Jamboree remarkable feat

Press, 12 January 1981, Page 6

Jamboree remarkable feat

PA Hastings attending the ninth national jamboree at the Tomoana Show Grounds, Hastings, packed their bags at the week-end. At twilight on Saturday 10,000 jamboree-camp residents gathered in the main arena for the closing ceremony, with the Chief Scout and Governor-General (Sir David Beattie) as the guest Of honour. V >■ It was the last' act of a remarkable feit of co-ordina-tion. Tonnesj of. equipment, goods, and many people had been shifted long distances using a big fleet of buses in addition to ships, aircraft, and a vintage'*, train. Ten days had passed, all but one of them in brilliant sunshine after Hawke’s Bay had experienced a week-end of heavy rain and \floaded rivers. , \ ' The camp chief, Mr, John

Holdemetw, <,said that the jamboree had gone extremely well, with the scouts partipating in more than 120 different, activities.

Many of the 142 . contingents established campsites on New Year’s Day and on January 3 scouts started a choice rof activities to complete a two-stage achievement award.

Forty-five sea scout groups . commissioned i “ship,” the regatta, subcamp, arid ; .launched '■■?lnto their eighteenth national regatta, commuting. each day to Napier for' sailing ana rowing contests. 3? .- On January 2, 1,700 venturer Scout and Ranger Guides arrived at the jamboree site and later left on various expeditions. Trying their hand at experiences such as canoeing, rafting, living pioneer .style, and survival on coastal foods,' the Hawke’s Bay region became their,

playground for five days. This separate programme was .an experiment: it had never-been tfied at a New Zealand jamboree before. eighth scout at the jamboree was a member of an overseas contingent. Ten overseas contingents were scattered among the camp’s seven sub-camps, 938 Australians being the largest Contingent to leave that cQUritry for any event except war.

The campers munched their way. through more than 300;000 meals, cooked mostly On gas in their own contingents’ campsites or served by caterers in, the headquarters mess.

With 700 toilets and 350 showers, the campers used an average of 2 million litres of water a da. .

The 500 jamboree staff volunteered for long, weary hours behind; the scenes cop?

ihg with supply difficulties, blocked sewerage systems, sickness, and injury. The Ohly activity cancelled during the . jamboree was rafting because the', organisers felt that the Tutaekuri River ;• was unsafe after flooding. / ' On eight mornings 600 scouts in uniform travelled by vintage train to Napier, where they followed a discovery trail. There was also a trail through Hastings. Hawke's Bay residents •opened their homes, offering 500 scouts 1 a place to relax, wash, and iron their clothes. An estimated 15,000 visitors came to the. jamboree site on Wednesday: With the departure of the contingents, the , n6xt big task facing the organisers is the dismantling of facilities and Equipment, much of which will be auctioned at the .show grounds on January' 17.