Hard work and dedication pay off for peak award recipients
Published Sat 22 Jun 2024
The pathway to a peak award is full of twists and turns and this was certainly the case for the latest cohort of recipients.
Today, Her Excellency the Honourable Margaret Beazley AC KC, Governor of New South Wales and Chief Scout of NSW presented 29 Venturer Scouts with their Queen’s Scout Award and three Rover Scouts with their Baden-Powell Scout Award at a special ceremony at Government House, Sydney.
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The Queen's Scout Award aims to widen the interests and knowledge of Venturer Scouts (aged 14-17) by encouraging them to push their personal limits. It is the peak award for this age group and involves a broad range of activities requiring extensive pre-planning and determination.
To achieve the Queen’s Scout Award, a Venturer Scout must complete achievements across a broad range of disciplines including Outdoor Adventure Skills (such as camping, hiking, paddling or abseiling), Special Interest Area Projects (such as environment, STEM, arts and literature, community), Leadership Courses, as well as plan a significant multi-day Adventurous Journey.
Scouts NSW Chief Commissioner Lloyd Nurthen underlined the importance of the Queen’s Scout Award.
“Completion of a peak award at any age is a major milestone for a Scout. For recipients of the Queen’s Scout and Baden-Powell Scout Awards, this achievement is recognition of years of work put into not just Scouting activities, but in projects and involvement across the wider community,” he said.
“For many Venturer Scouts, this significant body of work is balanced with competing priorities in their non-Scouting lives, including studies for their HSC, apprenticeships, or transitioning into the workforce. Their dedication to completing their Queen’s Scout Award is reflected in its outstanding reputation both inside and outside of Scouts.”
The Queen’s Scout Award is a prestigious and significant achievement for a young person within Scouting, often taking three to four years to complete. Designed to be challenging and encouraging, the award broadens the interests and knowledge of participating Venturer Scouts skills in leadership, resilience, goal-setting and planning.
Queen’s Scout Award recipients work independently and collectively to achieve great personal development and contribute positively to their communities. As such, the Queen’s Scout Award is highly regarded, with recipients qualifying for additional Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) adjustment factor points through some universities.
Peak award success for Rover Scouts
The Baden-Powell Scout Award (BPSA) is the peak award for the Rover Scout section (aged 18-25). Like the Queen’s Scout Award, the BPSA carries an outstanding reputation within Scouting and the community.
“For our Rover Scouts, who are 18 and above and embedding themselves in their adult lives, the extremely challenging nature of the Baden-Powell Scout Award cannot be understated. The incredible focus and passion these three recipients have demonstrated in achieving their goals and this award is to be commended,” Mr Nurthen said.
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Spotlight on our QSA recipients
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Georgia Adamson – 2nd Queanbeyan Venturer Scout Unit Georgia Adamson’s pathway to receiving a Queen’s Scout Award was nothing if not varied. As well as challenging outdoor adventures, the 2nd Queanbeyan Venturer Scout Unit member’s Special Interest Areas included welding projects, and she deftly turned out a day bed, a dog kennel and a safe. Georgia also led a multi-activity, four-day expedition on the Far South Coast of NSW that put her interests in hiking, paddling, cycling and photography to work. Georgia completed her Certificate II in Outdoor Recreation through the Scouts Australia Institute of Training (RTO) as a Venturer Scout and used this qualification towards completion of the requirements for her HSC. Georgia started her Scouting journey as a Cub Scout in 2015 with 1st Jerrabomberra Scout Group and achieved the corresponding peak awards for both Cub Scouts and Scouts in 2016 and 2020. |
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Riley Claire – 1st East Roseville Venturer Scout Unit To complete her QSA, Riley wrote a 30-page novella, was Stage Manager for a musical involving more than 100 cast members and completed a charity swim for CanToo. Riley started her Scouting journey at 1st East Roseville Scout Group in Cub Scouts in 2013. She was awarded the Cath Bateman Shield Award for outstanding leadership and commitment, along with the Grey Wolf Award (the Cub Scout peak award) in 2016. She attended the 2019 Australian Jamboree in Tailem Bend as an Assistant Patrol Leader and helped reform the 1st East Roseville Venturer Scout Unit that same year. Riley has participated in numerous Outdoor Adventure Skills courses, including abseiling, whitewater kayaking and cross-country skiing. She also participated in and led a number of overnight camping trips. But Riley also has a passion for the performing arts and has participated