Youth and Conference Centre
with on-site accommodation and catering
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Wambiri is close to ocean and river. Canoeing is a popular activity for young campers.
Brief History | Role of Wambiri | Description of Venue
Residential Camping | Facilities and costs
Educational Purposes | Conferences
Outdoor Education | Aboriginal Studies | Training Programs
Integrated Studies | Individual and Family Use
Wambiri, an aboriginal word meaning "meeting place" is located at Tathra on the Far South Coast of NSW, which itself is known across Australia as the Sapphire Coast. In the early 1960's the Anglican Parish of Bega sought through the NSW Government to lease a parcel of land close to the beach front at Tathra for the purposes of establishing a Camping Area for use especially by youth. Over the next few years a camp site was developed, an ablutions block was erected, and dormitory buildings including a kitchen and a dining room were bought from the Snowy Mountains Authority, transported to Tathra and erected on site. Over the succeeding years the site, at the request of the Parish of Bega, was taken over by the Anglican Diocese of Canberra and Goulburn, and relying on local involvement in particular, the Diocese has encouraged the gradual development of the site to the stage where it is today. Diocesan Parish groups, Non-Anglican Church groups, State School groups, and other community groups catering for youth interests in particular have been, and continue to be, frequent users.
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Role
of Wambiri
Throughout its history,
essentially Wambiri has been
used as a Youth Camp,
particularly for the Camp
Pelican Youth Discipleship
Programs which have become a
feature of Wambiri
especially during school
vacations. The Camp Pelican
Program has been the
Diocese's major thrust
towards youth over the past
25 years, and while the
number of camps it operates
is now mostly confined to
the summer school vacation,
it is still seen as an
important part of youth
character development and
discipleship for youth among
parishes and Diocesan
agencies. The Diocesan Youth
Commission, a body set up to
encourage youth development
in parishes, schools,
agencies, and affiliated
community groups, shares the
vision of Wambiri as a
discipleship centre, and
through its links encourages
parish youth groups and
others to use Wambiri as a
camping venue. Individual
Parish groups also run
retreats, house parties, and
conferences at Wambiri, and
a wider number of
non-Anglican church groups,
as well as adult and youth
secular organisations within
the community (especially
schools) are seeking to make
bookings at Wambiri. The
Wambiri Management Committee
(WMC) however is conscious
of its role and
responsibility regarding
Wambiri and seeks primarily
to ensure that Wambiri is
used by Diocesan Parish
groups, Diocesan Schools,
Diocesan Agencies, as per
its Vision Statement.
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Description
of Venue
Wambiri has become more than
a simple camp-site. There
are now two ablutions blocks
in place (both incorporate a
laundry and automatic
washing machines), a large
dining room which seats 80
at any one sitting, a
commercial style stainless
steel kitchen which
incorporates a commercial
dishwasher, sleeping
accommodation for up to 80
persons in bedrooms in two
buildings which range in
size from 2-bed to 10 bed
spaces, and are adjacent to
the Dining / Kitchen area.
Again adjacent to the
Kitchen / Dining room area
is a General Purpose Hall
used as a conference room
and containing its own
kitchenette, audio-visual
facilities, a stage, and
sufficient space to seat up
to 100 persons. A special
feature of the site (its
whole size is three acres)
is the generous open space
grassed areas for outdoor
activities, and local native
treed copses with abundant
bird life throughout the
year - the shaded tree areas
are attractive for small
group study sessions or
individual reflection. A
special camp-fire location
has been installed for use
during the non-bushfire risk
season. Wambiri is also a
registered caravan park and
individually powered sites
for caravans and tents quite
separate from the dormitory
accommodation are available.
The WMC is currently
considering a proposition to
erect a number of
self-contained 2 bedroom
cabins on-site for use by
either small youth groups,
parish groups, or individual
families for getaway
weekends and/ or annual
leave. Disabled access to
Wambiri on-site facilities
are in place.
