Beginnings at Galston

The Galston Gorge Centre began in a very small way. Di McClellan has written movingly in the February Cruview about the way members of the newly formed Senior Crusader Fellowship pitched in for several years to get the first two cabins built and a start made on the Dining Hall, the precursor of the present fine structure.

The Senior Crusader Fellowship began at the first Crusader Easter Conference held at Wentworth Falls in 1955, when it became clear that there needed to be training for camp officers. Until then, young people were invited to go on Crusader camps as officers with little but dedication and enthusiasm. That was fine, but the need for sound Bible training as well was in the minds of Crusader leaders.

In the course of discussion, the question also arose of how the big bush block Crusaders owned at Galston Gorge might be used. In the mid-1950s, it was considered remote and inaccessible, but in reality, it was not far from Hornsby station. Hugh Braga, who became the first Chairman of the SCF, drew up a plan for a series of about a dozen small cabins that would be built along the contour close to the cliff line overlooking the gorge, taking advantage of the view and offering a bush experience.  Working parties started there in 1956.

The possibility of vandalism was a concern, so each building was to be solidly built of brick on a concrete slab. Now standard building practice, this was innovative at that time. Hugh Braga was a concrete specialist, so each cabin was to have a concrete roof as well. There was no water supply until the mid-1960s, so rain water was to be collected from the roof in a large concrete pipe turned on its side and given a thick concrete lid. No vandals could shoot holes through these tanks. Unloading the heavy pipes from the back of a truck was a delicate operation, only possible through the skills of two very dedicated parents of members of the Fellowship, Mr R.W. Mackay, a Master Builder with forty years’ experience,  and Mr W. Foster, a skilled stonemason. Both gave much time at many working parties to provide expert guidance to this keen but very unskilled workforce of young school-leavers.

It was Mr Foster’s skill that made it possible for a unique feature to be added to the first cabin. For more than thirty years as an architect and civil engineer, Hugh Braga added a stone feature wall to many buildings of his that were especially significant. This had become his trademark. This cabin was indeed significant. Firstly, it was to lead the way in the use of Galston Gorge for the extension of the Kingdom of God. Secondly, it was a memorial to Flying Officer Beaufort Petter, RAFVR, who was killed in World War II. It was given by his sister, Mrs Irene Young, a Crusader Council Member and Commandant of several girls’ camps, and her husband, Dr Geoffrey Young.

On the first Saturday of each month apart from January, a crowd of between twenty and thirty eager young people turned up to working parties. Jeans had not yet arrived in Australia, so the girls wore skirts and the boys wore trousers, often with cuffs.
It never rained sufficiently to wash out a working party. We felt that as we were honouring God, He was protecting our work for Him. There was little money around in those days, so the second cabin was paid for mainly by the young people themselves.

Money boxes were made from Masonite in the shape of a cabin, complete with a sloping roof, with a slot for coins. When the box was full, the roof could be removed and then re-glued for further use. Only two brick cabins were built before the overall plan developed into a different form, while essentially preserving the original layout.

The two cabins were a small beginning. A little later, members of the Holt family donated the Mary Alison Holt Dining Hall in memory of their mother and grandmother, a significant leader in the first generation of the long history of Crusaders. That began the effective use of the Galston Gorge site.

In the two generations since those early days, many more people have given generously and sacrificially of money, time and expertise to make the Galston Conference and Recreation Centre the fine facility it is today.

Stuart Braga
28 February 2012