Girl Guides Australia

Girl Guides Australia
Country Australia
Founded 1926
Founder The Girl Guides Association (United Kingdom)
Membership 30,811
Chief Commissioner Robinette Emonson
Affiliation World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts
Website
girlguides.org.au

Girl Guides Australia (GGA) is the national Guiding organisation in Australia. It provides a girls' only space and its mission is to enable girls and young women to grow into confident, self-respecting members of the community. Membership is open to all girls and young women from all cultures, faiths and traditions. It has 30,000 members (as of 2010) including 18,000 youth members, aged 5 to 17. Over a million Australian women are or have been Guides.[1] The Girl Guide emblem incorporates a seven point star the same as the Commonwealth Star.

History

Girl Guides Australia's parent association, The Girl Guides Association was founded in 1910 in the United Kingdom and became a founding member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1928. Branches of The Girl Guides Association were formed in the Australian states, beginning with Western Australia in 1915. A federal council of the Australian state branches was formed in 1926. The federal council became The Girl Guides Association of Australia which changed its name to Girl Guides Australia.

Promise & Law

Guide Promise

Historically

For many years, the Guide Promise closely resembled that of Girlguiding UK:

I promise that I will do my best:
To do my duty to God,
to serve the Queen and my country,
To help other people, and
To keep the Guide Law.

The Girl Guides Australia Board in May 2010, passed a recommendation that Members may opt to use an alternative to the current Promise:[2]

I promise that I will do my best:
to do my duty to God and my country;
to help other people; and
to keep the Guide Law.

Other alternatives were also agreed for members of other nationalities.[2]

Current Promise

In July 2012, the Guide Promise was updated, along with the Guide Law (as below), to better reflect modern society and the perspective of current day Guides. These changes were a result of comprehensive consultation with Girl Guides throughout Australia through the Promise and Law Review.

Notable changes include the removal of explicit reference to God, instead replaced by "my beliefs", and removing reference to the Queen. This updated promise was ratified by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts on July 3, 2012[3] and now stands as below:

I promise that I will do my best
To be true to myself and develop my beliefs
To serve my community and Australia
to keep the Guide Law.

Guide Law

Historically

The original and long-standing Guide Law, as established in 1910 was:

A Guide is loyal and can be trusted.
A Guide is helpful.
A Guide is polite and considerate.
A Guide is friendly and a sister to all Guides.
A Guide is kind to animals and respects all living things.
A Guide is obedient.
A Guide has courage and is cheerful in all difficulties.
A Guide makes good use of her time.
A Guide takes care of her own possessions and those of other people.
A Guide is self-controlled in all she thinks, says and does.

Current Guide Law

As a part of the Promise and Law review, the Guide Law was updated in July 2012. This followed extensive consultations with Girl Guides and Leaders, with an emphasis on identifying those principles they felt best reflected the goal of modern Guiding. The updated Guide Law was ratified by the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts on July 3, 2012[3] and now stands as below:

As a Guide I will strive to:
Respect myself and others
Be considerate, honest and trustworthy
Be friendly to others
Make choices for a better world
Use my time and abilities wisely
Be thoughtful and optimistic
Live with courage and strength.

Program

Historically

Prior to 1996 Girl Guides in Australia were organised into one of four youth sections based on age. These were: Gumnut Guides; age 5–7 years old Brownie Guides; aged 7–10 years old Girl Guides; aged 10–14 years old Ranger Guides; aged 14–18 years old

Sections

Since 1996, all youth members from 5-17 have been known as Guides. Units can choose their own name and can cater for guides of any age range between 5 and 18 years. Guiding resources, such as the Guide Handbooks, use the Girl Guides Developmental Stages of 5 –7, 7 - 9, 9 - 12, 12 - 14 and 14 - 17 to categories and organise resources, allowing leaders & Guides to choose as relevant for their unit.

There is also a program specifically for young women aged 18–30, known as the Olave Program. Guide Leaders are adult volunteers aged over 18, and have hold various GGA Qualifications relevant to their position.

The Australian Guide Program

The Australian Guide Program is a non-formal educational program based on shared leadership and decision-making at all ages.[4] It is organised around the Elements, Fundamentals and Process.

