Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and Guides all provide great outdoor adventure and leadership opportunities for young people.
Major-General Robert Baden-Powell started the movement in 1907 at a time when explorers were reaching the north and south poles, the Wright brothers were taking off at Kitty Hawk, and the first Model T Fords were rolling off the production line.
Scouts soon went global and by the end of 1908 eleven Scout Troops had formed in Victoria and the organisation continued to grow and thrive over the subsequent decades. Membership declined during the 1980s but from 2007 Scouts Victoria experienced a strong resurgence.
Lots of Forests Commission staff had either been scouts in their youth or volunteered as scout leaders later on. The relationship between the Commission and the scouts and guides was always strong.
State forests near major scout camps like Gilwell Park at Gembrook and guide camps at Britannia Creek were always popular for overnight hikes and building elaborate contraptions made of wood, rope and canvas. Long bush poles and firewood were always in demand and the Commission was happy to oblige where it could.
Both scouts and guides always had a strong commitment to helping in their local communities. As an example, in 1971 the 1st Upwey Scout Group built a wooden fire lookout tower. The boys watched for smoke during the summer months and used instruments along with a sightline to the Emerald Water Tower and other mapped landmarks to plot the bushfire locations and report them to the local CFA Brigade.
The Chairman of the Forests Commission, Alf Lawrence, somehow found times in his busy schedule to occupy various leadership positions with the Victorian Boy Scouts, including Deputy Chief Commissioner in 1968. On Queens Birthday 1969, Alf was honoured with a civil Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his outstanding services to forestry and scouting.
I’m also pretty sure that being a Queen’s Scout had some influence on many applicants being offered a place in the Victorian School of Forestry.
Photo: Boy scouts near Combienbar, East Gippsland, C 1950. Photo from “Walkabout” magazine, part of the Mitchell Library Collection, State Library of NSW. https://collection.sl.nsw.gov.au/digital/0LXDeDlag7BZG
Victoria’s Forests & Bushfire Heritage 