1964 Teen Week
Thanks to the publicity from Chris Fisher’s newspaper articles, Gordon’s experience as a Parole and Probation officer was often called upon and he soon realized that too many of the town’s youth appeared before the courts. Life in a country town held less in the way of amusement and excitement than in the city, and the young folk had quickly found that they occasioned the biggest stir when they broke the law.
Many concerned adults tried to help the youth—the Scouts, the Guides, the YMCA, and various church youth groups all functioned, but the majority of the young folk despised them as “old hat.” Even the various sports clubs failed to attract Ararat’s teen-agers. Apparently they needed something entirely different.
One night Gordon went to bed worrying about the problem. It was too hot to sleep and about midnight he dragged himself out to the front verandah hoping to catch a slight breeze. He was sitting quietly on the front steps when a drunk staggered past, grasping onto posts of the manse front fence to keep himself from falling.
The inebriated one glanced toward the verandah and saw Gordon. He paused. He stared long and hard as if to assure himself that he was not seeing things, and then he spoke. “Hot, ain’t it?”
Gordon swiped at a hungry mosquito humming around his ears, and agreed that it was hot. He hoped the man would go on his way and let him think in peace. Instead the drunk straightened up and, clinging to the fence for support, he gazed solemnly at Gordon and asked,
“What’s worryin’ you, mate?”
“I’m thinking about the young people in this town,” Gordon replied. “It’s a pity to see them getting into trouble. There doesn’t seem to be much entertainment for them.”
“Entertainment?” The drunk snorted. He opened the gate and staggered up the path. “The fact is, mate. There’s no b….. entertainment for them. Concerts and everythin’ big goes to the cities. These kids never see nuthin’ important and no one important ever comes `ere.” He settled himself on a lower step close to Gordon’s feet. “What they needs is—”
As the drunk rambled on, airing his ideas of entertainment for the youth, Gordon’s mind went into gear. He wondered what would happen if he organized a big occasion for the youth in Ararat? Suppose he invited some top class sportsmen and entertainers and television personalities to speak in Ararat, would they come? Would the teen-agers respond if they did?
What if he asked the best youth preacher in Australia to come and challenge the young people to find purpose in their life? What if he got the whole town involved in having a Teen Week, with the clothes’ shops displaying teen fashions, and the sports’ stores putting on special youth sports displays and the Rotary, Lions, Apex and other clubs focussing their activities and fund-raising on some on-going programme for the young people in Ararat?
Ideas chased each other around in Gordon’s mind like galloping horses. He needed to write them down as they dashed by. He must go inside and get pen and paper.
“Perhaps you’d better be getting home now,” he helped the uninvited guest to his feet and steered him out onto the footpath. “Good night, and thanks for your help.”
“It’s a pleasure.” The inebriated one waved goodbye and staggered off into the night. Forgetting the heat, Gordon crept inside to his makeshift desk and wrote furiously.
With no money and no organization behind him Gordon bravely launched the idea of a Teen Week. It took a lot of fast talking to get anyone listening to his ideas but slowly a faint interest stirred. He eagerly fanned the spark and soon it had flamed into a planning committee of twenty, drawn from local churches, businesses and societies.
Next he approached a score of young people in the streets and invited them to bring their Ararat High School Year Books, going back over ten years, and come around to his house. To his delight they came, sat on the floor and listened carefully as he outlined his plan.
With the year books open on their laps, they discussed everyone in the class photographs. Taking them year by year they listed the name of every ex-pupil still living in the district. Next they borrowed the shire voting list and tried to find the present address of each one.
Within a short time Gordon had twenty volunteer typists sitting at a long row of borrowed typewriters, writing short, personal letters to hundreds of young people, inviting them to a series of activities during Teen Week in Ararat. Next he asked all the clergy in town for permission to address their congregations and invite them to form a combined Teen Week Committee. His contagious enthusiasm resulted in weekly meetings in the four main churches praying for the success of the venture.
“I’m giving myself four months to arrange everything,” Gordon told Beverley. “If it takes longer than that people will lose interest.”
“You’ll need every minute of it.”
Although she was pregnant Beverley was up to her eyebrows in preparations for the massive undertaking. She always gave her full support to Gordon’s ideas.
To his surprise Gordon found that there were 110 adult groups or committees in Ararat and he or his representatives visited each one and asked for their support. They set up a catering committee and an administrative committee; a hospitality committee and a finance committee; and most important of all, a prayer committee. He well knew that without God’s blessing all their efforts would be in vain.
The organizing committee drew up a list of well-known people in Australia and invited them to come to Ararat to help in Teen Week. The Prime Minister replied, commending what they were doing and regretting his inability to attend. He wished them well and enclosed his photograph.
