Western Cape Scout Groups - Western Suburbs

Please see Scout Groups in South Africa for a list of all the current Groups in the Western Cape

Today Scout Groups in the Western suburbs are all included in the Table Bay District. The greater West Coast area has a long history of Scouting starting in 1928 when the Cape Peninsula was divided into Districts with C.P. 3 being Maitland and Bellville. The first Local Association was registered on 27 September 1928. The name was "Maitland Boy Scout Local Association" and the Association's purpose was to administer 1st Maitland with 12 Scouts and 14 Cubs, and 2nd Maitland with 9 Scouts. It was not uncommon for groups to close and then later the same naming being reused. Consequently, some groups could have been active at an earlier or other period than these mentioned. Unfortunately, records from the Coloured Association were lost in a fire, but 1st Factreton may have been registered during 1951.

It was a good few years after registration of the Local Association that three more groups were formed - 3rd Maitland during 1955; 1st Alexandra Institution for the Mentally Handicapped on 3 December 1955 and 4th Maitland was 're-registered' on 7th November 1955.

When 1st Milnerton Scout Group was registered on 11th March 1957 the Local Association was altered so as to include the Milnerton area. Bothasig was added when 1st Bothasig Scout Group was registered on 19th June 1968 followed by 1st Table View during 1974.

The district was expanded to include 1st Sanddrift on their registration on 20 March 1978 and Koeberg on the registration of 1st Koeberg Group on 3rd July 1980.

The Local Association, at a later stage, was requested to include Atlantis and the West Coast with Factreton following shortly thereafter. 1st Atlantis was registered on 12 November 1977 and 1st West Coast Scout Group was registered on 29 August 1991. 1st Saldanha were active in 1994 with about 20 scouts.

Over the years the boundaries of the district changed and at times covered a large area supporting groups all the way from Maitland to Saldanha Bay.

Some of the past some District Commissioners were: - "Impie" Bryant 1955, W.M. Lloyd 1957, G.A. Barnett 1968, Frank "Blom" Flowers 1975, Harry Mason 1980, Kenneth Arnold 1988, Alister Brickhill 1991, Dinny Brickhill, Phillip Jaftha (2010), Paul Innes (2010/21), Devon Bowen (2022).

Alphabetical list

The following alphabetical list of the Groups and a short history of the Group and is based on very limited documentation from the Scout Archives and contributions from Scouters. Wiki is all about collaboration and additional information, anecdotes and photos will be added if available.

Alexandra Institution
Very little documentation pertaining to Scouting at the Institute is available in our archives. There was however a birthday card from 1943 on the occasion of Dr Jan Dommisse or Hawkeye as he was better known, turning 70. Quote: "Greetings Hawkeye and very good wishes for a Happy Birthday from the Cubs and Scouts in the Alexandre Institute. We look forward to your visits." He was Divisional Commissioner from 1940 until 1955. Headquarters files indicate that the Group was registered on 3 December 1955 and in 1967 the Western Cape newsletter advised that an old building on the premises was repaired and made into a Scout Hall which was opened om 11 March of that year. Currently (2023) there is a Rover Crew at the institute.

Atlantis
Atlantis was developed in the 1970s as an industrial area and a community for the Coloured population of Cape Town. In its heyday, due to tax incentives, there were approximately 50 industries in Atlantis. The 1st Atlantis Scout group was registered on 12 November 1977 and Scouting flourished through to the early 2000's when at one stage there were three active groups. During this period there over 30 registered Scouters, some with 15, 30 and 40 years Long Service Awards. Atlantis declined with the termination of the incentive programmes, people left the area and the groups one by one all closed.

1st Blaauwberg This is an active group.

Bothasig
The suburb Bothasig was established in 1964 and was originally named Bosmansdam. This name was not popular and a year later it was renamed after the then housing minister P W Botha. Just three years after the first residents moved in, the 1st Bothasig Scout Group was established on the 19th June 1968 in the District CW 12. Read more ...

Brooklyn

1st Brooklyn
Very little information about this group is lodged with the Scout Archives other than that it seems to have been started in November 1937 and in February 1941 there was the opening of the Brooklyn Scout Hall that had been provided by Citizen's Housing League. The Cubs seem to have been active between 1945 and 1949 with Mrs. W Johnson as Akela.

2nd Brooklyn
Earliest mention of the group indicates that the Cubs were possibly active in 1956 and the Scouts in 1957, but the meeting place is not mentioned until 1963 it was reported in headquarter minutes that a lease had been signed with the municipality for a piece of land in Justin Street, Brooklyn. Read more ...

