Crusader Camps

One of the activities which occupied some of my time during my secondary school years was the Crusader movement, which was an evangelical Christian organisation run in conjunction with Scripture Union, parallel to IVF at University.

 

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» STATUS New Zealand: Rare Overseas: Very Rare Origin: Feral Ponui Donkeys A Rare Breed of New Zealand Origin Ponui donkey on Lorne Kuehn's Waitangi Estate   (Photo by Karen Nicoll)       Ponui donkeys are New Zealand's only feral donkey breed. The feral herd is established on Ponui Island in the Hauraki Gulf, east of Auckland. They are descendants of three animals imported from Australia in the 1880s by the Chamberlin family, who obtained title to the island in 1854.       Ponui donkeys are mostly light grey in colour, with a darker dorsal stripe, and stand about ten hands (one metre) high.       In recent years a number have been brought to the mainland and rare breeds enthusiasts are currently trying to build up a viable, genetically pure population of these sturdily built and docile donkeys. •  » Breeders Directory listing  •    See also: » Feral Breeds statement © Copyright

 

We had a Bible Study each week at school during a lunchbreak, but the most memorable part of the whole programme was a fortnight's camp each January at Ponui Island in the Hauraki Gulf. I started attending in 1946 and went every year until 1951, after which I had a break for a year or two.

Ponui Island is the outermost of the group of islands that includes Rangitoto, Motutapu, Motuihe, Waiheke, and several smaller islands, which together shelter the entrance to the Waitemata Harbour. It was then almost completely devoted to farming sheep, had no roads, and no transport connections to the mainland, no phones and no electricity supply. The campsite was on the shore of the Home Bay of the southern half of the island, owned by the Chamberlin family, who were enthusiastic supporters of the camp programme.

Nestled under a large pohutukawa was the permanent cookhouse, where outdoor equipment was stored when not in use during the year, and which prepared the food during camp times. Just after Christmas an advance party would travel to Ponui on a chartered launch taking the tents and other hired equipment with them, including a large marquee for meals and meetings.

Three or four days later one of the "blue boats", usually the "Olive Rose" would bring the contingent of boys out for the first camp. Ten days later the first group would be swapped for a new batch, complete with new leaders, and at the end of the second ten days everything would be packed up and either stored in the cookhouse or taken back to Auckland for another year.

Much of the camp programme was devoted to good, healthy, energetic outdoor activities, but morning and evening sessions were religious in nature, similar to evangelistic meetings at our church at home at Papatoetoe, intended to encourage boys to make a commitment to Christian life and belief and it was pretty positive overall.

The daytime activities included what we called "wide games", where we could roam over large areas of the farm, competing to capture the opposite team's flag, or racing to the trip station at the centre of the island. The terrain was undulating, with pasture and scrub alternating, wild donkeys (see above) and sheep tracks criss-crossing everywhere. There was swimming and canoeing, and daily chores like peeling potatoes, or tidying the tent.

There were some memorable leaders: Ivan Moses, who was later Principal of what became AUT, was one. My tent leader the first year was Dr Vine Martin the camp's medical officer, who had just returned from war service, including several years in Prisoner-of-War camps. Each night after "lights out" he told us exciting stories from his experience, then  very recent, of living in a POW camp, one of which was in an old castle in Germany.

I learned to cope with homesickness, and gradually to take various minor leadership roles, partly through my involvement with Crusaders and the camps, and I was guided by some very admirable men who volunteered to help run the camps.