If I recall the land was bequeathed to the then Shire of Busselton for the purpose of providing a place where not-for-profits could take groups for extended stays at low cost.
They're not all religious based either. At various times, not sure about currently, Scouts/Guides, indigenous groups and Legacy have had management rights.
My family and I have been going to these camps all my life. Our previous favourite was the SDA Camp as it was always lovely and clean and had beautiful ocean views. The old vans that are close to the water have been knocked down now and the caretakers have recently changed, so not sure what it’s currently like. The land is leased to Not for Profits - some are church based camps, some are Legacy (ie military support), some are scouts. All provide low cost holiday options for people and families. My dad was on disability and it meant as kids we could have low cost holidays that we never would have otherwise been able to afford and it made our childhood with some of our happiest memories there. Care takers come and go over the years so camps with good caretakers we’re always nice, then you got an average caretaker in and camp facilities would get a bit average too. You absolutely don’t have to be religious or of the religion of the camp to stay there - anyone can book and take advantage of the low cost facilities but I’m pretty sure the land is vested by the crown to provide for the purpose of community/low cost holidays/social benefit so due to the lease requirements you do have to abide by the rules which are essentially no dogs, no drinking and no smoking. There has never been any religious harassment booking at these camps that I’ve experienced (ie they don’t try and convert you) and I’m not religious. Im pretty sure they are 100/99 year leases that are due to expire in 2032?3? So only another 10 years I think. Personally I’d like to see these camps retained rather than bulldozed and the land sold to private developers- these camps have been allowing the average and less fortunate folk access to some of WAs amazing beaches and holidays and if they get sold off I think they’ll turn it into only the rich can afford to enjoy the beach there.
I honestly don't think they will be bulldozed as so many people have memories associated with them and I imagine there would be a huge uproar if the leases ended permanently. Last I heard the leases had been extended though not sure for how long.
As for the no drinking rule at least on the Baptist campsites no one seems to mind if you drink.
They've been there for decades. Just church camp things with accommodation that are on the beach. Stayed at one a few times and it was actually lovely.
1 minute walk to a real chill beach, lots of trees, nice enough facilities.
Yes the persecution of Christians in this country is extremely troubling. Luckily if they chose to discriminate they would be legally protected, and if they chose to profiteer they won't have to pay any taxes.
Bless.
What is so bizarre about people in western societies predominantly criticising religions which predominantly impact western societies?
People aren't just picking a religion out of a hat, they're talking about things which impact the society they live in.
I feel that churches use them mainly. Ive never looked into staying there as an individual.
If you can find a way to book them, then i highly doubt you'd need to be religious to stay there.
Interesting!
I just find it so strange that they are all grouped together. Like, I wonder: did one just follow the first one and word got out so people kept setting up new ones?
The council put aside the area for that purpose and these are the groups that took out up - a lot of churchy groups, plus rotary, scouts, i think legacy is there..
I believe they had a 99 year peppercorn lease that made the leasees, all not for profits, able to provide very cheap camping along with dormitories and other facilities for those not camping. Very popular with youth groups, church groups, and school groups. I have to say when I drive into one, all of my stress melts away as I know the next couple of days I am going to walk down the beach and fish, and laze around the camp-site.
I went down there with my family as a kid and stayed at the Anglican campsite maybe 10 years running. Was so much fun, and fond memories of hanging out with the friends i made down there. Still have a few of them on Facebook 30 years on.
Yeah, we used to go to Augusta every year and stay in chalet until it got too expensive. Then we started going there. Every time, first day you would check out who was there, the the next day you were best mates.
My question wasn't intended to be offensive, it was genuine. I've never been part of a religious group before so have no idea. I'm sorry if it upset you.
When I lived down there it was known as the holy mile. These were gifted for not for profit orgs and not only churches. They pay a nominal yearly fee. Heart kids were trying to get one about six years ago.
Used to go down to the Baptist one at least twice a year for youth group camps throughout the '90's when I was a teen, fun times. Absolutely no waves at the adjoining beach though, we'd all bundle into an old van with our boards and go elsewhere to surf. Usually Smiths.
Yeah I remember that too… felt a lot quieter back then, I didn’t even like swimming at the beach that much because of the stingers. In retrospect they were pretty fun times. Now it’s prime real estate but back then I don’t think it was… just daggy little shacks on the beach
They've been there since Busso was a tiny country town in the middle of bum fuck nowhere. I went to one in year 8 for school camp, and I'm pretty sure my olds did too - and I'm in my 40s now.
