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One Bulldozer Builds Three Camps

Bill Crighton was a pioneer, visionary and philanthropist. He was a working man with his sleeves rolled up and he believed in a better future for all. Bill described himself as an agnostic in his early years, but when he accepted Christ into his life, he decided he needed to ‘do things right by Him.’ He successfully tendered for two D8 ex-wartime bulldozers and immediately put them to work through his Horowhenua Earthworks Ltd. One bulldozer worked for Bill’s timber supply franchise, the o...

STOP THE TRAFFIC!

Although there were freshwater springs on the Kiwi Ranch, Rotorua property, the camp often ran out of water. There was a water tank on the ridge, but it never held enough. Ces Hilton found two second-hand concrete tanks, the only problem was they were north of Auckland.With a truck and trailer and a spare vehicle, Ces with sons and friend Wally Falconer went to retrieve the tanks. The boys drove the pilot vehicle and soon discovered they weren’t allowed on the Auckland moto...

Kauaeranga Valley Storms

Coromandel gets its fair share of storms. Annually it averages 3550mm of expected rain. Kauaeranga Valley Christian Camp is used to heavy rain and had experienced some flooding on the property, but nothing prepared them for the ferocity of the July storm in 1978.That year, drenching rain and a howling wind took off the roof of the girl's dormitory, splitting the purlins and rafters lengthways causing $4,400 worth of damage. Fences were washed away, and serious erosion transpired. ...

Teapot Valley Fireworks

Open Brethren camps have been running in the Nelson district since 1931. The Teapot Valley Christian Camp is now the central point of activities and is a very popular venue.In 1998 Teapot Valley hosted the International Rally Arura Camp, its biggest camp to ever take place on the site. Eight hundred people from around New Zealand, Australia, and Northern Ireland attended. Logistically, looking after this many people for 10 days required a lot of planning and hard work from ma...

Big Bang Theory

The island that MiCamp Whakamaru is built on is man-made. It was formed when the New Zealand Government dammed the Waikato River for hydroelectricity generation. In the flooded valley, a hill became an island. This caught the attention of Tom and Gloria Lind who were full-time Christian workers in the nearby construction town of Mangakino. With a borrowed canoe and a dingy, they took the family across to inspect the land. After a picnic lunch, they explored the bush and noted a few flat areas th...

Shotover Jet to Camp

Southlanders, Harold and Alan Melhop were the first people to navigate the Kawarau River in a jet boat and went on to develop the thrill-seeking, white-knuckle 32-kilometre ride up and down the Kawarau, Arrow and Shotover rivers. The inaugural boat trip was an adventure, to say the least. As the brothers made their first attempt to get the jet boat under the Kawerau Bridge it almost ended in disaster. On that attempt, they had to make a split-second decision to select which gate they would go th...

Drilling of the well at Tōtara Springs

The land Tōtara Springs Christian Camp is built on was purchased in 1961. After five consecutive years of Easter Camps, it was time to start building more permanent buildings. A master plan was produced and in late 1966 and early 1967 there was a tremendous hive of activity on the site.It was believed hot water could be found in the area so in 1968 it was time to start drilling. The committee stood on the exact spot they believed water could be. They prayed together, then started drilling. As t...

Hawke's Bay Jockey

Many of the Easter Open Brethren Conferences were held at venues like racecourses that had the grounds and facilities to accommodate large numbers. This meant everything had to be brought and set up at the Racecourse and as numbers increased, the desire to have their own camps was discussed more and more.In Hawke's Bay, the aspiration to have their own camp was promptly placed on their agenda after an unfortunate incident at the end of their 1956 Easter Camp.It transpired that an enthusiastic vo...

Woodend and a flying fox

Christchurch businessman Malcolm Paynter prayed about getting a camp established in Canterbury. A suitable site was located at Woodend, north of Christchurch and a meeting was called for all interested parties to pass on the vision and register their interest. The response was very good, and a Trust Board was formed. Finances were soon raised and although inconclusive, it appears land for the Woodend Camp was purchased in 1956 or earlier. The Woodend site was very rough, covered in gorse, b...