WA Rover Scouts Annual 2022

WA Rover Scouts

2022 WARC Executive

Chairman: Jordan Phillips

Vice-Chairman: Danica Zekulich

Secretary: Ciara O’Hanlon

Treasurer: Cameron Fallon

PR Officer: Peter Hinds

Program Officer: Samantha van Munster

Training & Development Officer: Liam Gallagher

Branch Advisor Rover Scouts: Greg Chapman/Delshard Mozhdehinia

Chief Scout of Western Australia

Honourable Chris Dawson APM

Scouts WA Chief Commissioner

Ayden Mackenzie

WA Rover Council

133 Scarborough Beach Rd

Mt Hawthorn, WA 6016

PR Officer’s Recap

This year was very busy on the PR front. We launched the new WA Rovers website, giving Rovers a new directory for forms and contacts. The Executive Team spent countless hours behind the scenes working towards a new era of WARC that will usher in the upcoming generation of Rovers.

Taking on Public Relations Officer for WARC this year has been equal parts demanding and rewarding. Major thank you to this year’s Exec team for guiding and supporting me through it all and allowing me to contribute my two cents to WARC each month. Couldn’t’ve wished for a better group to work with. Wishing all the best to next years team!

Peter Hinds

Chairmans Report

Well, there it goes!

The 2022 Scouting year is already done and dusted. What a year it’s been with many highs and lows.

Starting with the launching the of the 100year Anniversary of the WA Rover Council. A milestone occasion for anyone and it looked to make this year a promising one. We launched the Beyond the Horizons Chairman Challengepushing to showcase what we as a section were truly capable of in the Program, and together as a Council we started pondering the bigger topics around bringing in a new age of the WA Rover Council.

Of course, having been living with Covid in our community for 2 years now we thought we were nearing the end; but this year we got to experience the reality of the pandemic, which caused an interesting turn of events for our Sandmoot committee. However, with determination came success and the remainder of our events for this year were a huge success!

A huge shout out, thank you and congratulations goes out to our wonderful event committees for all their hard work and dedication to making our Branch Rover Program as successful as it has been this year.

As WA Rover Scouts, we also got to celebrate some firsts and hold some bragging rights on the National Stage, with two Rover Scouts being the first in Australia to receive the Advanced Diploma Leadership and Management, impressing other Branch and National Commissioners that we as a Council have Rover Scouts performing at these levels of leadership.

We also ushered in a new era for the role of Branch Adviser Rover Scouts, farewelling Greg Chapman after 7years in the role and welcoming in Delshard Mozhdehinia; I am sure I speak for the whole section when I say Greg has left a lasting and meaningful impact on WA Rover Scouts, influencing and advising an entire generation of Rover Scouts, his work and his advice will both be deeply missed, and a huge thank you for his years of service.

To my Exec, words cannot express enough how thankful I have been to get to work with you all this year. When I look back at our time this year, I can say with complete confidence that we are one of the most accomplished executive teams. Having worked tirelessly to redevelop how WARC is perceived from our digital footprint to how we operate as a Council. A lot of the behind the scenes work that only we know of; our work as a team has gone a long way to making WA Rover Scouts a thriving Branch Section.

Your dedication and service to the Council and to WA Rover Scouts in the last year has truly been incredible, and I am honoured to have gotten to work with each of you.

Throughout this year in nearly every speech I have said or discussion we have had as a Council, I have left you with the thought of “what do we want WA Rover Scouts to look like, to become”. Not just because Scouts WA was going through a Branch wide restructure, or because we had just reached a milestone event in our Council’s history, but because over the last few years, Rover Scouts as a whole have gone through significant changes and are still trying to find their footing in a New Youth Program.

Lastly, I want to congratulate and welcome the 2023 WA Rover Council Executive to their new roles. Stepping onto the Executive is always a bit of a scary step, but I can promise you that once on the Exec, you will enjoy almost every part of it! I look forward to working each and every one of you on the Executive team next year; it is looking to be an incredible year ahead!

So once again, as we wrap up things nicely for the year, I want every to take a moment to think on the question “Where do we want to see WA Rover Scouts in the future?”

Yours

in Rovering, Jordan Phillips Chairman WA Rover Council

Vice-Chairman

Danica Zekulich

Hi everyone!

What a year it’s been... We’ve finally seen the return to a sense of normalcy this year which has seen our membership start to rise again at the beginning of the year. We experienced the usual pattern of membership growth and falls over the year and are seeing us end the year with a total of 157 Rover Scouts. This number reflects a large project that occured in the background in clearing up the mess that was MyScout; we finally got rid of some previously closed Units, inactive or booted members and even included removing the longest standing on the books rover at 33 years old!

We finally saw the retirement of the BPSA Support Team after the last few Rover Scouts completing their award on the old system have since received their award. This team has been instrumental in helping many achieve the highest award possible within the Rover badgework system and I thank them all for their time and effort over the years.

This year, one of my big goals was to work with Unit Leaders on a more individual level; this has seen me help Units to recruit new members, create Unit codes and even run a successful Unit council. Something I would like to see continue into 2023. I want to thank my 2022 exec for sticking around through the highs and lows behind the scenes this year as well as Unit Leaders for all their hard work in keeping WA Rover Scouts running smoothly at ground level.

Lastly I want to wish the income executive good luck for the upcoming year and I hope that you thoroughly enjoy the role. Thank you for the opportunity to serve as Vice Chairman, to tag along for the ride and support you and your Unit needs through this year!

Secretary Report

Ciara O’Hanlon

Hi everyone!

As stated in every secretary report, it's a bit odd to be sharing my own thoughts with you rather then what WA Rovers have said at a WARC or General Meeting.

I've had a fantastic year with the 2022 executive, who have shown support and guidance for me and the wider Rovering community. I thank them all for this and much more.

I'd like to also give a big thank you to Maximus Vinning for standing in for me during the September WARC while I was away!

Best of luck to next year's WARC executive, and especially the 2023 Secretary! I'm sure you will all do a fantastic job. <3

Program Officer

Samantha van Munster

What an eventful year!

