Life message was catalyst for Bayside Bushwalking Club as members celebrate 40 years

By Bayside Bushwalking Club

At our celebration event, founding member Ken McInnes told the story of BBC origins as a result of a cartoon character named Norm from the Life Be In It campaign in the 1980s who was imagined to reinforce the concept of getting fitness back into the lives of Australians who were steadily gaining weight and becoming sedentary. 

As part of the television campaign funding was made available for groups to start a club, discover their feet again and go walking. Hence BBC was formed. They were looking at engaging people across the suburbs rather than traditionally going into the city for clubs like the Melbourne Bushwalking Club and to try a suburban model to see if it would be a popular idea.

BBC has been thriving ever since. A fabulous event was held at the Sandringham Bowling Club celebrating Bayside Bushwalking Club’s 40th anniversary. There was a great turnout of founding members, life members, past presidents, members and current club members who all enjoyed catching up with walking buddies and mentors from past years.

The founding members looked surprisingly young as Anne Lonsdale pointed out that she was the ‘average age’ (29) when they founded the BBC in 1984 and she is still the ‘average age’ (69) of club members today.

Gerard Herten shared his experience with the BBC which he said had been a great social leveller. BBC membership has enabled him to mix with people from all walks of life many he would never have met without the common interest of bushwalking.  

Some of the founding members are still with us today and have been great mentors to our club. Including Mike Grant, Roy Graham, Gerard Herten. They are all Life members.

Other Life members included 96-year-old Margaret Hattersley who was honoured for her mentoring of many leaders and her extensive knowledge of plant life including indigenous plants. 

A Life member who was sadly missed on the day was Jo Peake who was away in Jamieson and unable to attend. There were many stories about her well supported walks, her understanding of the history of the areas she walked, her generosity with her time and dedication to the club.

We heard from seven former Presidents about their time in the chair some talking about the capping of members numbers at 550 at the peak right through to COVID times when we could not even walk as a club.  We had Ken McInnes, Mike Grant, Helen Forbes, Roy Graham, Cornelia Gratzer, Doug Crompton and Jeff McDonell.

The friendships formed and the delight of people enjoying each other’s company was evident on the day. We have a lot to be proud of as a suburban club. 

Enjoy your walking.