The Royal Far West Camps, a cherished chapter in our history, began as Reverend Stanley Drummond’s visionary dream in 1925. His mission was to bring respite, joy, and improved health to children from far western regions who endured harsh climates and limited healthcare access. These camps offered not just a seaside escape but life-changing opportunities to children who had never seen the ocean.
The inaugural camp in January 1925 welcomed 56 children and six mothers from towns like Cobar and Wilcannia. Hosted at Cronulla due to the lack of accommodation in Manly, the camp was a collaborative effort supported by generous public donations and local organizations. Within months, word spread, and subsequent camps grew in size, eventually establishing a permanent home in Manly by 1926, where medical pioneer Dr. George Moncrieff Barron offered free healthcare to attendees.
Over 50 camps were held until 1977, with the program evolving to cater to children’s medical and developmental needs. Volunteer teachers, cooks, and community members formed the backbone of this initiative, ensuring children not only enjoyed activities like swimming and zoo trips but also received essential healthcare.
These camps provided respite to over 8,000 children, leaving an indelible mark on their lives. The dedication of countless supporters and donors made these camps a cornerstone of Royal Far West’s legacy.
Researched and written by Trish Barron
The History
The annual camps were the dream of Stanley Drummond to give children in the far west the opportunity to see the sea and get a break from the extreme heat, dust storms and plagues of flies.
The criteria for selecting the children to attend was that they were in poor health, had never seen the sea before and that their parents had limited means. Stanley’s expectation was that the provision of respite and plenty of healthy food would restore the children’s health. So it was a requirement that all children had to be examined by the medical officers of the Education Department or other doctors and be reported on unfavourably from a health standpoint.
Camp 1 – Jan 1925
The first camp was organised in early January 1925. 56 children with 6 mothers were selected from the Cobar – Wilcannia area. The camp was held under the auspices of the Young People’s Department of the Far West Mission and was funded by donations.
Stanley believed that people who were interested in helping his plans had the same understanding of the requirements as he did. When the party arrived at the station in Sydney, there was no food to welcome them and Stanley was told that there was no accommodation for them in Manly but accommodation had been arranged in Cronulla. Assistance with housing and feeding the children was provided by the Methodist City Mission and the Church of England.
Camp 2 –Jan/Feb 1925
Word spread about the Drummonds’ work and funds started to roll in from the ‘generous public’. On receiving these donations at Cronulla, Stanley left his wife to look after the first party and returned to the Far West to collect a second group. Some children came to Cobar by bus and he drove to Louth and Bourke to collect children himself. In the meantime, his wife had brought the first party back to Cobar via train. The next day, they departed Cobar with 128 children and 14 mothers.
Again, no accommodation could be found at Manly. However, the Salvation Army volunteered their camp at Collaroy Beach. Here, the girls were housed in an iron building and the boys were in tents with wooden floors. Much time was spent swimming and playing around the beach but various excursions included a trip to the picture theatre in Manly and a sports meeting at Manly oval. Several days before the end of the camp, a southerly gale blew in with torrential rain. The boys in the tents ended up with saturated bunks and it took several hours for the Drummonds to find somewhere dry and to settle them all in. The Drummonds bunks were also saturated which resulted in Lucy developing a lung infection while Henry developed abscesses in both ears, which terminated his other passion of surfing.
Camp 3 – Jan 1926
The third annual camp was held in January, 1926. The date was brought forward from February at the suggestion of members of the Education Department so that the children did not miss any school. The camp included 80 children from the west and north of the state.
Some generous benefactors had located a somewhat decrepit house on East Esplanade at Manly, just opposite the Manly Wharf which they were able to use for free. The condition of use was that the noise of the young people did not interfere with Dr. George Moncrieff Barron’s Cottage Hospital next door.
When the children arrived, Dr George examined all the children and arranged for the treatment of the sick children. Most of this treatment was done by himself but other associates were called in for special cases such as eye and orthopaedic specialists. All provided their services pro bono.
For those children who required special medical treatment, volunteers would take them to and from the city to see specialists. Those requiring surgery were recuperated in Mrs Elsie Hill’s boarding house. Some of these children stayed in Sydney for many months if ongoing treatment was required.
Swimming was the main agenda of the camp. Those children who couldn’t swim were taught. Other activities included trips to the Zoo, Parliament House and a trip outside the heads to see the ocean.
