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Member Area - ACA Honour Board
Life Members
The ACA recognises individuals who have both a lengthy membership of the Association and who have made a significant personal contribution to the wider camping sector through the awarding of Life Membership.
Life Membership is the highest honour that the ACA can bestow. In accordance with the ACA Constitution, Life Members are exempt from the requirement to pay an annual subscription as individuals and continue to enjoy the benefits and privileges of an Ordinary Member.
Click here for information on how to nominate a person for life membership & nomination form.
The Australian Camps Association life members include:
TOM SLATER (Victoria)
Tom chaired a meeting called by, what was back then, Victorian Youth Sport & Recreation (now known as Sport & Recreation Victoria) in October 1983 to form the Camping Association of Victoria (CAV). He became the inaugural Chair of the CAV.
Tom has a long history in camping, through Scripture Union and ran Camp Coolamatong for many years. He is the author of ‘The Temporary Community’ a seminal book that shaped the camping sector both domestically and internationally.
NINA ARNOTT (South Australia) Awarded July 2009
Nina served as the President of the Camping Association of South Australia and was heavily involved in site and activity accreditation. She built Camp Wirraway in 1975 as a site focusing on horse programs, and went on to set up Wirraway as an RTO to train outdoor staff. Nina was an early member of the Australian Camps Association. She left the board to establish Horse Safety Australia in 1991, an organisation she remains passionate about to this day.
JENNY BOWKER (dec.) (Victoria) Awarded November 2008
Jenny, along with her family, has a long term commitment to camping through their camp Kangaroobie and her contribution as President of the Host Farms Association during the 1980’s. Jenny was elected as President of the International Camping Fellowship at the Sixth International Camping Congress in 2003 and filled this role until 2008.
GALE ORFORD (dec.) (Victoria) Awarded November 2008
Gale brought a wealth of international and academic knowledge to the Camping Association of Victoria, having spent some time with the American Camping Association and Latrobe University. She served on the Board during the late ‘80’s to the early ‘90’s, including a period as President in 2005.
Gale passed away in 2015.
BRIAN KROSS (Queensland) Awarded July 2009
Brian was presented with Life Membership of the Australian Camps Association in 2009.
Brian has a long history in the outdoors in Queensland through his involvement with Adventist Outdoors (originally the Seventh Day Adventist’s Pathfinders Club) and the Queensland Outdoor Recreation Federation (QORF), now Outdoors Queensland, of which he became a Life Member in 2011.
ANDREW McGUCKIAN (Victoria)
Andrew McGuckian’s contribution to camping has been outstanding on many levels, having over 28 years experience in the camping sector. Roles have included: Director of Outdoor Education for a school, local government providing community camping, owner/operator of a camp, running a ropes course training company and now as the Director of Camping for the Uniting Church. Andrew has been a part of creating benchmarks for the industry, developing standards, and working with higher authorities such as work safe all for the best interest of the industry. Andrew was a part of the transition of the Camping Association of Victoria to the Australian Camps Association from 1983 to present. (Camping News, Nov 2010)
BILL OAKLEY (Victoria) Awarded November 2008
Bill has been involved in the Australian and International camping sectors since the inception of the camping Association of Victoria in 1983, along with Tom Slater and Don McDowell. He served on the CAV (originally as the founding Deputy President), then ACA boards, most recently as Treasurer, from ’83 to 2016, with only a short break when working for the Scouts in NSW.
Bill continues to actively contribute through his work with the International Camping Fellowship.
TREVOR MILDENHALL (Victoria)
Trevor Mildenhall’s contribution to camping has been prodigious, and at all levels, local, state, national and international. As the Manager of the Anglesea Recreation Camp on behalf of the Department of Sport and Recreation Victoria for 18 years; a Board Member of the Camping Association of Victoria for over 10 years; a Board Member of the Australian Camps Association in it’s formative years; and as an international representative of camping in Australia and at overseas conferences and meetings. (Camping News, Nov 2010)
BILL HARBACK (Tasmania) Awarded July 2009
Bill built Woodfield Lodge, one of the first camps in Tasmania to run programs with staff on site, in 1977 and was involved with it until 2012. He was the Executive officer of the camping association of Tasmania in the early 2000’s.
With his family, Bill also developed Pioneer Valley Camp consisting of six pioneer wagons that graced the camp paddock and could accommodate 48 persons.
Bill was involved with the Camping Association of Tasmania since it’s inception and was their Executive Officer/Secretary for a number of years from 1989.
NIGEL ANDERSON (Tasmania) Awarded July 2009
Nigel has been involved in the camping scene since the early 1960’s – first as a camper, then at a committee level (holding various executive positions) with the Baptist Union of Tasmania running the Golden Valley campsite, and in an advisory capacity with the other BU campsite Araluen. Nigel was the Camping Association of Tasmania’s representative at the formation of the ACA (he was a member of the Camping Association of Tasmania for over 20 years, and held various official positions including chairman and secretary), and was a long term a board member of the Woodfield Centre at Dysart in Tasmania.
Nigel has a passionate belief in the value of “The Temporary Community” as a means of giving everyone, no matter what their background, a level playing field for personal development.
JULIE PARR (South Australia) Awarded June 2017
Inducted at the 2017 National Conference ‘Good to Great’. Julie (pictured with ACA CEO, Pete Griffiths), through Active Education, has been an ACA Member for 10 years. She was a Board member of the ACA for five years (2009-2014).
With a background in social work, Julie Parr is a very caring member of our society. Julie purchased Active Education in 2007 with the support of her husband David in a move to have a career position change. She immediately linked up with ACA by attending an ACA dinner in SA, then become a member of the Board in 2009.
Julie’s vision to support young people in all walks of life has extended outside her role of the Director of Active Education, spilling into charitable groups in South Australia, nationally and internationally.
BRENDAN SMITH (Victoria)
Awarded April 2021
Inducted at the ACA National Conference 'Recharge' in April 2021.
Brendan was nominated by Rebecca Fox from Queensland.
Bec says:
"I believe that Brendan Smith is very worthy of being a recognised individual who have both a lengthy membership of the Association and who have made a significant personal contribution to the wider camping sector and deserves being recognised through the awarding of ACA Life Membership. A few significant contributions, services and successes Brendan has displayed are not limited to the following:
The award was presented by ACA President, Pam Kappelides.
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