Four-stage master plan nears completion at Elliott Lodge
A four-stage master plan at Scotch’s 80 hectare Elliott Lodge property, 9km from Healesville, which is nearing completion, has included upgrading the infrastructure of the property and providing better facilities for the many Scotch groups which visit this beautiful rural property.
Elliott Lodge was named for Major General Harold Edward ‘Pompey’ Elliott (1878-1931), a senior Australian army officer during World War I, who donated five acres (2ha) of land at Chum Creek on the Healesville-Toolangi Road for Scotch Scouting purposes. The property and lodge are named for him.
The property, which was later enlarged when the school purchased several neighbouring properties, is regularly used by Scotch Scouts, and by Old Scotch Rovers and Venturers. It is also used for Junior School overnight and environmental science camps, and for Year 9 Retreats and Cadets. Although well loved, the lodge facilities had become inadequate as the years have passed and as school usage has increased, and an upgrade was needed.
Stage one of the Elliott Lodge master plan included the construction of a new ablutions block, complete with a full-scale effluent treatment plant and a 260,000 litre holding tank. In stage two a new purpose-built mess hall with upgraded catering facilities for up to 100 people has been built.
In stage three the original lodge has been refurbished, the former dining hall and kitchen removed to allow improved bunkhouse accommodation, new shower and toilet facilities installed, and a dedicated first aid facility added. The former mess hall is now a comfortable lounge/living space.
The first three stages of development were completed in July of this year, ahead of the September Scout camp. Stage four is now under way – a landscaping project to replace vegetation removed during the construction phases. Junior School boys are participating in the planting project as part of their environmental science studies, under the supervision of Property and Facility Manager, Bill Sciarretta, Junior School teachers Steve Grbac and Andrew Strempel, and Scotch’s project architect, Doug Pattenden.
Through their engagement at Healesville, the Junior School boys will see the benefit of the master plan as they progress through Senior School and participate in services such as Scouts, or when they attend the Year 9 camps held annually at Healesville.
Implementing the master plan at Elliott Lodge is helping to ensure that the property continues to serve the Scotch Family well, as it has done since the 1920s.
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