From Lone Scout to Queen’s Scout to the Coronation By Ilma Hackett, Balnarring & District Historical Society
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t would be a huge understatement to say Paul Francis enjoyed his scouting activities. The young lad’s enthusiasm was boundless. Scouting days begin Paul and his family lived at Balnarring Beach and he was introduced to scouting in 1944. When George Smith, Scout Master of the 1st Flinders Troop, started a patrol at Balnarring Paul was one of the first to join. Balnarring’s population was too small to have a scout troop and Smith was putting into practice an idea he had seen in the U.K. This was to set up a patrol in smaller towns that were attached to a larger troop already in existence in a larger centre. At first there were four boys of scouting age in the Balnarring Patrol and seven younger lads, including Paul’s brother Bryan, who formed a Cubs’ group. Every month Smith came to Balnarring Beach from his home in Sorrento to lead the new patrol which met in the shelter shed on the foreshore at Balnarring Beach. This patrol lasted for four years until poor health forced Smith to close, not just the Balnarring Patrol, but the 1st Flinders Troop as well. continued next page... Right: Patrol Leader Paul Francis Below: Shelter Shed at Balnarring Beach, home to the 1st Balnarring Patrol
September 2023
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