We had some events run and some did not but it was a great time to re-look at all things events. We started off the year with ANZAC Ceremony at Kings Park run by Subiaco Rover Unit.

Sandmoot was unfortunately cancelled due to the increase in COVID-19 numbers in WA, but a big thank you to Cameron Fallon and team for planning the great event. Unfortunately, no RSM events happened this year but hopefully next year they will run.

Gravelmoot was a success with all projects being completed, thank you to Max Riseley and team for putting on a great event. Black Tie Rover Ball 100 years was a great evening seeing everyone scrubbed up well for delicious food and dancing the night away. Thanks to Emma Black and team for putting on a great event.

Not sure what 2023 will bring on for events but hope to see you all around and creating your unique events!

Training and Development

Liam Gallagher

The road so far for Training and Development this year has been met with its fair share of obstacles and other challenges, from COVID-19 preventing courses from running early in the year, to Branch Commissioner roles being shaken up resulting in delays in communication with Training Support.

We had Rover Scouts accomplish their higher adult training. Congratulations to the Rover Scouts who persevered and upskilled their team leadership abilities – who demonstrated strong competency towards earning their Wood Badge.

• Michael Duncan

• Isaac Weatherly

• Megan Kelman

• Leilani Gibson

• Kalita Tomlinson

The first ever Personal Development Course for Rover Scouts in Australia took place over the 14-16 October this year. It was an honour and privilege to present and work in a team alongside Jordan Phillips and Samantha Van Munster in order to turn this dream into a reality, at Willetton Scout Hall.

This course wasn’t about sitting down and being lectured for a whole a weekend but rather about creating a shared experience with other Rover Scouts, knowing more about yourself, and how you can support your fellow Unit members to finding their success through personal development.

Next year, I hope to see more Rover Scouts achieve their Gilwell Woggles, their Wood Badges, Axe and Logs, and take on Adventurous Activities, to show that we, as individuals and a section, are self-developing, and self-improving, role-models whose section was built on the values of comradery and service to others.

I look forward to a better year in 2023 for supporting Rover Scouts. I underwent my own professional development by undertaking Scouting Management. From this, I have a deeper appreciation and understanding of my role as Training and Development Officer for WA Rover Scouts. I feel I am now in a better position and mind set to effectively support, mentor, and encourage you all to go further along your Training Pathway.

Branch Advisor Rover Scouts

Delshard Mozhdehinia

2022!

Rover Scouts is an opportunity to grow and learn in a safe environment as a newly-minted adult, with peers that you can trust and mentors who are there for you. As your new Branch Adviser this year, it’s been a privilege to step into the big shoes of Greg Chapman to fill, and to work with the Executive and the Bishop Riley Unit. Thank you, Greg, for all your dedication to the section over the years, and thank you to my fellow Rover Advisers who have welcomed me to your ranks as a mentor for our Rover Scouts.

The opportunities to volunteer in Rover Scouts through different capacities can lead to future opportunities working for an RTO in the education space, serving on a board or even leading a non-profit organisation. As always, these opportunities can give you the capacity to learn new things about yourself and cut your teeth. So, I challenge every Rover to take up any opportunities that are before you where you can grow!

Every year has some highlights, challenges, and pinnacles - and 2022 is no different. SandMoot 2023 promises to be what 2022 was unable to enjoy, the Rover Ball was an excellent night to let your hair down, and I would be remiss to not acknowledge the Camelot Rover Rotunda’s completion after many years of hard work. All of these, and more, were achieved through the tireless work of your peer Rovering community, and we thank them all for their service.

Treasurer’s Report

Cameron Fallon

Cowabunga!

This year has absolutely flown by… feels like a mere few months ago I was elected to this role and now my term as Treasurer is done. I have enjoyed my time, being able to assist event committees with payments and refunds as well as coordinated merch for AIM 2023 and finally being able to say the Rotunda is done (Thank you to the Rotunda Committee for your hard work and dedication in completing the project!). While still recovering from the COVID-19 outbreaks of yesteryear, Sandmoot was unfortunately unable to go ahead safely, meaning one of our most popular events couldn’t proceed.

However, thanks to the resilience of WA Rover Scouts we were still able to proceed with Events which helps maintain the bank account (Kaching! Kaching!). I also thank the Queensland Rover Scouts for buying plenty of mugs and to the AIM participants for their merch purchases. Hopefully, we can continue this momentum into next year and continue to thrive as a section and also make bank $$$$$

Events

ANZAC Vigil

Rover Scouts run an annual Vigil from dusk till dawn, starting on the 24th of April through to the 25th, including the Dawn Service where we participated in the Honour Guard.

During the Vigil the Rover Units take turns marching around the State War Memorial in half an hour shifts approximately from dusk till dawn the next day. Four Rover Scouts march around the Memorial while two others stand in front of the Memorial to talk to the General Public.

The WARC Executive generally take the last shift in the morning prior to the Dawn Service before joining the other Rover Scouts in the Honour Guard along the concourse pathway between the Flame of Remembrance and the War Memorial during the Dawn Service. This year we had the added challenge of this being the first time the event has run in a few years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The vigil started at 20:00 on the 24th of April and continued through to 06:00 (the start of the dawnservice) on the 25th of April. Shifts rotated every 30 min with a patrol of 5-6 people. Four people were designated to rotate around the State War Memorial for the entire shift and the rest 1-2 people were positioned to stand in front of the memorial for promotion purposes. Rover Scouts who were physically not able to stand for 30 min were given an option to sit in front of the memorial for its PR.

The patrol was instructed to meet at the walkway near the State War memorial 30 min before their shift to be briefed with Master of Arm commands. The new honour guard was briefed with commands verbally and then was given a demonstration and simulated the process of the master of arms change on a small scale. This was very useful as the Rover Scouts doing their first vigil were able to see the handover procedure and the older Rover Scouts were able to use their previous experience to give a helping hand.

Gravelmoot

Gravelmoot was held once again at Manjedal Activty Centre, where Rover Scouts completed a range of service activities from maintenance on the high ropes shelter, to painting the runway, to dismantling the maze we got most of it done. Thanks to the awesome attendees who came along for the weekend.