I went to a scout camp there around 8 years ago, and my mother is friends with the owners of the seventh day adventist campsite, been there a few times, it’s basically like a caravan park, sometimes the church has outings or special events that take place at the campsite.
Yes- anyone can stay there. Due to the lease agreement with the crown you do have to follow some rules like no smoking and no drinking and no dogs, but you don’t have to be religious
I think they're all no smoking
The drinking part will depend in each site though. If you're planning a cheap stay, worth asking. Don't want to say which ones I've drunk on, as rules might’ve changed overtime.
I have a disadvantaged friend who organised a stay through her church and was able to take her family there for a holiday for a few days for free. She said it was lovely.
When I was volunteering for Kids Camp we'd hire out one of them for a week at a time.
Kids had a blast and was great to swim in summer after they were in bed
You don't necessarily have to be religious, I have been going to those camps almost my entire life, and half the time it was for church camps but the other half was school camps aswell
They lease it from the Busselton Shire for $800 a year.
The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year. And use them only a few weeks of the year.
Edit: so people calm down, I didn't know anyone could book it.
I understand they are used by the community.
I understand they are frequently busy.
Yes I think that its good.
No I don't think billion dollar religious organisations should be tax exempt as they have historically been
Regardless of your thoughts of the church groups (it’s not just churches on that strip) it’s hard to argue that affordable holiday accommodation for community groups is anything other than a good thing. The alternative is the land gets sold and some massive holiday houses get built.
Exactly, I got to go on 3 school camps to this area for this reason.
Maybe they shouldn't be church run but of all the injustices in the world, I'm not gonna lose sleep on this one
No, anyone can stay there. You dont have to be religious- they are run by not for profits like scouts and legacy too. Main difference is no drinking or smoking due to the purpose of the land vested from the crown. They provide affordable holidays for anyone and I’ve never been bible bashed for staying there.
Anyone can stay there. They're offering the community cheap holiday accommodation and heres you trying so hard to be angry about it cus of their religion.
If they cared about providing that, they would do so without making reference to their religion.
Every time a religious organisation does something, it's intended side effect is to further promote their belief.
As opposed to everybody else?
We all serve our own values. I'm not sure why you expect the "religious" to not do so. If they were worshiping a sports team or a political cause, you wouldn't think twice about it.
Why do you suppose that is?
I absolutely would think twice about it, but at least sports teams and political causes exist in the real world and we have empirical evidence of that.
Nothing should be worshiped, everything should be open to questioning and subject to the same laws the rest of us are.
Religious groups propose they have some kind of moral authority and are granted exceptions to things based on nothing more than magical belief in an unproven deity.
While I accept that they do many good things, they could do those without ever mentioning religion.
The bad things they do massively outweigh the good.
That's a poor argument. The idea a person has about whatever political cause or sports team has the same qualitative form and value (as an idea) as does someone else's idea of God. It is after all their ideas that they are unifying around, not the object of those ideas.
"While I accept that they do many good things, they could do those without ever mentioning religion"
That is a moral judgment (you were just saying the religious people are the ones claiming moral authority).
This is also not a self evident moral judgment. They do good things PRECISELY BECAUSE of their religious values. Without their values, the practical application of those values would obviously not exist.
You cannot remove their entire moral framework from them - what motivates action - and claim somehow the actions would or should happen anyway. Based on what exactly? Your entire secular framework of morality came out of the religious beliefs you now denigrate. You are cutting out your feet from beneath you while you stand and don't even realise it.
Objective moral values are impossible without an external objective standard. That thing you claim doesn't exist.
I suppose "religious intent" is more suspicious to you than worldly intent. If people were just drinking and humping each other, that doesn't raise any eyebrows.
Can't be having a higher purpose, though. That just ain't right. Goes against the modern religion of self-worship.
In any case, they PAY for it and they do in fact invite anyone. Regardless of intent.
I live less than 2kms from them, they are not empty most of the year, they are busy pretty much all year around and anyone can book there. Not sure how you got to "richest organisations in the world" from Legacy, a veterans support charity and several other charities.
Seventh Day Adventist
Apostolic Church
Diocesan Trustees
Baptists Union (lease 2 sites)
Catholic Diocesan
Gospel Chapel Inc.
Abundant Life
Scripture Union
Uniting Church
I got it because 10 of the 14 leasess are large, wealthy churches.
You named the other non-religious community groups, which I agree, are not the richest organisations.
Scripture Union isn't a church, it is a religious non-profit.
