Scouting in the Northern Territory
Encyclopedia
Scouting and Guiding in the Northern Territory is predominantly represented by the Branches of Scouts Australia
Scouts Australia
Scouts Australia is an organisation for children and young adults from 6 to 26 years of age. Scouts Australia is part of the global Scouting movement and has been a national member of the World Organization of the Scout Movement since 1953...

 and Girl Guides Australia covering the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...

.

History

Scouting started in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...

 in 1928, with the formation of the first Darwin Group under the command of Captain Len Samut. At that time it was controlled from New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, but control passed to Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 in 1929. The first group was formed in Alice Springs
Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Alice Springs is the second largest town in the Northern Territory of Australia. Popularly known as "the Alice" or simply "Alice", Alice Springs is situated in the geographic centre of Australia near the southern border of the Northern Territory...

 in 1936, but there are suggestions that Scouting had been operating there since 1923. The first Group to be formed in Tennant Creek
Tennant Creek, Northern Territory
Tennant Creek is a town located in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is the fifth largest town in the Northern Territory and it is located on the Stuart Highway, just south of the intersection with the western terminus of the Barkly Highway....

 was in 1941, and the first group to be formed in Katherine
Katherine, Northern Territory
Katherine is a town situated southeast of Darwin in the "Top End" of Australia in the Northern Territory. It is the fourth largest settlement in the Territory after the capital Darwin, Palmerston and Alice Springs...

 was in 1957, giving the Movement a presence in the main Territory towns. Control was passed from Queensland to South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...

 in 1955. At that time, Scouting had not fully recovered from the Second World War and only two troops, 2nd Darwin and 1st Alice Springs, were operating.

Details with a photograph in the Chinese-Australian Historical Images in Australia (CHIA) database states that the 1st Scout Troop finished in 1931 and that the 2nd Darwin Scout Troop was established by Jo Ruddict in 1938.

An official Northern Territory Area was formed in 1973, but records were destroyed by Cyclone Tracy
Cyclone Tracy
Cyclone Tracy was a tropical cyclone that devastated the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day, 1974...

 in 1974. On 1 April 1989, the Northern Territory become a Branch and the Administrator, Commodore Eric Johnston
Eric Johnston (NT Administrator)
Commodore Eric Eugene Johnston AO, OBE, RAN was Administrator of the Northern Territory from 1 January 1981 to 1 July 1989. Earlier he was a serving officer in the Royal Australian Navy and commanded HMAS Perth in action during the Vietnam War...

 was sworn in by the Chief Justice of the Northern Territory, Justice Asche
Austin Asche
Keith John Austin Asche, AC, QC is a former Administrator of the Northern Territory and was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.-Early years, education and family:...

, as the Chief Scout of the NT. The Northern Territory Administrator has continued to be the Chief Scout of the Branch.

Scouts Australia today

There were 11 Groups in 2011 includes those in Darwin (Darwin Sea Scouts) and its Northern Suburbs (Alawa
Alawa, Northern Territory
Alawa is a northern suburb of the city of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The suburb it is bounded by Dripstone Road, parts of Lakeside Drive and the Rapid Creek. It is in the Local Government Area of City of Darwin.-History:...

 and Sanderson
Sanderson, Northern Territory
The Town of Sanderson is not a town as such, but an area of land within the Municipality of Darwin and contains a number of suburbs Anula, Wulagi, Karama and Malak.-Present day:...

), Berrimah
Berrimah, Northern Territory
Berrimah is an Eastern Suburb in the city of Darwin, in the Northern Territory of Australia.-History:Before World War II, in 1941 the Military authorities had decided on a number of locations in the north to identify strategic "camps" on ‘the road to the North’ - "Berrimah", "Noonamah" and...

, Palmerston
Palmerston, Northern Territory
Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Palmerston is situated near Darwin Harbour and has an urban population of 23,614 on the 2006 Census night and making it the second largest city in the territory...

, Howard Springs
Howard Springs, Northern Territory
Howard Springs is an outer rural area of Darwin. It is 29km SE of the Darwin CBD. Its Local Government Area is the Litchfield Municipality. The suburb is mostly a rural area, but has been experiencing strong growth in population and development. Settlement of the suburb began in 1864. In 1939,...

, Humpty Doo
Humpty Doo, Northern Territory
Humpty Doo is a small town in Australia's Northern Territory, situated just south of the Arnhem Highway, approximately 40 km from Darwin. At the 2006 census, Humpty Doo had a population of 5,413....

, Katherine, Nhulunbuy
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory
Nhulunbuy is the name of the township created on the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory of Australia when a bauxite mine and deep water port were established nearby in the late 1960s...

, Alice Springs. There is a campsite owned by the Branch at Curragundi near Darwin River. Two accommodation buildings on the site were destroyed by bush fires in 2000. The Chief Commissioner is Shane McCorkell.

Girl Guides Australia

The Territory Office is in Darwin. There were 7 Guide units in 2008 in the Territory including units in Darwin, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs. The State Commissioner is Jeanette Anitomatis.
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