Factreton was registered in the early 1950's and is an active group.

Koeberg
The Eskom Koeberg village at Duynefontein had during the 1980's and 1990's among its youth activities both Scout and Guide troops and Cub and Brownie Packs. The 1st Koeberg Scout Group was founded on 3rd July 1980. Read more ...

Maitland
The area seems to have had a liking for stage shows as they had many active participants in the 1953 Scout Show (3rd and 4th Groups) and four participants from the 4th in the 1954 show that went on tour playing at Kimberley, Bloemfontein, Pretoria, Boksburg, Johannesburg, Durban, Pietermaritzburg, East London and Port Elizabeth. Read more ...

1st Milnerton was registered on 11th March 1957 and is an active group.

1st Saldanha was registered in 1994, but did not exist for long.

1st Sanddrift
The driving force behind starting a group in the area was Alister Brickhill, who had spent 3 years as a Cub, 7 years as a Scout and was previously the Assistant Scoutmaster at 4th Maitland. His wife Dinny was instrumental in getting Pack up and running. The group was registered in March 1978 and initially made use of the Milnerton Baptist Church Hall. Read more ...

1st Table View was registered in 1974 and is an active group.

1st West Coast was registered on 29 August 1991, but did not exist for long.

History

1st Bothasig

Ack: Mick T Hatton.

The suburb Bothasig was originally named Bosmansdam after a proclamation appeared for the rezoning of a portion of property that was known as Bosmansdam. The town was established in 1964 and the then housing minister, P W Botha handed over the first house on 26 October 1965. An application was made by the residents the following year for a name change. A competition was run in a local newspaper and the name was changed from Bosmansdam to Bothasig.

Just three years after the first residents moved in, the 1st Bothasig Scout Group was established on the 19th June 1968 in the District CW 12, today part of the Table Bay District.

Scarf colours were maroon with royal blue border and the flag was presented to the Scout Master Mr Alan Richardson by District Commissioner Mr G A Barnett on the 5th March 1969.

From their very beginning, both the troop and pack were active participants in all the district and area events and it was reported that in September '69 the troop entered the Cape Times Cross Country Trophy and finished 10th out of 29 teams. Advancement was keen and they had their first Springbok Scout Badge awarded to Mario Cocks in December 1971. Cub 'Leaping Wolf' Badges and certificates were also being regularly presented. More adventurous troop activities included a 5-day rafting expedition down the Berg River in January 1972. On New Year's Day they started to build a raft on the banks of the Berg River at the farm, "Die Brug' and launched the next morning. Shallow water, rapids and growth palmiet and bush, slowed them up, and they had to battle to maintain progress.

A smaller raft was constructed and progress was much better enjoying the scenery and the fantastic bird life - flamingos, egrets, swallows and others.

Unfortunately, with time running short and a good distance still to cover, they abandoned the raft, cached some of the equipment, and set out on foot. They camped that night and eventually were given a lift to 'civilisation' in the town of Velddrif.

By 1974 the Group had grown in leaps and bounds that it was decided to split into two, and 2nd Bothasig was formed with its committee and new scarf. The old original maroon with blue border was discontinued and the new scarves and meeting days came into being. Both groups used the same Scout Hall.

The 1st Bothasig scarf was now Gold with an inner Green border and they met on Tuesdays

The 2nd Bothasig scarf was Green with a Red border and they met on Thursdays

The Cubs also enjoyed many outings, camps and in October 1977 they won their District Cub Competition

In 1978 the Great Wittenberg Senior Scout Adventure took place and a CW 12 District Patrol took part in the adventure taken over ten days! Lead by Mick Hatton with 5 scouts from 1st Bothasig, Duchie Nuiberg and son, also D Smith of 1st Milnerton and two scouts from 2nd Brooklyn.

On a lighter note, six Members of the troop participated in the Scout Show 79. They were, Mick Hatton, Neil Hatton, Stephen Arnold, Karl and Glen Shultz

In the mid nineteen eighties 2nd Bothasig combined with 1st Bothasig and the various awards reveal the group that was performing well. In 1987 this was acknowledged when they received the following: - First Class award for 'Take Pride in your headquarters', Silver Star awarded to Group and Gold Star awarded to Pack. All round excellence in 1999 placed them 4th for the prestigious Area Tonkin Trophy.

