-Ull Cfi.litiltO Alii AIvfQij3,Tfc ».Ll~)m K?0 :;£-.i.>j the Rock, from deserted Marree to bustling IN THE EVENT Of MISHAP Alice, from travelling by coach to pushing a DO SOT ISaVE YCliO VF"'r": four wheel drive across the sand dune, from the quiet of an Outback dawn to the fun of the Ted Egan concert, from millionaires at Yulara to stockmen at Birdsville, and so the list of experiences goes on. It is these personal experiences that enable us to make judgements, to look, to listen and to learn. There is no doubt that we are all a lot richer for having participated in this Throughout their travels, the students and staff crossed and re-crossed the tracks of the early explorers. Men such as Giles, Stuart, Burke, Wills, and Sturt opened the centre of our land to the next generation — the pioneers. It was those early settlers who have left the greatest mark on inland Australia. Families such as the Elders, Duracks and Kidmans took over huge parcels of land and sank wells, erected fences, built homes and discovered how to cope with this harshest of lands. These Wesley trips provided the students with the chance to sense first hand the strength and character of all those who opened up this area, and to understand and appreciate the legacy they have left. During the trips we were always under the protection of the Royal Flying Doctor Service. It is this "mantle of safety", built up by the Rev. John Flynn which allows medical aid and attention to be gained within a couple of hours anywhere in Australia. Students will have seen, even in the , dirt air-strips used by the Flying Doctor aircraft. Our groups which travelled to the more remote regions carried R.F.D.S. radios with them.

84 Wesley College Chronicle