The Cardinal Meeting Hall can be configured into either 1 or 2 rooms divided by a central partition. The hall has enough chairs for 100 people and holds a small kitchenette with refrigerator, sink, hot water urn, dishwasher and cutlery which can be utilised for tea/coffee or snacks. Full self-catering is not permitted at this venue and groups should contact our contract caterer to provide finger food, platters or lunch-style meals.
The hall has an audiovisual system that includes a digital data projector (laptop-ready), DVD, VCR, sound amplifier and wall-mounted speakers. This AV system can only be used by groups who have booked the entire room or the west side, as the projector and speakers are mounted inside the west side of the meeting hall. There is also a projector screen in the west side, a large wall-mounted whiteboard in each side, and an electronic portable whiteboard with four printable screens available for hire.
The hall is available to be booked for three separate four hour blocks (morning, afternoon and evening) at the applicable rates. Bookings may be limited for external users at certain times as booking preference is given to internal groups.
The Lake Area is a pleasant location for a picnic or just for some time-out from a hectic camp. With a small lake surrounded by grass and many varieties of coastal vegetation, the lake area is also used by a number of groups for debriefing sessions, meditation and other activities. The adventure tower and caving practice tunnels are also located within this area.
The area is not available for hire/bookings but groups in residence in camp may request access to the area.
Hidden away opposite the Cardinal Meeting Hall is the Gumbooya Scout Camping. This site was the first camp site in the area and could originally only be accessed by driving to Warwick Road, taking that road to the beach and walking for a day up the coast to a small track that led inland to the camping area.
Since those days, Perth has grown. The Gumbooya Scout Camp still remains but now, the area exists as part of Ern Halliday Recreation Camp. The area has space for tents, a small fire pit and a small hall.
Use of Gumbooya is limited to Scout and Guide groups only. Access to the area may not be granted if there is a pre-existing booking of the Windmill Area, as these areas share toilets and ablutions.
All bookings of Gumbooya are to be made through the Recreation Camps Bookings Office.
Our indoor stadium is the activity hub of the camp. Located alongside the Morup Recreation Oval and the outdoor basketball and netball courts, the stadium is used by guests and is also the home of many of our exciting adventure recreation programs.
The stadium has a full-sized basketball/netball court, and its own ablution facilities. There are three large roller doors on the side of the stadium, which can be opened to link the inside to the sights and sounds (and breezes) from the Morup Recreation Oval. Ern Halliday programs such as crate climb, rock climbing, big swing, indoor team games, icebreaker games, ascending, vertical ascent and Jacob’s Ladder are facilitated inside the stadium. This equipment can only be used under qualified supervision by camp staff and while taking part in our structured recreation programs.
Accommodation guests may book the stadium (for basketball, meeting, indoor games, etc.) for a single two-hour block each day. Guests have to reserve these blocks ahead of their stay by contacting the camp on 61 8 9492 9788. The timing of these blocks is subject to change at the camp’s discretion. In these cases, camp staff will try to accommodate the needs of any group which has requested use of the stadium.
The stadium is a multi-user facility and is an asset that all accommodation groups should be able to access.
The stadium is not available for hire by external groups (for example basketball team training, weekly karate sessions, etc). Registered and approved providers of adventure activities or other adventure training organisations may hire the stadium to make use of the adventure recreation equipment. These bookings are subject to a daily hire-rate if available and are to be made through the camp manager on 61 8 9492 9788.
Located next to our stadium and accessible via the Morup Recreation Oval or the internal access road, the outdoor courts provide a large open bitumen space for any group to use. There are two full-size basketball and netball courts next to each other with interchangeable swing goals which can be changed easily between basketball and netball goals.
The courts have lights for night use. Ask our camp staff for directions on how to turn on the lights. To guarantee use of the courts at a particular time, bookings of two hour blocks per day can be made for any accommodation guests at the site.
The Ern Halliday Adventure Tower is one of the most recognisable facilities at the camp. Visible from Whitfords Avenue, the Adventure Tower is the most used tower of its kind in Western Australia.
Constructed in 2000, the Adventure Tower is used for abseiling, rock climbing and the popular flying fox. There is a beginner’s abseil platform at 5m which allows for two lines of abseiling at any time. At the 5m level is the start of the flying fox. There is two lines on the flying fox, and the height of the cable starts at approximately 8m. For the more adventurous, the top of the tower is 10m from the ground and groups of an appropriate age may take part in the 10m flat-wall or 10m overhang abseil. The outdoor climbing holds also reach the 10m overhang height and the view from the 10m platform at sunset has to be seen.
At the centre of the camp is the large Morup Recreation Oval. Named after Steve Morup, our accommodation officer for 30 years, this oval is a focal point for all groups who stay at the camp.
With a length of 170m, the oval is about the size of an Australian Rules Football (AFL) field. The oval contains a set of cricket nets at the southern end, a pavilion which is home to our archery program and volleyball net.
The turf is not perfect like a professional field, but most of the groups who use the oval are very happy with the surface. Therefore, the oval may not be suitable for elite sporting groups who wish to train at a high level on a perfectly even ground.
A unique feature of Ern Halliday camp is our underground caving system, consisting of more than 280m of crawlspace and tunnels.
Starting in the lake area, the cave consists of a practice tunnel area, a Hobbit’s door entrance, 200m of underground tunnels of various widths, escape hatches, and some adventurous ramp tunnels and mazes inside two 12m (40ft) sea containers stacked 8m high.
To venture into the cave, you need to make a booking directly through the camp. All groups are led by qualified instructors, trained specifically for the caving system.