ROUND THE BEND CONSERVATION CO-OPERATIVE
A residential conservation community in the Bend of Islands, Victoria
About Us
Living on the land with minimal detrimental impact, actively managing and preserving the indigenous environment and enjoying and appreciating its natural beauty.
Round the Bend Conservation Co-operative was established in 1971 by a group of people who thought there was an active and positive way of preserving the bush through residential conservation. Our inaugural meeting was held at the home of artist Neil Douglas in the Bend of Islands.
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Back then, the idea of conserving the bush and being a residential community were seen as being incompatible, however, with good planning and management, the Co-operative is proving that this can be achieved.
Why “round the bend”?
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We are part of the Bend of Islands community – hence “the Bend”.
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The phrase is also ironic. In the early 70s when the Co-op was formed, the idea that people would live in the bush to protect it, rather than exploit it, was seen as a bit crazy. We have proven the worth of our approach and the world has caught up with our ideals.
Our aim is to cooperatively live on and manage the land to protect, conserve and enjoy its indigenous nature.
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​We aim to:
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Manage and protect the land to conserve and enhance its indigenous natural environment, with particular regard to the wider, regional context.
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Live on the land with the minimal possible detrimental impact upon it.
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Enjoy and appreciate the indigenous natural beauty of the land.
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Safeguard, and be responsible for, the integrity of the Co-op’s purpose.
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Fulfil all statutory, legal and administrative requirements resulting from our status as a legal entity.
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Co-operatively work together towards our purpose.
To date 24 houses have been built and the membership today is strongly committed to its original objective.
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You can learn more about our history at Victoria Collections.
