1st Durbanville Scout Group

1st Durbanville Scouts

1st Durbanville Scout Group
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Latest articles

1st Durbanville Rovers donate equipment to 1st Darling scouts

The 1st Durbanville Rovers recently donated some of the group’s old equipment to the 1st Darling troop.

The 1st Darling scout group does not have a scout hall nor any equipment and this motivated 1st Durbanville Rover Charles Murphy to organize this initiative together with his fellow Rovers.

This involved setting aside time to clean one of their old troop tents which was still in great condition. They also repainted an equipment patrol box and a gas canister in the 1st Darling colours, and gathered a complete set of kitchen equipment as well as a two plate gas stove with which to fill the patrol box.

On Saturday, 21 August the 1st Durbanville Rovers joined the 1st Darling scouts and cubs for a combined troop/cub meeting and handed over the equipment which will go a long way towards enabling 1st Darling to go camping and to compete at regional competitions.

Upon their arrival, the Rovers helped the 1st Darling scouts to pitch their new tent and also shared their knowledge of maintaining a tent and other scouting equipment with the 1st Darling scouts.

The 1st Darling scout group was delighted to receive this equipment and the 1st Durbanville Rovers extended an offer of future help to the 1st Darling scouts in the hope that this can be the start of a great friendship between the two scout groups.

1st Durbanville Scouts Turn the Tide on Plastic

The 1st Durbanville scout group turned the tide on plastic at the Eerstesteen nature reserve at Blaauberg beach when all their scouts, cubs and meerkats participated in International Beach Clean-Up Day on 18 September 2021.

1st Durbanville is committed to The Tide Turners Plastic Challenge, a global initiative which has been adopted by the World Scout Organization as an integral component of its Earth Tribe Initiative.

Over the past few months we have held a number of Tide Turners Plastic Challenge programmes aimed at developing the knowledge, skills and attitudes in our scouts which are essential for supporting this initiative.

Our first programme introduced the scouts to creative ways of using packaging waste and they made several recycled items from plastic refuse. The scouts were required to complete a plastic audit as well as a self-assessment form as regards individual plastic usage. On another occasion, each of the scout patrols painted large anti-plastic posters which were displayed at various venues.

The programme culminated in the Saturday beach clean-up at Eerstesteen Nature Reserve to which the cubs and meerkats were invited, Wilbraham said.

My First Troop Camp

WRITTEN BY DANIEL WILBRAHAM

As the sun rose on 16 December, I felt a wave of exhilaration… I was about to go on my first five-day troop camp!

We all arrived at the scout hall to help pack the gear that had to go with us to Vogelvlei. Once all the tents, poles, ropes, food, sup boards, kayaks and other gear had been loaded, we departed at 12h00 and arrived at our destination just after 13h00.

It was very hot when we arrived, but despite the heat we pitched tents and built a gateway. After all that hard work we dashed off for a swim and wallowed in the tepid dam water until sunset. The six sup boards and kayaks as well as the Saldanha were launched with great enthusiasm! What a privilege to have had access to all the awesome water sports equipment.

One of the highlights of troop camp was the banquet which was held on our last evening. The theme was “Gaming” and we were all given the names of “gaming” characters which we had to stick to throughout the banquet. Whenever we wanted to ask or say something, we had to use “gamer” lingo and anyone who didn’t do so had to participate in a skit from a computer game with other scouts who had also broken the rules.

Dean van Schoor organized a wide game which involved collecting a number of picture squares which made up a complete picture of Dora the Explorer. The first patrol to complete the picture won the game and the losing patrol had to cook dinner. The winners were allowed to eat first.

Another fun game was run by Hannah Murphy. It involved throwing a raw egg from one person to the next without breaking it. You can imagine how that went! Shortly afterwards, Guppie appeared with a bucketful of water balloons and then it was war!

Several of us participated in building a gladiator platform on the water using poles and ropes. The greatest fun was had when we had to try and knock each other off it.

All too soon the final day of camp arrived and after breakfast we started packing up. After the closing parade our parents arrived and we flopped into cars for the long drive back home. Despite our exhaustion, we all pitched in with the unpacking when we reached the scout hall and then said our goodbyes.

Thank you Ray, Nick and Guppie for an AWESOME troop camp!

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Latest Guestbooks

Eric Bruins
Nice website guys! I started Cubs at 1st Durbanville in 1967 and left as a Scout...
Friday, 15 September 2017
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SINAWO ZUBA
Hi We are from Siphamandla S.S.S in Khayelitsha kuyasa. We will be joining yo...
Wednesday, 30 August 2017
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Rene Lesch
I read the article about Ingrid Webster in the November 2014 edition of the Get ...
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Latest Newsletters

Scouts Volume 3 Issue 4
Scouts Volume 3 Issue 3
Scouts Volume 3 Issue 2
Scouts Volume 3 Issue 1
Scouts Volume 2 Issue 5
Scouts Volume 2 Issue 4

Welcome to 1st Durbanville Scouts

The 1st Durbanville Scout Group is part of the Kanonkop District in Cape Town, Cape Western, South Africa. Scouting is a worldwide youth development organisation. It develops young people socially, gets them involved in the community, and teaches them many life and leadership skills. Our troop is over 50 years old and has both boy and girl scouts. The Durbanville Scouts are a very strong team and feature well in most of the Scout competitions. Please sign our guestbook while you are here.

