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Cyril
Marriner
is
the
creator
of
Bimbi
Park.
He
has
spent
his
lifetime
in
the
Otways
and
was
fortunate
to
have
grown
up
on
a
farm
property
that
stretched
from
the
Aire
River
to
Cape
Otway.
With
7
horses
he
started
to
conduct
trail
rides
in
the
Otways
in
1972.
On
his
overnight
rides
he
would
camp
at
Bimbi
Park.
In
1976
due
to
water
access
and
shelter
the
local
scout
groups
used
the
site
to
camp
in.
It
was
not
a
registered
camp
ground
then.
In
1980
Cyril
registered
the
name
Bimbi
Park
and
the
camp
ground
with
the
shire.
He
and
his
wife
Pat
spent
about
30
years
creating
Bimbi
Park.
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In
early
2005
Frank
and
Katrina
Fotinas
who
at
the
time
had
spent
nearly
20
years
in
the
South
Melbourne
Market
decided
to
sell
everything
and
travel
with
their
two
boys
"Emmanuele
and
Dimitri"
around
Australia
in
a
camper
van.
One
night
while
planning
the
trip
Frank
mailed
Bimbi
(which
they
had
been
Visiting
for
about
15
years)
to
ask
how
much
it
would
cost
to
stay
for
a
month
in
a
powered
site.
As
a
joke
he
also
asked
how
much
it
would
cost
to
buy
Bimbi.
A
few
days
later
Pat
responded
and
said
it
was
for
sale.
Frank
told
Katrina.
Katrina
said
"
I'M
NOT
LIVING
IN
THE
COUNTRY".
At
the
time
Dimitri
was
very
sick
and
spent
most
of
his
time
in
hospital.
He
had
obstructive
sleep
apnea.
For
3
years
Katrina
did
not
sleep.
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"Just
to
a
break
from
the
city"
Frank
convinced
Katrina
to
go
to
Bimbi
and
stay
in
a
cabin
for
a
week
(he
is
sneaky).
They
packed
all
of
Dimitri's
breathing
gear
and
off
the
went.
On
the
way
just
in
case
Dimitri
had
an
attack
they
stopped
off
at
the
local
hospital
to
introduce
themselves.
(Katrina
and
the
Monash
Hospital
staff
are
all
on
first
name
basis).
That
night
after
one
of
Franks
world
famous
spag
(spaghetti)
bowls
the
boys
went
to
sleep.
Kat
and
Frank
enjoyed
the
peace
and
a
bottle
or
two
of
red.
They
fell
asleep.
In
the
middle
of
the
night
Frank
and
Katrina
woke
up
in
terror.
Dimitri
was
not
connected
to
his
oxygen
machine.
They
ran
into
his
bedroom
and
he
was
sleeping
like
a
baby.
No
obstructions,
no
struggling,
no
waking
up
in
the
middle
of
the
night
screaming
and
no
oxygen
machine.
The
week
went
by
and
it
was
the
same.
The
child
was
cured.
Katrina
slept
without
the
nightmare
of
falling
asleep
and
losing
Dimitri.
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They
bought the park
November 2005
and loved every
minute of it
Frank
and Katrina
want to enhance
the park and
keep Cyril and
Pat's creation
alive.
Bimbi
Park is going
to stay a place
for families
and nature lovers.
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Flagpole
At
the
front
entrance
to
the
park
is
the
flagpole
that
used
to
be
the
Flagstaff
of
the
Cape
Otway
Light
station.
Decommissioned
because
of
a
crack
near
the
hinged
base,
Cyril
bought
it
as
scrap,
put
the
cracked
section
deep
into
the
ground
and
still
is
tall
enough
to
fly
the
National
and
Ceremonial
flags
as
required.
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Weather
Station
Inside
the
flagpole
enclosure
is
the
old
Weather
Station
equipment
from
Cape
Otway
Meteorological
Section
which,
together
with
Wilson's
Promontory,
is
on
of
the
senior
weather
stations
in
Victoria.
Cape
Otway
Weather
Stations
is
still
permanently
manned
but
with
it
now
being
partially
automatic
to
record
the
rainfall,
temperature
and
barometer
readings,
that
equipment
is
now
displayed
as
a
reminder
of
recording
weather
in
the
past.
