Australian Scout Jamboree

infobox WorldScouting

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caption = Scouts Australia Logo
name = Scouts Australia
headquarters =
country = Australia
f-date = 1908
founder = Lord Baden Powell
members = 84 000 [ [http://www.apr.scout.or.jp/countries/australia.htm WOSM Asia-Pacific Region] Accessed 14 December, 2006 ]
chiefscout = Michael Jeffery [http://www.scouts.com.au/main.asp?iStoryID=734 Chief Scout] Accessed, 14 December 2006 ]

The Australian Scout Jamboree is a jamboree which is held every three years by Scouts Australia. The Jamboree is traditionally held in early January and runs for 12-13 days.

The first, in 1934, was held in Frankston, Victoria and was the only Australian Jamboree attended by the Chief Scout, Robert Baden-Powell. The Frankston district still uses the original Jamboree logo as its district emblem.

Traditionally Australian Jamborees are hosted on a rotational basis, with the order of hosting being as follows:
*South Australia
*Victoria
*Western Australia
*Queensland
*New South Wales

Each Scouting Branch (State) is the effective host of the Australian Jamboree and takes responsibility for its management.

By world standards, Australian Jamborees are medium sized, with the largest Jamborees being held in Europe and North America and generally hosting between 35,000 to 40,000 participants.

Organisational Structure

Committee

The Jamboree Organising Committee (JOC) has the primary task of organising and running the Jamboree. The host state takes the responsibility for forming a JOC from local scouters.

Contingents

The largest Organisational unit of the Jamboree is a Contingent. There is one contingent for each of the Australian States and Territories - Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia, - as well as New Zealand, Guides Australia, and International Contingents.

Troops

A troop consists of about 42 Scouts. Six Patrols of Youth members and six to seven Leaders. Each troop shares a common camping area where they will cook, sleep and socialise for the duration of the Jamboree. Troops are generally made up of members of the same contingent and Mixed Overseas contingent.

Patrols

Youth members in troops are further subdivided into patrols of 5 - 6 scouts. The most experienced scout is (generally) given the task of being 'Patrol Leader' or 'PL', and another experienced scout is assigned as 'Assistant Patrol Leader' or 'APL'. Scouts work in patrols for all activities and tasks during the Jamboree. At the jamboree Patrol Leaders are given special prizes and a special lunch to acknowledge the important task they carry out.

Scouts must be between the age of 11 and 15 and must have proven their scouting skills by earning their Pioneer Badge. Participants will be expected to cook for themselves, keep their sleeping area and campsite clean and tidy, participate in their assigned activities, and cope with the experience of being away from home for the period of the Jamboree (usually about 11 days).

Other Participants

Older members - namely Venturers and Rovers - also attend the Jamboree to assist with activities and other tasks.

Younger members - Joeys, Cubs - families, and friends of Scouting are able to visit the site as day visitors, especially on Future Scout Day (Market Day), where games and stalls are set up by the Scouts attending the Jamboree.

Activities

Jamboree activities are a mixture of on-site and off-site activities that seek to challenge the participants, reinforce Scouting values, provide valuable and new experiences, and most of all, be great fun.

Activities for the 2007 Australian Scout Jamboree included:-

*Circus Skills
*Bush tracking and navigation
*Flying - the AJ2007 site had its own airstrip
*Canoes, rafts and swimming at Lake Nagambie
*Exploring Historic Echuca
*Visiting Bendigo
*Plenty of mud activities

On site

During a Jamboree there could be more people on the Jamboree site than there are in some regional towns. Considerable resources and infrastructure are set up at the Jamboree sites to ensure the safety, well-being and enjoyment of all participants. Some of the Jamboree resources include:-

*Main and secondary stage areas
*Shopping Mall
*Socialisation Areas
*Hospital and First Aid posts
*Internet Cafe
*On-site radio station, which both Scouts and leaders contribute to
*On-site newspaper
*Transport Depot
*Police and security
*Temporary on-site fire station
*Warehousing of food and consumables
*Reliable communications infrastructure
*Fresh water supply and grey water processing

List of Australian Jamborees

# Frankston, Victoria, 1934 - attended by Baden-Powell.
# Bradfield,Sydney New South Wales, 1938.
# Wonga Park, Victoria, 1948.
# Greystanes, New South Wales, 1952.
# Clifford Park, Victoria, 1955/56.
# Landsdowne, New South Wales, 1960/61.
# Dandenong, Victoria, 1964/65.
# Jindalee, Queensland, 1967/68.
# Leppington, New South Wales, 1970/71
# Woodhouse, South Australia,1973/74
# Dandenong, Victoria, 1976/77.
# Perry Lakes, Western Australia, 1979/80.
# Ipswich, Queensland, 1982/83.
# Cataract Scout Park, Sydney, New South Wales, 1985/86
# Woodhouse, South Australia, 1989/90
# Ballarat, Victoria, 1992.
# Perry Lakes, Western Australia, 1994/95.
# Springfield, Queensland, 1997/98.
# Cataract Scout Park, Sydney, New South Wales, 2001.
# Woodhouse, South Australia, 2004.
# Elmore, Victoria, 2007.
# Cataract Scout Park Sydney, New South Wales, 2010 Jamborees were not held during World War II

21st Australian Jamboree

The 21st Australian Jamboree (AJ2007) took place at the Elmore Field Days site in Elmore, Victoria, from the 1st to the 13th of January, 2007. [ [http://www.elmorefielddays.com.au/mediaReleaseDetail.asp?ID=1 Jamboree media release] ] It was the first major Scout event in 2007 and thus the first to celebrate 100 years of Scouting. 12,000 adults and youth from Australia and 30 other counties attended the Jamboree, 8,500 of whom were scouts. [ [http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=174682 National Nine News, 3 January 2007] ] The Jamboree had a theme of "Get in the Game" to promote participation.

Activities

AJ2007 featured four off-site activities: Wet Wild & Windy, Riverforce, Bushwacked and Ready Set Bendigo.

On-site activities included Venture Extreme (learning about linking to Ventures), X-Site (circus themed), Planet Blitz (focused on recycling and the environment), Rock Sports (rock climbing and abseiling) and Sky High (joy flights over the Jamboree site Elmore, and Rochester). Game On was another activity featuring 6 bases. It included sports, car smashing, mud and a giant water slide.

Additional on-site activities included a carnival, contingent HQ, subcamp activities and a mall.

Entertainment

The Australian Jamboree 2007 featured lots of entertainment, with Music acts such as Evermore, The Rogue Traders, Bjorn Again, Tripod and Taxiride performing on the main arena; along with numerous cover bands. Stunt planes and Motocross riders brought other nights alive; along with a Marquee called “The Place” which had themed discos.

Clean up

Clean up of the site involved removing 200 tonnes of rubbish, dismantling 16,000 square meters of marquee, and removing 208 portable buildings on site, including toilets. It was expected to take a fortnight using 50 volunteers. [cite news | url= http://bendigo.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=news&subclass=general&story_id=547476&category=General
title= Big clean-up under way | publisher= bendigo.yourguide.com.au Rural Press Ltd | date=2007-01-15 | accessdate=2007-01-24] The scouts had already taken down their own tents and troop facilities.

External links

* [http://www.yican.com.au/1935/ The first Australian Jamboree]
* [http://www.scoutsaj2010.com AJ10 Website]
* [http://www.scouts.com.au Scouts Australia website, with information on the next Jamboree's.]

References