Dedication of Scouts recognised at Parliament House
Published Mon 16 Jun 2025
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The incredible achievements of those Scouts who have reached the highest milestone in the Scout section were recognised at a special ceremony at Parliament House on Friday night.
The ceremony saw 29 teenagers presented with the Australian Scout Award – the pinnacle of Scouting for those aged 11-14. To achieve the peak award, Scouts need to develop their Outdoor Adventure Skills, including in the three core areas – bushcraft, bushwalking and camping – and other specialised areas, such as alpine, boating or vertical. They must also complete six Special Interest Area projects, which could include a focus on the environment, STEM, or the arts, as well as a three-day, two-night Adventurous Journey.
State Commissioner (Scouts) Craig Kokay said at the ceremony the Australian Scout Award was not simply a badge or certificate.
“It is a symbol of your journey – of the challenges you’ve faced, the skills you’ve mastered, and the service you’ve given to others,” he told the gathered Scouts and their families.
“You’ve earned badges that stretched your abilities, you’ve led with integrity, and you’ve given your time to make your community a better place. You’ve made the world a little better through your actions, big and small. Every time you volunteered your time, helped a fellow Scout, supported your community, or led with kindness, you planted seeds of positive change.”
Scouts showed their individuality through a range of Special Interest Area projects and had new experiences and made memories on their chosen Adventurous Journeys. Read some of them below.
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James Bartlett – Singleton Scout Unit James enthusiastically undertook every opportunity possible to gain more Scouting experiences, whether in the hall or on a weekend activity. He worked hard to balance his Scouting commitments with his non-Scouting passions, including playing the trumpet with the Singleton Town Band at the Anzac Day march. |
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Leo Foster – Normanhurst Scout Unit Leo is now the first to achieve the ASA in Normanhurst’s Mungi Unit, which he was a founding member of in 2022. For one of his Special Interest Area projects, Leo planned to create a Scout Masterchef episode. It turned into a much bigger project than he anticipated and while he didn’t complete the episode, he was able to put together a trailer and now hopes to continue the project as an SIA for his King’s Scout Award. |
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Darcey Ibarra – 1st Wearne Bay Scout Unit Darcey was a proud representative of her Scout Group at various events and camps, including the New Zealand Jamboree in 2024. Her proudest achievement was her Adventurous Journey, where she and three friends completed a Grade 5 walk from Berowra to Thornleigh along the Great North Walk, combining fire trail, river crossing and road walking. |
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John Justin Paulraj – 1st Westmead Scout Unit Since joining the Scout Unit, John has hiked more than 333km and spent more than 35 nights under canvas. While he did everything necessary to undertake his Adventurous Journey on the Six Foot Track in the Blue Mountains, including gaining NPWS permission, undertaking his risk assessment and assembling five participants, the hike had to be cancelled due to fires on one occasion and floods on another. Luckily, his enthusiasm had seen him participate in three Scout and one Queen’s Scout Award Adventurous Journeys, so the Unit Council determined that he had met the requirements to achieve his ASA. |
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Grace Kokay – 1st Winston Hills Scout Unit This will be Grace’s third peak award, after achieving both her Joey Scout Promise Challenge Award and her Grey Wolf Award. For one of her Special Interest Area projects, Grace assisted in the planning and running of the 2023 Scout of the Year Awards, as the Assistant Patrol Leader of the Scout of the Year Project Patrol under the State Youth Council. |
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Arabella Kuras – 1st Seaforth Scout Unit A conscientious and hard-working Scout, Arabella would regularly turn up to meeting with notes or lists of projects and skills she was working on, had completed, or was next on the list to complete towards her ASA. She has displayed empathy and care (and first aid!), when a friend was badly injured on a camp. It was memorable that Arabella’s last activity as a Scout should be the Australian Jamboree, where she was a Patrol Leader to a Patrol made up of Scouts from three different home Units. |
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Jeremy Morin – 1st Wearne Bay Scout Unit After enthusiastically participating in the Adventurous Journey planned by his friends in 2023, he knew he wanted to plan his own adventure and achieve his ASA. His Adventurous Journey was a trek through the Royal National Park involving not just hiking, but trains and ferries, requiring meticulous timing to make connections, as well as flexibility with last minute changes occurring due to storms closing sections of the park. |
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Jasper Murray – 1st Byron Bay Scout Unit With a curious, creative and strategic mind, Jasper is always up for a new game, puzzle or challenge. He is particularly good at art, navigation and cooking, and fearless enjoyed Adventurous Activities such as snowboarding, canoeing, bushwalking and biking. For his Adventurous Journey, Jasper did something different, undertaking a canoe hike in his local waterways, learning to cook on a camp oven and employ water filtration skills. |
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Isabella Thang – 2nd Bankstown Scout Unit Issy’s leadership skills shone through as a Patrol Leader and Unit Leader. A particularly enjoyable activity for the Unit was the scavenger hunt Issy put together. She also directed, edited and acted in a short film that explored the theme of self-love. |
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Ameeshi Wesumperuma – 1st Ermington Scout Unit This was the first time in about 10 years that Scouts from 1st Ermington Scout Group have actively pursued their ASA. Throughout the course of Ameeshi’s peak award journey, it has fostered new interests within the Group, leading to three Scouts planning their own Adventurous Journeys and hopefully many more to come. |
