Scouts Australia
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| Scouts Australia | |
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| Organizational data | |
| Country | Australia |
| Founded | 1908 |
| Founder | Lord Baden Powell |
| Membership | 84 000 [1] |
| Chief Scout | Michael Jeffery[2] |
 Scouting portal |
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Scouts Australia is an organisation for children and young adults from 6 to 26 years of age. Scouts Australia is part of the global Scouting movement and national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1953.
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[edit] Scouting in Australia
Boys in the Commonwealth of Australia were involved in Scouting as early as 1908 [3], the year the first Boy Scout training handbook "Scouting for Boys" was published in England. The visits made to Australia by Baden-Powell in 1912 and in later years (1927, 1931 and 1934) encouraged the extension of the Movement in Australia. [4]
Although each state branch in Australia was directly and individually responsible to Imperial headquarters in London, there grew up a desire to achieve co-operation at headquarters level and so a federal council of nominees from each state council was formed in 1922. This body later appointed an Australian Commissioner.
For more than 30 years, Scouting was co-ordinated by the Australian Federal Scout Council, which functioned as a Branch of the British Boys Scout Association. In 1958 the adjuration of the Australian Boys Scout Association took place and in 1967 the national organisation was incorporated by Royal Charter. [5] The public name of the association was changed to the Scout Association of Australia in 1971, when girls were first admitted, although the official name was not changed until 2001, when the Royal Charter was amended through an Act of Parliament. The Organisation is now known as 'Scouts Australia', however its formal title remains The Scout Association of Australia.
Scouts Australia is a 'federation' made up of branches that operate in each Australian state and territory. Each branch is completely separate, maintaining its own structure and operational methodologies and rules, however all operate under a common uniform and common award scheme structure. How each branch chooses to structure itself down to individual Group level remains the prerogative of the relevant Branch.
The Chief Scout of Australia is the Australian Governor General,[2] who is the representative in Australia of the Monarch (currently Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II). The Chief Scout in each state is normally the State Governor, who is also the Monarch's representative in each State.
Australia was made a member of the World Scout Organisation of Scout Movements (WOSM) in 1953 and is a Founder Member of the Asia-Pacific Region. In the field of support and co-operation with other member countries of the Asia Pacific Region, the organisation has contributed to a number of international friendship and community development orientated projects.
Over the years, Australian Scouts have supported emerging Scout Associations in the South Pacific. A twinning project with the Bangladesh Scouts, known as the "Bangladesh-Australia Child Health" (BACH) project made a dramatic impact on child health in project villages during its operation from 1986 to 1992. [6] [7] The Scout Association has a twinning project with the Nepal Scouts known as NATURE Project and involves the reforestation of the Kristi Landslide. [8]
Australia hosted the successful 16th World Scout Jamboree and the 31st World Scout Conference in 1988. Some 15,000 Scouts from 94 countries attended the Jamboree at Cataract Scout Park near Sydney. An Australian Scout Jamboree has been held every three years since 1934 except for the years of the Second World War. The scout jamboree is the largest national scout event but there is also an Australian Rover Moot and an Australian Venture are also held every three years.
Scouts Australia created a youth forum in 2001, called the National Youth Council. It contains 30 members from the scout, venturer, and rover youth ages.[9] The only member of the council who is an adult leader is the National Youth Council Adviser. It works with issues that affect the youth members, such as the Venturer Review (2007), the badge system, peer pressure and is designed to provide a connection between youth members and the management of the association.
In 2003 Scouts Australia became a Registered Training Provider under the banner of the Federal Dept. of Science, Technology and Training. Scouts Australia's Adult Leader Training now leads Adults to a Diploma of Leadership under the Australian Qualifications Framework. [10]
According to its own Annual Reports [11] membership has decreased in all sections from a total of 84,502 in 2126 Groups in 2001 to a total of 63,200 in 1836 Groups in 2005, although membership of the Venturer and Rover sections increased slightly from 2004 to 2005.
[edit] Sections in Scouting
Youth in Scouting are divided into several age related groupings. They are designed to overlap and encourage movement through the sections as the youth member matures.
The youngest section is Joeys (6 - 8 Years). Joeys is about activities to help develop a child's sense of personal identity and sharing. This is shown by the Joey scout law is A Joey cares, a Joey shares. This section is followed by Cubs (7.5 - 11) which aims to develop a sense of adventure and achievement and a chance to grow their character. The Scouts Section (10.5 - 15) promotes understanding of campcraft and the environment, whilst developing team skills and organizational abilities. Venturers (14.5 - 17) uses the skills learnt in the later years of scouting through a system of self - governance. Rovers (17 - 26) is all about developing the social connections gained in earlier years in scouting and serving the community and the organisation. [12]
[edit] Uniform
Throughout its history the Scouting Movement has been clearly identified by its uniform. Over the years much goodwill has been received by the Scout Movement and the uniform serves as a focus for the support of the community.
Within the Movement the adult uniform enables the leaders to be closely identified with those they lead. The uniform also expresses the basic values that are involved in being an Adult Leader. For an Adult Leader, the uniform expresses the fact that all are equal before the task in hand. Common ideals are shared by recognising the roles of other leaders by the insignia on their uniforms.
The core uniform is a dark blue shirt with the relevant youth Section colour across the sleeves, yoke and collar; a blue or moss-green belt; scarf and woggle.
These colours are the official ones for the youth sections. The colour for the leaders' shirt is dark blue.
[edit] Lone Scouts
The Lone Scout Group is for the youth unable to attend or find a local Scout group. Lones include people with disabilities and are therefore unable to attend regular group meetings, people who are constant travelers or go to places at which they are unable to attend a group ie; boarding school or isolated communities.[13]
[edit] Scouts Australia elsewhere
Non-sovereign territories with Scouting run by Scouts Australia include
[edit] Other Scout organizations in Australia
Other Scout organizations in Australia include an independent branch of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego/ZHP, a Polish emigré Scout organization, nonaligned to a supranational organization and not connected with ZHP/Poland; as well as the National Organization of Russian Scouts, an emigré Scout organization, not connected with Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators.
There are also members of Scouts of Australia, who are affiliated to the Order of World Scouts and a few groups of Baden-Powell Scouts who are affiliated to World Federation of Independent Scouts.
[edit] See also
- Guides Australia
- Queen's Scout Award
- Sea Scouts
- Baden-Powell Guild (Australia)
- Gang Show
- Clement Roy Nichols
[edit] References
- ^ WOSM Asia-Pacific Region Accessed 14 December, 2006
- ^ a b Chief Scout Accessed, 14 December 2006
- ^ n2zgu.50megs.com
- ^ Scouting comes to Australia Accessed 14 December 2006
- ^ Scout Association Act - amendments to 2003 Accessed 14 December 2006
- ^ Bangladesh Scouts Home page Accessed 14 December 2006
- ^ Paper on Project Accessed 14 December 2006
- ^ Submission to inquiry into Charitable and Related Organisations by Scouts Australia, 2003.
- ^ [National Youth Council
- ^ Scouts Australia Insitute of Training Accessed 14 December 2006
- ^ Scouts Australia Annual Reports
- ^ Report to the Nation 2006 Scouts Australia, Accessed 24/6/7
- ^ Lone Scouts South Australia Accessed 7 February 2007
[edit] External links
- Scouts Australia
- Scouts Australian Capital Territory
- Scouts New South Wales
- Scouts Northern Territory
- Scouts Queensland
- Scouts South Australia
- Scouts Tasmania
- Scouts Victoria
- Scouts Western Australia
- Victorian Scout Heritage Centre
- Australian Scouting Resources
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