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Meet
some of the current Members
In alphabetical order - This is where you can read a little about how the members came to be living and climbing in Western Australia. Click on pictures to see larger size. Mike Clemson Tony Fowler Dave James Gerry MacGill Tom Marshall Mac McArthur Rick Morawski Michael Myers Peter Sharpen Chris Swain Stan Taylor Tony Van Beuningen Mike Adams...........Under construction Links to member's personal home pages
Mike
Clemson
I started climbing in the UK in 1962 (19
year old) after watching climbers
going up Middle Fell Buttress in the Lake District (UK). Luckily I
lived in
Harrogate and the nearest crag was Armscliffe which was and is a
terrific place to climb. At Armscliffe I was lucky enough to meet up
with
Tom Morrel from Harrogate and two lads from Leeds, Rob Wood and Wilbur
King who introduced me to secret climbers business and with whom I have
been friends with ever since. Over the next 4 years we managed to get
to
most of the major climbing areas in England, and in addition managed
two
trips to the Alps.
In 1967 I emigrated to Vancouver, Canada and took up skiing instead of climbing. By 1970 I'd had enough of the snow and moved to Australia for some sun. Over the next 30 years got involved in the usual things, raising a family, paying the mortgage but no climbing. My re-introduction to climbing was in 2002 while visiting my friend Wilbur who now lives in Sydney. After a long mental debate on whether I wanted to start climbing again I bought a pair of 5.10 sticky boots. Coming back into climbing after a gap of over 36 years was certainly a learning experience. As an example: my first route in these new-fangled boots was an off-width come crack (15) on Mt Buffalo. Half way up I though, these boot are fantastic for jamming. That was until my foot was so jammed that after 10 mins of trying to get my foot out of the crack I had to take my foot out of the boot and use 2 hands to pull the boot out of the crack. On returning to WA the addiction had started again. I managed to get in touch with the Oldies who invited me to come along to their next meet at Mt Cuthbert. Great climbing, copious cups of tea and micky-taking galore. What a great day. These guys were inspirational. Since then I have been lucky enough to climb at most of the major areas in WA plus trips to Frog Buttress, and the Blue Mountains. Other than being older getting into climbing the second time around was no different from the first. You still make life long friends, have terrific days on the crag and the pleasure and buzz you get when you lead a route you had doubts about is magic. Back to Page index. Tony
Fowler
Tony Fowler assures everybody that he was
born at a very early age! Having become interested in the pastime of
climbing during his teens while doing National Service in Scotland's
Outer Hebrides, he joined the Ceunant
Mountaineering Club and climbed extensively in the UK and
Europe before coming to Australia during 1964.
After much climbing in Victoria and New South Wales, and a spell of instructing for the Outward Bound Center on the Hawksbury, he finally finished up in Western Australia where he became a member of the Climbers Association of Western Australia in 1968. Through his employment as an air-traffic controller - involving the manipulation, and the flying, of fast aircraft (although he has now retired), and a love for his vintage Triumph TR3 (Tony is also a member of the Vintage Sports Car Club), it would be expected that Tony is a 'fast-lane' type person, but he has also put in many hundreds of hours working on, and sailing with, both the Endeavour (alternative Endeavour site) and Duyfken Western Australian replica sailing ships. Now also a founder-member and strong supporter of the Oldies' Group, Tony lives up at Kalamunda in the Perth hills. Please note Dave
James
I was born at Guildford (UK) in November
1942. I 'discovered' the pastime of climbing at North Wales (UK) during
the Easter holidays of 1963, and quickly took to climbing and caving,
eventually becoming a member of the Reading
Mountaineering Club, and President and Safety Officer of the Reading Rock Climbing and Potholing Club.
