Looking back on 52 years of Scouting
Bill Charnock hangs up his woggle after a lifetime in organisation
Contrary to the belief of some of the younger members of Whanganui Scouts, Bill Charnock is not old enough to have played snooker with Robert Baden-Powell, but he has clocked up an amazing 52 years of involvement with the worldwide movement.
But now, in an astonishing announcement on social media, he has declared his retirement — “Yes, you read that right. Rama has hung up his woggle.
“After 15 New Zealand Jamborees, one Australian Jamboree, the Centenary World Jamboree, four other national Scout events (regattas and ventures), two Gang Shows, untold District/Area/Zone Cub Camps, many Cub camps/pack holidays and more pack nights than I care to remember, it’s time to call it a day.
“I’m retiring with the movement in good heart, the new programme is structured to take us proudly into the next century, you just have to make the most of the opportunities it offers us and our youth.”
The Scout movement was formed by British Army officer and writer Sir Robert Baden-Powell in the early years of the 20th century, and, with his sister Agnes, followed it with the Girl Guide movement soon afterwards. It spread around the world and is still popular today.
“I walked into a Scout Hall for the first time 52 years ago,” says Bill. “My friend from Sunday School was a member and took me along. It was always going to happen because my brother was a Queen’s Scout.”
The Queen’s Scout Award marks the pinnacle of effort and achievement in Venturer Scouts. It is a very high honour.
Bill was 8 and the Scout Hall was in the Wellington Rd City Mission in Liverpool, England.
“I became a member of the 10th Wavertree.”
Wavertree is a suburb of Liverpool. He was a member there for eight years, until the Charnock family moved to New Zealand. By then he had progressed from Cubs to Scouts and was about to start Venturers.
“It took me a whole two weeks to find a Scout group in New Zealand. It was the First Wanganui East Scout Group in Duncan St, one of nine Whanganui groups at the time.
“I joined Scouts because they hadn’t started a Venturer unit at that stage. The first night I was there, I saw a poster on the wall advertising the 8th New Zealand Jamboree at Oamaru in January.”
Registrations by then had closed, but an unexpected cancellation meant he was able to join the 52-strong Whanganui contingent to the jamboree. Bill says there would have been 8000 people there.
“Five subcamps based at the Oamaru Racecourse. I remember a day trip to Dunedin and the most amazing Challenge Valley [confidence course].”
At the start of the 1978 school year, the Wanganui East Venturer Unit started up.
“The Wanganui East Scout Group at that stage was 36 strong, and 13 of us formed the Venturer Unit, based in the same hall. Mark Neilson and Eric van der Lubbe were the leaders.”
The unit was involved in various activities, including tramping.
When the Charnocks moved house to Gonville, his mum didn’t drive and Bill had not yet learned, so it was easier to join the nearby Illustrious Scout Group in Heads Rd, where a family friend was the leader. Bill got there by bus and a short walk.
“I finished as a Venturer and took out a leader warrant as assistant Cub leader with the Wednesday pack.”
Helen Butters was Cub leader for both packs, Tuesday and Wednesday.
There were 24 boys on a Tuesday night and 30 on a Wednesday.
“It was the thing to do in the 1970s and 80s,” says Bill.
“In 1981 we went to Hastings, and that was another giant one, because it was the only time that the New Zealand Jamboree, the New Zealand Sea Scout Regatta and the New Zealand Venture all happened at the same time in the same place. That would have been the biggest New Zealand one I’ve been to.”
Until Covid put a virus in the works, jamborees were held every three years. Whanganui is yet to have a national jamboree, but it has held the National Venture at Scoutlands.
“I was HQ cook for that one. I got to cook for all the Venture staff.”
Bill was at Illustrious from 1979 to 1985 until he transferred to Wellington with his job at the Labour Department, administering apprenticeship contracts.
In Wellington, Bill joined the Port Nicholson Sea Scouts as an assistant leader, then became Cub leader when his predecessor retired. Twelve months later he secured a transfer back to Whanganui and a job as Cub leader at Illustrious because Helen Butters had retired.
He took the Wednesday night pack, leaving Tuesday evening free for football practice with Wanganui Athletic, a club he had joined earlier. He played for them for 23 years.
Bill eventually became the Illustrious Group Leader, putting him in charge of Cubs, Scouts and Keas.
“Then I became the district Cub leader for Whanganui, which covered Whanganui city plus Waverley.”
His authority and range of influence grew when he became Area Cub Leader, which encompassed an area starting at Waverley, down the coast almost as far as Otaki, took in Wairarapa, Tararua as far north as Dannevirke, to Mt Ruapehu and back to Waverley.
“That took in Palmerston North, Masterton, Whanganui, Marton, Taihape, Feilding . . . ”
Scouting restructured about a decade ago and Bill became zone leader, with an area slightly smaller.
More changes ensued, including names and boundaries for the zone, and all the while, Scouting was shrinking. In spite of that, one of Bill’s successes was the resurrection of the previous dormant Scout group at Bulls.
He says the main problem with keeping Scouting alive is recruiting and retaining leaders. “We never have a problem finding kids,” he says.
Bill’s fondest memory of his years of Scouting is the Centenary World Jamboree held in England in 2007.
“The jamboree was two weeks long and there were 40,000 people under canvas in Hylands Park, just outside Chelmsford in Essex.”
The New Zealand contingent mixed with people from 158 countries at that event, and Bill was there.
Bill has made life-long friends through Scouting but he will miss going to Scouting events and enjoying the camaraderie and company of other leaders as they discuss common problems and solutions around the campfire.