Starting on the morning of the 7th May we broke out into our teams, with experienced fellowship and current Rover Scouts out to the set tasks. The morning started great and we were ahead of schedule completing the tasks at hand. After lunch we continued working for a few more hours before it was knock-off time and then enjoyed a relaxing evening.

Sunday came around and we finished off the jobs as much as we could. Weather shelter completed at the high ropes, the maze just about finished with a very full skip bin and the runway painted. Afterwards, we finally wrapped up for the day and all went home for a well deserved rest.

It was a great weekend getting to meet fellow Rover Scouts new and old. I hope next year is great too, and to anyone considering running their first event, such as myself, Gravelmoot is definitely a great first step to understanding the process.

Yours in Rovering, Max Riseley

Mission Impossible 16

Wow! What a year it has been. Making it that much better was the return of Mission Impossible after a three-year hiatus.

Mission Impossible 16 - Around the World saw 150 Scouts, Venturer Scouts Rover Scouts, and Girl Guides descend on a new location in the Wandoo National Park near York. We spent the weekend navigating to Around the World themed activities and bases. Everything from pirate adventures, encounters with cannibals, building the wonders of the world, and going around the world in 80 Days. There were so many bases that getting to them all would be impossible, but that is kind of the point at Mission Impossible. The Venturer Rover Overnight Camp, or VROC, was the party that it promised to be. Not only was it a place to cook and relax at the end of a long day, but there were also more activities to keep everyone entertained long into the night. A movie tent, target shooting, a OneCamp info booth, and plenty of music that even included a live performance from local band Berberbernn.

Did you catch that word we said before; it’s ok if you missed it. “Scouts.” That’s right, MI:16 was also opened to Scouts for the first time in MI history. It was great to see 40 Scouts accept the mission and challenge themselves to compete and test their skills. Hopefully the future sees more Scouts joining in and we see the event grow as a multi sectional event.

1st place: Vector (Ooh Yeeaah)

2nd place: The Noel it All’s

3rd place: Seaward Buccaneers

Mission Impossible can’t run without a dedicated group of Adult Supporters who assist in running events. From those that are there to lend a hand, run and lead a base, or looking after everyone’s health and well-being at the event. MI:16 was supported by more than 80 Adults whose work mostly goes unnoticed. Nevertheless, we are thankful for all the work they did for the event.

A special thanks needs to go to Murray, the property owner, who so graciously offered the use of his property for the event.

See you all next time for MI17!

Rover Ball

What a glamours and fun night the Rover Ball was. I was very proud to put this event on as one of my last for the Rover section. I could not have done it without Samantha van Munster. She deserves the biggest shout out as she put so much time and effort in to help me, thanks Sam! Also shout out to Jasmine! Who did all the PR work to hype Rover Scouts into going.

We had over 90 Rover Scouts attend which is a huge turn out. The night was an absolute blast. Everyone looked incredible wearing their fanciest outfits and tearing up the dance floor. It was also great to see current and past Rover Scouts attend. After all it was to celebrate the 100th anniversary of WARC.

We were lucky enough to secure Beaumonde on the Point as the venue, where the previous centenary ball was held and they looked after us. We were treated to a delicious two course meal and flowing refreshment. We so had our very own chairman Jordan Phillips as the keynote speaker who unsurprisingly is superb at public speaking.

I’ve had lots of great feedback from Rover Scouts who attended. Ultimately that is the greatest complement. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to put on this event.

Yours in Rovering, Emma xx

Midnight Express

Midnight Express

After being off the WA Rover Scouts calendar for a few years, a team of Rover Scouts from North Beach Rover Unit thought it was time that Midnight Express made a comeback. Early planning kicked off towards the end of 2021 as we worked towards an event date of late May. Unfortunately, the federal government had other plans as the 2022 federal election was called for the same day that was planned for Midnight Express. With a few of our Rover Scouts planning to work at the election, we made the decision to move Midnight Express to a date later in the year.

With our new October date set, we got to work pulling the event together. This bit was easy, the event was ready for May, so all moving it did was just give us extra time to make the event that much better.  On the day we had 20 Rover Scouts registered which ended up making 5 teams.

As the teams headed off in the middle of the night, they were all about to spend the next 12 hours trying to earn as many points as they could. The teams got points from a scavenger hunt list, team challenges, and from attending 2 checkpoints. They had to get creative to complete the challenges their teams faced; from finding quokkas without a trip to Rottnest Island, suspension bridges on playgrounds, and jetty jumping without getting wet.  Everyone travelled far and wide, going as far south as Rockingham, north to Two Rocks, and east to Mundaring. Two Rocks, and east to Mundaring. With teams working hard to earn themselves plenty of points on their journey.

A special thanks is also needed for the Hampton Park Scout Unit, who were very keen to get involved in in the event. They took time out of their Sunday morning to come along and run our second checkpoint. These Scouts did an amazing job and loved being a part of a Rover Scout event.

Congratulations to Waylen Bay Rover Scouts who absolutely smashed it this year — earning more than 17,000 points!

Sandmoot — VALE

Ahhh the event that could have been.

It was unfortunate that we had to pull the plug on Sandmoot so close to the event happening. But with the rising number of COVID-19 cases it felt like the right call. Thank you to everyone in my committee for putting up with my stresses and humour…both went hand in hand but I had faith the event would have been a success with the support my committee gave me.

The theme was perfect (at least in my opinion), Moot Voyage was going to bring the world to us. If anyone is like me, the want for travel had never been higher so having the opportunity to recreate cultures from the around the world was something I couldn’t refuse.

As Albert Einstein said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. So please make me not think I am insane and come to Sandmoot next year (which I am hopefully running… this will be embarrassing if I am not).

Thanks team, Cameron Fallon

This is what I imagine Sandmoot would have been.