1st Bothasig Springbok Scouts

1971	Cocks	Mario G	Springbok
1972	Gustafson	Stephen	Springbok
1972	Merkl	Mario	Springbok
1972	Huuhtanen	Seppo	Springbok
1972	Mol	Johannes	Chief Scout's Award
1973	Gastarson	Stephen	Chief Scout's Award
1973	Huuhtanen	Jaha	Springbok
1973	Cruywagen	Buckley	Chief Scout's Award
1974	Sommarberg	Ralph	Springbok
1979	Hope	Theo	Springbok
1980	Hope	Russell Stephen	Springbok
1982	Stopford	Alan	Springbok
1983	Hatton	Neil	Springbok
2005	De La Hunt	J B	Springbok
2006	Erasmus	Darren	Springbok
2006	Pentz	Jason	Springbok
2006	Bowen	Devon Anthony	Springbok
2009	Hope	Damon	Springbok
2009	Stopford	Sean Matthew	Springbok
2011	Stopford	Gavin	Springbok
2014	Old	Jessica	Springbok

1st Bothasig Scouters
Group Scoutmaster
Alan Richardson (1970), J S Kriel (1975), N Nielsen (1981), Mike Magee (1981/87), Gordon Harding (1984), Stuart Mandy (1987), Peter Smallman (2009), Paul Innes (2009/18)

Troop Scouter
Alan Richardson (1968), David Sneddon (1970), Guido Merkle (1972), E Versveld (1972), H De Vries, N Nielsen (1974), M T Hatton (1981), L Mc Avinchey (1987), M Schumann (2000), Paul Innes (2000/09), Ronan Kidson (2009/13), Devon Bowen (2013/16), Terrance Ievers (2017)

Pack Scouter
Mrs Valerie Hermanson (1964), Ann Butler (1969), Mrs D A Roberts (1976), Mrs H Birk (1976), Neils Nilesen (1988), Mrs V Cloete (1981), Mrs J Magee (1982), Carol Binedell (1985), Mr Gentz (1988), Mrs Belinda Breuninger (1989), Mr L Mc Avinchey (1991), Mrs S McDiarmid (1995), Janette Lowndes (2007) Stockford, Binnedel

2nd Bothasig Scouters 1974 – 1985
Group Scoutmaster
De Vries (1974), Mr C Glanville (1978)

Troop Scouter
Mr H De Vries (1974), Mr M Magee (1979)

Pack Scouter
Mrs D A Roberts (1976), Mrs H Birk (1976), Mrs J Magee (1978), Mrs P McGilton (1978), Mrs R M McGilton (1978)

Photo Gallery

Troop soccer team
Pack soccer team
Troop Camp Eikenhof
Group participates in village turning 21 in 1986
2nd Bothasig Cubs

2nd Brooklyn

Earliest mention of the group indicates that the Cubs were possibly active in 1956 and the Scouts in 1957, but the meeting place is not mentioned until 1963 it was reported in headquarter minutes that a lease had been signed with the municipality for a piece of land in Justin Street, Brooklyn.

A committee minute book 1969 to 1977 and a Court of Honour logbook 1971 to 1981 are sadly the only records of this group that are lodged in the archives.

A name synonymous with Western Cape Pack Scouters that were undergoing training from the mid 1970's onwards was Olive La Cock. She was part of the training team, but for many years, until December 1976 she was the Akela of 2nd Brooklyn.

The records covering the decade of the 1970's starts off with a full Pack and about 36 Scouts meeting in their own hall. The group participated with enthusiasm in many of the district events and skills were such that they won a few, like the Scouts raft race on Milnerton Lagoon a number of times. Area competitions did not see them in the top 10, but their talent ensured that some knowledge was gained. This period saw the Scouts rejuvenated and they entered the 1972 Gordon Shield after a break of 8 years, and boldly the tough 1976 Rayner Trophy and with a smile came last. They were much better at orienteering, often in the top five. The Cubs were regular participants in the prestigious Edward Shield and had a number of Leaping Wolves. Annual camps were the norm for both the Cubs and Scouts, as were participating in swimming gala's, soapbox derbies and athletics, etc. The Scouts camped in Bains Kloof and often hiked up Table Mountain and sometimes tougher activities like a survival hike from Brooklyn along the beach to Melkbos. [[File:2nd

By the early 1990's the group had closed and the hall, for many years then became the equipment store for the Cederberg Senior Scout Adventure.