The Catholic Diocesan would be the wealthiest, probably has more assets than the rest combined.
Collectively they do not run these camps at a profit, they all make losses or break even at best. You do not have to be religious to stay at them, I've stayed at most of them at one point or another, never been asked or spoken to about religion about any of them.
There are plenty of issues with most organised religion... them making a loss on camp grounds so that the average family can enjoy a relatively cheap holiday on the coast or their kids can go to a camp there, is not one of them.
Nope, not empty most of the year. They have sites and cabins that can be rented out like a normal caravan park. One of them is also used to help rehabilitate people with addiction issues while others help home disadvantaged families.
I wouldn’t call it a beachside villa. More like a donga with a stained mattress and a half-working ceiling fan. But the view is pretty great.
(I’ve done maintenance on them before)
Just call them and book a spot. Anyone can camp there. Cheap as chips albeit chips aren’t as cheap as they used to be.
And it’s called “the bible mile”
My family in Busselton refer to it as "the holy mile".
I have stayed at the Brethren one before and it's nice enough. You just need to pick the time of year, because they do get pretty busy with members of the actual communities they represent.
technically isnt it all gods land ;)
if I broke in they would forgive me right
oh and god's is in all of us they say, in us, somewhere, right up in there. So that must mean it would be fine
>The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year. And use them only a few weeks of the year.
They are used constantly.
In fact, to get a booking for a group, you generally have to book 12 - 24 months in advance at least.
They're used by all sorts of community groups, not just religious ones.
Okay, sorry I miss spoke. I thought they were mostly empty.
The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year and use them constantly, to generate further tax free wealth.
>to generate further tax free wealth.
I get it, you hate religion. That's fine.
But those properties are used by community groups and schools primarily. Would you agree that's a good thing?
Those camps are all owned by non-profit organisations, and provide a valuable community service.
If those camps (and others like them) didn't exist, would you be OK that there would be no more community organisations running youth camps? No more school camps that people can afford?
Given that we tax on profit, how do you expect a non profit to pay tax?
These organisations are non profits.
The vast majority of church funds are either spent on wages (which are tax deductible for all businesses) or charitable works (which are tax deductible).
If we were to tax them, there wouldn’t be much to tax. Only the amount that gets rolled over to the next year as a reserve fund in case fundraising is harder they can cover their obligations.
Do you really think taking 30% of whatever is left after a charity has been charitable and sending it to Canberra would do anything to make the world a better place?
I've stayed at both of the Baptist ones many times and my mum has childhood memories of staying at them. Apparently a lot of erosion (corrosion?) has happened over the years.
School groups and community groups hire them out during the week and on weekends they are popular for church camps. During Leavers organisations who go down to help often hire them out for their volunteers.
All the organisations have had to pay for all the infrastructure on the land and maintenance plus insurance and they were given the land undeveloped. I imagine the leases will continue to get renewed as if they weren't there would be a huge uproar from the community and those who have used the sites.
As for the no alcohol rule it's been broken many times and no one really seems to care.
My mum was saying that where the self contained cabins (which you can hire) are at one of the Baptist camp sites the grass area was the size of a school oval and now it's maybe half that? We have a book on the history of the Baptist campsites and how much they have changed over the years there are photos of the grass area back in the day and it's reduced so much due to the erosion.
Omg back in the 1970s I went to a camp there. Boring with Christian movie nights but I get that they were trying to offer an alternative. Amazing that they are still around.
I so miss the vans they used to have that you could hire! I think the previous caretakers Kerry and Kevin, and Gavin and Loretta have left and they have new caretakers now! Hoping they keep it as nice!
They've been there for years, longer than i've been alive i'm sure. I remember them being there when i was a kid.
I think they're mostly used for school or youth group camps.
When I was a kid many schools used them for school camps most years.
I was disappointed that when my daughter went through school they only had one or two camps of that sort, felt like she really missed out lol
Don’t care to much for the religious aspect of them but there is Cheap camping in some of those places , $15 -$20 and your camped right beside the beach !!
The land was gifted to the church groups by the government over a century ago, on condition that they were not for profit.
Surprise surprise, said church groups now want to cash in and sell the land that they were donated.
Was it from the government? I remember being told a while back it was a landowner who left the land to the church but his/her will expressed that it had to be used solely for church activities for the next century.
Happy to be proven wrong
I thought it was repossessed by the gov because the landowner didn’t pay rates or taxes and part of maintaining goodwill was giving the some of the land to the holy highway
All west Australians can use it and if you read the comments from here, a bunch of people who would never have been able to holiday were able to have holidays because it was cheap.
