1973 School Magazine

cards or watch TV. in the Recreation Room. Several of our representatives were even known to have challenged some avid male rugby players to an evening rugby match - played with pine-cones! - from which the better sex emerged victorious, of course. A feature of the week, whicJr has developed into a tradition at the Conference, was the Oxford Debate which mixed fun, skill and o'serious knowledge" humorously, carefully and adeptly applied. trn fact, it was quite a riotous evening. There was a sho-rt, spontaneous concert in whicli many members of the Campus took part, and which was thoroughly enjoyed by all. And, of course, the usual End-of-Conference Dance was held on the Friday night. The Conference would not have been the success it was, had it not been for the overwhelmingly informal and friendly atmosphere. With the exception of Tasmania, every state of Australia was represented, and since there was ample opportunity at lectures, discussions and in spare time, to mix, we consequently met alarge number of people and made many firm and lasting friendships. We soon discovered that, despite individual differences, we were all very much alike. A lesson to us all, was the unity and likeness of the Australian people. By the end of the week none of us wished to leave, and it was a sorry group that said its "good'bye's" on Saturday-May 19. Our wistr is that next year's Conference will be equally successful, and that attendance will be even better. If everyone enjoyed themselves as much as the girls from B.G.G.S. did this year, no-one would regret spending a week of their holidays at a History Conference. Camps SECOND FORM TRIP TO KAMP STACEY_26th- 28th March, 1973. On Monday afternoon after school the whole of second form piled into buses which were booked to take us to Kamp Stacey. All Second Form,Teachers cirme as well as Mrs. Riggs, the school librarian. We arrived there late in the afternoon. When the buses stopped everyone piled out and ran to the six huts. After a bit of confusion Everyone had a bed. During tea that first night we had a visit from Miss Shaw who stayed for the night. After tea was over and all the dishes had been done we settled down in the dining hall to watch a movie. About half way through this, the equipment broke down, so we had to postpone viewing the rest of the film till the following night. For the rest of the night different groups of girls entertained us with some skits. Believe or not, tlte teachers performed one for us. After that some of the girls had a shower, while supper was being prepared. After we had supper we got ready for bed. Most of us didn't get to sleep till late in the night. We had the teachers coming down .frequently, telling us to be quiet.

enormous, wooded grounds appeared to be a winter. wonderland, but we were to meet with reality down- stairs in the shower rooms. Neither were the rooms centrally'heated, nor were the showers hot. In fact, by the end of the week, after constant attention by frustrated groundsmen, they had not even reached the level of lukewarm. The guys' accommodation differed slightly from ours, lacking the luxury of central-heating, being set appropriately on the opposite side of the school to the girls, and next door to the dining hall. However, they had one large compen- sation-steaming hot showers, which we females thoroughly enjoyed when we raided them on the Friday (after having decided that we should be clean to meet our parents on our return).

The theme of the 1973 Conference was "The Development of Democratic Government" and this we traced through a full programme of up to five lectures or discussions each day. At these, however, an observer would probably have regarded us, not as students, but as a large group of cocoons. For to combat the cold, we all donned our thickest clothes, and wrapped ourselves in blankets, and in this attire we attended all of our lectures and activities. The organizers had gone to great lengths to provide excellent speakers and brought lecturers and Professors from the Universities in Canberra, Sydney and Mel' bourne. Not only were most of these people extremely good speakers, but all were experts in their own fields, many having studied and researched overseas. From listening and speaking to them, and from the forums and film evenings, I think most people left the Conference with a new idea of history - that it is a vitally real and living phenomenon, not just a subject v&ich one reads and memorizes to pass exams. However the conference was not all work without play. There was ample time to walk (and get lost) in the immense grounds, to play tennis on one of the College's many courts, or squash in the squash court building or to play snooker and table tennis, ,*?r: