Great Scot December 2017 GreatScot_152_Dec_Online | Page 90

OSCA
Clubs
KOOMERANG CELEBRATED ITS 60TH ANNIVERSARY AT
THE MCC KEW SPORTS CLUB ON 13 OCTOBER.
Pipes and Drums Club
Big interstate
competition
success
In its first competitive foray interstate, the Old
Scotch Pipes and Drums Club has achieved a
major milestone in being judged Australian Capital
Territory champion grade 4 band, and winning
the Jimmy Chalmers Cup, against bands from
Canberra, Sydney and regional NSW.
The very picturesque Kambah Oval in the ACT
provided a great venue for the Canberra Burns
Club Highland Gathering on Saturday 7 October,
which was sponsored by the Canberra College
of Piping and Drumming and the esteemed
Canberra Burns Club.
In front of a panel of international judges, and
pipers and drummers of world renown including
Jim Kilpatrick, Tyler Fry, and Nat Russell, the
careful preparations all came together perfectly on
the day. It was a fitting reward for tireless efforts
by our Pipe Major, David Forbes (‘79). The skills
of our lead drummer Scott Diener, and Cameron
Webb (‘16), helped to ensure the band was
perfectly tuned, and we produced an impressive
sound, attracting numerous compliments.
Band members on the day included Pipe
Major David Forbes, Pipe Sgt Eddie Butler (‘05),
Lead Drummer Scott Diener, Brian Symington
(‘65), Roger Sinclair (‘58), Geoff Courtis (‘66),
Stewart Wallace (‘71), David Telford, Ian Bell,
Rob Adams (‘76), Peter West (‘79), Bruce Webb
(‘79), Gordon Walker (‘82) and on bass, Ewen
McConchie (‘76).
The confidence derived from this performance
no doubt further inspired the band as it prepared
for the Pipe Bands Victoria competition season.
The plan is to keep up the practice, bag a few
more wins, and look forward to being elevated to
grade 3 in the near future.
We would like to sincerely thank Mark Saul,
Kyle Warren, Scott Birrell and Brenton Earl for
their ongoing encouragement.
STEWART WALLACE (‘71)
90
Koomerang Ski Club
Koomerang celebrates a
significant birthday
Koomerang Ski Club members got together
at MCC Kew Sports Club on 13 October to
celebrate a significant birthday for the club – its
60th anniversary. More than 90 Koomerang
members and guests celebrated this club
milestone in style, and were entertained by
champion Australian aerial skier, Kirstie Marshall.
Koomerang’s roots extend from 1956, when
a few schoolboys and a teacher developed the
idea for the Scotch College Ski Club to build its
own lodge at Falls Creek. The then Principal,
Richard Selby Smith, supported the idea but the
School Council did not consider this was the
type of project in which the school should have
an involvement.
The idea was then taken up by some Old
Boys who were enthused by the idea, but
preferred the proxim ity of Mt Buller to Melbourne
rather than Falls Creek.
Plans were prepared for a lodge at Mt Buller,
and in 1957 the group convened a meeting at
which it was decided to expand membership of
the Scotch College Ski Club to include parents
and Old Boys, and to proceed with building a
lodge at Mt Buller.
The club relied heavily on foundation member
and Old Boy, Michael Wood (‘51), who was
a professional builder. Michael coordinated
many volunteers in prefabricating the lodge in
Melbourne. The prefabricated sections were then
transported to Mt Buller in an old army surplus
truck the club had acquired. More volunteers
cleared the site and assembled the lodge on the
mountain.
A basic building was ready for the 1957 ski
season. It consisted of an unlined shell, and
the only heating was a central fireplace. Funds
were very tight, and an active social committee
organised many fundraising activities to finish off
the lodge and build a kitty for further expansion.
In 1957 Thredbo Village had opened. By
1964 the club was prepared to look further afield,
and decided to build a lodge at Thredbo. A
professional builder constructed the lodge, with
the considerable assistance of many volunteers
from within our membership. In 1964 the club
became an incorporated legal entity to enable
it to enter formal site leases at Mt Buller and
Thredbo. The Thredbo lodge opened in time for
the 1965 season.
By 1972 the club was ready to take on
another project, and acquired two adjoining flats
which were about to be constructed at Falls
Creek. This was followed 10 years later with the
acquisition of our old lodge at Mt Hotham.
In 2017 we can look back with pride,
and celebrate the vision of the small group
of enthusiastic skiers and volunteers who
created the club in 1956. We are grateful for the
significant and ongoing contribution of many
volunteers who have helped grow Koomerang
into the strong club it is today, with excellent
facilities across four mountains.
To access interesting resource material on
the club’s history, and for general information
about the club, please see the our website (www.
koomerang.com.au). Koomerang membership is
open to all members of the Scotch Family.
NIGEL WATSON (‘65)
Great Scot Number 152 – December 2017