By Mikayla van Loon
Scouting in Lilydale has always been a popular pastime and the proof is in the 110 year history which will be celebrated next month.
While scouting stemmed from British military man Major-General Robert Baden-Powell in 1907, it soon took off in Victoria, with 11 clubs established by 1908.
Lilydale’s establishment of a troop in 1914 makes it one of the older clubs in the state and “definitely the first in the local area”, committee president Angela Eldridge said.
“Basically the local progress group, which is what they call themselves in Lilydale at the time, and they decided the need for a youth organisation was there,” Angela said.
“And so they got a couple of the scout leaders from another group to come out to Lilydale and set it up.”
The strong footing of the First Lilydale Scout Group over the many decades, Angela said, remains to this day with around 80 families still attached to the group and program.
“We have youth across all sections. So we have from five-year-olds who are our Joey Scouts, all the way up to our rovers, who are actually adults, so they go all the way up to 26,” she said.
This continued connection and involvement in scouting, Angela puts down to the value placed on attending events and having that front-facing contribution in the community.
“We do a lot within the local community. We can be seen at Bunnings doing sausage sizzles to raise money for jamboree camps. We participate in things like the Lilydale Street Fair, and we have contacts with the Rotary Club and any local group that will have us.
“We have that visibility in the community. We man the gates of the Lilydale Show. We have that youth presence.”
The safe and accepting environment, Angela said, also makes scouting appealing to many young people who don’t find belonging in other places.
“There’s a lot of additional needs children in scouting, a lot of neurodiverse children who don’t fit in in school, in sporting clubs and things like that.
“It’s a real good sense of ownership, and it gives them all that responsibility and pride. Helping other people is one of the big philosophies of scouting, and I think that’s really demonstrated in that community involvement.”
Celebrating 110 years is not only about reflecting on the past, the founders and the establishment of the group but about the young people who will steer it into the future.
“We’ve involved the youth as much as possible. We’ve had a badge design competition to decide who’s going to design the 110 year badge.
“We’ve chosen, and we’re having a few hundred of those made up. We’re having a bumper sticker made up, and it’s all youth designed. So one of our 16-year-olds has designed the badge and is very, very proud.”
The celebration will be held on Saturday 10 August at the Scout Hall in Erldunda Court, combining the annual award ceremony with a party.
“We’ve invited past members, anyone who’s got memorabilia, anything like that. We’re going to do from midday, the formalities, and then we’re just going to have the campfire set up at the back, and some activities run by the youth,” Angela said.
“We’re going to have some displays around, we’re going to go by era, so almost by decade of what was happening in Lilydale Scouts at that time, and what was happening in Lilydale at that time or in the world at that time.”
Everyone is invited to attend the event, whether a former scout, a scout with a different club, a supporter of the group or just a community member.