Many groups who hire Wambiri
self-cater, and the kitchen
is available for that
purpose. Alternatively
Wambiri offers a catering
service which includes all
meals at a very reasonable
daily rate. An on-site pay
phone is available at all
times.
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Residential
Camping
Residential camping and
overnight or multi-night
excursions to places of
special interest have been
long accepted as a genuine
method of achieving
educational outcomes. The
century old programs of
youth organisations such as
scouts and guides have
relied mostly on residential
jamborees and the like to
achieve their organisations'
aims and objectives, and
nearly every school has
adopted this model for both
single event/ single day/
and overnight excursions and
experiences to achieve more
precisely their educational
aims and objectives. Some
schools even have set up
their own outback, bush, or
seaside locations mostly for
their exclusive use for a
part of a junior, middle or
senior school educational
experiences. Some of the
educational reasons for
residential camping as a
concept include:-
An away-from-home
residential program
encourages self-awareness
in, and self-reliance by,
students The chosen venue
suits a particular set of
educational programs planned
for the students concerned
Students build up a sense of
camaraderie which may have a
significant impact on
student learning as well as
encouraging personal
friendship relationships
There normally is a better
understanding developed
between teacher and students
which again will influence
more profitable student
outcomes both individually
and collectively.
From the evidence of the
last 100 years most
educationists will recommend
student involvement in a
residential type camping
program on a number of
occasions during the
latter's school career, and
providing these camping
experiences are
well-planned, implemented to
meet precise outcomes, and
evaluated accordingly, the
impact on students in most
cases is highly beneficial.
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Facilities
and costs
The WMC has recognised that
just because it manages a
Diocesan-owned accommodation
campsite that is no
guarantee that Diocesan
users will consider Wambiri
as their first preference.
To that end the WMC has
embarked on a planned
process of upgrading of its
facilities, so as to become
more closely aligned with
budget-type community
facilities. In summary the
upgrading has included an
increase of beds available
from 40 to 80 at any one
time, a refurbishment of
bedrooms, dining room,
kitchen, and outdoor areas,
and the appointment and
accommodating on-site of a
new management team who
attend to all management
needs, care taking, and
grounds supervision and
improvements. A planned
further upgrading of
facilities as funds permit
include a number of teacher
/supervisor's single
bedrooms and common room,
the installation of
self-contained cabins for
use by small groups
including families, and the
construction of an indoor
games room for exclusive use
by user-clients. Because of
its location Wambiri has
easy direct access to
patrolled Tathra Beach,
short walking distance to
golf and bowls facilities
and canoe/kayaking water
activities at Mogareeka
Inlet, and short easy access
by car or bus to renowned
bush areas Bournda and
Mimosa Rocks National Parks.
Wambiri is not a commercial
business, but it does try to
run the operation in a
business-like manner.
Charges are kept to a
minimum designed to meet all
known expenses, yet fees are
pitched to appeal to those
not seeking four or five
star accommodation and
facilities. This is our
brief. Wambiri offers a
comfortable facility where
hire-groups' aims and
objectives can be met at a
reasonable cost.
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Educational
Purposes
Despite its semi-urban
village type location,
Wambiri projects an
atmosphere of quiet and
reflective mood, and due to
it being surrounded by
long-developed native trees
and shrubs camp participants
usually remark that Wambiri
seems unaffected by close
residential housing and main
road traffic. This enables
small group work to flourish
out-of-doors, and yet both
the Dining Room and the
General Purpose Hall can be
used for indoor lessons,
study, and activities. The
close proximity to dining,
ablutions (cleaned daily),
and bedroom facilities
usually mean that daily
needs can be met with a
minimum of fuss. Two open
grassed spaces allow a
multitude of recreational
and sporting activities all
within the Wambiri complex,
though the availability of
Tathra Beach and the close
proximity of other sports
attractions usually allow a
greater number of
recreational activities to
be planned. The Diocese's
Camp Pelican Program runs
camps for youth aged 11 to
18 plus successfully each
year. Any School group
within that age range would
find Wambiri ideal though it
is suggested that Upper
Primary and the Middle
School cohorts are likely to
be the ones who would
benefit most from the site.
