Millgrove before Melbourne High School

By Luke Savage, Honorary School Archivist

In the 1980’s Melbourne High School (MHS) was looking for a new school camp, as its tenure at Tecoma was becoming tenuous. Started in 1925 as a Plantation to provide revenue for the School, it was turned into a school camp by George Langley in the early 1950’s. Thirty years later, with encroaching suburbia and a change of government policy on forests, MHS was forced to move. After considering several sites, including Britannia Creek, MHS were lucky enough to be offered an ongoing lease of the former National Fitness Council camp in Millgrove in 1988, with camps commencing in 1989.

Millgrove has a history of its own before 1988. A photo in the archives, Arrival of Lady Brookes News Boys Dee Road Millgrove, provides a clue. Matching with an article from The Lilydale Express on 24 March 1950 (see below), this would be the Governor’s wife arriving to open the new camp.

Construction and beginning 1950-1967

The City Newsboys Society was formed in 1893 to improve the lives of young newspaper sellers, who were often living in extreme poverty. The society provided classes in reading, writing and arithmetic, hot meals, clothing and practical training.  This was provided at its clubhouse on Collins Street. In the late 1940’s, it purchased 110 acres at Millgrove to build a campsite that opened on 25 March 1950. The camp provided both a country holiday and practical training to become a farmer.

In the 1960’s, with increasing literacy and prosperity, the need for the Newsboys Club declined, and in 1967, the National Fitness Council (Victorian Branch) purchased the Millgrove Camp in 1967.  Eventually, the city clubhouse was also closed and sold, with the funds being invested, and now the club operates as a Charity, making grants to charitable causes.

National Fitness Council Victoria 1967-1988

The National Fitness Council was formed in 1939 in response to Munich and the impending war. Principal Hill noted its formation in The Unicorn in July 1939. Designed to improve the health of 14- 18 year-old Australians, it encouraged the provision of sporting facilities by municipal councils, training of leaders and helpers, and annual camps were held, before permanent camps were established at Anglesea, Howman’s Gap and Mount Evelyn. In late 1978, it was integrated into the Department of Sport and Recreation and merged with the Life Be In It section. It is unclear when the camp was closed, but by 1988, it was vacant.

Read the Melbourne High School Foundation Bus Appeal here.

The Lilydale Express 24 March 1950 page 3

Opening of Newsboys Club Camp at Millgrove, 25 March 1950 MHSA 3764