Unit Reports

• Willagee Kardinya Rover Unit p.25

• North Beach Rover Unit p.26

• Swan Districts Rover Unit p.27

• Pelican Point Sea Scout Rover Unit p.28

• Mundaring Rover Unit p.29

• Waylen Bay Rover Unit p.30

• Kalamunda Rover Unit p.31

• Canning Rover Unit p.32

• Warwick Rover Unit p.33

• Padbury Rover Unit p.34

• Salter Point Rover Unit p.35

• Bayswater Rover Unit p.35

• Rockingham Regional Rover Unit p.36

• South West Regional Rover Unit p.37

• The WA Lone Rover Scout Unit p.38

• Subiaco Rover Scout Unit p.39

• Reports Not Submitted p.40

Willagee Kardinya Rover Unit

Only our second year as a Rover Unit and it has been a wild ride of a year!!! Dialing back on our focus from training last year, we decided to get more involved with WARC events than we had been last year, managing to attend every single event and even got our whole Rover Unit to Ball to celebrate the WARC Centennial.

Some of our highlights this year as a Unit have been the many WARC events we have gotten involved in, especially Gravelmoot (or as Jordan puts it “learning how to use a power tool!), but also the incredible love for trivia games that we have possessed, getting involved with our Group’s younger sections, and continuing with our focus of growing our young but thriving Rover Unit!

Our Unit has also had some wildly successful members this year with Jordan and Liam becoming the first Rover Scouts Australia wide to complete the Advance Diploma Leadership and Management, Michael becoming Team Leader for Archery here in WA, and Emma setting out on one of the biggest projects ever – Program director for Eclipse One Camp!

As we start to look at 2023, we excitedly await the challenges and achievements of our Unit, and we congratulate and wish good luck to our Unit members stepping onto the 2023 WARC Executive!

North Beach Rover Unit

As we find ourselves in our second lap around the sun, North Beach Rover Scouts have been keeping ourselves rather busy this year. Our program has been packed with variety of activities and events. We attended ANZAC Vigil at Kings Park. This was a first for us since the event couldn’t happen in 2021. One of our Rover Scouts went along to Gravelmoot to lend a hand at Manjedal. And, we even had representation at the Rover Ball, which was an excellent night.

Our weekly program had things like navigation around our local park, making things go BANG! at our science night, checking out the local area when the E-scooters came to town, and going head-to-head with the Scouts when they challenged us to a cook off (the Scouts won). It’s been great to not only do activities as a Rover Unit, but to be working alongside the other sections at our Group. We event got a few camps in, we went to Pemberton for the March long weekend, as our replacement Sandmoot where we explored the area and claimed the Bicentennial Tree. Our other camp was a weekend away at Wedge Island, where we enjoy out time on the beach, and 4-wheel-driving nearby.

Our program was just the beginning of what North Beach has been up to this year. Most of our Rover Scouts were involved in some way with the planning of Mission Impossible. Brent, our Unit Leader, was the Event Chair, Toby was on PR, and Jay was leading the logistics team. Other North Beach Rover Scouts had some minor roles in the event as well, from helping with site prep, logistics support, and even appearing in some of our marketing videos.

North Beach also ran Midnight Express as it made its return in 2022, and it was great to be able to deliver another great event for WA Rover Scouts. To top it off we have had two our Rover Scouts involved in with the National Rover Council this year, Toby has been the National Rover Council’s Vice Chair, and Declan has been the WA Rover Council’s NRC Delegate. They have both done great work, not only representing North Beach Rover Unit, but representing WA Rover Scouts and the things that Rover Scouts can achieve.

Throughout the year we have grown as a Unit, developed as individuals, and had an absolute blast along the way. Now it’s time for us to have a well-deserved rest over Christmas and get ready for the adventures that lie ahead for us in the new year It’s looking like a busy one, especially as we are getting closer to OneCamp, and maybe even a few extra surprises. But you’ll have to wait and see.

Pelican Point Sea Scout Rover Unit

The Pelican Point Sea Scout Rover Unit has continued its focus on supporting Scouting and Venturing within the group over the past 12 months.

We completed substantial overhauls on the groups large power boat Dampier Creek, overhauled the engine and brake systems of our group support vehicle and contributed to smaller ongoing maintenance projects.

Outside of supporting scouting activities the Rover Scouts have met most Wednesday to progress with personal projects and to organise ongoing supporting activities and Rover water based activities.

Mundaring Rover Unit

This year Mundaring Rover Scouts have been focusing on creating a well-rounded program that supports all Unit members and their interests. We began 2022 with a focus on social and engaging nights that included doing inter-Unit activities and running events with other sections of our Group.

Parts of this program included: competing in lawn bowls and trying out an escape room. In term 2 our Unit decided to focus more on the award scheme and completing bushcraft activities to help better our skills and learn new things. Whilst we continued these activities and skill building elements in term 3, where they culminated in our 2nd place at Mission Impossible.

As we enter our last term for 2022, our Unit has come up with an eclectic program that extends our creative minds. This term we will be running nights such as spiritual night, teach something/ learn something night, and our speed-dating trivia night.

We have grown as a Unit this year and have created a more engaging online presence to record the memories we make. As a Unit, we look forward to all the new ideas we will create in 2023!

Swan Districts Rover Unit

Swan Districts has had another great year of Rovering. With a wide range of activities across the 4 Challenge Areas, we have seen our Unit grow and develop. We have survived the challenges that were COVID and came out on the other side.

We started the year by booting some of our founding members, before taking on the ANZAC day vigil. We tested our competitive sides at laser tag, competitive video games and Holy Moly. We tested our strength at axe throwing and challenged our minds at an escape room. We embraced our creative sides as we embraced our inner Bob Ross and celebrated the centenary of WA Rover Scouts at the Ball.

We have had a great year and look forward to seeing you all around at the next Rover event.

Warwick Rover Unit

Warwick Rover Scouts have been up to quite a bit this year from arts and crafts to hiking and camping, it has been a great year. Last year and this year we have said goodbye to a few of our older members in the Unit so we became a bit smaller then usual but we have gained a few members too.

We have done multiple art activities: tie dye, DIY art, water painting, origami and much more learning new skills, running nights for other sections within our Group, geocaching in different areas and attending various WARC events throughout the year: ANZAC, Gravelmoot and Rover Ball. In the middle of the year, we paired up with Padbury Rover Unit to get more variety with in our activities and try different things. We learnt how to play jack box, walked the light trails within the City and donating blood.

