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A Place to Reflect and Rejuvenate – Cockatoo Rise Veterans’ Retreat


Some people stay for a night – a stopover of sorts, en route to another destination – others stay for four, five or even six months. No matter how long they settle in to Cockatoo Rise, there is one thread that strings them all together: they’re war veterans needing time and space to reflect and rejuvenate, writes Sophie Blackshaw.


Rainbow-at-Cockatoo-Rise-resortRegardless of which war they were a part of, whether it was Vietnam, Afghanistan or Korea, all veterans, and their partners are welcome at Greg and Annie Carter’s restful retreat, situated on 50 private acres near Bairnsdale in Victoria. Cockatoo Rise began as many great things before it did: with a simple remark. In this case, it was Greg’s comment to his wife Annie on observation of their property. “I came up and I said to Annie, ‘this would be a nice place for a retreat’,” Greg recounts. “One thing led to another and we ended up making quite a lush little golf course”.

Greg and Annie CarterAnnie, a former physical education teacher, and Greg, a Vietnam veteran turned photographer for Melbourne’s Herald Sun and other news outlets, opened their abode and its surroundings to all Australian veterans in 2010. The idea was to create a relaxed environment in which visitors would feel stress-free and welcome. “A lot of [veterans] really need to be in an environment where, I guess, there’s more specialisation to their needs,” Greg says.

Games-at-Cockatoo-Rise-resortCockatoo Rise now features the free-to-use golf course (with an opportunity for the public to have a hit on the first Sunday of every month), dedicated caravan an camping land, a museum, a veggie garden, a protea flower farm, a recreation room, a croquet rink and spectacular views that can be enjoyed on bush walks. The museum, which contains a substantial collection of uniforms from World War I through to Afghanistan, has begun lending its displays to local shopping centres to “give [the public] an opportunity to pick them up and feel how heavy they are,” Greg says.

Golf-at-Cockatoo-Rise-resortThe location also reaps the benefits of nature’s offerings – about six kilometres from the retreat is Bairnsdale’s Mitchell River, where bream fishing is popular. Then, roughly a 15 kilometre drive south (or “four kilometres from the water as the crow flies”) is located the Ninety Mile Beach entrance to the tidal Gippsland Lakes.

If, however, sand and scales don’t appeal, then an hour-and-a- half’s drive north features entirely different surroundings at Mt Hotham in the Victorian Alps, where skiing and other snow activities are all the jazz during the chilly winter months.

Maintaining Cockatoo Rise is a massive task for the Carters. Over the years, they’ve relied on assistance provided by a number of trusted volunteers, but unfortunately, due to the nature of volunteering, retaining numbers has proven a challenge. “Sadly our group [of volunteers] has diminished a bit – many of them have moved to retirement villages. We’ve got about a dozen people we can call on now regularly to help with events and things like that,” Greg says.

Camping-at-Cockatoo-Rise-resortOn the upside, the veterans’ retreat is supported by the practical donations of an incredible number of sponsors – there are almost 70, and their assistance is not undervalued. Greg explains that since their visitors set up camp (literally) on private property, the veterans’ retreat doesn’t attract funding from governments. “The rules for veteran’s affairs say ‘no funding for private property’.”

It’s for this reason that Greg speaks with a great deal of appreciation about the relationships they have with their many respected sponsors, whom range from paint, hardware, gardening and cleaning companies through to local councillors and a host of RSL clubs. Both retirees, Greg and Annie acknowledge that their sponsors’ help goes a long way with the property’s general maintenance. “If we needed a new slasher for the grass I say, ‘if you can help us out I’ll be appreciative’,” Greg says. Funding is exceptionally important because ultimately, it’s often benefitting individuals with mental health concerns as a result of war. It’s been established repeatedly through the films we watch, the books we read and simply through public health awareness programs that those returned from war rarely exist without scars, both the visible and the invisible, but it’s not often enough that a place like Cockatoo Rise is available for their use exclusively.


 “A lot of [veterans] really need to be in an environment where, I guess, there’s more specialisation to their needs.”
Greg Carter


 


“Some vets stay for three, four, five, six months. They’re quite nomadic, in a way, and they just drift from place to place. We’ve basically been able to give them a home, to give them a better feeling about themselves, and to socialise more. When they leave they’re quite different in attitude.”
Greg Carter


Greg explains that whether it’s post-traumatic stress disorder, bad dreams, trouble with sleeping, nervousness or anxiety, or any combination of these things, many war veterans are left totally and permanently incapacitated (TPI). While this means that they tick the box to receive a government disability pension, it doesn’t necessarily mean their quality of life will improve, and sadly, as Greg points out, “many of these people take their own life”.

Diggers-at-cockatoo-rise-resortRather than shunning the issue, Greg and Annie have set up an outpost on their property called Diggers, an area intentionally reminiscent of the Australian fire support base in Nui Dat, Vietnam, where Greg served. He says it was “the main task force area for two battalions, helicopters and artillery, [and the] main Australian Army base”. It was a place of immediate support.

The retreat’s outpost replica is also a place of support, though perhaps not for the exact same reasons. A warm environment consisting of a rustic iron shed with barbeques, seating, a camouflage canopy and a regular Friday night campfire, Diggers is separated from the main campsite. It’s an ideal place for veterans wanting peace, quiet, and a little solidarity to set up their accommodation, and an important part of the welcoming culture that the Carters nurture. “It’s just a super feel good place, right down the end of the block. It’s quiet, kangaroos come around. It just gets you away from the main … [it’s an] absolutely beautiful area,” Greg says.

Anzac-Service-cockateel riseListening to Greg and looking at photographs of ANZAC Day processions held at Diggers, it certainly does strike as the place to be for a moment of silence, which might explain why – as earlier mentioned – some veterans are choosing to stay at Cockatoo Rise for months at a time.

“Some vets stay for three, four, five, six months. They’re quite nomadic, in a way, and they just drift from place to place. We’ve basically been able to give them a home, to give them a better feeling about themselves, and to socialise more.

When they leave they’re quite different in attitude,” Greg says of their visitors. In one instance, he and Annie had a man stay at Cockatoo Rise, in his van, for what they thought would evolve to be ‘forever’.

Cockatoo-Rise-land-2-resortThat man, known as John, stayed for a total of six months before making his way elsewhere. His stay is palpably memorable in the Carters’ minds, if not for the duration of his visit then for his presence, which was immediately noticeable upon his departure. “He was a very nice person … he didn’t want to talk a lot, but we were comfortable with him being here. He was very happy to help out around the place.”

Cockatoo-Rise-lunchThe length of John’s stay is not, obviously, the common choice, with the hundreds of visitors to the retreat annually still only passing through. “We have people who come every year, who are generally travelling from the colder states, particularly Victoria to Queensland. They might stay for just a night or a few nights,” Greg explains.

For those only in need of a night or day’s rest from driving, or maybe an escape from their own home or suburb, Cockatoo Rise provides a solution. In recent months, a brand new shed, named after one of “our war veterans”, was erected. Titled the Badcoe Club, the shed is “just an area where if we’ve got a few people here and the weather’s not perfect, they can sit here,” Greg says. Sit and enjoy the rain, the quiet, the people, and the place.

To stay at Cockatoo Rise Veteran’s Retreat requires no payment, but you must be a veteran of war, and bringing your own accommodation is necessary. Since council does not permit any more than three caravans at any one time, it’s wise to contact Greg or Annie prior to arrival. For more information on this, or about getting there, or using the golf course, you can visit Greg and Annie Carter’s website at www.cockatooriseretreat.com.au.

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