Formed in August 1990, the club was hoping to celebrate its heritage last year, but COVID restrictions conspired to prevent any meaningful group gathering.
So last week, 35 current members of the Club were able to retrace the first recorded walk of the Club at Mirboo North. The Lyrebird Forest Walk is a moderate bushwalk of 6.5km through ferns and Stringybark and Peppermint gums tress alongside the Little Morwell River
The group of walkers were accompanied by Roz Spratt, who was one of the inaugural members of the Club. Roz, who is also a Past President and a very active member of the Club, was the Clubs ‘Social Co-ordinator at the time, and so was able to regale walkers with stories of the Club’s formation and development.
Shortly after the original Lyrebird Walk on the 5th August 1990, the local Foster newspaper, ‘The Mirror’, reported that “keen interest is being shown in the newly formed South Gippsland Walking and Adventure Club” and that the Club was to “offer a range of outdoor activities such as canoeing, abseiling and skiing”.
Today, the Club has 150 members drawn from the South Gippsland region and continues to provide an extensive program of bushwalking, hiking, base camps, cycling, paddling, and social activities. The club’s adventures are held throughout Gippsland, regional Victoria, interstate and occasionally overseas.The Lyrebird Walk is firmly etched in the Clubs history and the Clubs ‘Lyrebird’ logo continues to serve as a constant reminder of those humble beginnings 30 plus years ago.