The four elements of the Australian Guide Program are :

Theses elements are essential parts of every Guiding activity.

The seven fundamentals of the Australian Guide Program are:

A unit will plan their program around these fundamentals to include aspects of each in areas of the Guide's interest.

The Australian Guide Program Process is used at various levels of program planning and implementation in order to fully involved Guides in leadership and decision making. The cyclical process is: Discover - Decide - Plan - Do - Check

Girl Recognition System

The Girl Recognition System is the reward or badge system of the Australian Guide Program. Individual Guides, Patrols or whole units can choose to work towards appropriate challenges in a wide range of areas, though it is not compulsory. There are 4 main types of challenge badges (Explore, Create, Achieve and Discover) each pursued in a different way. Some allow Guides to set their own personal challenges, some have set criteria; some focus on a certain topic or skill, others cover a group of skills in an area, and some are based on a wide verity of different areas across the Australian Guide Program.

Major Awards

Girl Guides Australia has a number of major awards that Guides can work towards.

Queen's Guide Award

The Queens Guide Award is the peak youth achievement in Girl Guides Australia. It provides opportunities for personal development and self-awareness, in addition to community service and a specific focus. Guides aged 14+ can begin their Queens Guide award, and all challenges must be completed by the Guides 18th birthday. It is a significant commitment, held in high regard around Australia, and can count towards high school graduation certificate in some states.

BP Award

The BP Award is open for Guides aged 10+. Guide must complete 3 significant challenges in each of the areas of Promise and Law, Outdoors, Service, World Guiding, Guiding Traditions, and Patrol System. The BP Award is presented at significant awards ceremony.

Junior BP Award

The Junior BP Award is open for Guides aged 7+. Guide must complete 2 significant challenges in each of the areas of Promise and Law, Outdoors, Service, World Guiding, Guiding Traditions, and Patrol System.

Duke of Edinburgh Award

The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme has three levels of Award - Bronze, Silver and Gold. Any girl 14 years and over can join Guides to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme. You can register through your State Girl Guides organisation and join a local Unit of girls your age. Guides provides you with many opportunities to learn new skills, give service, participate in a recreational activity or expedition and take part in a residential camp - this could even be at a WAGGGS World Centre such as SANGAM in India.[5]

Commonwealth Award

The Commonwealth Award is open to Guides in all Commonwealth Countries. In Australia it is open to Guides aged 14–30 years old. It includes challenges based on:

Olave Baden Powell Award

The Olave Baden Powell Award is the peak achievement award for members of the Olave Program aged 18–30. It involves a commitment between 2 and 6 years and involves completing personal challenges in each of the areas of Promise & Law, Our Community, Heritage and Traditions, International Guiding, Social Networks and Self Development.

Girl Guide Biscuits

Guides sell quality biscuits manufactured in Australia by Modern Baking Company to raise money for Girl Guide activities. In 2016 Girl Guides Australia increased its product range and will in May 2016 launch four varieties of Girl Guide biscuits:

The money raised is spent at a local and national level. The Guide biscuit campaign starts in May each year.[6]

Centenary

In 2010, Girl Guides Australia celebrated 100 years of Guiding across Australia. The centenary ran from September 2009 to February 2011.[7]

Girl Guides NSW & ACT

Girl Guides NSW & ACT
Headquarters Locked Bag 950, Strawberry Hills, NSW, 2012
Country Australia
Founded 1920
Founder The Girl Guides Association (United Kingdom)
Affiliation Girl Guides Australia
Website
www.girlguides-nswact.org.au

In 1920 Dame Margaret Davidson, wife of the Governor of NSW, called a special meeting of prominent women in Sydney, to try to interest them in starting Guiding in the State. It was decided that Guides was not for them as girls already had sufficient opportunities to be outdoors. Nella Levy read about this meeting in a newspaper and wrote to the newspaper contradicting this feeling. Levy was subsequently was invited to tea at Government House by Davidson. Davidson told her "Queen Mary would like to see Girl Guides in New South Wales, and I want you to start it."[8] Levy took the challenge. She travelled widely, recruiting volunteers, forming Companies and enrolling Guides.

