Somers camps

Lord Somers Camp

The original dining hall at the Lord Somers Camp features exposed timber beams, timber wall panelling, fold-down trestle tables, a large stone fireplace, and a war memorial plaque. It has a small mezzanine level from which films were projected to the outdoor cinema screen. Though most of the original buildings have been replaced, new buildings have been constructed in a sympathetic manner, retaining the simple, rustic appearance of the initial design, to blend with the landscape and to encourage a close-knit community. The one remaining original dormitory building contains small bedrooms and bathrooms opening off a narrow hallway with a timber dado. The central quadrangle and parade ground with flagpoles remains, and the larger dormitory buildings and an office building which surround it were constructed in the 1980s.^[5] Two of the original buildings are extant, including the Executive Hut (staff quarters) and the Mess Hut (dining hall).

Somers School Camp

The Somers School Camp was initially purchased as 22 huts for the provision of schoolrooms and living quarters, external shower buildings and toilet blocks and supporting buildings, was reconfigured progressively since 1976. The camp now comprises contemporary facilities with eight gender-specific huts and each hut can accommodate either twenty female or twenty male students, with separate gender-specific ablution areas, a gender-specific common area, and a room for a teacher/supervisor.^[10] The dining room, cinema/assembly hall, library, and administrative block provide central focus areas for co-education. There are extensive indoor and outdoor recreational facilities that include a playground, a high ropes course, and climbing gym, etc.

Lord Somers Camp

The Lord Somers Camp was established as a recreation camp for teenage boys only by the Governor of Victoria, Lord Somers, in 1929. Somers aimed to duplicate the success of the hugely popular Duke of York Camps which were held in the United Kingdom, from 1921. Both George VI, as the seventh Duke of York, and Lord Somers were concerned about class differences and wanted to find ways to break down prejudices and build understanding between young people of different backgrounds. They believed that by bringing the teenage boys to live together for a week, they would take this new-found understanding of all members of society with them into adulthood.^[5]

The first camp was held in January 1929 at Anglesea, with forty teenage boys from public high schools and forty teenage boys from working-class backgrounds. The camp was run with the assistance of Anglesea Scouts. The camp had only one rule, to 'play the game', and after competitions the winners would applaud the losers.^[5]

Such was the success of the first two camps that it was decided that a permanent site should be found, which was close to the beach, secluded but within easy reach of Melbourne, and with flat land for sports fields. The site at Balnarring East was on land donated from the Coolart estate.^[11] A purpose-built site at Somers was designed by Arthur Stephenson of Stephenson and Meldrum and completed in advance of January 1931.^[5] Initially called East Balnarring, the town was renamed in c. 1930 as Somers, in honour of Governor Somers.^{[citation needed]}

The camps encouraged respect for the monarchy and patriotism, and there were regular services held at the bush chapel.^[5] The first "Big Camp" at this site was held in 1931, and was the first with co-founder Dr 'Doc' McAdams as Camp Chief, a position he held until 1954. The camps were managed and operated by volunteers and were a week-long camp, during either the second or third weeks of January annually.^{[citation needed]}

Lord Somers returned to England in 1932 and kept close contact with the camp and its participants. In order to provide a meeting and social outlet for the camp's participants upon their return to Melbourne, a clubhouse located at Albert Park Lake was built in 1932. Called "Power House", the activities expanded into sporting clubs, including rowing, rugby, athletics, hockey, and Australian rules football. Whilst the clubs were originally set up solely for the use of Lord Somers Camp members, gradually the Power House clubs forged their own identity.^{[4]: 79–88} Now part of the Lord Somer Camp and Power House charity, the Power House program is supported by volunteers and, in 2019 received a A$5 million Australian government grant to redevelop facilities for youth at risk.^[12] In 2026, camp management responded to allegations concerning historical child safety issues, and put a temporary stop on volunteers that support programs at both Power House and the Lord Somers Camp.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

By 1953, the Lord Somers Camp was back in operation on the site,^[20] and commenced providing separate camps for girls in c. 1963.^[21] This was formalised in 1986 as the Lady Somers Camp,^[4]: 313 and it typically followed the boys' camp in January each year, while still staying separate from the boy's program, with different leaders and decisions. Other programs followed, including a camp for intellectuality and physically challenged teenagers, Very Special Kids, and, more recently,^[when?] orphaned and adopted children supported by the Mirabel Foundation.^[22]

Australian government use

During World War II, the site was requisitioned in c. 1940^[a] by the Department of Defence Co-ordination, and formed the camp for the No. 1 Flying Training School of the RAAF, as part of the Empire Air Training Scheme. Recruits commenced their military service at one of the RAAF's elementary flying training schools, learning fundamentals such as mathematics, navigation and aerodynamics.^[24][25]

At the end of the war, the camp was surplus to the needs of the RAAF and the Australian government sold the camp in 1947 for use as a private holiday resort. However, in 1949, the Australian Department of the Interior reacquired the site for use by the Department of Immigration as a migrant accommodation camp as part of Australia's post-war immigration program,^[26] and housed between 1,000 and 2,000 immigrants.^[27] During that time, a public school was established adjacent to the migrant camp, called the Somers Migrant Centre State School (School No. 4653), from 1949 to 1957 with nine children in attendance. In 1952, a fire in the camp hospital resulted in the death of five children, with calls for review of the migrant facility.^[28][29][30] The Somers camp, along with several other migrant camps across Australia, was closed from the early-to-late 1950s.

By 1953, the Australian government permitted to Lord Somers Camp to operate the site as a school camp;^[20] and, in 1958, the former Somers Migrant Centre State School site was purchased by the Victorian Education Department.^[3]

Somers School Camp

In February 1947, the Department of Education opened the Children’s School Health and Recreation Camp at Crow’s Nest, Queenscliff, and entered into a five-year lease with the Australian Army, who co-shared the facility during annual camps held in January. The Crow's Nest camp operated as a physical education training facility for up to 100 public school children, who were supported over a ten-day residential block, with teacher supervision. Between 1947 and 1952, 6,670 students attended over camp or physical education recreational facility for students in the public school system.^[3]

Part of the Lord Somers Camp that was used as a migrant centre and school was purchased by the Victorian Education Department and altered by the Public Works Department to meet the requirements of a school camp. The first group of 100 boys from the St Kilda Inspectorate attended the first camp in September 1959; and the camp was officially opened on 27 November 1959,^[3][31] initially called the Health and Recreation Camp and then the Children's School Camp, and, since 2000, the Somers School Camp. The camp is administered by a school principal, together with a satellite camp called Woorabinda School Camp, on the shores of Lake Narracan, that takes a younger cohort, Years 3 to 5, for shorter, three- and five-day programs.^[3]