Saturday, 22 February 2025
Government House
Her Excellency the Honourable Magaret Beazley AC KC

Bujari Gamarruwa

Diyn Babana, Gamarada Gadigal Ngura

In greeting you in the language of the Gadigal, Traditional Owners of these lands and waterways, I pay my respects to their Elders, past, present, and emerging. I extend that respect to the Elders of all parts of our State from which you travel.

Deputy Chief Commissioner, distinguished guests, family, friends, and, most particularly, recipients of Queen’s Scout, King’s Scout, and Baden-Powell Scout Awards,

Today is, of course, Scouts Founder’s Day, celebrated on the birthday of Lord Baden-Powell^[1], as well as his wife Lady Baden-Powell^[2].

The impetus for Baden-Powell’s formation of the Scouting movement came from his service in India and Africa with the British Army, during which time he wrote a manual on military scouting called Aids to Scouting.^[3] Upon returning to England in 1903, he discovered that his slim volume had become an unexpected best-seller.^[4]

He decided to write a version for a younger audience, transposing his lessons on self-reliance in the wild, tracking, and observation into the peacetime outdoors. Through the addition of the Scouts Oath and Scouts Law, he also embedded within that training values of looking out for each other and community, of teamwork and good citizenship.

The result was Scouting for Boys, first published in 1908^[5], which through its thirty-plus editions and translations into every major language, went on to become not only one of the highest-selling books of all time, but also launched the Scouting movement we know today.

The highest Scouting award available to young Australians^[6], the peak award for Rover Scouts^[7], the Baden-Powell Scout Award, is, of course, named in his honour.

Today is historic for another reason.

Last September, it was announced that King Charles had accepted Royal Patronage of the Scout Association of Australia, backdated to the first anniversary of his Coronation in May^[8]. With that, the name of the peak award for Venturer Scouts^[9] was changed from Queen’s Scout to King’s Scout Award.^[10]

Now, although it is not the first time King’s Scout Awards have be awarded—after all, that was what is was called from the formation of the Scout’s Association up until the ascension of the late Queen in 1953, it is the first time we get to present them here at Government House in over 70 years.

It is also, the last time—for the foreseeable future—that Queen’s Scout Awards will be presented, today to those who completed their award before May last year.

Today is historic for one more—perhaps most—important reason; it is the day that we get to celebrate these 36 inspiring young Australians completing their achievement pathways.

And what adventures they have had!

• Adventurous Journeys to many of our State’s most beautiful and wildest parts, including the Blue Mountains, Barrington Tops, Kangaroo Valley, Yuragir National Park, and many more,
• Special Interest Area projects focussed on health and the environment, including identifying insects in a local waterway to determine its health and working with local scientists on global projects, and
• Creative and innovative ways of supporting and celebrating community, including learning how to repair old technology to give to those in need; working on media teams for major Scout events; and creating a blog for Spanish-speaking migrants to help them navigate Australian systems.
• One of today’s awardees even organised a traditional “village style” fete in honour of her grandparents who had met at a Scout fête in London in the 1950s.

Last month, many would also have participated in the 26^th Australian Jamboree in Maryborough, Queensland. This was the first time the event—the biggest on the national Scouting calendar—has been run in six years. More than two-and-a-half thousand Scouts, Venturer Scouts, Rover Scouts and adult Leaders from NSW attended.^[11]

To our awardees today:

Your commitment to embracing and overcoming challenges is both inspirational and affirming. By ‘growing through adventure’, you have added your chapter to the long and storied tradition of Scouting in this State. You have shown determination, resilience, adaptability, and leadership. You have encouraged those around you, looked for ways to help your community and, in doing so, embodied core values first laid down by Lord Baden-Powell more than a century ago.

Although without doubt a proud highlight of your young lives, the culmination of effort these Awards represent are not an endpoint but, rather, one more step in your journey of self-development and community contribution.

As young people, you are our future; and looking at all of you, and hearing about your achievements, your personal growth, and your aspirations, I know that our future is in the very best of hands.

And for that, I not only offer the warmest of congratulations, but also the most heartfelt of thanks.

[1] Lieutenant-General Robert Stephenson Smyth Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, OM, GCMG, GCVO, KCB, KStJ, DL.

[2] Olave St Clair Baden-Powell, Baroness Baden-Powell GBE.

[3] Aids to Scouting for N.-C. Os. & Men, Gale and Polden, 1899.

[4] ‘Our History’, Scouting America Order of the Arrow website, available here

[5] Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship,

[6] ‘Baden-Powell Scout Award’, Scouts NSW website, available here

[7] 18-25 years: ‘Rover Scouts’, Scouts NSW website, available here

[8] Scouts Australia Facebook post, 11 September 2024, available here

[9] 14-17/18 years: ‘Venturer Scouts: Look Wide’, Scouts NSW website, available here

[10] ‘King Scout’s Award’, Scouts Australia website, available here

[11] Information provided by Scouts NSW