Day Three - Poatina Service Day

Today was our Service Day at Poatina. Poatina is a former Tasmanian Hydro worker’s village. It was purchased by Fusion as a missional Christian community in the 1990s, but has since attracted artists, retirees and young families among its residents. It is located at the edge of an alpine escarpment called The Tiers in a spectacularly beautiful part of the North Midlands.

Our students had breakfast and then visited Capstone College, a special assistance school for teenagers from challenging backgrounds. One of their students shared her experiences of the school with us and we received a warm welcome from its Principal, Russell, a former resident of Coolamon and friend of Hugh MacCallum.

After our visit, we joined the Poatina villagers for a weekly community meeting where Isaac, Sydney and Amy gave testimonials of their faith. We shared morning tea with them, before visiting the glassblower’s workshop. The glassblower and his apprentice demonstrated the art of glassmaking as we watched him shape a colourful vase. Sam purchased an object of beauty from among the glassware for his Mum before we said goodbye.

After a BBQ lunch, we formed working groups and hit the town for the service component of our tour. Windows were cleaned, cobwebs were removed and rubbish was collected. Jack and Senna pushed the vacuum around while Tallen and Ryan did some heavy lifting as they shifted some furniture. Brooke was a gun with the adhesives and fastidiously helped lay out a new carpet in the chapel. We also cleaned up the village green and went wattle grubbing on a hill side. A few grew concerned about being photographed, lest their parents discover out how useful they might be at removing weeds. We won’t name names, but the photos below might offer some clues for parents who need some spring cleaning at home or in the garden on our return.

The town dog followed us around for much of our work and a lonely echidna invaded the wattle grubber’s space. I don’t think a group of Year 9 students has ever been more committed to a task, or work so well in a team, as the seven students who tried to uproot the echidna from its burrow. Jakob coordinated the capture and after multiple finger prick injuries the monotreme was abducted, held for a photo and then safely released back into the wild. One student observed that it might be a good idea to bury Jakob’s math’s homework beneath a native mammal if his teacher wants him to find it!

In the late afternoon, students were given the time to explore the village and visit the shops. Soft drinks, chips and beanies were popular purchases, while the Op Shop was a hit amongst the girls. Maya even found the teddy bear of her dreams for the bargain price of $6.

Tonight’s plan is for the students to lead another devotional activity. This will be followed by some messages from home. The students are going to get an early night’s sleep in preparation for a treetop adventure at Hollybank in the morning. Everyone is safe and happy and looking forward to the next leg of our trip.