The main event of the year where our some of our fellowship and current Rover Scouts got together at the Black-Tie ball! The old and the new altogether. We are looking forward to what next year will bring and hope for more exciting adventures together.

Waylen Bay Rover Unit

2022 was a year of great growth for Waylen Bay Rover Scouts. We have had a whole bunch of new members join, who bring new ideas and life to the Unit every week!

We ended 2021 saying so long to Scott and Harrison who were booted through the year, but also to our long-term RA Alan – we thank them for all the time they put in making the Unit what it was. During 2022 we have booted Mitch and Katherine, we will miss them dearly but thank them for all the fun and knowledge they brought. Huge shoutout to Ethan as well, who got presented his BPSA at the beginning of the year!

During the year we have tried new things, met new people and overall had a good laugh. We have brought out the inner child; making cardboard forts, playing video games, escaping rooms and playing many, many party games. We enjoyed WARC events like Midnight Express and the Rover Ball (our very own Emma organising a tip-top night), with the ball being immediately followed by a Just Dance night (note: bad idea).

To quickly name a few of the exciting Unit nights this year – we got dragged around by dogs during a scavenger hunt, sang to Encanto at our DIY outdoor cinema, debated whether chocolate or vanilla icecream was better, ranked our favourite streets at Powerpoint night and tie-dyed with the chairman. We went bouldering, got Swedish with Warwick and Padbury at IKEA, camped in Dryandra and learnt we’re terrible at spelling. Towards the end of the year we have been clearing out our den, scrubbing down walls and ripping out cabinets, to give the place some new character!

We’re looking forward to finishing out this year with a few group events and fundraisers. Massive thanks to our whole Unit for another fantastic year!

Kalamunda Rover Unit

Kalamunda Distrcit Rover Unit kicked off the year with a summer camp at the Vasse Scout camp, exploring the beautiful south west and investing our latest new member Mia to the unit. We got stuck into our many events that we have planned for the year including; going to Perth fringe shows, hosting the Kalamunda Districts annual Founders Day ceromony and enjoying day outings canoeing along the Canning river. We also found out two of our unit members have Costco memberships and took full advantage of the opportunity by going late night shopping.

Kalamunda Rovers were also present at a WARC level this year including helping out at the Youth Awards and lending a hand at Gravelmoot as well as attending ANZAC, standing vigil at Kings Park and dancing the night away at the WARC centanury ball.

The second half of the year consisted of making delicious creations in the airfryer, playing lots of board games and building a large bonfire which we shared the warmth with our friends in the fellowship. We also learnt how to service our reliable trailer that needed some TLC and made our famous pancakes for Cubilee this year out in the Swan Valley. We also said goodbye to Liz who after so many years of service, time and wisdom she has given to the unit has been booted.

The unit would also like to congratulate Thomas and Isabelle on the arrival of their son James to the world! (I’m sure we’ll see him in the unit in another 18 years..)

We can’t wait to see what the remaining of the year has installed for us as some of our members venture over to Tasmina for Apple Ile Moot over the summer. We look forward to seeing you all in 2023!

With love,

Kalamunda District Rover Unit

Canning Rover Unit

2022 has been an exciting year for us at Canning!

We started off the year presenting Krystal with her BPSA; one of the last on the Old Program’s Award Scheme. This award saw her create a community garden when we then used some green beans grown from it for Group camp. We welcomed 4 new faces in Leah, Sam S, Sam L and Keely into the Unit and said goodbye to both Ben and Krystal. We embarked on exciting adventures, both afar and closer to home. We tried so many new and wonderful things that we were eligible for the Chairman’s challenge award.

We’ve now been on the New Program for over 2 years and have been using it to improve on our program year after year. Some highlights of our year include our joint Venturer–Rover cooking nights and minute to win it competitions, a season of community hockey, constructing a swing set, book club and even managed to visit our local SES Unit. We had another Unit camp and participated again in the annual Master Mariners competition where we sailed, knotted and chart worked our way to victory landing ourselves a competition history record score of 96.9 out of the total 100 available points.

During June, we again participated in the Push Up challenge to raise awareness and money for mental health; we managed to complete 8249 total push ups over the 25 days and raised a total of $132 for Lifeline WA. In November, it was time to let our Moustaches grow for “Movember”another charity raising money for Mental Health.

2022 has been an eventful year of us, especially with the world starting to return to a sense of normalcy. We have a new exec incoming and I’m sure they’ll do amazing in their new roles. We cannot wait to see what adventures face Canning in 2023!

Padbury Rover Unit

We started the year by managing to get everyone to come to Rottnest (yes I mean everyone in Padbury Rover Unit made it) for a weekend away chasing quokkas for selfies, riding around the island more times then I would of liked and enjoying the crystal clear beaches and snorkelling spots.

We continued to meet regularly while we said goodbye to some more founding members, Sean and Dom (bootings might be coming… I said to keep an eye out last year, so I hope it’s still out). We welcomed and booted Kieran and assisted him with getting is BPSA (which he had mostly completed in South Australia), marking the first BPSA given to a Padbury Rover!

Towards the end of this year, we had a dip in attendance due to a multitude of reasons, thankfully for us, Warwick had a similar issue. So, we formed the ultimate NOR Dream Team and have been continuing activities together. Padbury will be running CBF again (so please join us) as well as taking part in the Group Camp.

Cheers to another year of Padbury success!

Salter Point Rover Unit

Bayswater Rover Unit is WA’s newest Rover Unit’s. Forming at the end of 2022, they have been off to a stellar start.

One of only a handful of Sea Scout Unit’s, they are champions of the water activities program and cannot wait to get involved over Summer.

Watch this space to see what they get up to in 2023!

Rockingham Regional Rover Unit

2022 has definitely been a year of individual progress for our Unit. Many of our members have decided to seriously pursue their BPSA before they are booted. This boost in enthusiasm has allowed us to focus on completing more of our OAS stages, Milestones, and Special Interest Areas. Our main focuses for this year have been our bushcraft, snorkelling and milestone progressions. Outside of our personal progressions, Rockingham has also strived to maintain a more consistent schedule with varying activities both In and out of the hall.

