Ticketholders angry after Camp Gallipoli sleep-out is moved

THEY promised an authentic Anzac experience under the stars, but the campsite has been moved indoors and expensive merchandised swags ‘cannot be erected due to OH & S’.

‘Anzacs would have braved it’

THEY’RE not happy campers, at all.

Furious ticketholders looking forward to a massive Anzac Day sleep-out to be held in Sydney tonight are fuming over a last-minute venue change due to the wet weather, which many believe compromises the authenticity of what was sold as an opportunity “to sleep out under the same stars as the original Anzacs did 100 years ago”.

Organisers of Camp Gallipoli, a special, centenary event to be held in outdoor locations in capital cities around Australia, were forced to postpone their Sydney sleep-out earlier in the week due to bad weather.

The decision was not well-received by ticketholders, but it was hoped that shifting the event from its original Centennial Parklands location to The Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park on Friday night, would soften the blow.

It didn’t quite do the trick. Outraged campers have taken to the organiser’s Facebook site, upset the new experience would be nothing like what was originally promised.

Organisers have confirmed camping will be available indoors and outside, though it won’t resemble the Centennial Park setting.

David Bayliss posted a picture of his smiling children posing in their Camp Gallipoli T-shirts. They’re not smiling now.

“These were (past tense) my kids excited about Camp Gallipoli,” he wrote.

“They were ready to put up with rain and mud because as we explained to them, this is what our diggers did 100 years ago.”

Mr Bayliss said he had now planned to take his kids to Canberra instead, “desperately trying to salvage ‘their’ once in a lifetime experience”.

These were (past tense) my kids excited about Camp Gallipoli.They were ready to put up with rain and mud because as we...

Posted by David-Robyn Bayliss on Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Ticketholders have complained that Camp Gallipoli was advertised as an all-weather event.

Frances Jones suggested if people wanted a “unique and commemorative Camp Gallipoli event” they should keep on camping at “the swamp of Centennial Park”.

“Plenty of men came home with trench feet and had to have them amputated,” she pointed out.

“The Anzacs didn’t quit because of a bit of rain and mud. In fact I’m certain they suffered through much worse!!” another disgruntled ticketholder wrote.

Workers remove equipment from Centennial Park, which was affected when storms hit Sydney.

The event had already sold 6,500 tickets, reportedly fewer than anticipated, and will now offer refunds “on a case-by-case basis”.

Some would-be campers have already reported having difficulty reaching distributor Ticketek to confirm this, while others had already amended travel and work arrangements when the original announcement came the event was cancelled.

A last-minute checklist was the last straw for ticketholders who had forked out between $50 — $100 for tickets and more for other merchandise and camping gear.

Final Checklist for Camp Gallipoli events across AustraliaSome Recommended Items-Appropriate...

Posted by Camp Gallipoli on Wednesday, April 22, 2015

It has also emerged that campers who purchased expensive merchandise sold to them by organisers would not actually be allowed to properly use it.

The event had advertised “Delux Camp Gallipoli Anzac Swags” costing $375 for a double size or $275 for a single, plus delivery.

But an asterisked note at the end of the final checklist for Camp Gallipoli events across Australia states: “Please note swags cannot be erected due to OH & S”.

“24 hours before the event and now you tell us this about the swags !!!!! Not happy !!!!!” Beck Thompson replied on Facebook.

“Not being allowed to use the swag YOU sold, Camp Gallipoli? This is pathetic!” Shauna McCartan wrote in response.

Camp Gallipoli swags advertised for sale.

A representative for Camp Gallipoli told news.com.au it had been the case for two years that swags were not allowed to be erected with guy ropes and this was made clear at point of sale, but they could still be slept in without being properly erected.

“It’s been the case for two years, and the experience would be exactly the same,” he said.

“You could imagine the risk to kids running around and the elderly, only a fool would encourage that and we’re not in the business of putting kids and the elderly at risk.”

The representative said 99 per cent of the feedback surrounding the organisers and salvaging the event had been positive.

“If our biggest criticism is being overly cautious, we’ll wear that as a badge of honour.”

In announcing the venue change, chief executive of the Camp Gallipoli Foundation Chris Fox said he was “so pleased” to be able to offer the experience.

“Our priority was always the safety of those attending the event and unfortunately due to he severe weather in Sydney this week we were not able to have the event in Centennial Park as was initially planned,” he said in a statement.

Centennial Park at the height of the storms this week.

“We are just so pleased that we are still able to offer people a unique and commemorative Camp Gallipoli event and we look forward to hosting all the attendees at The Entertainment Quarter on Friday night.”

It’s not the first time Camp Gallipoli has run into trouble over its centenary event preparations.

While the event is donating profits to a range of returned services organisations and is endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, last week a range of its branded items being sold in Target was deemed inappropriate by Minister Michael Ronaldson.

Three Camp Gallipoli items, a beanie, a hoodie and a stubbie holder, were pulled from sale.

The items fell under scrutiny after Woolworths’ ‘Brandzac’ disaster, with its failed ‘Fresh in our Memories’ campaign described as a ‘new low in the commercialisation of Anzac’, according to ABC.

After being pulled up by DVA, Camp Gallipoli’s initial permit to use the word ‘Anzac’ was revoke, and a new permit with strict conditions surrounding the sale of merchandise was granted.

Dark clouds gather over Centennial Park.

Originally published as Ticketholders angry after Camp Gallipoli sleep-out is moved