Nearly eleven years later, having had some good adventures in the UK and Europe, I set out for a holiday with my parents in Western Australia, stayed in that state, and have since found many good and true climbing friends who have helped me to share further adventures. Now, after having served spells as, amongst others, Committee Member, Safety Officer, & Secretary for the Climbers Association of Western Australia, Committee Member and Safety Officer for the West Australian Speleological Group, and also founder-member and President of the (now-defunct) Collie Climbing & Caving Club, I have climbed in the Eastern States, Tasmania and New Zealand, I am still going out on trips, and I am still enjoying the wonderful state of Western Australia, and the treasured companionship of those friends. Please note Gerry
MacGill
Gerry MacGill grew up on hemp rope and
vibrams on the crags of Northumberland, with occasional expeditions to
the faraway Lakes and Scotland. His club, The
Dunsdale Climbing and Ski Club, was typical of the 1950s
brash, boozy, noisy upstart invaders of the previously upper class
mountain preserves. Surviving these dangerous years he spent a few
years in Western Canada, experiencing real mountains before coming to
un-mountainous WA. Here, however, he was privileged to assist at the
birth of rock climbing in this State, achieving modest immortality in
the guide books and making the lifelong friends he still occasionally
climbs with today.
Please note Tom
Marshall
Originally from Southport, Lancashire,
Tom Marshall moved to WA with his family eighteen years ago. He
remembers going into an outdoor shop in Fremantle at Christmas 1982 and
being told there weren't any rock climbers in WA. He took up kayaking
for a while and then found that the demands of being a mining
exploration geologist didn't leave too much time for any other outdoor
activity. Now he says he's looking to gently make amends. He joined the
Climbers
Association of Western Australia last year to make some
climbing contacts and renew the spirit of fun and adventure. He quickly
found that he has a long way to go before he's climbing fit again and
believes he's living proof that Perth physiotherapists can work
wonders.
Tom was already a keen hiker when he started climbing in Langdale in
1964. He was led through the standard training of the times with lots
of V Diffs, followed by lots of Severes and ending up among the VS
routes. Southport is mid-way between the Lake District and Snowdonia
and both areas got equal attention until he went to the University
College of Wales in Aberystwyth. From then on Snowdonia won hands down.
He eventually became Treasurer and then President of the Aberystwyth University Mountaineering Club
and claims that the time spent climbing made it a miracle that he ever
qualified as a geologist.
Before coming to Australia Tom worked in both Africa and Asia. He
remembers 1976 as the year he climbed Mt Kenya on the way home from
Zambia, did a couple of climbs on Craig yr Ysfa later that summer and
then hung up his boots until last year (1998).
Robin
'Mac' McArthur
Robin 'Mac' McArthur was born at
Guildford (UK) in March 1939 - WW2 broke out in September of that same
year but, Mac has assured us other Oldies that his birth had nothing to
do with that event. He began his climbing career at Harrison's Rocks,
near Tunbridge Wells (south of London) in 1957.
His mountaineering experience was confined mostly to walking amongst the hills of the Lake District, the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and Wales, before coming to Western Australia in 1967 where he became one of the founder-members of the Climbers Association of Western Australia. Nevertheless, at the latter end of 1999, just to end the century on a more-defiant note, Mac took off to New Zealand where he climbed snow & ice in great style to reach the 'tops'. Mac has claimed that the reputation he has earned amongst West Australian climbers rests solely upon his ability to produce 'home brew' in quantity without notice. But, us Oldies who are fortunate enough to have known, and climbed with, Mac over the years are fully aware that he has been one of the most sustained driving-forces on the West Australian climbing scene. Amongst his many other W.A. achievements, Mac was the original 'discoverer' of the Churchman's Brook outcrop, probably the most popular climbing venue near Perth, when, during December 1975, he explored the Churchman's Brook area and 'found' the outcrop. As is Mac's nature, he didn't just invite his closest climbing friend to sneak to this 'new' climbing area, he invited all of the current CAWA members to share his 'fantastic find'!! A Furniture Design Craftsman, and founder-member of the Oldies' Group, Mac lives up in the Wungong area with his lovely wife, Helen (well known by the climbers for her scrumptious gingernut biscuits). Please note Rick
Morawski
Born in Subiaco, WA, Rick lives in
Margaret River, is happily married to Debbie, and has one son (Paul, a
world surfing identity).