Chris, at the Ararat Advertiser, did a lot with that photo. He began a series of front page articles about the proposed Teen Week, and Prime Minister Menzies’ photo and letter of commendation focussed the attention of the whole district on what the churches and other organizations of the community were planning.
The Premier of Victoria, Mr Bolte, paid a visit to Ararat to see firsthand what was going on. He was greatly impressed, and Chris duly noted that on the front page. Other well known leaders such as Rev Alan Walker O.B.E., director of the Wesley Mission in Sydney; Rev. Gordon Powell; The Hon. Murray Byrne LL.B. M.L.C. from Melbourne Parliament House, and many others sent their commendations along with their regrets. The Ararat Advertiser made sure that everyone knew about it.
League footballers were the heroes in 1964 and all of those invited accepted. Geelong football star, Doug Wade and other Geelong and Essenden footballers agreed to speak at one session. Olympic athletes, television personalities and top singers and entertainers; politicians and community leaders who realized that this was an opportunity to be seen, agreed to come to Teen Week.
Eventually, after months of feverish preparations, Teen Week was launched in Ararat Town Hall with a free meal for 600 teen-agers. During the meal helpers distributed programmes, and speakers explained all the activities that had been planned for the week.
More than one thousand youth attended the opening meeting and from then on each day and night in the schools, Town Hall and main community centre, the young people pressed in to `their meetings.’
Blind Cyril Minns and his guide dog, Andy, proved beyond all doubt that disabilities can be overcome. The well-known Hockey twins, Lyn and Val, excited packed halls with their singing and guitar. John Ferguson, the popular star of Ballarat T V, appeared in person to the wild applause of the gathering.
Other outstanding personalities spoke about the need of goals and direction in life. A high school chaplain from Geelong, Jack Calder, wrapped up each session with a call to commitment and a challenge to young people to live their lives to the full—not aimlessly but to benefit others as well as themselves. Teen Week was not only a time of celebration and fun. Many youth re-arranged their lives after hearing the gospel clearly presented.
The result was beyond Gordon’s—or anyone else’s—anticipation.
All up, the programme cost 828 pounds ($1,656). The organizers raised 60 pounds ($120) and the remainder was donated. In one week, five thousand youth attended from a community that totalled only 8,000 people of all ages.
For weeks afterwards the local newspaper produced photographs of football stars meeting local youth; of young people becoming involved in community service projects; of youth groups brimming with new vitality; of YMCA classes providing special on-going programmes.
Some young people put their new found Christian faith into practice by cleaning overgrown gardens and houses for the elderly, washing windows and mowing lawns for those who were sick. Some groups adopted wards in the mental hospital and visited the patients—just the sight of fresh young faces acted like a tonic to the inmates.
The following week a national paper reported: “The Victorian country town of Ararat was the scene of thrilling Adventures with Youth from July 26 to August 2. A number of churches co-operated in this effort to reach the teenage section of the community and the results were staggering. A galaxy of talent drawn from across Victoria included League footballers, TV personalities, international singing stars and instrumentalists. There were 261 commitments to Jesus Christ.”
Teen Week was the closest to a Revival that the four little churches in Ararat had ever seen. The Presbyterian Church set up membership training classes and so did the Catholic. The Anglican, Methodist and Church of Christ had more than 100 new members in training. For the next eighteen weeks Gordon conducted training classes for church membership and baptism of families and groups. The Ararat church of 36 members was suddenly packed out with a 300% membership increase.
“We’ve got to keep up the momentum,” Gordon told the committee. “If we let all this interest die, our efforts will have been in vain.”
So he began a monthly programme called “Teen Meets,” when hundreds of young people met for activities such as barbecues, sing- alongs and Bible studies. The Churches of Christ’s old buildings proved inadequate. They needed to be demolished and a huge new youth hall and kitchen erected. But that would cost a fortune.
“Where would the money come from?” moaned the older members. No one had the answer so they shelved the matter.
Not long after the conclusion of Teen Week the main speaker, Jack Calder, was diagnosed as having cancer and died six weeks later. But such was the impact he had made on the community during Teen Week, that hundreds crowded into his memorial service and thousands attended his funeral.
Thirty years later the effects of Teen Week live on. At the Darling Harbour Convention Centre, Gordon recently met a fine Christian man who was baptized as a result of that long ago effort to help the young people of Ararat.
On the personal side, the young Moyes cup of joy overflowed on January 28, 1965 when baby Peter greeted the world with a disgusted howl. Born in the Ararat and District Hospital, the notice in the local paper said: “a brother for Jenny,” and it would be hard to know whether parents or sister were more delighted by the young man’s arrival.
