CANBERRA BUSH WALKING CLUB INC NEWSLE1TER P0 Box 160, Canberra ACT 2601 Registered by Australia Post: Publication number NMB 859 VOLUME 30 OCTOBER 1994 NUMBER 10 OCTOER HONTHLY flEETING Dickson Library Community Room Wednesday 19 October, 8.00 pm onwards Ian Turland will give an illustrated talk on 5es I Hz4 Make the most of the evening and join other members at 600pm for a convMal (BYO) meal at the Vietnamese Restaurant at (YConnor Shops (the one on the corner). Try to be early to ensure there will be ample time to finish and still get to the meeting in comfortable time. New Committee And Office Holders Other Office Bearers The Club's Annual General Meeting on 21 The Committee has subsequently co-opted the September elected the following Committee for following additional office bearers: 1994-95: Conservation Council Mike Morriss and Janet Edstein President representatives Margaret Cole Nic Bendeli VicePresident/Treasurer Honorary Auditor John Kyatt Ala?! Vidler Walks Secretary Equipment Officer Maurice Wicks Editor David Truman S&R Coordinator and NSW David Campbell Roger Edwards Membership Secretary Confederation Delegate Assistant Walks Secretary Mike Pedvin Namadgi Committee John Thwaite Join: Webster Conservation Officer convenor Social Secretary Maurice Wicks Club Record Keeper Ala;: Vidler Bill Brow,: Publisher Club Archivist Douglas Wright James Ashbun:er Minutes Secretary Check-in Officer Mike PediEn Correspondence Secretary Sylvia Sheffield Public Officer Paul Edstein 56 Woolner Crct HAWKER ACT 2614 11 October 1994 Reet VALLAK 5 Fullwood St WESTON ACT Dear Reet, I note from our membership records that you would be prepared to, on occasion, lead walks, but our trip details indicate that you have not done so in the last two years. If you are prepared to lead walks, now is a good time to make a 'comeback, for reasons outlined in the following paragraphs. Your presence at Walks Planning Evenings would be particularly welcome, whether to lead walks yourself or to help beginning leaders to plan trips. I and other experienced leaders would be glad to help organise walks, whether at Walks Planning evenings, by telephone, or otherwise. The Club is dangerously over-dependent on a small number of long serving 'mega-leaders', so that, as we probably are about to discover, a loss of one or two key people can have a severe impact on the Club's prime activity, bushwalking. With a greater number of leaders we: • are less dependent on any one individual; - • have more variety and ideas for trips - new people have new ideas; more people give more people more ideas; • have more choice and less crowded trips for walkers; • have more enjoyable trips - more variety means greater likelihood that trips meet more people's needs and fewer problems in coping with a mixture of, for example, very fast and very slow people on a trip; • provide a more stable program, with less gaps; • have a more reliable program with more people confident enough to take over should the trip leader be become unavailable or incapacitated; • have more flexibility on trips - for example there is more likely to be someone confident to lead a side trip to achieve particular objectives. A good attendance at Walk Planning evenings is a highly efficient way to generate a good walks program as the Club's extensive map collection is available and people can discuss ideas with and make suggestions to other interested people. Discussions and pooling of ideas often result in better trips than an individual would devise on their own. I look forward to seeing you at Walk Planning evenings if possible (your presence there is particularly valuable - more people generate more ideas), at general and other meetings, or talking to you over the phone. Regards Alan Vidler (Walks Sec) Contact via: • snail mail (Aust Post) - see above • phone 254 5373(h) - includes answering machine, regularly checked during thy • FAX at work, but please ring first. • In person - virtually all club meetings/IT Collations, etc • Via other Committee Members, if Committee meeting pending • Floppy Disks very welcome [3.5", 5.25", most word processors, various unix...] • Other transfer by arrangement, through Internet, Compuserve, modem<->modem PRESIDENT'S PRATTLE The Greg Buckley Walks Award The Greg Buckley Walks Award is a perpetual Welcome! annual award, presented to member/s who have given particular service to the dub's bushwalking This the first edition of IT under the 1994/95 program. Committee. My thanks to those members who attended the ACM and especially to those who The award was donated by Mr and Mrs Buckley nominated for the various committee positions. to commemorate their son, Greg, who died of For those who weren't there, a new committee viral pneumonia in 1990, contracted while listing is induded in this issue. walking with other