Springbok Scouts

1965	Mackenzie	Leslie	Springbok
1965	Mc Owen	Horace	Chief Scout's Award
1978	Lloyd	Jonathan	Springbok
1989	Bredell	Peter Martin	Springbok

Group Scouter
James McOwen 1964, John Kriel 1971/74, Malcolm (Lion) Mc Owen 1975, Royston Mostert 1977

Troop Scouter
James McOwen (1962), Charles Knights (1964), Martin Jones (1967), Malcolm (Lion) Mc Owen (1971/74), Royston (Python) Mostert (1974/77), Mervin Smith (1977), Colin Mc Owen (1978), Philip Jones (1979/80), Frederick Le Riche (1980)

Pack Scouter
Mrs Olive La Cock (1965/1976), Isobel Watford (1976/7), James Wilmott (1978)

1st Koeberg

The Koeberg Group was registered on 3rd July 1980 and three years later it was reported that the Troop was 'going strong'. The report on the troop Christmas Camp in 1983 revealed the following:-

Recently we held our annual Christmas Camp in the "Bundu" at Klein Springfontein five kilometres north of Koeberg. We were transported out over the dunes (which resembles the Kalahari Desert) and deposited in the bundu together with ample stocks of Scouts staple diet "baked beans" and only 1500 litres of fresh water. The camp was run on strict Scouting standards, but with the emphasis on fun. The major highlight of the camp was the construction of a "foofy slide" (aerial runway) from the top of the 35 metre cliffs to the beach - a run of some 100 metres. The rider built up to quite a speed before finally disappearing into a pile of soft sand on the beach.

The camp was completed without too many incidents as the snakes happily kept away, and the only problems encountered were scorpions in the tents, and one confrontation between a small Scout and a large Lynx. We do not know who was the more frightened because they both disappeared in opposite directions at breakneck speed. Finally, 21 very brown (some of it dirt), tired, but very happy Scouts plus Scouters returned home vowing never to look at another baked bean until of course, next year's camp.

Ack: Scoutmaster John (Tug) Wilson

The Cubs too were very active and participated in all the District and Area events. Regular outings and camps were often held with other Packs like Sanddrift at Ou Skip and Glencairn. In 1994 they won the District Beaver Cub Competition and progress in the Pack was rewarded with Star Awards.

The Group had its own Den which was surrounded by a spacious playing area.

Group Scouter
Ronald Green (1980), Robert Jones (1981), Carl Koch (1988)

Pack Scouter
John Rollinson (1980), Margaret Granger (1983), Angela O'Brien (1986), Robert Mac Caulay (1988), Joycelyn Slabbert (1990), Antionette La Porta (1993)

Troop Scouter
John (Tug) Wilson (1980), Carl Kock (1985), Henry Wood (1988), Keith Webber (1991), Robert Pick (1993)

Photo Gallery

The Koeberg Scout Hut 1982
Cubs at the District Big Cycle 1994
Winners of the Bever Cub Competition 1994
Visit to Robben Island 1995
Cubs at a District Cub Camp, Glencairn

Maitland

1st Maitland - Was registered on 27 September 1928 with 12 Scouts and 14 Cubs. John Lambert Foster, who was a King Scout in 1923, was their Scoutmaster from May 1937 to October 1943. Their birthday card on the occasion of Dr Jan Dommisse or Hawkeye as he was better known, turning 70 in 1943, refers to themselves as being a combined Land and Sea Scout Troop.

2nd Maitland - With 9 Scouts was also first registered on 27 September 1928, but probably closed down. Later records indicate that in the 1950's and 60's it was a Cub Pack, possibly run at the Holy Cross Convent in Maitland as the Reverend Sisters were their Pack Scouters and lived at the Convent.

3rd Maitland – The group seems to have been active in the 1940's and 50's, and the Pack must have been of a high standard as they won the prestigious Edward Shield in 1950. In 1957 Keith Thomas, from the Troop, together with 380 South African Scouts attended the 5th World Jamboree in England.

