Scouting and Guiding in Nauru
Nauru is one of 35 countries where Scouting exists (be it embryonic or widespread) but where there is no national Scout organisation which is yet a member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement. Scouting in Nauru is closely tied to Scouts Australia, and especially to Scouts in Geelong, Victoria, a port with which Nauru does much trading. Relationships between the Geelong Scouts and the Nauruan Scouts date back to the 1930s,[1] and continue into modern times.[2]
Although Nauru does have a Guiding organisation, work towards World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts membership recognition remains unclear.
History
[edit]The Nauru Scouting organisation was approved by the Melbourne Scout Headquarters.[3] As of December 1937, more one eighth of the island's population were Scouts.[3] Scouting began in Nauru due to concerns over a decline in physical activity due to the ease of life brought about by the discovery of phosphate.[3]
In 1982, Nauru printed a miniature sheet of stamps commemorating the Year of the Scout.[4]
Relationship with Geelong Scouts
[edit]One of the first records of interaction between the Nauruan Scouts and the Geelong Scouts is of the 1934 Jamboree, where members from both groups camped next to each other.[1]
Harold Hurst, former leader of the Geelong Scouts of Frankston, was a driving force in establishing ties between the two groups, having provided transportation, accommodation and education for visiting Nauruan Scouts.[1]
In the 1930s, the Geelong Scouts collected books to send to Nauru. As of 1936, the Nauru Scout organisation had a library of approximately 1000 volumes.[5]
As recently as May 2013, Scouts from Nauru have visited Scouts from Geelong.[2]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "A long, busy career in Scouting", Australian Scout, April 1999.
- ^ a b "Leader Newsletter - Geelong Peninsula District", Wayne Myers, May 2013
- ^ a b c Scouting in Nauru - How The Movement Helped An Island, The Argus, 16 December 1937
- ^ "Miniature Sheet - Nauru - Scouts"[usurped], Indian Stamp Ghar, 6 March 2010
- ^ "Boy Scouts from Nauru", The Argus, 13 February 1936.
External links
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