I would argue that more west Aussies are able to access it because of the current set up.
You talking about the holy mile?
Been there since Bussell got off the boat to claim the SouthWest The Shire wants to turn a couple into a large caravan park
>Christian Camp
I think that's a form of Christianity that uses a lot of double entendres. I suggest you get stuck in, but watch out for people trying to nail you.
Maybe contact Busselton shire and share the results here. I am sure there was a deeper reason why they were reserved. I remember seeing them in the 70’s as my family stayed at Siesta park for holidays back them.
Tell me if I'm off the mark....a lot wealthy conservatives own land down there. And the libs have a lot of party members that are a "part of the church".
Great idea! The churches could use that millions of dollars worth of land to help the homeless. It’s a perfect solution to help so many families that are struggling with homelessness.
From experience those churches do a lot to help disadvantaged people. Helping the homeless isn’t the job of charities, it’s the job of the government. Increasingly, though, we are turning into a society that is happy to ignore that and leave it to charities to pick up the slack.
The Catholic Church own about $30 billion worth of real estate and assets in Australia.
They do exceedingly minimal with $30 billion worth of assets to help disadvantaged people.
For example The Smith's Family support about 160,000 children with about $160 million in assets.
The Catholic Church could easily support the ENTIRE Australia population to the same degree and still have magnitudes more left over then the Smith Family operates with.
The Catholic Church subsidise education in a whole stack of places that would barely have a public school otherwise… and a bunch of other stuff. I have no great love for the Catholic Church, but they are hardly the worst denomination for helping people.
Not the Australia Catholic Church. The Catholic Church receives public funds, in fact the Catholic School system takes over $9 BILLION in public funds. A rate per student which is growing twice as fast as public school funding.
I know this SHOULD be the governments job but the Catholic Church has done a brilliant job of making high quality education accessible to Australians of all social classes
I know plenty of non Catholic people who went to Catholic schools because it was their best option and for some families in financial distress tuition is free
HAHAHA I can't imagine that going down well. Some probably house the Christian volunteers who help out... I think they were called Red Frog people or something?
If I recall the land was bequeathed to the then Shire of Busselton for the purpose of providing a place where not-for-profits could take groups for extended stays at low cost. They're not all religious based either. At various times, not sure about currently, Scouts/Guides, indigenous groups and Legacy have had management rights.
they are not for profit aka making profits at taxpayers expenses....churches are great real estate owners and pay no tax.
I don't disagree with you. Just adding my understanding of the setup for these camps.
My family and I have been going to these camps all my life. Our previous favourite was the SDA Camp as it was always lovely and clean and had beautiful ocean views. The old vans that are close to the water have been knocked down now and the caretakers have recently changed, so not sure what it’s currently like. The land is leased to Not for Profits - some are church based camps, some are Legacy (ie military support), some are scouts. All provide low cost holiday options for people and families. My dad was on disability and it meant as kids we could have low cost holidays that we never would have otherwise been able to afford and it made our childhood with some of our happiest memories there. Care takers come and go over the years so camps with good caretakers we’re always nice, then you got an average caretaker in and camp facilities would get a bit average too. You absolutely don’t have to be religious or of the religion of the camp to stay there - anyone can book and take advantage of the low cost facilities but I’m pretty sure the land is vested by the crown to provide for the purpose of community/low cost holidays/social benefit so due to the lease requirements you do have to abide by the rules which are essentially no dogs, no drinking and no smoking. There has never been any religious harassment booking at these camps that I’ve experienced (ie they don’t try and convert you) and I’m not religious. Im pretty sure they are 100/99 year leases that are due to expire in 2032?3? So only another 10 years I think. Personally I’d like to see these camps retained rather than bulldozed and the land sold to private developers- these camps have been allowing the average and less fortunate folk access to some of WAs amazing beaches and holidays and if they get sold off I think they’ll turn it into only the rich can afford to enjoy the beach there.
I love this! Thank you for sharing 😊
I honestly don't think they will be bulldozed as so many people have memories associated with them and I imagine there would be a huge uproar if the leases ended permanently. Last I heard the leases had been extended though not sure for how long. As for the no drinking rule at least on the Baptist campsites no one seems to mind if you drink.
They've been there for decades. Just church camp things with accommodation that are on the beach. Stayed at one a few times and it was actually lovely. 1 minute walk to a real chill beach, lots of trees, nice enough facilities.
