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Boy scouts in Australia We breed our Aussie kids tough. They have to be tough to survive our harsh Australian continent. Dangers are everywhere; expansive deserts, deadly spiders, snakes, crocodiles and sharks, bushfires, poisonous plants and animals, dangerous terrain, a maze of forests. Thousands of Australian children have developed skills to cope with this outdoor lifestyle through joining the Scouts club. Through active experiences, Scouts learn to develop their powers of observation, their resourcefulness, and how to work as part of a team.
Australia’s fantastic weather lends itself to an outdoor lifestyle. We love going fishing, camping, 4 wheel driving and bushwalking. Under the supervision of qualified Scouts Leaders, our children share in fun educational activities like making a bush cubby house. Would you survive outdoors for a night with no provisions? What materials could you use for shelter or sleeping to make a ‘cubby house’? Scouts know how to start a fire, keep matches dry, and most importantly, make sure the fire is fully extinguished before leaving the campsite to avoid starting a bushfire. They know that you need to keep your shoes inside your tent to avoid spiders crawling inside. We don’t leave clothes or mats crumpled up for spiders and snakes to sleep in. If something is on the ground, when you pick it up you give it a shake to get rid of creepy crawlies. When you live in a country that has deadly funnel web spiders you need to learn these skills early in life.
Australia has the worlds biggest and best beaches. Our backyards often have damns, creeks, and rivers to play in and explore. Through Scouts activities children learn safe water skills through supervised activities such as: swimming, snorkelling, canoeing, kayaking, sailing and fishing. Games like pool volleyball develop water confidence. Our Australian environment is fragile and easily damaged. Scouts Australia has a strong focus on caring for the environment. Children are taught to be aware of their impact and how to enjoy being outdoors in a sustainable way, for example when learning how to abseil or go rock climbing. Scouts Holiday Camps and Weekend activities include a diverse range of outdoor activities that our Aussie kids love:
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Carts · Big ball games · Parachuting · Canoeing water cross · Rafts and water · Flying fox · Rope bridge · Waterslide and rubber boat racing · Kayak workshop · Ice cream making · Rope bridge and obstacles · Waterslide · Crash mat relay · Art attack · Water activities · Orienteering · Paddle boats · Island Discovery · Waterslide and pool games · Cricket workshop · Construction · Cooking · Drama and performance
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· Human Snap · Fishing · Drama and performance · Music games · Trees and environment · Rubber duck archery · Boat races · Movies · Beach activities · Boat rides · Abseiling 6m or 12m · Snorkelling · Creek splashing · Obstacle Course · First aid workshop Since 1908 Australian children of all ages have enjoyed belonging to their local Scout group. Originally Scouts was developed to train boys, however in response to changes in Australian Culture, girls are now welcome to join. Children 6-7.5 years of age can join Joey Scouts where they enjoy activities like story telling, art and craft activities, and flying kites. The next level for children aged 7.5- 10.5 yrs old is called Cub Scouts. At this age children are very enthusiastic and fun. Games and activities encourage social skills, care for the environment and community, first aid, physical development and mental skills. Each ‘pack’ of cub scouts has six members with a leader called a ‘sixer’. The leader gets to wear two stripes on their uniform. The helper to the ‘Sixer’ wears one stripe. Children aged between 10 and 14 are called Scouts. Each small group of four to eight members is called a Patrol. There is a Patrol Leader and Assistant. This is a good opportunity for the children to develop leadership skills. Scouts have regular meetings where a protocol is followed for opening and closing ceremonies, oaths swearing and award presentations. Every three years there is a large gathering of all Australian Scouts, known as a Jamboree. 12,000 Adults and children attended the 2007 Jamboree. Thanks to Scouts, our children know how to ‘Always be prepared’ to cope with our Australian Outdoor Lifestyle.
Girl Guides in Australia Which weighs more: 20 Elephants, 60 tons of wine corks, or 1800 Girl Guides? Well they all weight the same amount! Girl Guides Australia has been collecting corks for 18 years as a fund raising activity and to encourage recycling. If you placed these corks end to end they would stretch from Canberra to Perth - all the way across the Australian Continent-..and back again..! Not surprisingly, Australia’s 30,000 girl guides are the world leaders in cork recycling. And it’s not just the girl guides who can help, average Aussies collect corks at restaurants, birthdays, weddings, and any event and drop them in to the local Girl Guide Association or one of the many arranged drop off points. We’re all in on this act, even QANTAS, Australia’s National Airline, has offered it’s lounges as drop off points for Cork recycling to go to the Girl Guides. This activity helps our earth’s limited resource and is a good learning activity for young Girl Guides. Our Girl Guides are also famous for their annual biscuit drive. Don’t be surprised to see a cheery face on your doorstep offering chocolate or plain biscuits. This simple activity is planned to empower young girls in team work, money management and goal setting. Girl Guides have a formal uniform of light blue and navy blue attire decorated with the Girl Guide Logo and badges they have earned. As each assigned activity is completed the Girl Guide is presented with a badge to be sewn on to her uniform. There are badges for a range of activities like Creativity, Achievements, Challenges, Leadership, Events, and Service. Certificates and Awards are also presented on completation of goals. Each Girl Guide meeting is based on the strong traditions of ceremony and use of flags. Each Girl Guide chooses when to make a Promise as a code of conduct for her life. The Girl Guide program focuses on four elements: · Self (Challenging yourself) · People (Making and caring about friends) · Practical Life Skills to be learnt · Physically strong and active When a group meets together they enjoy indoor activities like studying another faith or culture, making a special recipe, or organising a team to achieve a goal. Girl Guides in Australia have a great outdoor environment to enjoy. They might cook damper over an open camp fire in the Australian bush, go canoeing down one of our beautiful rivers, camp out and tell stories, jokes and poems, try out archery, abseiling, skiing or hiking. Unladylike I hear you say, well yes. In its early days, Girl Guides was viewed by some members of society as an inappropriate copy of activities designed for Boy Scouts (How does one do one’s hair if you are sleeping in a tent?). Some very determined practical women worked through this era to clearly demonstrate that both genders could benefit from Robert Baden-Powel’s (the founder of Boy Scouts) method of training. By 1910 Robert Baden-Powel could not resist the growth in interest from girls in the newly formed Boy Scout movement. He insisted on keeping two separate organisations so he arranged for his younger sister, Agnes Baden-Powel, to take over administration of the Girls. In 1912, Agnes published a booklet entitled: ‘How Girls Can Help Build Up the Empire’ which became the training manual for Girl Guides Internationally. Australian girls were very quick to pick up on this new movement. Small isolated groups sprung up in different states under various names, all with the same principles in mind from the Baden-Powells. Service to others was a common focus from those early days until now when each Girl Guide is encouraged to perform a good deed on a daily basis. One of the earliest projects taken on by a Girl Guide group in Western Australia was to help our Soldiers stationed in the Middle East fighting the World War. They had a problem with the masses of flies annoying their horses. The solution offered was to knit ‘fly veils for horses’, a unique Australian solution that was very successful. The traditions of Service to others continues, Girl Guides in Australia and around the world are proud to be renowned for their mature co-operative kind relationship to other Girl Guides and to their community.
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