As mentioned Wambiri can
cater now for up to 80 in
dormitory style
accommodation, and if plans
under consideration come to
fruition an additional 30
beds in self-contained
cabins will be added. A
median sized group for
Wambiri has been 40-50 since
this number is easier to
supervise, size and number
of small groups are
manageable and pressures on
teachers or supervisors can
be reduced to a minimum
particularly if the catering
service is taken up. Despite
its 3 acre size Wambiri is
compact, buildings are
strategically located,
ingress and egress from the
site are relatively
controllable, bus access is
easy, and supervisory
problems are rare.
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Ideal
Venue for Conferences
Some of the best curriculum
development and or/school
planning conferences have
taken place off school-site
during stand-down periods or
nominated professional
development days. Although
it is not always easy for
staff because of family and
other commitments to be able
to attend residential
conferences, the benefits of
such faculty or whole staff
development programs have
been researched as being
highly significant for many
years. It is not easy to set
up a needed staff
development or curriculum
development program in the
normal school setting for a
variety of reasons, but
Wambiri because of its
location and available
facilities at a reasonable
cost offers every prospect
of hosting a successful
program in a relaxed
different environment away
from distractions where
energies can be focused on
achieving identified
conference outcomes.
Wambiri's hardware resources
for school-based or
conference type programs
include TV, VCR, O/H
projector, and screen.
Computer facilities with
printer, and a photocopier
is planned for in the short
term future.
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Outdoor
Education
Wambiri is located within
ten minutes drive from two
outstanding National Parks.
The Bournda National Park
south of Tathra boasts an
almost pristine array of
natural features including
geological formations, a
fresh water lagoon, a tidal
lake (Wallagoot Lake),
walking trails in natural
bush containing a wide
sample of fauna and flora.
In addition the NSW Dept of
Education operates a Field
Studies Centre within the
Park manned by trained
teachers as well as NPWS
Officers. This Centre
contains software resources
for school use including
books, brochures,
information sheets, charts,
film, video, and scale
models. The NPWS Officers
are also available to
service schools wanting to
explore Mimosa Rocks
National Park located north
of Tathra, which in itself
offers a differing range of
natural features, fauna and
flora, and some of the
designated bush camping
sites within the Mimosa Park
are used by Wambiri clients
in a cross-over camp
situation as part of their
stay at Wambiri. Other
environmental opportunities
include the famous Kianinny
Walk---an 11 kilometre
coastal walk through natural
bush between Bournda and
Wallagoot Lake covering a
whole range of different
landforms, vegetation, and
specific places of
interest.; the wetlands
along Mogareeka Inlet
adjacent to the Tathra
Country Club; places of
historical interest such as
the Old Tathra Wharf fully
restored as a heritage
project and the Bega Cheese
Factory in Bega. Wambiri is
able to nominate the
principals of Coastlife
Adventures, a school
oriented environmental
business with its own
trained teachers
specialising in bushwalking,
bush camping, and outdoor
education services such as
surfing, fishing, canoeing,
archery, kayaking, water
safety, general boating,
abseiling and orienteering.
Coastlife Adventures is a
frequent hirer of Wambiri on
behalf of schools, and there
is a close relationship
between the management at
Wambiri and the management
of Coastlife Adventures.
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Aboriginal
Studies
A large part of the Sapphire
Coast and the Eurobodalla
Coast is the traditional
homelands country of the
Yuin Indigenous People, a
group who can trace their
continuing occupation of the
same land for over 8000
years. At Wallaga Lake
Village north of Bermagui an
Aboriginal Studies Centre
known as the Umbarra
Cultural Centre has been
established by the
Merriman's Land Council, and
a significant number of
school-oriented programs
have been set up. These
studies include many
cultural sites in the
district including Gulaga
(Mt Dromedary north of
Bermagui), Mumbulla Mountain
(just 30 minutes from
Wambiri by bus or car),
various middens, bush food
collecting areas, fish
traps, and identified sacred
sites. Aboriginal officers
based at Umbarra are
identified as Resource
Persons for schools and
community groups, and they
spend whole day excursions
with school groups in a
hands on situation in the
various bush and shore
areas. In particular Umbarra
provides guides for the
Mumbulla Sacred Mountain
area, where students are
introduced to various
aspects of hunting and
gathering, bush medicines,
ceremonies particularly
totems, kinship, and
initiation, flora and fauna
use and protection, and bush
survival strategies. Umbarra,
of course, charges a fairly
modest capitation fee for
this service, but this is
not regarded as excessive.
