Bogong Centre for Sound Culture

Remote Origins

Operations Director: Madelynne Cornish

Artistic Director: Philip Samartzis

Design + Development: Public Office

PO Box 456, Mount Beauty, 3699,
Victoria, Australia

The Bogong Centre for Sound Culture is a remote-regional cultural initiative situated in the foothills of Victoria’s Alpine National Park. Established by Philip Samartzis and Madelynne Cornish the Centre supports projects focusing on the processes and impacts of sustainable energy production; effects of climate change in wilderness areas; ethnographic studies of remote communities; the chronicling of vanishing industrial procedures; and systems of representation used to render natural and built environments.

Additionally, the BCSC facilitates a broad cultural program comprising, festivals, exhibitions, publications, master classes and artists’ talks focusing on site-specific art practices. These programs establish a connection with place, its inhabitants, geographic space and memory. They engage a wide range of audiences, bringing together local, interstate and international artists across multiple disciplines and fields to realise ambitious works.

The BCSC is situated at the newly restored old school at Bogong Alpine Village located 350 kilometres from Melbourne in North East Victoria.

About Bogong Village

Bogong Alpine Village is 325 kilometres North-East of Melbourne situated at an altitude of 800 meters in the Alpine National Park between Mount Beauty and Falls Creek. The village was established in the late 1930s to service the first hydroelectric scheme in mainland Australia. More recently it has become a popular site for alpine sports, recreation and ecotourism. Click here for directions.

A Short History

Work on the Kiewa Scheme commenced in 1938 with the construction of a road from Tawonga to the High Plains. Previously the only access was by foot or horseback along tracks that had been forged by cattlemen of a bygone era. Bogong Village was established once the road from Junction Camp was trafficable (March 1939); this paved the way for the construction of permanent buildings. Prior to that life was tough; large canvas tents and flies were used for sleeping quarters and smaller tents were set up to house the kitchens. By 1940 Bogong Township had grown considerably with a general store, staff offices, recreational mess, police station, and a variety of accommodation such as single men’s quarters and residences for married staff and families.

Bogong State School

In 1941 the Primary School at Bogong Village enrolled its first intake of students comprising nine pupils. Initially the school consisted of a large classroom, storeroom and boys and girls toilets. Extensions were carried out in 1944, which expanded the capabilities of the school. A library, storeroom, pupil’s lunchroom and shelter shed were added and rock gardens were established. By 1947 the number of students had grown to 46 all of whom were children of local SEC workers. Over the years class sizes fluctuated and the building remained unchanged. In 1980 it ceased to operate as a school and sat idle, eventually falling into disrepair. In 2004 it was sold along with many other buildings in the village.

Madelynne Cornish and Philip Samartzis bought the Old School and set about restoring it to its former glory. The rotting weatherboards and floorboards, smashed windows and flaking paint are now a distant memory. The newly refurbished building occupies it’s original footprint and bares a strong resemblance to it’s former self. Although the internals have been modernized remnants of it’s past history remain. The Old School once played a significant role in the fabric of village life. It inspired the community and helped shape the minds of those who studied there. It is our intention as custodians that the School once again functions as a place of inspiration.

Reference: Kiewa Kids School Days at Bogong & Mount Beauty by Graham Gardner

ISBN 0-646-36226-7. Published 1998

Echo - Whisper - Murmur
The confluence of the Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley branches of the East Keiwa River flow into Lake Guy, providing a constant murmur to the picturesque valley of Bogong Village. Lake Guy’s dam wall ruptures the Village’s naturally flowing watercourses.
The town of Bogong is now, indeed, taking shape as field headquarters for the whole Kiewa scheme. This temporary settlement will only be a memory, its place taken by the town of Bogong, the office name bestowed on it by postal authorities. (Argus, 1940)
The lives of those who physically wrangled and harnessed a former wilderness echo in the stone edifices, paths and steps that facilitate navigation between the naturally steep terrain of the village.
I carted rocks to build retaining walls and steps and paths down the hill to the office. The results of our efforts can still be seen... (Memoirs, 1938)
Whispers and murmurs of former voices that carved out the hillside terraces and bridled the valley’s waterways follow me on my walk around the perimeter of the manmade lake.
When asked if he enjoys using all the new electrical appliances, he wistfully replies: “I miss the old camp oven.” (SEC News, 1940)
It is the autumnal blaze of red and gold that captures my imagination. The introduced Copper Birch (Betula nana) growing outside my bedroom window glows golden in the sun; a cluster of distinctive red spotted mushrooms (Amanita muscaria) grow in symbiosis with the Birch, pushing up from the moist earth in the playground outside the BSCS’ main living area.
The sombre grey-blue hues of the indigenous flora stand in contrast to the vitality of the Valley’s indigenous fauna: a male king parrot (Alistererus scapularis) with his distinctive scarlet bonnet and emerald-viridian cloak calls abruptly:
chrak-chrak-chrak…
The tiny Superb Fairy-wren (Malarus cyaneus) with its bright, deep blues sings a vigorous trill:
trrit, treee
The Australian Raven (Corvus corondoides) with its black, greenish-grey, purplish sheen sounds a strong first note - high, loud, clear, descending, fading to a deep, slow, muffled groan or gurgle:
aairk, aark, aaarh, aargargh

Bogong Centre for Sound Culture00:00

Remote Origins

About Bogong Village

A Short History

Bogong State School

Sarah Edwards