Introduced to caving & climbing by Dave James, Rick was a climbing partner to Dave for a number of years through the early 1980's. He has climbed at most of the Perth venues, the Stirlings, the Porongorups, Wilyabrup, West Cape Howe, and he also has first ascents to his name at the Stirling Dam 'over-flow' gorge. He was also another member of the (now-defunct) Collie Climbing & Caving Club. With the departure of Dave from the south west area, and not being happy to climb with anybody else, Rick turned his attentions towards something new to fill the gap. He then discovered the pure joy of flying a microlite airplane, earned his pilot's license, and now happily spends any available spare hours flying around West Australia (He's flown over the Stirlings on his way to Esperance, and has also flown all the way up to Broome and back!). Rick now owns a microlite aircraft, and he has extended an invitation to any Oldies who would like to take a flight with him in exchange for a bit of climbing in the Margaret River area (Wilyabrup?). Dave James & Peter Sharpen have already taken advantage of this generous offer - and if Dave (the world's worst flying passenger) can enjoy a flight with Rick, then it MUST be worthwhile, eh?? Michael
Myers
I have been climbing for about thirty
years. Most of my climbing has been in the UK, with my favourite area
being Derbyshire gritstone. For quite a few years my summer vacations
were spent mountaineering and rock climbing in the Alps with my son,
then after a very unpleasant time on the Mittelegi Ridge we went rock
climbing in the US during the summer holidays. I joined The London
Mountaineering Club in the mid-eighties, and for a time was on
the committee and the social secretary.
A couple of years after taking early retirement I decided to move to Australia. One of the reasons for this is that my son is now here, and is an Australian citizen, and is also now married. I am not a person who does one thing to the exclusion anything else, so my climbing has had to fit in with other activities. These include skiing, scuba diving, and tennis. Just before I left the UK I started to take an interest in maritime archaeology, after I had been here a couple of months I saw that the Maritime Museum in Fremantle were running some courses on the subject. While on the first weekend course I heard about, and joined, the Maritime Archaeological Association of Western Australia (MAAWA) - about five months after I joined, at the AGM, I was elected president. They were really desperate. I was lucky enough to be one of the members of MAAWA who went to the Abrolhos Islands, towards the end of 1999, as part of their latest Batavia expedition. I am also a member of the Underwater Explorers Club, which is one of the oldest diving clubs in WA. They have found many of the wrecks of the coast of WA, and many of the popular dive sites. Peter
Sharpen
Peter was born in Wanstead, Essex (UK),
met up with Dave James through no fault of his own, and, having been
through two climbing-related 'epics' with Dave, isn't all that
impressed with the active side of climbing. But he is impressed with
the concept of older folk getting out and continuing to 'do their
thing' together. Therefore, Pete has given encouragement to the
newsletter-writing side of our little group by donating printer ink and
loaning out his digital camera so that we can record some of our
activities. There is a rumour going around that, if Pete could climb
with any Oldie other than Dave, he might become a fully-fledged Oldie
climber - At least he is old enough!!!
Our thanks go to Pete for his valuable contribution towards our
newsletters, and his valuable support towards the Oldies - And also to
ALL the Oldies who've donated money, stamps, etc. for our newsletter.
Chris
Swain
I'm a very recent immigrant, having come
to WA from England in 1993. I'm a geophysicist, currently
self-employed. I spent 13 years (1978-1990) living in Africa (Kenya and
Zimbabwe).
I've been climbing since my school days; even earlier if you count
trees. My first serious climbing was in N. Wales. 'Gashed Crag' and
'Grooved Arete' actually seemed serious at the time, and not just
because I was wearing tricounis! Times change. The chance to develop
climbing skills came from 3 years at Bristol, with the Avon Gorge a 10
minute bike ride away. An early trip to the Alps was a disaster when I
fell down a crevasse on my first day out and spent the next 6 weeks in
hospital.
After that, and another bad experience on rotten ice on the Zinal
Rothorn, I tended to prefer rock, such as the Bregaglia in eastern
Switzerland and the Civetta in the Dolomites. It wasn't until I spent
some time practicing on the ice of Mt Kenya that I became a bit more
confident on it.
