 confest is an alternative bush campout festival held in the south-eastern states of australia at new year and easter. the name 'confest' derives from combining the words conference and festival. the festival was first held in 1976 near canberra in the australian capital territory. it was initiated and organised by former deputy prime minister of australia, jim cairns, his former private secretary junie morosi and david ditchburn as a means of bringing together the subcultures of the alternative movement. today confest is a family friendly gathering run by volunteers attracting a diverse range of people. dates for the next confest are announced via the down to earth co-operative's official website: dte.org.au ==history== the first gathering was held at the cotter dam reserve, southwest of canberra. the second gathering, in 1977, was on rented farmland (mount oak) near bredbo, south of canberra. 15,000 people attended. the farm was subsequently purchased with the festival takings as an open community. confest in its early years was a melting pot of diverse worldviews. there was great passion for a better world. conferences at confest attracted up to 1000 people. workshops were held on all aspects of well-being for people and planet earth. some examples of workshops now are: gestalt therapy, massage, politics, meditation, yoga, polyamory, mud-brick construction, geodesic domes, tantra, self-sufficiency, paganism, vegetarianism and music. at the early confests, a number of co-operative communities held their first meetings and, at the conclusion of the festival, they went on to find and purchase land. the australian down to earth network (adten) was formed as a loose coalition. festivals were held in every state and territory of australia. three state-based organisations were formed, in victoria, queensland, western australia and new south wales. they organised further festivals, usually on forested private land bordering a river. only the victorian down to earth co-operative (dte) incorporated and has survived and it continues to organise confests in northern victoria and southern new south wales. in 1995, the emerging trance dance movement first organised overnight outdoor doofs at confest following a series of amplified staged music events in the previous years. from 1995-1999 there was a period of conflict about appropriate music technologies at confest and amplified music was perceived by many to interrupt other activities at confest. confest music is now acoustic and campout doofs run independent of confest. landowners' concerns about public liability resulted in suitable land for gatherings being extremely difficult to find and dte consequently purchased land on gulpa creek
1976_establishments_in_Australia DIY_culture Festivals_in_Australia Public_nudity Recurring_events_established_in_1976