There are 11 Girl Guide Regions in NSW & ACT which include Northern Sydney, Greater Rivers, Cumberland Plains and Southern Sydney Rivers (the 4 regions of Sydney) and North Pacific Coast Region, Twin Rivers Region, South Coast and Highlands Region, Coastal Valleys Region, Central West Region, North West Inland Region and ACT&South East Region.

Properties

Araluen

Araluen is located near Jindabyne. The site is popular for both winter and summer sports activities.

Glengarry

Glengarry is situated on the edge of the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. It comprises 34 hectares of bushland with established gardens and cleared areas.

RTS Tingira

RTS Tingira is located in Cabarita, New South Wales. It is a watersports centre and offers activities such as canoeing, kayaking, rafting, rowing and sailing.

Tara

It was announced in March 2009 that Tara, the Guides' campside in Silverdale will be sold to the Roads and Traffic Authority to be 'compensatory habitat' managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

The Olave Centre is the largest in house accommodation area at Tara. The house sleeps 27 in dormitory style bedrooms. The Olave Centre also has a large commercial kitchen, a common dining and lounge area, and a large bathroom, including one for disabled use. The internal courtyard is used for inside activities and outside dining.

The Brownie Cottage sleeps 25 in bunk bed dormitory-style accommodation. There is a bathroom, fully equipped kitchen and a large dining/lounge area. There is also an open fireplace. The back veranda is an excellent spot for looking at the stars. The Northern Room adjoins Brownie Cottage. It is a fully self-contained studio which sleeps 4. The Northern Room can be accessed through Brownie Cottage as additional accommodation or rented separately for smaller groups. The Northern Room was originally a garage. Tolhurst Cottage is quaint cottage-style building with terracotta roofing and an open fireplace.

Girl Guides NSW & ACT acquired the property in 1971. Prior to this, Tara was originally a cattle property of over 101 acres (0.41 km2), with a fairly large house, a small caretaker's cottage (which started its life as a workman's cottage at Warragamba Dam), a new set of cattle yards and holding yards, and a large equipment shed, with various fowl yards. The property was fenced into four paddocks - complete with a dam and a semi-dry creek - which bordered a permanent creek that flowed into the Nepean River at Bent's Basin. Tara was the name of the original owner's daughter and it seemed fitting to keep some history in the name of the property.

After the site was acquired by the Guides, the stock holding paddock was turned into a sportsfield and carpark, and the equipment shed was fitted out with shelves for camping equipment. Paddocks were divided into camping areas, enclosed fireplaces were built and water was piped to all sites. In October 1971 "Tara" was opened officially by the State President Lady Cutler, in the presence of the State Commissioner, Lady Wyndham. Shortly afterwards, 2000 trees were planted on a tree planting day.[9]

In 1972, the Nella Levy Chapel was built, to commemorate Girl Guides NSW first Guider.

NSW Gang Shows and other theatrical experiences

There are a number of Gang Shows put on in NSW. A Gang Show is a Scout variety show.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About Us". Girl Guides Australia. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  2. 1 2 Promise and Law Review and Update
  3. 1 2 "Promise and Law". Girl Guides Australia Website. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
  4. ↑ Girl Guides Australia. "What is Guiding?".
  5. ↑ Girl Guides Australia. http://www.girlguides.org.au/Resources-for-Guides/Girl-Recognition.html. Retrieved 2014-04-17. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Girl Guides Australia. "How to Buy [Guide Biscuits]". Orite. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
  7. ↑ "Celebrate the Centenary of Guiding in 2010". Girl Guides Australia. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
  8. ↑ Abraham, Anne; Deo, Hermant (2006). "A Foucauldian Approach to Founder's Influence in a Non-Profit Organization". The Business Review 6 (1): 29–44. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  9. ↑ "Tara: The Site of a Million Stars". Girl Guides Australia NSW &ACT. Retrieved 2009-05-15.
  10. ↑ Kirrawee Gang Show
  11. ↑ Albury Gang Show
  12. ↑ Cumberland Gang Show
  13. ↑ Hornsby Gang Show
  14. ↑ Korimul Gang Show
  15. ↑ Central Coast Gang Show
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