There are no set curriculum
programs; schools utilising
Umbarra's expertise will
have matched for them a set
of experiences designed to
complement and illustrate
the particular curriculum
content and expected
outcomes identified by the
client school as being most
appropriate for their
students.
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Training
Programs
The WMC believes that the
nature, focus, and physical
structure of the Wambiri
site lends itself to
carefully prepared programs
of personal development,
especially bonding time for
Year 7 new students. The
facilities on-site encourage
either larger group
sessions, or small study
groups, and of course
individual reflection. The
close availability of
beachfront bushland water
and sand enables Wambiri
groups a measure of
independent study periods
without necessarily needing
to depart the venue on a
daily basis. This ease of
facility use means that
groups can plan their days'
activities with a minimum of
time loss in mind and the
reduction of constant
student supervision. Hence
emphasis can be placed on
programs and outcomes to
maximise teaching and
learning situations. This
makes programs like the Duke
of Edinburgh Award, for
example, easier to implement
and control.
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Integrated
Studies
There are a whole range of
water-based, bush-based,
industry-based activities
which lend themselves to the
focus question/integrated
studies thematic approach to
learning. Local buses can be
arranged to transport
students to a wide variety
of agricultural,
horticultural, environmental
and business studies which
will encourage school
hands-on programs of
interest and concern. For
example local based
industries which might suit
thematic school programs
include dairying (one Bega
valley dairy farm is the
only small farm in Australia
to be fully computerised in
its dairy operation),
beef-raising, winegrowing
and making, orchards,
fishing, timber, beekeeping,
and a wide variety of
boutique horticultural
home-based enterprises.
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Individual
and Family Use
The WMC is keen to encourage
the various members of the
Diocesan family, parishes as
well as schools, to adopt
Wambiri as their own - a
Diocesan venue for rest
recreation and reflection,
and schools through their
normal newsletters and other
communication mechanisms can
be a powerful ally in this
enterprise. Being a
registered caravan park as
well as a youth and
conference centre allows
Wambiri to be a suitable
venue for any/all members of
the Diocesan family whether
school, parish, family or
individual. If plans
actively being pursued by
the WMC come to fruition,
then self-contained cabins
for family or individual use
as well as groups will be
come a reality, and
Wambiri's capability of
providing a range of
accommodation
styles---dormitory, small
room, cabin, tent, or
caravan, becomes a reality.
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A
good reason to use Wambiri
This presentation is part of
a Wambiri-led thrust to
bring Wambiri to the
forefront of thinking and
reference across the
Diocese. Wambiri is
underutilized by the
Diocesan family as a whole,
and this approach to our
Anglican Schools is just but
one step in raising the
purpose, image, and
contribution of Wambiri in
the wider life of the
Diocese. There are over 4000
students currently enrolled
in our Diocesan Schools and
the WMC believes that it is
likely at least 15% of these
students actively engage in
school-based camping
programs, but at this stage
these programs do not
include Wambiri as a venue.
Our approach is to address
the imbalance. The WMC
believes that because of its
status in the Diocese
Wambiri can meet most if not
all the requirements of a
school's camping program,
and we encourage schools to
seek out what Wambiri has to
offer in terms of
accommodation standards,
teaching situations,
learning experiences, and
availability of resources.
The information and Reference to charges on this page is believed correct at Tuesday, 16 November 2004 . The Wambiri Committee reserves the right to make changes without prior notice.