4th Maitland – They were re-registered on 7th November 1955, but were certainly active from an earlier period through to the mid-1990's. The records reveal that they entered the Rayner Trophy in 1967, and had a number of Springbok Scouts, these were: -

1957	Harris	Arthur Charles	Queen
1962	Brogden	Owen	Chief Scout's Award
1970	Cosnett	Hendrik	Springbok
1971	Van Vliet	Hendrick	Chief Scout's Award
1990	Capes	Russell Clayton	Springbok
1990	Black	Bruce	Springbok
1991	Desebrock	Russell	Springbok

Group Scoutmaster
John Fuller (1964), Lourens Le Roux (1971), Bernard Driessen (1988)

Troop Scouter
Jenvey Nissen (1951), Arthur Harris (1961), Thomas Newey (1962), Moses Zelie (1964), Leslie Durrant (1965), John Ackerman (1967), Frederick Birk (1970), John Ackerman (1973), Horace Mc Owen (1975), Kenneth Gilpin (1984), Melvyn Silkestone (Medal of Merit 1992), Gustav Bernhardt (1995)

Pack Scouter
Dinny Brickhill (1958), Karel Nortier (1964), Anne Viljoen (1965), Junett Jay (Medal of Merit '86) (1973), Charmaine Driessen (1988), Sandra Peo (1992)

1st Sanddrift

The 1st Sanddrift Group was started on the 20 March 1978 and by the end of the following year, both the Pack and Troop were full. Initially meetings were held in the Milnerton Baptist Church, but the committee soon got into action with the lease of ground from the council in 1981. Fund raising for the hall was a long and difficult process and they moved into their own building towards the end of 1991.

From the very beginning, the enthusiasm was such that it resulted in many advancement badges being earned by both the Cubs and Scouts. Quinton Brickhill was their first of their Springbok Scouts. At the time a Scout could then go on and qualify for the Chief Scout's Award, which Quinton received in 1988. The only other Springbok noted is Nicholas Zaymes in 1994.

Camping was a priority for the Scouts and a campsite that became very popular with the group was Kuipers Kraal near Durbanville. Here they held Troop and Patrol camps, Training courses like pioneering and even a Father and Son camp. The Annual Summer Camp was however the highpoint for the boys and some of the locations were:- Breede River, Bain's Kloof (1983), Camper's Paradise, Paarl (1984 and 86). Rocklands, Miller's Point (1985) and Algeria, Cederberg (1989).

Touring camps of an informative and educational nature were also held. A 1983 road trip to Oudtshoorn and George saw them teaming up with the local Scouts and were accommodated in their halls. In Sedgefield they attended the 'Veld and Vlei' Adventure School together with members of the George Troop. In July of the same year, they travelled to Sutherland where a member of the observatory agreed to test the boys for the Astronomer's Badge. An added bonus was to wake up the next day to find the town covered in snow, and to experience a snow-fight. Acquiring a little more stamina and fitness they also tackled the though Springbok Trail in the Karoo National Park.

The Scouts in December 1989 were part of the Western Cape contingent of 135 Scouts that attended SANJAMB at the Midmar Dam in Howick, KZN. An equally other highpoint for any Scout or Scouter is the biennial Cederberg Adventure and they were able field a full patrol of 10 Scouts in 1990. The Scouts not only participated in most of the District and Area events and competitions, but many day or weekend hikes and camping expeditions were the norm.

Sanddrift had a very strong and active Rover Crew and three of their members attained the BP Rover Award which is the highest Scouting award available to Rover in South Africa. They were Quinton Brickhill in 1993, Rory Brickhill and Angela O'Brian in 1994.

The Cubs were a very energetic pack from the start and got on well with other packs often having join activities like camps with Koeberg and Bothasig. An early entry in their logbook mentions a November 1980 weekend camp with 1st Bothasig at Gilcape that was a great success. Their Soccer skills weren’t bad either winning the 1981 District Soccer Competition. Advancement through the Cub programme was keen and later in the year the first Leaping Wolves were presented in July to C Els and C Botes at a meeting in the Milnerton Baptist Church.

Judging from the available documentation it would that the early 1990's were the groups 'Golden Years' having qualified for Star Group Award, Star Troop Award, Star Patrol Award, Star Pack Award and even 1st Class Awards for their own Hall.

Like many Groups it had its ups and downs with recruiting of both boys and adults and by the early 2000's the group had closed down. The hall, however, is now the main equipment store for the Cederberg Senior Scout Adventure.

Group Scouter
Christian Els (1978), Hubert Hydenrych (1978), Alister Brickhill (1984), Gabriel Le Roux (1991), Victor De Goede (1996)

Troop Scouter
Christian Els (1978), William Hope (1982), James Woods (1983), Juan Espinosa (1987), Rory Brickhill (1990), Victor De Goede (1991), Rory Brickhill (1992)

Pack Scouter
Doris-Anne Robertson (1978), Felicity Els (1980), Gloria Botes (1982), Marion van Almelo (1990)

Photo Gallery