All about Somerset

history and philosophy

Somerset has its foundation in Outdoor Education as early as 1976 when Arthur Crichton first organised trips to Fraser Island, as well as various other areas around the state. Arthur went on to purchase a sixty acre block of land on the Colo River in1979, as a jumping off point for canoeing trips and a destination for his Scout Group. He began work on a rundown old orchard, covered in Blackberries and a couple of falling down houses, the name on the title deeds for the property, Somerset.

Somerset continued to grow throughout the eighties, offering weekend programmes and school camps for many clients who are still with Somerset today. Somerset was also able to grow its philosophy and operational practice along the way, in order to maintain itself in line with a changing industry and growing client expectations.

Somerset today is one of the largest Outdoor Education Centres of its kind in the country, providing Outdoor Learning opportunities to around 7,000 students each year. The centre now operates with a central logistics base, a base camp and a network of 14 private campsites stretching over 25km of the Colo Valley. Somerset operates year round, providing programmes ranging from single day introductory programmes for infant schools, to multi day expedition programmes for secondary students and Duke of Edinburgh Award participants.

Somerset offers a unique opportunity for students to engage in the adventure of an outdoor, tent based programme with the support of a well established and serviced infrastructure.