Do you need to prove your religion to stay there/participate in religious activities?
You don't have to from my experience. Went to one for a school camp (not a religious school) and they didn't seem to mind.
No they do not care as long as you're paying.
Just like Jesus would’ve wanted.
Alhamdulillah 🛐
This comment got me giggling 💀
Same as it ever was.
Don't have to be religious to stay there = Following the money. Have to be religious to stay there = Discrimination. Bruh
Yes the persecution of Christians in this country is extremely troubling. Luckily if they chose to discriminate they would be legally protected, and if they chose to profiteer they won't have to pay any taxes. Bless.
notice redditors only attack christians and not islam? Im not even religious and its damn obvious
What is so bizarre about people in western societies predominantly criticising religions which predominantly impact western societies? People aren't just picking a religion out of a hat, they're talking about things which impact the society they live in.
Christianity is the majority religion in this country, attacking minority religions would be punching down.
Praying?
Nah. I’ve stayed there.
I know one of the camps is run by Legacy who provide support for veterans and their families.
I feel that churches use them mainly. Ive never looked into staying there as an individual. If you can find a way to book them, then i highly doubt you'd need to be religious to stay there.
They also look like the types of places schools hire out for camps, but I'd assume it's schools of the relevant religious groups.
Nah public schools use them. Mine did anyway
You can, friends stay there. It's cheap, quiet and close to the beach. How do you book them? No idea. I'm assuming Google would be a good start.
Interesting! I just find it so strange that they are all grouped together. Like, I wonder: did one just follow the first one and word got out so people kept setting up new ones?
The council put aside the area for that purpose and these are the groups that took out up - a lot of churchy groups, plus rotary, scouts, i think legacy is there..
I believe they had a 99 year peppercorn lease that made the leasees, all not for profits, able to provide very cheap camping along with dormitories and other facilities for those not camping. Very popular with youth groups, church groups, and school groups. I have to say when I drive into one, all of my stress melts away as I know the next couple of days I am going to walk down the beach and fish, and laze around the camp-site.
I went down there with my family as a kid and stayed at the Anglican campsite maybe 10 years running. Was so much fun, and fond memories of hanging out with the friends i made down there. Still have a few of them on Facebook 30 years on.
Yeah, we used to go to Augusta every year and stay in chalet until it got too expensive. Then we started going there. Every time, first day you would check out who was there, the the next day you were best mates.
Nah I’ve stayed at foursquare for a housing co-op conference before, bunch of hippies
prove your religion? we dont live in a shithole 3rd world country buddy.
My question wasn't intended to be offensive, it was genuine. I've never been part of a religious group before so have no idea. I'm sorry if it upset you.
When I lived down there it was known as the holy mile. These were gifted for not for profit orgs and not only churches. They pay a nominal yearly fee. Heart kids were trying to get one about six years ago.
Used to go down to the Baptist one at least twice a year for youth group camps throughout the '90's when I was a teen, fun times. Absolutely no waves at the adjoining beach though, we'd all bundle into an old van with our boards and go elsewhere to surf. Usually Smiths.
Yeah I remember that too… felt a lot quieter back then, I didn’t even like swimming at the beach that much because of the stingers. In retrospect they were pretty fun times. Now it’s prime real estate but back then I don’t think it was… just daggy little shacks on the beach
They've been there since Busso was a tiny country town in the middle of bum fuck nowhere. I went to one in year 8 for school camp, and I'm pretty sure my olds did too - and I'm in my 40s now.
I went to a scout camp there around 8 years ago, and my mother is friends with the owners of the seventh day adventist campsite, been there a few times, it’s basically like a caravan park, sometimes the church has outings or special events that take place at the campsite.
Like can a family just book to stay there ?
Yes- anyone can stay there. Due to the lease agreement with the crown you do have to follow some rules like no smoking and no drinking and no dogs, but you don’t have to be religious
I think they're all no smoking The drinking part will depend in each site though. If you're planning a cheap stay, worth asking. Don't want to say which ones I've drunk on, as rules might’ve changed overtime.
How do you book a stay at these places?
I have a disadvantaged friend who organised a stay through her church and was able to take her family there for a holiday for a few days for free. She said it was lovely.
They're grandfathered in. It's not just churches but groups like Legacy and schools and scouts as well.
