Karen McNamara (Dobell, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

This is an exciting year for Cub Scouts as they celebrate their 100th birthday. The Scout Association was created by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in England in 1907 and the Boy Scouts Association came to Australia a year later, in 1908.

When Baden-Powell created the Scouts movement, it was a program for boys over the age of 11. Soon younger brothers wanted to be part of this grand adventure, but there was no organisation to meet this. So, as early as 1913, Baden-Powell was working out a program for the younger boys who kept turning up with their older brothers at Scouts. He did not want a watered-down boy Scouts but a movement in its own right, with its own identity and program. In 1916 he published his outline for such a scheme, and it was to be called Wolf Cubbing. Cub Scouts packs are for boys and girls aged between seven and 10, and Baden-Powell dubbed the young Scouts Wolf Cubs after being inspired by Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Fortunately, he knew Rudyard Kipling and asked if he could base his new scheme on The Jungle Book, and Rudyard Kipling was happy for him to do so. Most packs still have a Jungle Booknight, and they have to know these origins, and Cub leaders are traditionally named after characters in the book.

Scouts have now expanded to over 200 countries, with 400 million members. Baden-Powell's original Boy Scouts model was based on his own experiences in the military teaching older boys to survive in the bush and encouraging the development of their general life skills. Boy Scouts of Australia was renamed Scouts Australia in 1979, and both boys and girls were able to get involved. Scouting is hugely popular with young people on the Central Coast, with 23 Scout groups scattered across the region. These groups are made up of around a thousand uniformed members, including almost 350 Cub Scouts. There are seven active and popular groups in the Dobell electorate. They are the 1st Tuggerah Lakes, 1st Tumbi, 1st Berkeley Vale, 1st Ourimbah, 1st Kanwal and 1st Noraville. Late last year, I had the great pleasure of opening the 1st Noraville as the newest Scout group in Dobell.

In our technologically driven age, children are growing up spending greater portions of their time indoors focused on various devices—computers and gaming consoles—and less time getting out and getting involved in active outdoor activities. But scouting provides children a great opportunity to switch off the electronics and get outside with their friends, experience activities such as camping and boating, rock climbing, even flying, while learning practical skills and techniques. Scouting leaders are dedicated volunteers who give up their time each week to pass on their knowledge and skills to help generations of children grow up as responsible members of the community. Getting involved in scouting is a fantastic way for children to make lifelong friends and have fun together learning lifelong skills. Congratulations to all the Cubs and Scouts, past and present, for your 100th birthday, and thank you to all the volunteers past and present.

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