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Foyer
at
the
Theater
Entrance
Showing
movies
as
family
entertainment
the
way
they
did
back
in
the
days
of
the
30's,
40's,
50,s
and
60's
has
been
part
of
Bimbi
Park
for
many
years.
With
upgrading
the
amphitheater
in
1999,
Cyril
obtained
all
the
timber
and
lining
material
from
the
old
Horden
Vale
School
as
it
was
being
pulled
down
due
to
the
decay
and
neglect.
This
was
where
he
was
educated
up
to
Grade
8
after
which
Horden
Vale
School
was
closed
and
he
was
sent
to
a
Technical
School
for
further
education.
Theater
Stage
This
would
never
have
been
built
but
for
the
realigning
of
the
lighthouse
Road
when
a
new
section
had
to
be
built
through
an
area
of
tall
young
gums,
these
sprang
up
after
the
1939
Black
Friday
fires.
Cyril
was
permitted
to
remove
these
trees
and
had
fun
creating
many
weird
and
useful
structures.
Among
them
was
a
stage
and
screen
fo
the
Theater
which
never
would
have
eventuated
except
for
that
timber.
The
screen
is
made
of
the
flat
roof
from
the
original
Laver's
Hill
Consolidated
School.
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Telephone
Line
The
telephone
poles
and
line
crossing
the
paddock
south
west
of
the
Park
is
a
remnant
of
the
original
telephone
line
that
traversed
the
coastline
of
Victoria.
Originally
a
single
wire,
it's
purpose,
other
than
communications,
was
to
provide
and
emergency
link
for
shipwreck
victims
who
as
they
reached
the
safety
of
the
Coast
could
cut
the
line
and
would
be
found
as
searchers
looked
for
the
fault.
It
is
not
known
if
this
theory
ever
worked.
It
was
upgraded
early
in
the
Second
World
War
with
three
lines
into
Horden
Vale
which
had
new
lines
built
along
the
Great
Ocean
Road
to
Apollo
Bay
and
Laver's
Hill.
Cape
Otway
had
a
direct
link
to
Horden
Vales
and
Laver's
Hill
all
manned
24
hours.
The
Marriner
family
bought
the
poles
after
the
cable
was
laid
in
the
1970's.
Cyril
has
retained
this
section
of
the
line
for
aesthetic
reasons.
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Stone
Paving
at
Entrance
In
front
of
the
flagpole
is
a
section
of
the
floor
of
the
original
dairy
in
the
district.
It
was
built
at
Glen
Aire
Station
by
local
stone.
It
was
here
the
workmen
and
women,
milked
the
large
herd
of
cows
that
supplied
milk
and
cream
for
the
then
Cheese
Factory.
Large
10
pound
cheeses
were
exported
from
Glen
Aire
and
were
the
best
cheeses
in
the
country.
The
Glen
Aire
Station
in
the
1800's
extended
from
Johanna
to
Cape
Otway
which
included
the
Bimbi
Park
Lands.
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The
Otway
Giant
There
are
few
remaining
giant
trees
left
in
our
Otway
forests.
However
one
of
the
few
remaining
stood
right
where
the
new
alignment
of
the
Great
Ocean
Road
was
to
go.
So
several
hundred
metres
from
Maits
Rest
the
Otway
Giant
was
felled
to
make
way
for
"progress".
Cyril
had
the
whole
saga
filmed
and
recorded
and
is
still
hoping
to
have
it
transferred
from
Super
8
to
16mm
so
it
can
be
screened
in
the
Theater.
Cyril
arranged
for
the
contractors
clearing
the
road
to
make
it
available
for
a
low
loader
to
transport
it
to
Bimbi
Park.
It
was
jacked
off
the
loader
and
lay
on
its
side
for
10
years
till
a
"traxcavtor"
lifted
it
on
its
feet.
The
tree
was
275
feet
high,
300
years
old,
and
growing.
The
top
had
been
broken
off
in
storms
so
its
peak
height
is
not
known.
It
is
quite
probable
that
the
sea
could
be
seen
from
the
top
of
this
tree.
Further
up
the
road
towards
Binns
Road
junction
which
is
the
highest
point
on
this
section
of
the
Great
Ocean
Road,
is
what
was
called
Cape
Horne,
named
in
the
early
days
by
explorers
as
they
could
see
the
ocean
by
climbing
one
of
the
trees.
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