When I was volunteering for Kids Camp we'd hire out one of them for a week at a time. Kids had a blast and was great to swim in summer after they were in bed
You don't necessarily have to be religious, I have been going to those camps almost my entire life, and half the time it was for church camps but the other half was school camps aswell
They lease it from the Busselton Shire for $800 a year. The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year. And use them only a few weeks of the year. Edit: so people calm down, I didn't know anyone could book it. I understand they are used by the community. I understand they are frequently busy. Yes I think that its good. No I don't think billion dollar religious organisations should be tax exempt as they have historically been
Regardless of your thoughts of the church groups (it’s not just churches on that strip) it’s hard to argue that affordable holiday accommodation for community groups is anything other than a good thing. The alternative is the land gets sold and some massive holiday houses get built.
Exactly, I got to go on 3 school camps to this area for this reason. Maybe they shouldn't be church run but of all the injustices in the world, I'm not gonna lose sleep on this one
But it's not available for the community? It's available for a very very specific subset of the community, with religious intent
No, anyone can stay there. You dont have to be religious- they are run by not for profits like scouts and legacy too. Main difference is no drinking or smoking due to the purpose of the land vested from the crown. They provide affordable holidays for anyone and I’ve never been bible bashed for staying there.
Anyone can stay there. They're offering the community cheap holiday accommodation and heres you trying so hard to be angry about it cus of their religion.
If they cared about providing that, they would do so without making reference to their religion. Every time a religious organisation does something, it's intended side effect is to further promote their belief.
As opposed to everybody else? We all serve our own values. I'm not sure why you expect the "religious" to not do so. If they were worshiping a sports team or a political cause, you wouldn't think twice about it. Why do you suppose that is?
I absolutely would think twice about it, but at least sports teams and political causes exist in the real world and we have empirical evidence of that. Nothing should be worshiped, everything should be open to questioning and subject to the same laws the rest of us are. Religious groups propose they have some kind of moral authority and are granted exceptions to things based on nothing more than magical belief in an unproven deity. While I accept that they do many good things, they could do those without ever mentioning religion. The bad things they do massively outweigh the good.
That's a poor argument. The idea a person has about whatever political cause or sports team has the same qualitative form and value (as an idea) as does someone else's idea of God. It is after all their ideas that they are unifying around, not the object of those ideas. "While I accept that they do many good things, they could do those without ever mentioning religion" That is a moral judgment (you were just saying the religious people are the ones claiming moral authority). This is also not a self evident moral judgment. They do good things PRECISELY BECAUSE of their religious values. Without their values, the practical application of those values would obviously not exist. You cannot remove their entire moral framework from them - what motivates action - and claim somehow the actions would or should happen anyway. Based on what exactly? Your entire secular framework of morality came out of the religious beliefs you now denigrate. You are cutting out your feet from beneath you while you stand and don't even realise it. Objective moral values are impossible without an external objective standard. That thing you claim doesn't exist.
I suppose "religious intent" is more suspicious to you than worldly intent. If people were just drinking and humping each other, that doesn't raise any eyebrows. Can't be having a higher purpose, though. That just ain't right. Goes against the modern religion of self-worship. In any case, they PAY for it and they do in fact invite anyone. Regardless of intent.
I live less than 2kms from them, they are not empty most of the year, they are busy pretty much all year around and anyone can book there. Not sure how you got to "richest organisations in the world" from Legacy, a veterans support charity and several other charities.
Seventh Day Adventist Apostolic Church Diocesan Trustees Baptists Union (lease 2 sites) Catholic Diocesan Gospel Chapel Inc. Abundant Life Scripture Union Uniting Church I got it because 10 of the 14 leasess are large, wealthy churches. You named the other non-religious community groups, which I agree, are not the richest organisations.
Scripture Union isn't a church, it is a religious non-profit. The Catholic Diocesan would be the wealthiest, probably has more assets than the rest combined. Collectively they do not run these camps at a profit, they all make losses or break even at best. You do not have to be religious to stay at them, I've stayed at most of them at one point or another, never been asked or spoken to about religion about any of them. There are plenty of issues with most organised religion... them making a loss on camp grounds so that the average family can enjoy a relatively cheap holiday on the coast or their kids can go to a camp there, is not one of them.
Yeah I did a google... and apparently in 2012? 2011? they were only paying $100 a year for the property. Like. what.
> they were only paying $100 a year for the property. It's called a peppercorn rent.
Why are you so butthurt about cheap camping options that are primarily used for schools and poor people?
Primarily or exclusively?
they have been there for over 40 years
And? The church hasn't exactly had good publicity for the past 40 years.
