Situated in Wrattens Forest, the Department of Education acquired the site now known as Barambah Environmental Education Centre in 1977. Over the years the Centre, as a Department of Education site, has had a number of name changes beginning in 1977 as the Mary River Field Study Centre. In 1980 the Centre was known as the Barambah Field Study Centre and in 1988 it became Barambah Environmental Education Centre. And, before all of these changes it was A Flat Camp; established in 1962/63 on a greenfield site as A Flat Forest Station. Mr Dave Luxton, First Officer-in-Charge of the A Flat Forest Station (1962) remembers:
“I supervised the de-establishment and partial demolition of the remaining infrastructure at [Kabunga Nursery] whilst in an acting role at Wratten's Camp, prior to taking up duty at A Flat…. I was the First Officer-in-Charge of the A Flat Forest Station." (Luxton, 2024)
Facilities at the Centre in 1977 were still very basic with an office, a corrugated iron walled dining room with an open fire place for cooking meals and three wooden sleeping quarters. There were no gardens and only a few trees in the Centre grounds. Again, in 2024, Dave has added 'living memory' to the previously surmised information:
“One of the original barracks [now well appointed air-conditioned accommodation] was in fact relocated from Kabunga, as was the original truck shed, and the office/storeroom was constructed using recycled material from Kabunga - these buildings may well have been circa 1945…. I supervised the very first planting at A Flat with stock supplied from the Gallangowan Nursery, Jimmy's Scrub was also being supplied with planting stock from Gallangowan at this time." (Luxton, 2024).
Today the Centre has been transformed into a beautiful oasis with native gardens and established trees. An extensive plant nursery, with three hot houses and a large fenced hardening area also established. In the 1990's the old Gallangowan school was moved to the Centre and is now used as the office and staff room. The dining room and kitchen facilities have been updated and easily cater for all groups who utilise the Centre, which has the capacity to sleep seventy-five.
On the boundaries of Wakka, Wakka Country and on a pathway for Kabbi, Kabbi / Gubbi, Gubbi and many First Nations people Barambah Environmental Education Centre, has always been a place of teaching, learning and sharing of resources, stories and practice. Dave Luxton reflects:
"I … have an interest in the pathways used by the local aboriginal people and their correlation with the “chipped firebreak" network established in earlier times, almost certainly by Bill Wratten. These networks were clearly identified on the early map series produced by Forestry. We maintained some of these by burning during my time in the area and there remained clear evidence of the previous works at that time. These were replaced by a network of pushed or graded breaks as machinery gradually replaced the manual labour of earlier times." (Luxton, 2024)
These tracks, breaks and developed infrastructure provide the perfect place to Connect People and Place at Barambah Environmental Education Centre.