for two years in Hornsby Gang Show, where she was elected Patrol Leader. Gang Show provides Scouts with the opportunity to script, design, produce and perform a revue-style show in a theatre in front of Scouts, family and friends. Riley utilised her Leadership and Personal Development Course in five terms as a Unit Council Member, three of which were as Unit Leader, and two in the Secretary position. She also co-planned and led hikes through the Barrington Tops and Kosciuszko National Parks in December 2021 and January 2022 respectively. Riley spent four years in the 1st East Roseville Venturer Scout Unit (including through the COVID-19 pandemic) and only missed a handful of regular meetings and activities during this time. She has amassed an impressive 322km of adventurous activities and 36 nights under canvas during her Scouting journey so far. |
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Ethan Griffiths and Angus Wheatley – 1st Heathcote Venturer Scout Unit A gruelling canoe trip battered by extreme weather was part of the pathway that led two members of 1st Heathcote Venturer Scout Unit to earn Queen’s Scout Awards. Ethan Griffiths organised a 64km round-trip canoe expedition on the Kangaroo River from Bendeela to Tallowa Dam on the NSW South Coast last year and co-led it with Angus Wheatley. Their four-day expedition was confronted by extreme heat and torrential downpours, and the pair were forced to make critical decisions to bring their group home safe. Ethan started his Scouting journey in early 2015 by joining the Cub Scout section at 1st Heathcote Scout Group. He moved up to Scouts in 2016 and then to Venturer Scouts in 2020, becoming Unit Leader in 2021. He has played an active role at 1st Heathcote Scout Group, including attending Region Venturer Scout Council, Venturer Scout Leadership Course and the Search and Rescue Weekend Course. He has also volunteered at Heathcote Scout Camp. Angus joined 1st Heathcote Scout Group as a Scout in 2016, moved up into Venturer Scouts in 2020 and became Unit Leader in the latter part of 2022. He attended the 25th Australian Jamboree in 2019 and has been a regular at events like Region Camp, Region Boree Regatta, District camps, and ANZAC dawn services. |
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Claire Kitching – Normanhurst Venturer Scout Unit Claire was a student at Barker College at Hornsby when she took up Scouting in 2019 as a 14-year-old. She said she had friends who had been in Scouts for years and really enjoyed it. “I love that there is something for everyone, no matter your age, stage or interests,” she said. “I found myself doing all sorts of activities I probably wouldn’t have otherwise tried, like bike hikes or canoeing, or even a Bob Ross painting night. “Scouts also fostered my confidence and sense of leadership, with extensive and intentional development of my leadership skills across a variety of environments, setting me up well not only for school leadership, but for group work, planning and adventure beyond both school and Scouts!” Claire decided to pursue her QSA because she thought she would not be able to, after two lockdowns and starting Year 12 and feeling she needed to choose between her QSA and her Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. “I refuse to let any belief that there’s something I can’t do stop me,” she said. “About five weeks after I decided I was not going to be able to complete my QSA, I had a quick change, deciding that I was going to get the award just to prove to myself that I could!” Claire’s SIAs included trombone, fencing, volunteering in Cub Scouts, investigating sleep for adolescents, and photography. This project was aligned to mental health, and she made international connections that she will maintain as she continues with this interest. For her Outdoor Adventure Skills, Claire built on a passion for camping and bushwalking, faced her fears to go abseiling and canyoning, and developed her proficiency in surfing and canoeing. The most challenging step for many in achieving their award is leading an “Adventurous Journey”. Claire meticulously planned a four-day hike, including meal and equipment lists, emergency exit protocols, and tracking and navigation tools through the alpine region of Guthega. Her group faced inhospitable weather conditions and challenging terrain. “This was a hike full of particularly memorable moments, including a few mountain storms that resulted in us chanting some marching cadences because we really just wanted to teleport home and out of the rain,” she said. “But the challenges of the weather and steep mountain walking paled in comparison to the exhausted achievement of our summit of Mt Kosciuszko, which was honestly (both literally and figuratively) the high point of the trip.” Claire has since put her Scouting skills to good use, completing a solo-hike in the UK last year and planning new adventures with her university friends. |