Rockingham has also strived to get themselves out and about during WARC events this year. This includes attendance at ANZAC day, Gravelmoot, the Rover Ball and Midnight express. Some of us even got around to completing our Essentials and Management training, good job us!

One of our biggest highlights for the year was Rockingham running its first event, Gravelmoot.We are all particularly proud of this achievement and am glad to have challenged our Unit with something outside our comfort zone. I hope to see more participation from our Unit for next year’s events as well. Our highlights for this year would definitely be our snorkelling trips, Midnight Express, escape rooms, car hide and seek, our various gameshow themed nights and of course Gravelmoot.

Overall, this has been another great year of progress for our Unit, and we look forward to whatever next year may throw at us.

South West Regional Rover Unit

We have had a quiet one this year, as each of our Rover Scouts has focused on their own things. We haven’t let that stop us, as we all still find our own ways to be involved.

This year our Rover Scouts have been helping out with Scouts and Venturers at Bunbury Sea Scouts, especially in the warmer months when it’s sailing season. It’s great to get out on the water on a Friday afternoon, even if it’s just for a short sail. We even had a chance to help the younger sections get out on the water for some of the district events like Joey H2O.

Some of our Unit still have a love for motorsports, and even though there hasn’t been any RSM events this year, we haven’t let that stop us. The car still needs attention, and every so often needs to be let out for a weekend. So, we have been getting involved in some of our more local rally events, which has been great to get involved with. We have also started to work with the next generation of drivers, and have helped some local Ventures get into the motorsports events, taking them along to RallyVent.

As is always the way, this year has seen some of our Rover Scouts come to the end of their journey. This year we have farewelled Luke and Bailey, and wish them all the best.

As the old ones go, the new ones come. Unfortunately for us, many of the Venturers that are coming through at the moment have already made plans to move to Perth for work or study, so we have been working with them to find their place at a metro Rover Unit. Hopefully the next wave of Venturers will be staying in town, and we will happily welcome them into our Unit.

Until then we will keep ticking away, doing our thing, having fun along the way.

Here’s to 2023!

The WA Lone Rover Scout Unit

The WA Lone Scout Group has been operational since 1925 and in this time, there’s been a few name changes and years of inactivity. Finding records of Lone Rover Scouts in Western Australia has proven difficult!

This year has been the first year of a Lone Rover Scout Unit being operational in Western Australia and we are not big, nor have we seen each other, but that’s the beauty of Lones! For those unaware, Lone Scouting was created for those in remote areas, with no Scouters their age near them, or people travelling around Australia. Meeting more than one of those criteria we decided to get Lone Rover Scouts active in WA.

Ethan and I have mostly kept in contact via telephone and try to catch up monthly about our Scouting adventures. We’ve been lucky enough to have Delshard jump on board as our Rover Advisor. It was brilliant having guidance even though we are all so far away from one another.

We completed a 24-hr challenge of who could find the most geocaches, with Kalita absolutely smashing it (4 caches found compared to Ethan’s one), tossed around some ideas to update our badge, and played Geoguessr with a Rover friend of Delshard’s from The Netherlands.

It’s been a good year with us finding our feet as a Lone Rover Unit and we are excited to continue into next year!

Subiaco Rover Scout Unit

This year has been great for the Subiaco Rover Scout Unit, we have run an engaging program and participated in many different events. Towards the beginning of the year we worked together as a Unit to run the WARC ANZAC Vigil event, this was a great success and the Unit is proud of the event considering almost none of us had attended before.

Later in the year many of our unit members attended Mission Impossible, either in a team with our Venturer Scouts or as part of the event team. This year saw the Unit enter a period of growth with many new members, some of these members came from our Venturer Unit whilst others came from other rover scout units. We are looking forward to Apple Isle Moot at the end of this year and have many of our members attending.

We also played some squash, went rock climbing with the Vents, had a Top Gun and pizza night, held a progressive painting night, had a Bluey viewing party and played many rounds of Telestrations. We also expanded our den’s collage mural with things we’ve saved over Program nights.

Tanika Derham - River Ranges District Rover Unit

Tanika joined Rover Scouts in 2015 where she moved from the Willagee Kardinya Scout Group, the Group she joined as a Cub Scout in 2006. Having previous experience in leadership positions, it was a very short period of time after she joined Rover Scouts to have an executive role within her Rover Unit. During her Rovering career, Tanika held the position of event and site coordinator of the Perth Royal Show for many years in a row.

To complete her Baden-Powell Scout Award she has developed her leadership skills by becoming an Assistant Joey Scout Leader at Maddington Scout Group, learning how to create a range of baking goods the culmination being a 3-tiered wedding cake, all with different flavours, joining a construction committee to build the Camelot Rotunda at Manjedal Scout Centre and as such creating a badge swap initiative at the rotunda. Tanika’s journey has been full of dedication and many leadership opportunities that have helped her become the person she is today.

Hugh Davies - Kalamunda District Rover Unit

Hugh joined the 3rd Kalamunda Rover Unit in 2013 after joining Scouts 11 years earlier as a Joey Scout at Kenwick Thornlie Scout Group. When he was invested into Rover Scouts he was charged with doing his best, doing his duty to his god, to the Queen of Australia and to help other people. Hugh prides himself on living up to that promise in all he has done in Rovers and that forms the way that he approached the self-development required for his Baden-Powell Scout Award.

He has done his best, improving his physical endurance to now be able to run half marathons. He has done his duty by becoming a sign language trained leader who has passed down many skills to the future generations of scouts. He has helped other people by organising regular blood and plasma donation events during the early 2020 at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring those who needed medical help during that troubling time were not left short. His highlight was the work he did encouraging his peers to regularly donate blood. He is proud that he was able to encourage two new people to return to be regular blood donors.

With the completion of the BPSA Hugh has managed to complete all his peak awards for all sections since he joined Scouts. He notes the best thing about the Rover Section is the culture - he has appreciated that having a group of peers in Rover Scouts helps you become who you need to be, and enjoys that they are very accepting.

