Marilyn and Fiona, from the Scout Heritage Centre in Kenwick were our guest speakers on Tuesday. They have around 60 years of scouting experience between them, with Marilyn still being an active Joey leader.
Members learnt about the history of the scouting movement which Lt-Gen Robert Baden-Powell founded in 1907.
Baden-Powell wanted to transfer the character, fitness and citizenship methods he had used training military scouts at the Siege of Mafeking during the Boer War to boys everywhere. He wrote the widely read “Scouting for Boys” and his sister Agnes founded the Girl Guides Association.
Baden-Powell travelled widely, encouraging scouting in every country he visited. Scouting started in Australia in 1908 and he came to Australia three times, in 1912, 1931 and the first Australian Jamboree in 1934-35. If you would like to read more about the history of scouting go to: https://scouts.com.au/
Marilyn took over from Fiona this point to challenge us with an interesting puzzle and to bring us up to speed with the modern scouting movement.
Joey Scouts starts from ages 5-7 and children enjoy a range of activities, especially concentrating on the outdoors and nature and embracing the Scout motto of “Be Prepared”. Scout leaders have to work very hard to engage the children in this modern digital age but there is friendship, connection and lots of activities for all age groups.
Some of our members had attended Scouts or Guides in their younger years and as well as being good fun, it had helped their independence, resilience and ability and problem solving.
The Scout Heritage Centre is packed with history, memorabilia, uniforms throughout the ages, scouting tools and crafts, photographs and the cutest teddy bears in handmade scout uniforms complete with badges.