Scouting in Manly

The Boy Scout movement in Sydney began around 1908. Newsreels showing at the cinemas publicized the new movement, and by 1909 there were dozens of troops springing up all over Sydney. Charles Swancott, in his short history of Manly, stated that Scouting began in Manly in 1916 – but was he correct? He did not give his source for this date, but it is likely to have been from the recollection of an older resident of Manly, rather than from a documentary source. It was stated in the Manly Daily (25 August 1966) that the 1st Manly Boy Scouts had been formed on 9 February 1917 under the leadership of Mr Harry Smith; and they celebrated their golden jubilee in 1967.
But in fact it appears that there was a troop at Manly in 1910, and most probably in 1909. The 1910 sighting is from a roll of subscribers to a disaster relief fund, printed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 11 February 1910, which lists ‘Manly Boy Scouts’ as one of the donors. Of course, it is possible that this early group was not fully affiliated, but it’s no exaggeration to say that there have been Scouts in Manly for a hundred years. Newspaper reports of the day state that some churches in Sydney were not in favour of the Scouting movement, as attendance at Sunday School was falling off as a result of Scout weekend camps.

Pictured are boys from the Balgowlah Boy Scouts, mid-1950s.