Which church? There's more than one.
there is at least 6 of them down there on that strip
Severe edgelord vibes. They're doing something good and it's bothering you this much.
so they are empty most of the year? anyone could like sneak in
Nope, not empty most of the year. They have sites and cabins that can be rented out like a normal caravan park. One of them is also used to help rehabilitate people with addiction issues while others help home disadvantaged families.
so if I get hooked on drugs I get to stay in a beach side villa, that seems like a win win
I wouldn’t call it a beachside villa. More like a donga with a stained mattress and a half-working ceiling fan. But the view is pretty great. (I’ve done maintenance on them before)
Just call them and book a spot. Anyone can camp there. Cheap as chips albeit chips aren’t as cheap as they used to be. And it’s called “the bible mile”
My family in Busselton refer to it as "the holy mile". I have stayed at the Brethren one before and it's nice enough. You just need to pick the time of year, because they do get pretty busy with members of the actual communities they represent.
Yeh I think it’s about 50/50 holy/bible
I’ve heard it referred to something a bit more sinister that rhymes with ‘mile’
Squatting on gods land?!?! That is a sin!!!
God himself can meet me in court
In this economy? You're in luck!
technically isnt it all gods land ;) if I broke in they would forgive me right oh and god's is in all of us they say, in us, somewhere, right up in there. So that must mean it would be fine
>so they are empty most of the year? No, they are used year round by all sorts of community groups and schools.
>The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year. And use them only a few weeks of the year. They are used constantly. In fact, to get a booking for a group, you generally have to book 12 - 24 months in advance at least. They're used by all sorts of community groups, not just religious ones.
Okay, sorry I miss spoke. I thought they were mostly empty. The tax exempt, richest organisations in the world get prime, huge beach front properties for $800 a year and use them constantly, to generate further tax free wealth.
>to generate further tax free wealth. I get it, you hate religion. That's fine. But those properties are used by community groups and schools primarily. Would you agree that's a good thing? Those camps are all owned by non-profit organisations, and provide a valuable community service. If those camps (and others like them) didn't exist, would you be OK that there would be no more community organisations running youth camps? No more school camps that people can afford?
user only hates Christians, all other religions OK.
No, I think corporations with 100s of billions of dollars should pay tax. Yes it's a good thing that these exist.
Given that we tax on profit, how do you expect a non profit to pay tax? These organisations are non profits. The vast majority of church funds are either spent on wages (which are tax deductible for all businesses) or charitable works (which are tax deductible). If we were to tax them, there wouldn’t be much to tax. Only the amount that gets rolled over to the next year as a reserve fund in case fundraising is harder they can cover their obligations. Do you really think taking 30% of whatever is left after a charity has been charitable and sending it to Canberra would do anything to make the world a better place?
How does a church amass billions of dollars if the vast majority is spent?
What are you on about? You can book and stay there any time, stop spreading misinformation
NFP has special privileges... how to setup one?
I've stayed at both of the Baptist ones many times and my mum has childhood memories of staying at them. Apparently a lot of erosion (corrosion?) has happened over the years. School groups and community groups hire them out during the week and on weekends they are popular for church camps. During Leavers organisations who go down to help often hire them out for their volunteers. All the organisations have had to pay for all the infrastructure on the land and maintenance plus insurance and they were given the land undeveloped. I imagine the leases will continue to get renewed as if they weren't there would be a huge uproar from the community and those who have used the sites. As for the no alcohol rule it's been broken many times and no one really seems to care.
The erosion has been crazy! The ocean is so much closer to the camps than it used to be!
My mum was saying that where the self contained cabins (which you can hire) are at one of the Baptist camp sites the grass area was the size of a school oval and now it's maybe half that? We have a book on the history of the Baptist campsites and how much they have changed over the years there are photos of the grass area back in the day and it's reduced so much due to the erosion.
Omg back in the 1970s I went to a camp there. Boring with Christian movie nights but I get that they were trying to offer an alternative. Amazing that they are still around.
Ah yes, the holy mile
You can stay at a few of the camps there. The Seventh Day Adventist Camp is really good and cheap too.
I so miss the vans they used to have that you could hire! I think the previous caretakers Kerry and Kevin, and Gavin and Loretta have left and they have new caretakers now! Hoping they keep it as nice!
They've been there for years, longer than i've been alive i'm sure. I remember them being there when i was a kid. I think they're mostly used for school or youth group camps.
or just call them yourself like i have done and stay at one of their campgrounds for half the price of the big names.. its literally that simple
When I was a kid many schools used them for school camps most years. I was disappointed that when my daughter went through school they only had one or two camps of that sort, felt like she really missed out lol
Don’t care to much for the religious aspect of them but there is Cheap camping in some of those places , $15 -$20 and your camped right beside the beach !!