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Samuel Lightfoot – 1st Clovelly Venturer Scout Unit If Samuel Lightfoot walks away with nothing else from his time with Scouts NSW, he’ll have perseverance embedded in his DNA. Sami, who joined the 1st Clovelly Scout Group in 2015 as a Cub Scout, needed to plan and lead an Adventurous Journey to qualify for the award, but was curtailed five times by a combination of bushfires, COVID and floods. “Many of the hiking areas south of Sydney and in the Blue Mountains were closed due to the heavy rainfall that had occurred,” he said. “Picking a route became a challenge in itself, and I eventually chose a route that took us from Thornleigh up to the Hawkesbury River along the Great North Walk. “The most memorable moments were from the first and second nights of the hike, where we sat at our campsite overlooking the valley below as the setting sun created an array of colours across the sky. The most challenging aspect was the heat. We hiked through two days with a temperature above 30 degrees Celsius, and it did not cool down overnight, making it difficult to sleep.” Peers were amazed by his resilience in completing the journey and other activities to qualify for the award, against the background of commitments as Head Boy at International Grammar School where he was completing his Higher School Certificate. Sami started Scouts because his father is also a Queen’s Scout Award recipient. “He often talks about various memories of his time with 6th Hamilton (Scottish). Both my parents have instilled a love for the outdoors in me, and hiking and camping is something I have always enjoyed,” he said. “I love going on a hike and being completely self-sufficient and having the skills to look after yourself, others and the natural environment when in the bush.” His peers at 1st Clovelly Scout Group have also recognised him as Scout of the Year and Venturer Scout of the Year. |
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Pippa McKee – 1st Collaroy Plateau Venturer Scout Unit Distance and weather were just two of the challenges Pippa McKee had to face on her way to a Queen’s Scout Award. The 1st Collaroy Plateau Venturer Scout Unit member led a group through a four-day hike on a 57km leg from Hornsby to Brooklyn on The Great North Walk. The Great North Walk is a 260km trail stretching from Sydney to Newcastle that was established in 1988. It provides spectacular views but requires navigating some rugged countryside. “It was pretty hard, but we had some awesome views – especially when camping at Ridge Top Campsite, where we had a nice fire before being drenched by rain,” Pippa said. She also undertook a cross-country skiing camp in Victoria, spending a week in the Bogong Rover Chalet. Pippa started Scouting in 2013 as a “Possum Unit” Cub Scout at 1st Collaroy Plateau Scout Group. She continued her journey in Scouts and Venturer Scouts at 1st Elanora Heights Scout Group, before transferring back to 1st Collaroy Plateau in 2021 to finish her time as a Venturer Scout. She has attended several major Scouting events: the 2014 NSW Cuboree, Australian Jamboree in 2019, and three Dragon Skins (weekend competition hiking events specifically for Venturer Scouts). She also became a strong advocate for the Bogong Rover Scout Chalet Cross Country Ski weeks after attending Venturer Scout weeks in 2022 and 2023. |
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Alice McQualter – Ettamogah Venturer Scout Unit When Alice McQualter received her Queen’s Scout Award today she completed a family trifecta, with her mother Veryan and sister Lily previous recipients. A seven-year Scouts member, Alice began with the 2nd Albury Scout Group and completed her Queen’s Scout Award with Ettamogah Venturer Scout Unit. Continuing the family theme, her grandmother, Irene Perry, is also a former Scout. “I decided to pursue this as both my mum and sister have this achievement,” Alice said. “Seeing my sister coming home and telling me all the fun things she was doing made me want to join Scouts. My Mum and Nan being previous members of Scouting was also an influence. “I wanted to continue achieving the Queen’s Scout Award in my family, as well as growing and developing my skills.” Along with working to achieve her award, Alice also made time to participate in various Venturer Scout activities, including attending state and regional camps, volunteering as a leader as part of the requirements for her Duke of Edinburgh Award, learning to drive, snow ski and compose a song. Alice also planned a series of multi-day hikes from Jingellic in the Woomargama National Park with a workload that included preparing routes, menus, mentoring participants, conducting risk assessments and contingency plans, managing transport logistics and equipment and drawing up budgets. |