Sheridan Podmore - Mundaring Rover Unit

Sheridan has been involved in Scouting since she was a Joey at the age of six and has in that time achieved each section’s peak award. For Sheridan, the completion of the Baden-Powell Scout Award was an easy challenge to aspire to because it allowed her to pursue activities and challenge herself in ways she didn’t know she could achieve. This was a goal she identified early in her Rover journey.

As part of her self development for the award, Sheridan completed six months of Yoga improving both her physical and mental health and growing in her spiritual awareness. She also worked for over a year with her local Youth Crew developing and mentoring young people in her community, she learned many different forms of cooking being able to improver her culinary knowledge and confidence in cooking new cuisines, experimenting, and cooking for other people. She also became a Joey Scout Leader continuing her mentoring and role-modelling of a younger age group. One of her highlights of the award was being able to create a 3-D art piece for the Mundaring Scout Hall.

She is very grateful to have had the opportunity to develop all of these new skills and build herself into a better person through this experience. Sheridan encourages anyone who wants to achieve their BPSA or any goal in life to just give it your all, and highlights that your only limitation is your mind.

Elodie Prinsloo - Warwick Rover Unit

Elodie joined Scouts in the Venturer section in Kinross Scout Group in 2011, since then she has demonstrated an enthusiasm of leadership and community support. After joining Rover Scouts in 2013 Elodie has held various leadership roles at a group, state and national level, becoming Branch Youth Council Chairman, WA Rover Council Chairman, and being the only Western Australian to hold the role of National Commissioner of Youth Empowerment.

To achieve her Baden-Powell Scout Award, Elodie achieved great skill development. She built on her as an Emergency Services cadet choosing to volunteer her time with the Wanneroo - Joondalup SES Unit. Growing in skills not only as how to work with a team, manage emotions in particularly stressful and physically uncomfortable situations but also how to use power tools.

She also improved on her physical fitness, training for months to compete in a triathlon. She was also able to practise contingency planning when the global pandemic postponed the triathlon, and as a result she was able to create her own, which served as a practice with the actual event, Tri Club Summer Series Race 9 only days before her birthday.

Elodie also assisted the Stirling Youth Advocates establish themselves as a local advisory group, and completed her Diploma of Leadership and Management. She looks back most fondly on the friendships formed through her experience ranging from World Scout Forums, National moots and many state events.

Ethan Giacomel - Waylen Bay Sea Rover Unit

Ethan has been a driving force in the Waylen Bay Rover Unit since 2018 offering many “brainwaves” and is an excellent example of a young adult taking up all the Rover section has to offer. He is your typical down-to-earth Rover willing to get back to nature. Ethan’s outcomes in his completion of the Baden-Powell Scout Award show the true capacity of young people and their drive for selfdevelopment and community spirit.

He completed his biggest challenge of his life to-date, at only 18, cycling the 1070km from Perth to Albany on the Munda Biddi Trail and then when he finished in Albany walking back to Perth along the Bibbulmun Track, which in total took him nearly 3 months not counting the preparation and fitness training he needed to do to ensure such a feat was possible. It is an incredible accomplishment and one that he is very proud of.

He has also participated in the Variety WA Bash designing a suitable car to be driven to the Pilbara and in doing so raising over $5000 for that charity. Developed his leadership skills by running Fremantle Sea Scout Unit and became a volunteer firefighter in Two Rocks - a passion that has led to helping him with employment. He has grown his creativity and fabrication skills, working on Baja cars for the WA Rover Scouts car racing events Bush Baja and Dandy Bash, and at one stage fashioned a floating picnic table for his peers.

Liam Gallagher - Willagee Kardinya Rover Unit

Liam has only been a member of Scouts for 3 years, having joined in 2019 and has already achieved it’s highest youth peak award, which is a testament to his capability as a young adult. His journey to completion of the Baden-Powell Scout Award has seen him discover and explore new interests within the world of Scouting through goal setting, participating in, and leading activities as a Rover Scout.

As part of achieving his award he has been able to grow significantly, emulating a large amount of passion to take on ambitious responsibilities in the WA Rover Council and the National Rover Council. He developed leadership and goal setting skills overcoming the challenges of procrastination, to obtain his Wood Badge, and working in various volunteer roles to grow his sense of social justice, civics and give back to the community.

Including growing in confidence and ability to become a Joey Scout Leader. Liam’s efforts did not end with the completion of the Baden-Powell Scout Award, and he has already gone onto complete the Certificate of Higher Adult Leadership.

Krystal Hayes - Canning Rover Unit

Krystal has been a youth member since 2005 and a member of Canning Sea Rover Unit since 2014 and has achieved the peak award in each previous section she has been in. As part of her award she volunteered to run two local Cub Units, and her efforts in running the local Liddelow Cub Unit and then the Canning Cub Unit grew the numbers in the sections, and allowed the youth that participated with her leadership to have great lasting memories.

Other badgework goals included:

• Improving physical fitness,

• Achieving a goal of beating her 5km pace,

• Demonstrating leadership by taking on peer leadership positions in Rover Scouts of Unit Leader and WA Rover Council Treasurer,

• Professional development by achieving her Wood Badge and Diploma of Leadership and Management,

• the revitalisation of a local community garden which saw her consulting with the Bentley Community Garden to create a native verge garden that was not only attractive for the streetscape but was also waterwise and had ties to the Indigenous theme of the rest of the garden.

She is the cause of the Canning Rover Unit re-establishing from some membership decline a few years ago. Krystal inspires pride of her accomplishments by her peers and the Leadership team at Canning Scout Group.

Rover of the Year 2021

Jordan Phillips

Jordan is a Rover Scout who is dedicated to supporting the future of scouting. He is headstrongin his passion to train all WA members in the scouting movement to use Scouts Terrain and promote the new program.

Jordan has developed his skills, adding to his repertoire in public speaking, planning, and organising, and growing leadership. Jordan’s role as Training Officer on WARC Executive in 2021 empowered, encouraged, and achieved a large increase in Rover Scouts completing their training throughout the year - a big task to have undertaken.

