Bob Steel

Social activities have been an important part of the Club's life over the years, ranging from conversation and singing around the camp fire and on the van travelling to and from walks, to organised activities such as bush dances, annual dinners, boat trips, barbecues, talks in the Club room, and film and slide nights. Since the early days the Social Secretary, as a member of the Committee, has been responsible for organising the various events. These social activities have fluctuated over the years according to the enthusiasms and particular interests of the respective social secretaries as well as those, of course, of individual members.

Singing and dancing

Singing, around the camp fire and especially on the van, used to be a regular feature of Club activities. I remember arriving back in Melbourne in the van on a Sunday night, driving down Swanston Street, with everyone singing their hearts out to the incredulous stares of passing pedestrians! Popular songs included those by Bob Dylan, Pete Seeger, Peter, Paul and Mary, as well as Australian bush ballads from the pens of Banjo Paterson, Henry Lawson and others. Those who used to lead the singing, or feature prominently, included Doug Pocock, John Bach, Barry Short and Bill Hordern and, later, Graham and Stuart Hodgson and others, including myself. Unfortunately we don't do much singing now, probably because very few people know the words!

Then there were the bush dances. The Club would hire a hall in the country not too far from Melbourne, and would usually run a van there on the Saturday morning, to have a short walk in the area. Camp would be set up beside the hall for the night - very convenient to crawl into the tent rather than drive home in the small hours of morning, and also, being out in the country, it didn't matter how much noise everyone