30th anniversary 2012: How things have changed 1982–2012

The ride base

The ride base, at Martin's Corner beside Swamp Creek on the Brookvale property, is much as it was in 1982: a no-frills bush campsite. For most of the year it is a cattle paddock but for one weekend a year the creek flats and hillside north and east of the creek fill with horse floats, trucks, tents and portable yards while the relatively flat ground across the creek becomes the administration centre and vetting area, with the canteen set up on the creek bank opposite. People with long trucks and larger floats are now encouraged to camp in the ‘big rig’ area nearest to Doctor's Flat Road due to the difficulty of safely negotiating the winding track between the creek and hill. There have, however, been some changes to the campsite. The big old pine tree near the entrance was, sadly, a casualty of the 2003 bushfires. Growth of willows in the last 20 years has changed the appearance of the creek. The old hardwood plank that was dragged into position across the creek to provide a temporary footbridge and dragged back up the bank at the end of each ride has gone, apparently carried away by last year's flood.

The only permanent facilities at the campsite are the four pit toilets at strategic locations. These tin sheds look like they have been there since the beginning but in fact were only erected in 1993. For several years before that the toilets consisted of temporary seats placed over pits and surrounded by tarpaulins attached to 8-foot star pickets, with no roof or door. The pits, which were covered with logs and sheets of iron between rides, had the advantage of being cheap, permanent and relatively low-maintenance. ACTERA had previously tried Portaloos and pans. Portaloos were prohibitively expensive so only used for one year. The pans (metal containers that were placed under temporary seats) had some serious practical disadvantages: they required frequent changing during a ride due to their limited capacity and the full pans, covered by clip-on lids, then had to be taken into town in the back of Searle Johnston's F100 to be collected for emptying by the ‘sanitary man’ who in those days still serviced the Bendora stables. The Brookvale facilities probably come as something of a shock to people used to flush toilets and hot and cold running water so a few years ago, as a concession to 21 st century expectations, we introduced air freshener, packaged handwipes and antibacterial hand gel to supplement the cold running water available (at most times) from the creek.

In 1982 the ride office was a caravan parked beside the creek. That was replaced by a succession of large tents and we now have a very smart mauve and white marquee, purchased with a government grant two years ago. The layout of the administration area has changed from time to time over the years, but in recent years the timekeepers have been co-located with the ride office, beside the creek next to the finish line, with the radio base situated in a marquee nearby. Radio checkpoints were originally provided by Pioneer Radio and for the last several years by WICEN through the Canberra Region Amateur Radio Club. Occasionally, when neither was available, we have used other communication arrangements including a local 4WD club, the SES and ACTERA members with satellite phones.

Over the years we have had a variety of catering arrangements for the ride. There has usually been a canteen providing a hot meal on Saturday evening and snacks from early morning to early afternoon on Sunday. Sometimes this was run by a community organisation (Apex or Boy Scouts) and other times by ACTERA members or friends. Last year we had a commercially-operated coffee stall, and provided a gas barbecue plus tables and chairs for a BYO barbecue dinner. This year, to help celebrate the 30th anniversary, there will be a spit roast dinner on Saturday evening and a birthday cake on Sunday, in addition to the canteen.

By Melanie O'Flynn

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