Visiting Sydney was a revelation for the children. Some of the children’s anecdotes reported in the Far West Mission Gazette in 1925 and 1926 are :
- nearly every drop of water in Sydney is salty
- there must be 32,000 acres of water in the harbour
- it must have taken £6,000 to scoop out that tank (the harbour)
- the terrible up and down places (hilly streets) are hard to get up, and make you run down when you don’t want to run
- Denis Murphy (always called “Spud” for short) sat in the Governor’s chair when Mr. Davidson, M.L.A., took the boys in to “swamp the Upper House,” and making a speech, said he was having a good time, and eating plenty of cake, and he wished the trip would last for five years.
- the shortage of goats’ milk was deplored
- the fireworks at Manly made some run for cover
- a silver fish or something (blue bottle) got “Spud” in the surf
- “Jerry” the ventriloquist’s doll amused and amazed them
- it cost £1 to shout all hands an ice cream
- they were counted a good many times a day
and my favourite:
- when visiting the zebra exhibit at the Zoo, 7 year old Siddie screamed with delight at the little horses wearing swimming costumes just like his
Going Forward
The lesson learned by the Drummonds after the first 3 camps was that escorting a group of children with such diverse ages (ranging from 5 to 18) required more organisation and nurturing. They decided to limit the ages of the children to 12 to 14. Over the years, the age groups varied between 10 – 12 and 12 – 14.
Following the 3rd Camp, the Minister for Education granted The Far West Scheme access to part of the grounds of the Manly Primary School to house the children for the Annual Camp in January each year. This facility was next door to the Far West campus and was used for all future camps. A tent was erected beside a classroom block with long trestle tables and benches which constituted the dining room. The children slept in the classrooms.
The camps were run in conjunction with the Education Department. The district teachers were requested to choose children between 10 to 14 years old who were in poor health and were from families of limited means. On arrival in Manly, the children were checked out by Dr. Barron and required treatment organised while they were in camp. Dr Barron continued to visit the children twice a day while in camp to monitor their health.
Fifty camps were run between 1925 and 1977, every year with the exception of the war years of 1942 and 1943. Each camp included 150 to 180 children so 8000 to 9000 children benefitted from the camp experience and health care.
Volunteers
The children were transported to and from Sydney by train. During the journey, food and drinks were supplied at each of the stops by business groups or CWA members.
Matron Hill took over the running of the camps from the Drummonds. She had a huge welcoming smile and a bright twinkle in her eye so was popular with the children. One young lad was heard to say “She likes us and makes us behave right just like mum told us”.
The daily running of the camps was managed by volunteers, some full time but most were casual.
The full time volunteers were the mainstay of the camp.
- There were 3 or 4 teachers who oversaw all the children’s activities such as eating, sleeping and day excursions to the beach, the zoo and trips to places of interest.
- All food preparation was initially done by ‘Monty’ then Tom, both shearers cooks. Tom’s wife managed the provisioning and also acted as housekeeper. The cook prepared breakfast and dinner and their lunch was donated by local businesses or individuals during their excursion.
The job of the part time volunteers was to assist with meals. There was a different group for breakfast and dinner each day.
For example, my mother was in charge of providing ‘the crew’ for Friday breakfast. She would gather 3 or 4 of her friends plus their daughters. Starting at 6 am, we would set the tables, then serve the meals cooked by Tom followed by the washing up. My mother did Friday breakfasts for 25 years and I joined her from the age of 6 to 21 when I started full time work.
When the children went on excursions, other volunteers provided lunch. For example when they went to the Zoo, Mosman CWA would provide their lunch.
Others volunteers strung up the tents, prepared the sleeping areas and then cleaned up at the end.
Donations
Most of the expenses of the camps were covered by donations:
- Free passage on the Many ferries was provided.
- Many businesses in Manly and elsewhere plus many individuals provided donations of:
- Cash
- bread
- other foodstuffs
- costumes
- clothing
- books and
- laundry facilities
- Large organisation such as Kellogs and Arnotts provided food donations.
Achievements
Henry Drummond resigned from the Ministry in 1926. He and his wife then made multiple trips to the far west (occasionally joined by Dr Barron) to locate and transport more sick children to Sydney. Dr Barron managed the medical facilities in Sydney and their expansion, including the hospital, school and mobile clinics.
The last camp was held in 1977 as it was decided that communications and transport facilities had developed sufficiently to no longer require the camp facilities.
Henry Drummond’s Mission was to build up the less vigorous children to better fit them for the battles of the life which lay before them and this was successfully accomplished by 1977.
Dr George Barron’s Mission was successfully accomplished by creating the health care system to support that dream.
In researching the history of the Royal Far West, I realised that what makes it such an extraordinary organisation is the thousands upon thousands of people who have given of their time, money and skills in support of the organisation over the last 100 years.
This cause has undoubtedly touched the heart of many, many Australians.