Mr David Mann gathered together all the small scouting groups in the Wodonga area and turned them from a disorganised and disconnected bunch of groups into one scouting unit. He led the scouts in their formation years and went on to become 1st Wodonga Scouts first King's Scout**. He had a long association with the 1st Wodonga Scouts and all the district scouting troops over the following decades. David Mann was also instrumental in the late 1940's in getting the scout hall at it's Reid Street location built, suggesting that if scouts was to be taken seriously into the future then there was an imperative need for a meeting hall that the scouts could call their own to conduct their activities.
..They (Wodonga Shire Council) would be agreeable to a Permissive Occupancy being granted to the Boy Scout or Girl Guide authorities, provided it would be permanently reserved for their use, making security of tenure for them.
In paragraph 5 it goes on to state:
The Boy Scout and Girl Guide authorities approached the Shire Councillors making a request that the Shire would relinquish control of the area in their favour, as the site presented an ideal position for their purpose, just far enough away from residential properties to enable the young folk to hold meetings, functions, drills, etc. without annoying residents in the vicinity, yet easily accessible from the main street.
The Shire Councillors desire to encourage the young members of the community to join these organisations and so give them the opportunity of acquiring useful knowledge and citizenship, as against wandering aimlessly around the streets at a loose end. The request for the transfer has everything to commend it.
And so Permissive Occupancy of the Reid Street site was granted and work began on creating a hall for the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides to use.
David Mann (as the leader of the Scout Troop) also wrote in his 1946 Record Book - 10 Tests of Scouts. These were to the measures against which he measured himself and his charges under his leadership. They were:
1. A scouts honour is to be trusted
2. A scout is loyal
3. A scouts duty is to be useful.
4. A scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout, no matter to what social class the other belongs.
5. A scout is courteous.
6. A scout is a friend to animals
7. A scout obeys orders
8. A scout smiles and whistles under all difficulties.
9. A scout is thrifty.
10. A scout is clean of thought, word and deed.
Another key figure in the long term formation of the first Wodonga Scouts was Mr. Roy Kemple. He joined the troop as a tenderfoot** in 1942 under the leadership at that time of David Mann. As the following extract shows he was soon to become the leader of the fledgling scouting troop:
The other interesting points from the extract are that he too rose to the rank of King's Scout. He was the second to do so in the First Wodonga Scouting Troop after David Mann. He was also the first "warranted" scoutmaster to lead the 1st Wodonga Scouts.
A third influential person involved in the foundation years of the 1st Wodonga Scouts and scouting in the district as a whole was Mr. Thomas Walter (Beaver) Mitchell (seen above).
He became the leading figure in scouting in the North East Victoria.
He started in scouts as a lone scout on his Towong Hill station home in Towong Victoria.
In World War 2 he was commissioned and as a Captain in the 2/22 Battalion and Headquarters 8th Division, he was captured in the fall of Singapore in 1942 and imprisoned as a POW at the infamous Changi POW camp. He was then forced to work on the infamous Thai -Burma railway. He survived the war but had some legacies of his imprisonment with his hands being damaged.
Upon his return to Australia after the war he not only got re involved with the scouting movement but also become the member for Benambra in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1947 to 1976 and as Attorney-General from June 1950 to December 1952 and as Solicitor-General from June 1950 to December 1951. During his time in parliament he was know as a bit of an eccentric because of his tendency to knit in cabinet sessions. He did this as remedial exercise for his damaged hands.
In the late 1940's he became a regular at 1st Wodonga scout meetings. In 1952 he became the Head District Scout Master for the Northern Victorian district. He continued in this role until1971 when he retired from the scouts. He eventually passed away in 1984 and was buried on his beloved property at Towong Hill. Scouts from 1st Wodonga Scouts as well as other troops formed a guard of honour at his funeral. He is remembered by a sign on the Rovers Den at 1st Wodonga Scouts hall in Reid St as well as on a major boulevard in Wodonga (Thomas Mitchell Drive). One of the Cub packs in the 1980's and 1990 was also known as the "Beaver" pack in recognition of Tom Mitchell's scout name.
In the late 1940's he became a regular at 1st Wodonga scout meetings. In 1952 he became the Head District Scout Master for the Northern Victorian district. He continued in this role until1971 when he retired from the scouts. He eventually passed away in 1984 and was buried on his beloved property at Towong Hill. Scouts from 1st Wodonga Scouts as well as other troops formed a guard of honour at his funeral. He is remembered by a sign on the Rovers Den at 1st Wodonga Scouts hall in Reid St as well as on a major boulevard in Wodonga (Thomas Mitchell Drive). One of the Cub packs in the 1980's and 1990 was also known as the "Beaver" pack in recognition of Tom Mitchell's scout name.
Camping was a big part of the activities in that time and below is a copy of some camp arrangements and a routine written by David Mann in 1942:
During these camps at Mt. Beauty Tom Mitchell was renown for going to each scout group attending to get fed for his meals. This was so that he was able to meet all of the young scouts under his command and assess their skills.
Ron Hanel also talked to me about some of the other activities that scouts of that era undertook. This included "bunking off" from school on a Friday to catch the train down to Chiltern so he and a few of his scout mates could hike back to Wodonga via the hills camping out along the way. Such was the culture and emphasis on camping and bush craft at that time.
Footnote:
