Benchmark marked with bench

The Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club is celebrating its centenary year by gifting Dunedin a bench for a popular lookout point.

About 20 club members hiked up Flagstaff to a new bench at Pineapple Point yesterday.

Club president Antony Pettinger the club had been preparing the lookout area over the past year.

"Pineapple Point was a lookout that was used years and years ago but in recent years the broom had taken the view away all together, so we cleared the broom and put a bit of a pathway and a centenary year seat up there."

Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club president Antony Pettinger sits on the new centenary bench...
Otago Tramping and Mountaineering Club president Antony Pettinger sits on the new centenary bench at Pineapple Point after completing a hike with club members yesterday. PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSH
He said much of the labour was done by club members which took the cost of the project down to less than $1000, to which the Dunedin City Council parks and recreation department also contributed.

Mr Pettinger said yesterday marked 100 years since the club had completed their first trip on September 1, 1923.

"I think people picked up on the significance of the day and were thinking this is quite cool to be going up the same track that our founding members went up 100 years ago to the day."

There were members who had been a part of the club since the 1960s and the 1980s and they were joined by newer members on yesterday’s tramp.

Mr Pettinger said the club was quite vibrant and its centenary year had generated a lot of interest.

Yesterday’s outing was No 86 of 100 the club was doing within 12 months to celebrate its 100 years.

The club would complete its centenary celebrations and 100 outings at Labour Weekend with a tramp into the Silver Peaks.

mark.john@odt.co.nz

 

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