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Adam Savage and Callum Belgrove – 1st Keiraville Venturer Scout Unit Two Wollongong teens have been awarded Queen’s Scout Awards, making 1st Keiraville Venturer Scout Unit proud. To achieve his award, Adam taught Lego robotics classes, flew first-person view (FPV) drones and leaned 3D printing. He also led a group on the 30km Light to Light hike from Boyds Tower to Green Cape Lighthouse over three days. Callum’s achievements included volunteering at Scout Environment Camp and Cub Pinewood Derby, creating a local street library, mapping local green spaces, completing his high school Leadership Camp and leading a hiking group on the spectacular Murramarang South Coast Walk. Adam started his Scouting journey in Cub Scouts at 1st Keiraville in 2013 while Callum joined three years later. Adam is an active participant in every Scouting activity and opportunity that comes his way including the NSW Cuboree in 2014, Australian Jamboree in 2019 as a Patrol Leader, New Zealand Jamboree in 2020 and the New Zealand Venture in 2023. Callum actively seeks out community service activities and has been instrumental in the running of the 1st Keiraville Family Camp and other Group events, as well as attending the New Zealand Venture in 2023. |
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Archie Todd – 2nd Armidale Venturer Scout Unit He’s Armidale’s current Young Citizen of the Year, a prolific musician and an LGBTQIA+ advocate, and Archie has added a Queen’s Scout Award to his achievements. Archie is a transgender young person with a strong social conscience. His advocacy for LGBTQIA+ issues includes working as a school leader and helping establish the Armidale Secondary College Rainbow Club, a group supporting LGBTQIA+ students. He has also represented Scouts at the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. As a musician, Archie was a finalist in triple j's 2023 Unearthed competition and has performed live extensively in the New England region. To qualify for his Queen’s Scout Award, Archie threw himself into mock trials, abseiling and serving on the Scouts NSW State Youth Council, where he championed diversity. His planning, execution and reviewing of a wide range of activities, included his Adventurous Journey hike and running a Harry Potter-themed camp for Cub Scouts. “I'm so honoured to receive the Award. I've worked mostly in the background in the Inclusion and Diversity space and it's nice to be appreciated, even now that my term on the State Youth Council has come to an end,” Archie said. “The hike I led for the Award was quite revolutionary in terms of inclusivity. I had a few Venturer Scouts who never participated in any of the bigger hikes for health reasons that restricted the weight they could safely carry as well as how fast and far they could walk. “To accommodate this, I planned the hike to explore areas surrounding a base camp, so that people could carry only what they needed that day in their packs while they hiked. “I sincerely hope local Leaders tell tales of it to future Queen’s Scout Award hopefuls so that more people can experience the joys of hiking.” |
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Daniel Tompsett – 1st Hornsby Heights Venturer Scout Unit Daniel moved one step closer to his goal of attaining every peak award the Scouting Movement can offer upon receiving his QSA today. He achieved his first three peak awards in the younger age sections and now only has his BPSA to go. “It feels good to be recognised with this because it gives me more opportunity to improve myself,” Daniel said. “I intend on pursuing the Baden-Powell Scout Award to prove that anyone can come from being a young child to a strong, independent adult, and to show what can be achieved if you put your mind to things.” Daniel’s proudest achievement was his Adventurous Journey, leading a hike along the 65km Coastal Walk in Yuraygir National Park between Coffs Harbour and Yamba. “We had amazing scenery and saw turtles and dolphins in the beautiful waters of some of the many beaches we walked on,” Daniel said. “We took moments to refresh our feet in saltwater lagoons and tried some new and yummy hike dinners at our rest stops.” |
BPSA recipient determined to complete his only peak award
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Henry Wong – 1st Dulwich Hill (Dame Dixson’s Own) Rover Scout Unit It’s a long way from Sydney’s inner-west to the wild and windswept ranges of Kosciuszko National Park but Henry has proven himself to be equally at home in both. Henry received his Baden-Powell Scout Award (BPSA) today. “I’ve been in Scouting for just under 20 years, unofficially joining in 2004 at the age of seven,” Henry, who competed his award as a Rover Scout with 1st Dulwich Hill (Dame Dixson’s Own) Unit, said. Determined to complete his first and only peak award, Henry tackled the last component – his Adventurous Journey – by leading a group on a multi-day hike through Long Plain in Kosciuszko National Park. “Time was not on my side and the Patrol was varying in experience and fitness. It was tough but fun, but we were unaware of how dense the vegetation would be before our untracked journey through Skaines Mountain,” he said. “Through our journey we met George, an instructor from Outdoor Education Group (OEG) leading kids from an ACT school doing an eight-day journey which made ours look short. “We had a great time watching him eat lichen off branches as a survival technique." Back in the urban environment, Henry has mentored, presented and run training courses for Rover Scouts and the NSW State Training Team. He also oversaw the inaugural Rover Scout Plasma Challenge for blood donations to the Australian Red Cross. |
