Scotch College

Be part of the Koomerang 50th birthday celebrations

Fifty years of growth, development and providing the Scotch Family with magnificent ski lodge facilities will be celebrated next March when the Koomerang Ski Club reaches its half century.

Past and present club members and other friends of Koomerang will be encouraged to join in the 50th birthday celebrations.

Koomerang now has a membership approaching 700, and is the most successful ski club in Australia. No other club has lodges at four different ski resorts.

The flagship lodge at Mt Buller has been through several changes and then a complete redevelopment. The two apartments at Falls Creek have recently been refurbished; there is the all-new lodge at Thredbo, NSW, and a small lodge at Mt Hotham, currently the subject of a detailed redevelopment plan.

Looking back, skiing at Scotch was at first a minor winter activity, with ski trips in the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s to Mt Buller organised each year by one of the teachers, such as Charles (‘Noso’) Boyes, for a small group of Scotch students.

Mr Boyes and these school groups stayed at the Ski Club of Victoria lodge at Mt Buller, and from this developed the desire for an independent, dedicated Scotch Family type of accommodation.

The only way for this to be achieved was to broaden the scope of the proposed membership by bringing in a group of old boys and their families. This led to the formation of Koomerang Ski Club in 1957, with the intention of building a stand-alone lodge at Mt Buller.

A site was obtained and the first Koomerang lodge constructed by volunteer work parties in 1957. It was a basic structure, offering family-type accommodation. The rest is history.

Koomerang Ski Club continues to be most active, while remaining a club in the true spirit of the word, administered by its members for the benefit of all classes of membership. It has always been open to junior members who are students at Scotch, Old Boys of Scotch, and all members of their families.

A recent development has been the formation of Snowsports, a separate group of parents and teachers, which benefits boys still at Scotch who are interested in skiing. It has successfully introduced schoolboys to skiing and has arranged ski racing events for the more proficient boys. Koomerang provides on-mountain facilities, sponsors some of the Snowsports racing events, and awards medals to schoolboy skiers.

This year the Scotch team stayed at the Koomerang Lodge at Mt Buller, and won the 2006 Interschool Ski Competition. This competition was started by Koomerang foundation member Michael Wood, an initial driving force in the club.

As members of Snowsports, Scotch boys can join Koomerang as junior members. On leaving Scotch, Koomerang Ski Club junior members can convert to a full Koomerang membership at a reduced rate.

To register your interest in participating in Koomerang’s 50th birthday celebrations, contact enquiries@koomerang.com.au or write to the Honorary Secretary, Koomerang Ski Club, c/- OSCA, 1 Morrison Street, Hawthorn 3122, and details will be sent to you once they are finalised. For more information about Koomerang, visit www.koomerang.com.au.

Doug Draffin
Honorary Secretary.