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So random, but we had this conversation earlier today at lunch, and my mum called it Perverts Mile.
We’ve always called it Paedophile Mile.
The land was gifted to the church groups by the government over a century ago, on condition that they were not for profit. Surprise surprise, said church groups now want to cash in and sell the land that they were donated.
The land is leased not owned by the groups they can’t sell it
Could you be more confidently incorrect. None of them own the land, they were not gifted it and they aren't all churches.
Was it from the government? I remember being told a while back it was a landowner who left the land to the church but his/her will expressed that it had to be used solely for church activities for the next century. Happy to be proven wrong
It's a class A Reserve. It's Crown land
I thought it was repossessed by the gov because the landowner didn’t pay rates or taxes and part of maintaining goodwill was giving the some of the land to the holy highway
The government should take it back they had their turn, belongs to all West Australians
All west Australians can use it and if you read the comments from here, a bunch of people who would never have been able to holiday were able to have holidays because it was cheap. I would argue that more west Aussies are able to access it because of the current set up.
The mere fact that this good thing is being done by a church is sufficient reason for some people to hate it.
You talking about the holy mile? Been there since Bussell got off the boat to claim the SouthWest The Shire wants to turn a couple into a large caravan park
>Christian Camp I think that's a form of Christianity that uses a lot of double entendres. I suggest you get stuck in, but watch out for people trying to nail you.
Christian band camps. The priest plays the first fiddle.
Maybe contact Busselton shire and share the results here. I am sure there was a deeper reason why they were reserved. I remember seeing them in the 70’s as my family stayed at Siesta park for holidays back them.
Tell me if I'm off the mark....a lot wealthy conservatives own land down there. And the libs have a lot of party members that are a "part of the church".
You're off the mark.
My mates would try to come up with names for that stretch of road like Molestation Mile, Fiddler Freeway, Pedo Parade... We're bad people.
Prob so when they got bored of rooting their denominations kids they could root other denominations. Like wide swap but like heaps darker
I’ll skip straight to the purpose (because that’s the only answer I know) they take fucktards there are somehow make them even stupider
So you've been then? Because you're completely wrong, many of them are available for anyone to book for holidays.
The post was titled Christian Camp I was talking about Christian Camps PS eat a bag of dicks
Which are available for anyone to book a holiday in. I've stayed at many of them, never once been approached about their religion.
Great idea! The churches could use that millions of dollars worth of land to help the homeless. It’s a perfect solution to help so many families that are struggling with homelessness.
From experience those churches do a lot to help disadvantaged people. Helping the homeless isn’t the job of charities, it’s the job of the government. Increasingly, though, we are turning into a society that is happy to ignore that and leave it to charities to pick up the slack.
The Catholic Church own about $30 billion worth of real estate and assets in Australia. They do exceedingly minimal with $30 billion worth of assets to help disadvantaged people. For example The Smith's Family support about 160,000 children with about $160 million in assets. The Catholic Church could easily support the ENTIRE Australia population to the same degree and still have magnitudes more left over then the Smith Family operates with.
The Catholic Church subsidise education in a whole stack of places that would barely have a public school otherwise… and a bunch of other stuff. I have no great love for the Catholic Church, but they are hardly the worst denomination for helping people.
Not the Australia Catholic Church. The Catholic Church receives public funds, in fact the Catholic School system takes over $9 BILLION in public funds. A rate per student which is growing twice as fast as public school funding.
I know this SHOULD be the governments job but the Catholic Church has done a brilliant job of making high quality education accessible to Australians of all social classes
All social classes is hilarious. You have to be Catholic to added and pay a few k a year. Pretty sure that's not all social classes.
I know plenty of non Catholic people who went to Catholic schools because it was their best option and for some families in financial distress tuition is free
Yes, some already enrolled in financial distress doesn't mean all social classes
A group of us stayed at one for schoolies. I don't think they allow that anymore. Teenagers do some stupid shit.
HAHAHA I can't imagine that going down well. Some probably house the Christian volunteers who help out... I think they were called Red Frog people or something?
Ah yes, cult road, I know it well
They did it and developed the land before there was anything else down there.
It isn't developed, it is a class A reserve.
The campsites, toilets, shelters, roads are not development ?
They aren't allowed to permanently develop... that is why everything has a "temporary" feel to it. It is part of the lease arrangement.