Green Point Christian College eNewsletter

From the Principal

On Wednesday I returned from a five day trip out to Brewarrina Shire with Michael Lowbridge, our School Business Manager. The property is 1200 acres, located 30 minutes south of the small township of Brewarrina at a little place called Gongolgon. I have included a few photos to show you the site. It is in predominantly red dirt country, although the back half of the property has brown dirt. You may recall there is a school on the property that has been closed for about three and a half years and a number of other accommodation buildings on the bottom part of the property near the river.

Everything is in good condition but there a is lot to do to bring it back to operating standard after it has been idle. We have a part-time maintenance person who looks after it for us and rent out three of the houses on site to members of the caretaker's family. Below is a photo of the staff house we have set up as guest accommodation. There are two boarding houses on site that can accommodate about 21 students each plus a staff section for a single or couple. We plan to open a small school for local students and boarders and to develop other parts of the site for outdoor education activities such as camping for our students. The photo to the right is of a large open flat area that would be very suitable for camping. The Bogan River runs along the back border of the property and is suitable for kayaking, fishing and swimming if you like muddy water!

We are also exploring connections with other groups who might operate activites on the site that our students could participate in when they are out there. There is also opportunity for senior students such as the Geographers doing some field work there.

I see this property as a great opportunity to help equip our Central Coast students with a broader view of Australia and of life in general. Exposing them to outback Australia and helping them appreciate the contrasts between town and country life develops their ability to understand issues that arise in Australia’s social and political life, and gives them a far greater appreciation of the history of our nation and its modern development. The opportunity to interact with Aboriginal peoples and understand the perspective of others is an important part of being able to live life in a balanced and educated way.

We plan to set up a campervan and caravan site as well and I hope many of you might take the opportunity to take your family out there and enjoy the facility as well.

Phillip Nash

Principal