Awesome Aussies! 

---Donnah Nickerson-Reti reports from her recent trip to Petrie in Queensland, Australia---

On a recent business trip to Queensland Australia I had the pleasure of visiting with a terrific bunch of kids and adult leaders from the Petrie Scout Group, which is the Aussie counterpart to our own BSA Troop 119.

The Petrie scouts, under the leadership of Rodger Howitt, extended a very warm welcome and invited me to attend their troop meeting on Friday evening with a stay over night at their den. The next morning, I was treated to a lovely breakfast at the Howitt’s home and a fun trip through the local grocery store to learn about the kinds of things Aussie kids like to eat and take on camping trips. Over breakfast, Mrs. Howitt (Petrie’s dynamo equivalent of Mrs. Shevrin) shared her love of doing Koala Rescue work, and we even went into the bush near their home to look for some of them.

At the troop meeting on Friday night, we exchanged stories about how our respective troops function, favorite camping experiences, Butterfly, Nighthawk, Klondike Derby, JOTA, wildlife, first aide, and so many other things. The Scouts, boys and girls, showed me around their Den. They told me about their uniforms, showed me their signed off books for rank advancement and merit badges, talked about their “Game”, and shared camp stories. The scouts worked on getting their patrol boxes ready for an upcoming trip.

I think we all enjoyed getting to know each other. Of course, the differences between how we each do things was at first the most intriguing; but the most enlightening was how we are the same in this brotherhood of scouting. Several of their scouts noted right off that we both wear the purple World Scout Crest emblem on our uniforms. They enjoy the same kinds of outdoor activities and camping, and community service. I noticed that patrol boxes and the Quartermaster’s room look the same no matter where in the world they are located, and that some form of “The Game” seems to be essential to scouting.

The Petrie Scouts have some interesting challenges that I was in awe of. Australia has an awful lot of deadly creatures, plants, and environmental differences which make camping trips interesting. First Aid for these scouts involves learning to deal with really nasty, snakes, spiders, jelly fish, crocodiles, as well as  problems that come from harsh outback and tropical environments, such as bush fires and flooding.

I was very impressed by some of the wonderful differences that seem related to the inclusion of girls in Australian Scouting. In this troop there is a wonderful sense of creativity in the arts (and it shows in the art on the side of the Den building), the interest in skits and plays, and the dances they hold. Social relationships and equality of the sexes is part of their philosophy and seems to work quite easily.

I left Petrie with a sense of having found some wonderful friends in this other hemisphere and a strong desire to have a lasting relationship. The Scouts of Petrie expressed an interest in getting to know the Scouts of Lexington, and we exchanged some gifts to get things going. At our troop meeting last week, I was able to share pictures and stories with our scouts and the boys were enthusiastic.  We are even talking about inviting the Petrie Scouts to visit for some camping and skiing in the snowy White Mountains. We are looking forward to getting to know our new friends in Petrie.

I left Petrie proudly wearing my Petrie Scout cap with my honorary scout name of Tassie Devil.  I look forward to my next visit and sincerely thank the Petrie Scouts and their leadership for their warm welcome and hospitality.