“The Land of Promise”
Arthur Finlay
In 1927, Mr Arthur Finlay bought an old deserted farm known as ‘Takapoto’, which means ‘short drop’ in Māori. Eight hundred acres were purchased for £4 per acre, with an additional deposit of £10. The farm was overrun by rabbits, ragwort, tea tree, blackberry and gorse. Arthur had tuberculosis and was told by doctors that he would only be able to work for one hour per day. He knelt and asked God to heal him – God answered his prayer. With the help of local Māori, he broke the farm in by hand and horse, turning wasteland into profitable farm land.
Half of the farm was sold in 1942. In 1946, Arthur and Dawn Finlay gifted 10 acres of land ot he Baptist Church for use as a camp. This was done in gratitude to God for Arthur’s healing. A spot was selected overlooking the newly formed Lake Karapiro.
Since then, it has undergone continual changes and upgrades to be the multipurpose campus it is today. With an amazing team, our aim is for all who come to have experience that is life changing, every time!
From 1956 I came to Finlay Park for Easter Camp from Tauranga when Waikato/Bay of Plenty combined for camps. Such a scary ride in the bus down the gravel road to the Camp. If there was much rain the bus was parked at the top of the hill at Arthur and Dawn Finlay’s place (Takapoto Farm). When camp finished a tractor and trailer took our gear up to the bus while we walked up the hill.
The first thing we did when we got to camp was to grab a pallias (a big hessian sack) and fill it with hay – that was our mattress! The bunks in the upstairs girls’ quarters were 4 high down the centre! It didn’t pay to suffer from seasickness if you slept in the top bunk – they swayed around a little!
Kids camps, Easter camps, I was a leader and we got married in the chapel in January 1984 , our children attended kids camps and were leaders and Frances worked at camp as well. Frances and Chris Morgan were also married there 31 January 2010. My parents also attended as young people and served on the board. Ian & Paulene Stratford. We look forward to our grandchildren attending camps in the future.
Rob and Maureen Hawes part of Cambridge Baptist Church with Dawn and Arthur Finlay helped build the accommodation block. Fundraising, Easter Camps and Church Camps, then I was a leader in the 80s . Mum and Dad remained loyal supporters until they passed.
My parents parked our bus out at Finlay Park and they were camp parents. I started going to camps when I was about 8. I used to spend time with Nikki Morse when there were no camps on. We would pile all the mattresses up from the girls cabins and climb over the wall and jump into them. We built huts under the stage with the old hesian mats. It was my second home. Many Easter camps. So many memories.