Tourist Camp

Frank Dunshea: Recollections of Acton between 1926-1946
[Excerpts on the Tourist Camp]

"The tourist camp occupied the area down a steep hill below the Police Station which was situated where the Hospital now stands and extended down to the Molonglo River. Here there was a big deep hole in the river which was used as one of the main swimming places in Canberra before building of the Manuka Pool. [The other one was near the Power House.]

The tourist camp must have been one of the prettiest tourist camps in Australia. The tent area was particularly pretty with an embankment on which willow trees and other trees grew. A row of poplar trees running through the park attracted many artists and it was very common to seem them there, with their paints and easels especially in Autumn.

The camp also included several small one room huts and a few larger cabins with several rooms and a verandah. Jim Banks, the creator of Ginger Meggs, was a regular visitor to the park staying in one of the cabins. He was quite a celebrity as far as us kids were concerned and we went a bit shy around him but he was always very friendly.

There was a pear tree in the tourist camp which must have been one of the largest in the world. It must have been well over forty foot in height and with huge branches covering a large area it still produced fruit but the pears were fairly dry and woody. There was also a couple of mulberry trees which produced a lot of fruit and in season us kids would always be in trouble with our mothers for coming home with mulberry stains all over our clothes, hands and faces. Using the juice from green mulberries was one way of removing the stains."