Great Scot: March 1998: Our Scouts at Queensland Jambouree

By Andrew Featured in Great Scot No. 86, March 1998.

The 18th Australian Jamboree was held at Ipswich in Queensland from 2 to 12 January 1998.

Seven Scouts from Scotch, Heath, David, Robert, Rodney, Michael, Kevin and I combined with Scouts from other parts of Victoria to make up a troop.

On New Year's Day we joined several thousand Victorian Scouts in a convoy of buses for the 22 hour journey to Ipswich.

The on-site activities of the Jamboree were organised in seven villages: Action, Skills, Scoutcraft, Cultural, Global, Religious Observance, and Venturer Kaleidoscope. (it was great to have Mr Rob Evans ('77) of the Scotch Venturer Unit at this village.) Each Scout also had the opportunity to participate in off site activities such as sailing and other water sports, visiting a theme park, going to a beach on the Gold Coast, touring the Amberley Air Force Base, and site seeing in Brisbane and Ipswich. Other activities included the official opening (by the Chief Scout of Australia, Govener General Sir William Deane), and the Gang Show.

There was a daily Jamboree newspaper, 24 hour radio station, access to the internet and virtual reality games. It was a cashless Jamboree, so we used 'Jamcash' cards that were available in amounts ranging from $5 to $50, which could be used to buy anything on the Jamboree site. The cards are the same as the new Telstra Smart Phone cards.

After twelve days in our dry, dusty, and yet most enjoyable tent city, we bused back to Melbourne.