Orienteering Victoria A snapshot of our first 50 years
WORD S ADAPTED FR OM BE L INDA DAL E ' S M O R E CO M PR EH EN S IVE ACCOUN T OF OV'S F IR ST 50 Y EA R S O N TH E W EB S IT E.
1969 – Orienteering Victoria came into being
Park Street Orienteering commenced, first with a night park event was held at Studley Park in 1970 and a street event at Blackburn Lake in 1974. Regular street events then commenced from 1976.
The first ‘real’ orienteering event was held in Victoria. A few facts from this event • The map was a black and white adaptation of a 1 inch to the mile army survey map, enlarged to ‘about’ 4 inches to the mile.
Clubs were formed • 1972: Red Kangaroos; Bayside; Yarra Valley Orienteering Club; Tuckonie; Super Turtles; St Leo’s Navigators; Peninsula Orienteers (absorbed into Bayside in the mid 70s)
• There were no magnetic north lines on the map • The controls were 4 gallon (4 kg) metal fuel bins painted with a red and white stripe
• 1973: Rockhoppers
• The event centre was at the Pine Grove Hotel in Upper Beaconsfield
• 1974: Navigators • 1975: Eltham College, Geelong, Warby, Eureka, AlburyWodonga, Active Ants
A program of events followed over the next three months – at Portsea Officers Training School, Bambara (Mt Disappointment Forest) and Healesville (Elliot Lodge Scotch College Scout Camp), culminating in the first Victorian Orienteering Championships at the You Yangs on 21 December 1969.
• 1977: Bendigo • 1976: Brumby • 1979: Dandenong Ranges
1970’s - We were tough back then
In early 70s black and white photocopies of army survey / forest commission maps, “about” 1:25,000 scale, with 15 metre contours were used. Coloured pens / pencils were used to colour in the drainage lines, forest edges, tracks etc. Later in the 70’s the first coloured hand drawn maps appeared, the first being Mt Egerton in 1973. Field work improved mapping accuracy and added features.
1980’s – the World Champs Era
Bush maps became 5 colour, fully field-worked and hand drawn, focusing on gold mining (e.g. Nerrina, Castlemaine Goldfields and Wattle Gully) and granite (e.g. Mt Kooyoora and Mt Alexander). More (and new) features were added, including native cherry trees (which are no longer included). page 7
