Stage 3 Mogo Camp Accounts

By Chloe G and Jordan D

As Term Two began at NCS and K-4 resumed their usual schedules, Stage 3 students and teachers were off at a two-day, one-night camp to Mogo, and in this article we are going to explain everything that happened to us! While we were learning about the 1850s Gold Rush and life during that time, as well as enjoying traditional Aboriginal culture, we all had a blast. Cooking damper, bushwalking, visiting the zoo and even dancing were just a few of the highlights. On the first day, just after arriving at our camp - after we had stopped off at the park to have a break and have some food - we met our awesome Aboriginal tour guide, who was known as ‘Um’. Um was friendly, fun and informative and during our exciting bushwalk, taught all of us the names and uses of plants in the bush, and we got to learn how to identify whether these plants were edible or not. We even got to taste some! When we had completed our bush trek, we were to split into two groups for a Gunya-building competition. Gunyas are easy to build shelters, used by all sorts of people in the Gold Rush, constructed from Stringybark Trees and twigs, and originally invented by the Aborigines. After this, we got to have some free time, chilling in the shade, playing sport, and having lunch. Then we were to go straight into our activities!

We all enjoyed the damper-making session, where we were taken right back into the 1880s - even threatened with a cane! Next we went exploring the reconstruction of the original Mogo Town, and in our class groups, we got to find out what it would have been like in the 1850s for the gold miners, led by three different tour guides. The tents that miners slept in were very small and contained only a few things, which included the following: a bed, tools, and a small bench.

Groups went to see the blacksmith and then the woodturner shop, getting to see the things these people made and how they made it! After that, we went gold panning and then got to see: the old gaol, barber's shop, police station (fun fact: police stations in the Gold Rush were always built out of bricks, to make themselves look superior and tough to criminals and troublemakers), and we received a tour of the mine shaft. Many of the us were shocked to hear that back then, miners would use canaries to protect themselves from gas attacks - they would have a canary in a cage, and miners would know when something was wrong, because the canary would suddenly stop singing and collapse.

After the tour, we all went back into the cabins to get ready for dinner and the bushdance after. Dinner was amazing, and when everyone had finished, every single one of us - even the teachers and parent helpers - all bush-danced! Aside from the fun traditional dancing, there was the Hokey Pokey and even the Macarena to do! (Which we all had fun with.)

At about 8:30 PM, the dancing finished up and everyone went to bed. After a good night’s sleep, we all packed up all our things and then had some more fun with the extra activities. Everyone burst out cheering when our guide Um came for an Aboriginal rock painting session! Having fun with the Butterfly Dance, we all filed onto the bus and headed off to the zoo. We split up into groups and walked around the zoo to admire all the animals, listen to some interesting talks, and learn a lot at the exact same time! Lunch was next, provided by the lunch ladies at Camp, but we were very much interested when we all spotted an eel in the pond, which ripped a duck’s head off! (Ew! Poor ducky!) Everyone was glad to be granted some free time to explore the zoo ourselves. In groups, we took off to explore, and we met at the top of the zoo where the bus was waiting for us. All in all, we all had a great time and were ready to tell our families about all the fun that we had with our great friends and teachers.

By Charlie Giddings

On the 3rd of May we left to go to Mogo. We travelled an hour to Ulladulla and stopped at a park for morning tea. Then we had another hour on the bus to get to Mogo. After that we put our bags down and we went on a walk through the bush. While we were walking through the bush our tour guide Um told us how to recognise different plants in the bush. Then we built little huts called Gunyas. We got split into two teams. It is was really fun and we showed lots of teamwork. We travelled back in time and went to school where we met Mr Travis. We made damper and watched a really clever man do some woodwork. Dinner was delicious. We all in enjoyed the food. After dinner we did three dances. We all enjoyed the dances. The next day we woke up early and got dressed for breakfast. For breakfast we had cereal, toast, Milo and juice. After breakfast, we packed our bags and loaded them onto the bus. Then we painted some rocks. We had heaps of fun. For our last activity we went to Mogo Zoo. We had a tour then we could explore the zoo with our friends. Then we got on the bus back to Nowra. We stopped at Ulladulla at a park and had a bit of a break. When we got back our parents were so glad to see us. We would like to thank God for making our trip enjoyable.

By Delaney P and Charlie G

Years 5 and 6 went to Mogo from the 3rd to 4th of May. As soon as we got there we went on a bush walk. Then we built gunyas. We ‘travelled back in time’ to the 1850s. We ‘went back to school’ where we met Mr Travis. We made damper and ate it with golden syrup. We ate lunch and then we bush danced. The next day we went to Mogo Zoo. Then we got back to Nowra. We enjoyed going to Mogo!!!