1996 has been a solid year for the AUMC, with a membership totaling 200. The passage of veteran members into retirement, an inevitable part of any club, has opened the opportunity for new clubbers, eager for adventure, to step forward. This is evident in the many new people I have had the pleasure to meet this year through my involvement with the club.
Traditional activities have again been strong:
- Hiking has been very popular with trips to many local and interstate locations. It remains the mainstay of club activities and an excellent way for new members to break into club activity.
- Climbing and abseiling have been upheld with several very successful climbing days, visits to indoor gyms and planned canyoning trips. Karen Sellars (the club secretary) both managed to take out a Women’s State Climbing Title and keep this information from just about everyone!
- Canoeing has not been as well attended this year, yet Canoe Polo has remained strong, with a team again taking part in this year’s Canoe I.V. on King River in North-East Victoria. Both the men’s and women’s Canoe Polo teams won their events!
- Cross Country Skiing trips again proved invigorating, and several cycle tours of winery districts have proved quite entertaining.
- The annual Rogaine was held at Parawa, in the Second Valley Forests and Deep Creek. The event was, as always, well attended with 200 competitors. AUMC has maintained its good relationship with SARA, and the club has been invited to host an I.V. Rogaine in 1997 by, and in conjunction with, the ARA. Plans are underway to organize this event.
- The AUMC has maintained insurance with the Federation of SA Bushwalkers and has continued its support of conservation and environmental groups such as the Wilderness Society, CCSA and the ACF.
Of the progress that has been made this year, the most significant and exciting is the allocation by the Sports Association of an AUMC Gear Room on campus. Not only has this provided secure storage for club gear otherwise kept on private residence, it has meant easier access to club gear. This, combined with the purchase of a computer, has made the often underestimated tasks of the club Gear Officer a great deal easier.
The club’s new computer also means easier club administration, gear audits, membership lists, production of newsletters, posters and yearbooks. It has also given the club access to the Internet and a homepage – and through this easier communication with, and access to, other Mountain Clubs and interest groups. Regarding these matters I extend my special thanks to Andrew Hill.
As usual a comprehensive thankyou list is an impossibility, so let me thank all of you who have given time and energy for the club this year. I especially thank the committee – for the long service of Roger Voyle and Pam Inverarity, the ever capable and always helpful Maretta Mann, Karen Sellars and Angela Harris. I also wish to thank Gloria and Pene at the Sports Association for continued support and understanding.
Special thanks to my sister for being my personal secretary and taking calls for me at all hours, and my girlfriend for putting up with it all.
I wish the incoming committee the greatest success for 1997, and I ask you to remember what pleasure there is in experiencing our wild places first hand – to explore, to challenge yourself, and to behold.
Paul Muffet
President, 1996