Finalists

Toby Blyth

Toby did an amazing job at Campwest 2021 helping in the hub and creating the daily newsletter. Toby also did many other jobs over this event to make it happen. He has an amazing knowledge of the Scouts Program and how everything should run. He is well presented, well-mannered and an amazing person.

Toby also is part of the training team and put in an amazing effort to retrain lots of leaders onto the new program. His role of Workshop Team Coordinator at the One Family One Journey Conference was invaluable and professionally executed. Toby is a positive influence on any team that he is a part of. He brings additional skills to contribute to the result.

Danica Zekulich

Danica was involved in Campwest 2020(21) where she was 2iC for the event. This phenomenal week-long activity took over 2 years of planning and reshuffling due to the COVID-19 pandemic which put extra pressure on the event staff.

Danica’s efforts did not go unnoticed and thanks to her diligent work, the event was a major success. Danica has demonstrated extraordinary leadership and event management skills during her involvement with the Campwest committee. She truly is an inspiration to many Rover Scouts!

Adult Recognition Awards

The Ian Jennings Rover Service Award.

The Rover Service Award was created and developed by the National Rover Council in the late 90s, to recognise Rover Scouts and Adult Members that had given outstanding service to the Rover Scout Section over the years. Each Branch in Australia has named the award after a notable Rover Scout, Rover Adviser or Branch Commissioner for Rover Scouts from their Branch.

Here in WA, we have named this award after Ian Jennings, who was Branch Commissioner for Rover Scouts, and later the first Branch Adviser for Rover Scouts. Ian Jennings involvement and dedication to the Rover Scout Section in WA, gave generations of Rover Scouts ongoing support, development, and sage wisdom throughout his years. His long-standing dedication to Rover Scouts, saw him become a key influencer for many generations of Rover Scouts. After he passed away, the WA Rover Council named this award after him here in WA, to honour his memory and constant support for the Rover Scout section.

Rover Scouts may be eligible to receive the Ian Jennings Rover Service Award for giving outstanding service to the Rover Scout Section for a period of 5years. NonRover Scouts may be eligible to receive the Ian Jennings Rover Service Award for giving outstanding service to the Rover Scout Section for a period of 10 years.

Heather Stanley Bibra Lake Rover Unit — Rover Advisor

Heather’s ongoing support, mentoring and dedication to the Rover Scout Section over the last 12 years is truly reflected in the achievements of every Rover who has worked with her, and is a true testament to her ability as a Rover Adviser.

Under her support and guidance several Rover Scouts have achieved their Baden-Powell Scout Awards, and she has provided invaluable advice to all who have come to her, aiding them with anything in their Scouting or personal lives.

Heather has consistently gone above and beyond the call of a Rover Advisor, always keeping up with the Rover Scouts she works with and supporting them in their endeavours in Scouting.

Special Service Award

The Special Service Award is awarded to Rover Scouts, Adult Members and Supporters for the successful support, development or management of a Section or Formation. ‘Special Service’ is defined as making a noteworthy contribution in their role.

This years recipients were:

• Tanika Derham — River Ranges Rover Unit

• Ryan Draper — Mandurah Rover Unit

• Michael Duncan — Willagee Kardinya Rover Unit

• Liam Gallagher— Willagee Kardinya Rover Unit

• Chelsea Knight — Swan Districts Rover Unit

• Bre’anna MacNeill — Warwick Rover Unit

• Amy Robinson — Kalamunda District Rover Unit

• Brenton Rush — North Beach Rover Unit

• Isaac Wetherley — Subiaco Rover Unit

Other Projects

Camelot Rover Rotunda

This multi-purpose monument to our modern youth movement was conceived at Easter in 2017. A concept drawing was drafted by David Lockhart formally of Hampton Park Rover Crew. Western Australian Rover Council made the approval for the Rotunda project in April 2018 and was approved by Scouts WA Board soon after for initial costs that were allocated from the Rover Development Fund. Mark Joslin of Maddington Rover Crew was appointed Project Commissioner and Alan "King Al" Miller as Construction Adviser.

The site for Camelot was pegged out on 23rd June and cleared on 13th July 2018, meanwhile the three adjacent Camping Huts were built and completed by outside contractors and public servants under the supervision of the Manjedal Activities Centre (MAC). The fifty square metre concrete pad was laid on the day of the 2018 Rover Centenary Ball from three cement trucks by a growing team of current and booted Rover volunteers.

Many weekends or tree labour, countiess hours of planning and re-planning, budget management, a supplementary donation from the Scottish Masonic Charitable Foundation of $7,000 and contributions from other interested benefactors have contributed to the Camelot Rover Rotunda.

While the COVID 19 Pandemic, clashes with the booking schedule of the now very popular camping huts based on the Bibbulmun Track Hiking Shelters, and a shortage of volunteers and trade assistance have hampered the construction process and subsequent opening of this shrine to celebrate 100 years of Rover Scouting in Western Australia.

We now can enjoy and utilise this facility for many more years and generations of Rovering, Scouting and Youth Development ombined, and thanks to all that have contributed to this worthy project.

Rover Personal Development Course

The Rover Personal Development Course was a year-long project for the WA Rover Council Executive, starting in 2021 with as the beginnings of this course were developed to create a curriculum and course for Rover Scouts to be able to pursue their Baden-Powell Scout Award. The bulk of the work to creating this course happened this year, were the Executive developed and started to plan this further in depth, to be able to run the course for the first time ever!

Exploring areas like mentorship, event management, community engagement and self reflection; the course looked at developing our Rover Scouts in well-rounded project leaders for the new Youth Program. A huge thanks to Samantha van Munster, Liam Gallagher, and Jordan Phillips, who ran and developed this course throughout the year.

We look forward to seeing how this continues to develop over the years to come, as it grows and adapts to benefit Rover Scouts in being able to complete their Baden-Powell Scout Award and are eager to see how this course unfolds in the National world as it is presented to the National Rover Council.

The successful outcome of this course, once again demonstrates the outstanding effort and work of Rover Scouts here in WA, putting in the effort to not just develop their own personal skills to get the most out of Scouting, but also the dedication and outstanding service they give to the Rover Scout Section in creating and developing opportunities like this for all Rover Scouts for generations to come.