Three scouts at the 1st Durbanville Scout Troop recently earned the prestigious Springbok Award which is the highest advancement a South African scout can attain.

Oliver Murphy, Dean van Schoor and Tara Casaleggio, have been scouts at 1st Durbanville for several years and all successfully completed the Springbok advancement despite several limitations imposed on them by lockdown regulations in 2020. 

Oliver Murphy completed matric at Fairmont High School in 2020 and apart from his Springbok advancement, he also achieved the Gold Level in the President’s Awards in 2020. The Gold Award Programme is the most inclusive youth development programme in South Africa and in achieving the Gold Level of this Award, Oliver has successfully completed the following: 72 hrs of community service over a period of 12 months, 12 months of developing a particular physical recreation activity, 12 months of developing a particular skill, an Adventurous Journey of 4 consecutive days and 3 nights with a group of four peers and, finally, a successfully completed Residential Project of 5 consecutive days and 4 nights in an unfamiliar residential setting with people not within his usual circle of friends. 

For the past five years Oliver, Dean and Tara have been active members of the 1st Durbanville group and have participated in all the major scouting competitions held in the Western Cape.

The Springbok Award is the culmination of many years of hard work and plenty of adventure. During the last phase of this journey these scouts had to, amongst other things, complete 40 hours of community service; plan, organize and hold a troop camp for a minimum of two patrols; and plan, organize and execute separate patrol hikes of no less than 30 km over terrain that they had not hiked before over a period of three days. 

In addition, Oliver Murphy and Tara Casaleggio elected to do a pioneering project whereas Dean chose to plan and execute a three course meal for a number of guests.

CAPTION: From left to right: Johann Visser (Troop Scouter), Dean van Schoor, Oliver Murphy, Tata Casaleggio and Ingrid Webster (Assistant Troop Scouter)

1st Durbanville Excels at the Gordon Shield Scouting Competition

Details
Written by Ursula Wilbraham
Published: 29 January 2022

The 1st Durbanville scouts excelled at the 2021 Gordon Shield scout competition which was held at Hawequas in Wellington. They came 1st at the Hawequas campsite and 5th overall.

The Gordon Shield was run at two different locations on the weekend of 11 and 12 September 2021 to ensure that the national Covid rule of no gatherings with more than 100 people was met. 1st Durbanville took 1st position at the Hawequas venue where 14 patrols participated.

Another 15 scout patrols participated at the Rotary campsite at Glencairn where 6th Rondebosch took 1st place and won the Gordon Shield overall. Second Bergvliet came second and the 1st Fish Hoek Ranger Guides came third.

The competition is a regional standing camp competition where patrols consisting of 5 Scouts camp under canvas, build gadgets and carry out other activities which are evaluated during the course of a weekend. Despite the rain, scouts from all over the Western Cape participated in the competition.

The Gordon Shield competition first took place on Saturday, 19 September 1915 at the Rifle Range in Clee Road, Observatory. The Competition initially tested scouts’ First Aid skills, but the following year the Competition included signalling and shooting.

In 1917 the Competition became a Patrol Camp and was run on very similar lines to the current Gordon Shield Competition.

CAPTION: 1st Durbanville scouts at the Gordon Shield competition: From left to right: Tristan Casaleggio (Patrol Leader), Zoey Le Roux (Assistant Patrol Leader), Hannah Murphy, Daniel Wilbraham, Matthew Stead.

Sailing and sunshine at 1st Durbanville Troop Camp 2022

Details
Written by Ursula Wilbraham
Published: 29 January 2022

Sun, swimming and sailing was the order of the day from the moment that the 1st Durbanville troop arrived at Vogelvlei Yacht Club campsite on Voëlvlei Dam near Wellington.

Unprecedented numbers of 1st Durbanville scouts attended the camp from 10 to 15 January 2022 and our Troop Scouter, Johann Visser (aka Guppie), and his team had their work cut out for them. Sailing was everyone’s priority and our boat’s new sails were properly baptized by the time the camp drew to an end.

Apart from the fleet of kayaks and sup boards which were at the disposal of our scouts, they also built a raft on which many a happy hour was spent. Many of the juniors successfully completed the Map Reader Scoutcraft badge which was run on camp by Guppie and a team of seniors.

Our six patrols each had a turn to cook for everyone and on the last night a formal banquet with a “Star Wars” theme was held. Amidst great hilarity and high jinx, skits were demanded as forfeits for failing to adhere to a number of “Star Wars” terminologies and table rules.

All too soon it was time to pack up, lower the flag and head for Durbanville. A sunburnt, exhausted and happy troop made quick work of unpacking all the equipment at the scout hall and then it was home to cool showers, mom’s cooking and comfortable beds.

  1. 1st Durbanville Pack wins the Edward Shield
  2. Hannah achieves Springbok!
  3. The Scout Law and Promise
  4. Six Basic Knots
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