"To further the art of Highland Dancing" - Peninsula Highland Dancing Association's mission, taken from minutes of first meeting 23rd April 1979.
Central Coast Highland Dancing Inc formerly the Peninsula Highland Dancing Association was formed in 1979 by Veronica McFarland and a group of loyal dance enthusiasts, who were united in their aim to further the art of Highland Dancing.
The association held it's first meeting in Balgowlah, a suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney, and it was decided by the group that they be registered as the Peninsula Highland Dancing Association in reference to the Manly -Warringah Peninsula.
In July 1979 the PHDA ran their first competition in conjunction with the Southern Highland Dancing Association, the SHDA Competition on the Saturday, the PHDA Competition on the Sunday.
The original executive were:
PRESIDENT: John McFarland
VICE-PRESIDENT: Terry Jones
SECRETARY: Muriel Law
ASSISTANT SECRETARY: Mary Symes
TREASURER: Gayle Jones
COMPETITION SECRETARY: Veronica McFarland
LADIES AUXILIARY: Anne Vale
The competition being a success, it was decided by the association to hold this competition annually.
In 1981, having successfully run the competition 3 times, the then PHDA applied to the Australian Board of Highland Dancing to conduct the Peninsula Highland Dancing Association Championships. The application was approved and indeed they conducted their inaugural Championship event in July 1982.
The winners were:
12 years and Under: Justine Daly - NSW
13, 14 and 15 years: Lesley Clough - QLD
16 years and Over: Tracey Daly - QLD
In 2005 on the Peninsula Highland Dancing Association held one of Australia's largest championship events. Offering 5 age groups and a large amount of supporting events, it is well attended by dancers from all over Australia. This event saw the Association employ their first ever overseas judge. Mr Gareth Mitchelson, from Monifeith, Scotland, was our head judge joined by 5 other judges from Australia.
Mr Mitchelson was also the star of the PHDA's inaugural Down Under the Kilt concert, a showcase of Highland Dancing by some of Australia's best dancers. DUTK was produced by Douglas McFarland, the son of our dedicated President and competition secretary, John and Veronica McFarland. The show was performed to more than 200 dance enthusiasts and received world acclaim. DUTK the DVD has seen Highland Dancing taken from the stage to the home, and is being played in homes all over Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The concept of DUTK is to promote local talent and to enable Australian audiences to witness the skills of overseas champion dancers. The next chapter in the Down Under the Kilt story is being planned at present.
The PHDA were the first Association in Australia not linked to a Champion of Champions event to conduct 5 championship age groups. This move, made by the committee to enhance the quality of dancing in Australia, was unprecedented and took an enormous amount of organising. The decision by PHDA was the right one with more than 80 dancers entering the 5 championships, including dancers from every state of Australia, the ACT and New Zealand. By 2006 the PHDA had influenced major dancing organisations in Australia who followed by introducing additional age groups, lifting the competitive standard and welcoming a healthy promotional battle between major championships.
The history of the organisation changed forever in October 2006 when a bid to host the International Highland Dancing Championships of Australia was granted to the PHDA. The bid, backed by several International judges and President of the SOBHD, Shendl Russell was unanimously granted by the ABHDI, meaning the PHDA host these championships annually on the Central Coast of NSW.
Following the successful bid, members of the PHDA accepted a name change to become Central Coast Highland Dancing and within months became an incorporated organisation.
Since 1979, Central Coast Highland Dancing Inc formerly the Peninsula Highland Dancing Association has been dedicated to furthering the art of Highland Dancing and will continue to do so. Our current executive are proud to continue the ideals of the original members. We look forward to providing the dancers of Australia with an association which caters to their needs, promoting events which benefit the dancers and teachers in as many ways possible.