Marking 50 years of the Owens family holidaying in Deniliquin were (from left) Lucas, Wendy and Daren Trewing, Michelle and Maggie Harrison, and Terry and William Owens.
For half a century, the Owens family has made Deniliquin their home-away-from-home, returning to McLean Beach Caravan Park every Christmas holidays without fail.
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What began as a single family trip in 1976 has grown into a cherished tradition spanning generations, friendships and countless memories on the Edward River.
“Our mum was seven months pregnant with me when she first found Deni, and we’ve been coming back every Christmas since,” Michelle Harrison said.
In those early years, as many as six family members would squeeze into a tiny cabin at McLean Beach, where they would be joined by the Curtin and Nunn families.
Together, the three families formed a summer tribe, with Terry Curtin and Geoff Nunn teaching all the kids to ski.
By the 1980s, the group had swelled to around 25 people, filling the park with what the group describe as “feral children”.
“A lot of those people aren’t with us any more,” Terry Owens reflected, “but the caravan park has hardly changed.
“We still have friends in town we catch up with.
“It’s become a bit of a legacy, the family all coming to Deni.
“It’s just a genuine country town, everyone says hello, it’s very welcoming.”
Skiing remains the family’s favourite pastime, a tradition that still links back to those early days on the river.
To mark their 50 years of Deni holidays this summer, the family created special commemorative T‑shirts.
The design pays homage to family patriarch, and to the Edward River that shaped so many of their memories.
Terry also contributed a letter to the town’s time capsule last year, as another way of honouring the place that has become woven into the family’s story.
Revealing they have addressed the letter to the future staff of the Pastoral Times, it will be uncovered when the time capsule is retrieved in 2050.
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