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History of Geebung Ski Club Limited

1950's


The idea of Geebung Ski Club was first thought of in Zurs, Austria during the ski seasons 1952 and 1953 by Messers Mick Cox, Hugh Hamilton, Peter Kerr and John Roberts.


In 1956 the plan to form a ski club was put forward by Hugh Hamilton, and an unofficial club was formed by these four, plus Jack Wawn, Keith Blight, the late Sidney de Kantzow and the late R. Mildren, the name Geebung coming from the Patterson poem Geebung Polo Club.


In 1957 this group was joined by Dr. Betty Lark and Arthur Wyndham, and in 1958 Barney and Jenny Greatrex, Charles Mort, Peter Slack, Robert Brown and Paul Harriman joined the group.


In 1958 the club was incorporated as Geebung Ski Club Limited, and the first club house was occupied in 1959.


1960's

In 1961 another club house was built in Perisher Valley. These lodges, both very successful and popular, were designed by Mick Cox. In 1977 the Perisher Lodge was destroyed by fire, and a new lodge was erected in record time despite blizzard conditions. This lodge was designed by Malcolm Stanton.



In 1984 it was decided to rebuild the very popular but well worn Thredbo Lodge, new regulations and a new era of skiing having been brought about by the increase in the skiing public.


Malcolm Stanton was asked to design this lodge also. Incidentally, the first Thredbo Lodge was built for $6,0o0 - the second cost $605,000, a sign of the extraordinary rise in the cost of building over the last twenty five years. Both the lodges now comply with all the regulations, and the membership of four hundred keeps the booking clerk, Jenny Greatrex, who has acted in an honorary capacity since the club's inception, very busy.


The original club was meant to be for fifty members, with eight beds and six dormitory beds; today there are thirty-six beds and all bedrooms have their own bathrooms.


Geebung has always prided itself on having obeyed the rules and entered into the spirit of being a proper ski club. As such, it does not compete with commercial lodges, and in the early years, every committee member was an Honorary State Ranger and Fire Patrol Officer, making Geebung a most unique organisation and one that has always tried to help the spirit and concept of the National Park and the sport of amateur skiing.


To be cont.

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