In Australia, my favourite climbs are long country routes, like on Peak
Charles or Bluff Knoll. I've been on quite a few crags in Zimbabwe and
Kenya that are similar to Peak Charles. I think it may be the gradually
widening vista as you progress; or perhaps the fact that you don't have
to keep making decisions about what to climb next. These days I enjoy
orienteering as well - there just is not enough rock around Perth to
ONLY rock climb.
My wife (Sue) and teenage daughters (Kate and Tessa) all enjoy
climbing, though Tessa is only into gym climbing so far. Kate, at age
14, did 'Cornerstone' on Bluff Knoll with me. I was quite proud of her
getting up this route. Though technically only 11, it was a lot more
challenging (long, steep, exposed and loose) than, say, Gashed Crag.
There has never been a period longer than about 6 months that I haven't
climbed. When we moved to Kalgoorlie 6 years ago we were sure there was
nothing to climb for a thousand kilometres; we even bought some golf
clubs. Fortunately, I 'discovered' Peak Charles - because it was soon
obvious that I would never make a golfer!
I still have a few climbing ambitions: For example, I'd like to do
another route on Bluff Knoll (like 'Hell Fire Gully', for instance).
Anyone up for that?
Stan
Taylor
Stan, our oldest member, was born on 22nd
May 1929 at Urmston - a suburb of Manchester, England, and it was the
Boy Scout Association that instilled in him a love of the outdoors -
camping, walking, nature, etc.
A chance conversation with a school friend who had just visited the Snowdonia National Park [North Wales, UK] convinced him to visit that area himself. From that experience he decided that he wanted to spend more time in the mountains. Somehow he got to hear of the Karabiner Mountaineering Club (Manchester) and they were one of the few clubs prepared to accept beginners. They had a 'vetting' system, and a member responsible for seeing that new applicants had somebody to climb with. They had a fortnightly meet, - climbing in the summer and hill-walking in the winter. And it was necessary for a member to attend a minimum of 4(?) meets a year to maintain membership. At Christmas, Easter, etc. special meets were held and these were always well attended, despite usually being held far afield. Stan climbed in North Wales - Tryfan, Idwal Slabs, etc. - The Lake District, Derbyshire, Staffordshire (The Roaches), The Isle of Skye, Yorkshire, etc. And walked extensively over much of the moorland of the northern part of England, and the Cairngorms. He arrived in Western Australia on 13th August 1950 and, try as he might, couldn't find any climbing partners. He now feels very disappointed, after reading 'Climb When Ready' to realize that there were so many other climbers looking for partners at that time. Now that he has found the Oldies' Group he hopes to improve his climbing ability. But if not, he may have to form The VERY Oldies' Group!! Tony
Van Beuningen
Born in Northam, WA, Tony lives in
Collie, is happily married to Kathy, and has two sons and a daughter.
Through being involved with the State Emergency Service (Collie branch) during the early 1980's, he was introduced to abseiling, climbing & caving by Dave James (then Rescue Officer of that branch) and quickly became an ardent climber and caver. Since that introduction, Tony has climbed in such areas as most of the Perth venues, Wilyabrup, the Stirlings, the Porongorups, West Cape Howe, Peak Charles and Moonarie (Wilpena Pound, SA), and he was one of the founder-members of the (now-defunct) Collie Climbing & Caving Club. He also has first ascents to his name at such places as the Stirling Dam 'over-flow' gorge (near Bunbury) and Loudham's (marron) Farm near Donnybrook. But Tony is best remembered by the Editor for actually doing some of the easier climbs at Peak Charles with one leg completely encased in plaster after a motorcycle accident - fortunately having the plaster 'repaired' each evening by another Collie climbing friend (and doctor), Keith Meadows! Mike
Adams
Under
construction
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If you would like to climb with the Oldies, or for further information, contact: Dave James at Hamilton Hill, WA -  9430-8601
or dcjames@iinet.net.au
Links to member's personal home pages Links to Oldies' club-related home pages Old equipment from the back of our closets Original Boot Nail types & designs Back to Home Page This
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