dub members in Nepal. In this, my first 'Prattle' I would like to focus on In making the award, a broad definition of just three areas of the dubs activities. bushwalking is used. It indudes factors beyond the number of walks led and can take into account Firstly, walking. That's why this dub exists. I service for a period greater than the previous believe there is room for all grades of walks to be twelve months. induded in the walks program. Some of the more seasoned walkers amongst us are quite up to Previous recipients of the award have been: roughing it for days on end and putting in 30km or more in a day. Others, induding those who've Alan Vidler (1991); 'been there done that' and some new corners to Chris Leslie (1992); and the dub may prefer a gentler pace and can even George Carter (1993) find the dreaded 'tiger walk performances daunting. I would like to foster both ends of this At the 1994 ACM, Vance Brown received the spectrum and the area most of us find ourselves in award in recognition of his considerable - in between! contribution to the club's walking program over the years. I can't say that I'll be walking every weekend - hopefully at least once each month. Secondly, conservation. Many of us are professional people. Our country has given us our education. Isn't it time we gave something back? I envisage an active sub-committee working on conservation projects. Members are encouraged to give their time and effort individually (eg growing seedlings for Greening Australia) and/or in groups (as in the Broom Clearing weekend to be held soon). Thirdly, social. I believe that a club as large as ours should be able to have more social activities without detracting from the essence of the club. I would encourage anyone who wishes to promote social activites for other club members. I believe that people who know each other are more likely to feel more confident about remaining in the club. J look forward to walking with you. Janet Edstein MEMBERSHIP MATFERS New Members: Rene and Cathy DeKiefte, Westow Kaye Campbell, Pearce. Prospective New Members: FOUND after the September AGM - a Michael Schild, Kaleen; Michael Preskett, mountaineering book. Phone Alan or Sue Higgins; Megan Shirlow, Turner; Judy Kraatz, Vidler on 254 5373. Yarralumla. - CANBERRA BUSHWALKING CLUB INC. THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT - 1993-94 Activity Program National Park. John Thwaite has kindly agreed to coordinate the sub-committee. It was a very successful year in terms of the The first project will be in end October and number of walks programmed. There were 228 will involve further Broom bush clearing in walks programmed in 1993-94. This equals the the Upper Cotter area. record of 1990-91 and is an increase of 14 on last • Provision of comments on the Murramarang year's. total. Detailed walk statistics are National Park draft plan of management. presented in the Walks Secretary's report. • A letter to NSW Minister for the Environment During the year Alan Mikkelsen became the concerning proposed wilderness areas. fourth Club member to have programmed 100 • A group of club members were interviewed walks. His total now stands at 111. What makes by a consultant involved in the preparation of it a particularly remarkable achievement is that it a recreation management plan for Kosciusko has been reached in just over six years. Alan's National Park. move to Melbourne later this year will certainly make life a lot harder for future Walks Secretaries. Confederation George Carter is set to become the fifth member of this illustrious group, having programmed 98 The Club has continued its membership of the walks to date. NSW Confederation of Bushwalking Clubs. The principal benefit is the Confederation's insurance scheme which protects the Club, leaders and Membership members against any liability, arising from a Club activity. Club membership declined slightly in 1993-94. The membership as at the time of the Annual General Meeting is as follows (last year's figures in Search and Rescue brackets): It was a busy year for search and rescue. During the year the Club participated in three search and 0. total membership 347 (357) + ordinary members 244 (249) rescue callouts (in contrast, in 1992-93 there were no callouts). From all accounts our teams + household members 96 (102) + life members 7 (6) performed extremely well in each of the callouts. Thanks to all those gave up their valuable time to The ratio of males to females is approximately take part. 60 /40. Its been a concern for a number of years that while the Club's expertise and skills have been Conservation recognised and used in New South Wales they have not been wanted in the ACT. However, this The Club was involved in a range of conservation year the Club was approached by the Director of activities and issues.