Wilbur at Adelaide vs Hawthorn Football Game at AAMI

Well, Wilbur went to the Adelaide vs Hawthorn football game this evening. This game is called Australian Rules Football and is very different to what most people would expect for a game. But Akela enjoys going and as with the cricket, will be taking Wilbur for sure to the game when she goes. Akela comes from a family that appreciate their sport….both playing and watching it.


For those who don’t know much about this game we’ve included some of the information within this bog. We are happy that Adelaide won. There are two teams from Adelaide in the national competition and it would be a very bad thing for Akela to go for the other team (Port Power).

We hope everyone is having a great week and that we will be back again soon with the latest adventures of what we has been doing…..

Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football,[1] also informally known as football, Aussie rules or (colloquially) as footy[2] (and in some regions called—erroneously—AFL, after the Australian Football League, the only fully professional Australian rules football league) is a sport played between two teams of 22 players (18 on the field, and four interchanges) on either an Australian rules football ground or a modified cricket field.


The objective of the game is to score points by passing the ball through the opponent's goal. The main way to score points is by kicking the ball between the major goal posts. The team with the higher total score at the end of the match wins[3] unless either a draw is declared or a tie-break is used.[4]

During play, players may position themselves anywhere on the field and use any part of their body to move the ball. The primary methods are kicking, handballing and running with the ball. There are rules on how the ball can be handled: for example, players running with the ball must intermittently bounce or touch it on the ground. Throwing the ball is not allowed and players must not get caught holding the ball. Possession of the ball is in dispute at all times except when a free kick is paid. A distinctive feature of the game is the mark, where players anywhere on the field who catch a ball from a kick (with specific conditions), are awarded a free kick.[5] Australian rules is a contact sport, in which players can tackle using their hands or use their whole body to obstruct opponents. Dangerous physical contact (such as pushing an opponent in the back), interference when marking and deliberately slowing the play are discouraged with free kicks, distance penalties or suspension, depending on the seriousness of the infringement. Frequent physical contests, aerial marking or "speckies", fast movement of both players and the ball and high scoring are the game's main attributes.

Details of the game's origins in Australia are obscure and still the subject of much debate. Australian football became organised in Melbourne in May 1859, when the first laws of the game were published by the Melbourne Football Club.[6][7]

Australian football is a major participation and spectator sport in Australia.[8][9] The sport is also played at amateur level in several countries and in several variations.

The most prestigious competition is the Australian Football League (AFL), which culminates in the annual AFL Grand Final; currently the highest attended club championship event in the world. Australian football is governed by the AFL Commission which also runs the AFL competition and the rules are decided by the AFL's Laws of the Game Committee.

Mawson Lakes Scout Group Garage Sale

Clean Up Australia Day 2011

On Sunday 6th March, Mawson Lakes Cubs joined in Clean Up Australia Day at Mawson Lakes, with the Mawson Lakes Enviromental Watch Group. It was a good chance to do some cleaning up of the local area.A good chance to particpate in a local community service activitiy.

Australia Day 2011

Today, Akela took Wilbur with her to the Australia Day celebrations at Carisbrooke Reserve.  Mawson Lakes Scout Group was doing the flag rising at 9:30am. We also were getting a donation for ensuring the reserve was kept clear of rubbish as well as any of the cans and bottles for their deposits. The day started at 8am and finished around 4pm for the scouts, although the activities finished at 3pm for the general public.

Akela and Wilbur did the morning and left just after lunch as they were once again going to the cricket at Adelaide Oval. It was the One Day game (50 over a side) between Australia and England.  Due to our morning commitments, we got seats saved for us by Akela’s cousin and uncle….on the boundary. It was very close to the action and I think Akela spent some time checking out the players from both teams (they are very tall! Especially Kevin Peterisen, the English player).  Australia lost the game, but it was a good night out though…..a long day and Wilbur was very tired when he got home.

Day Eight 21st and 22nd January

Today was our last day in Canberra. True to form, Akela was up early again. Here’s hoping she gets some sleep on the bus home this evening!

It didn’t take long for everyone to get everything packed, both tents and their personal gear. Group nine managed to get somewhat organized the previous evening, by getting the cubs to pack everything except what they needed for today. After having breakfast, and cleaning the dining area, the next task of packing the buses was done and in true scout fashion.

This morning saw the South Australians load onto the buses and leave Camp Cottermouth for the last time. It was with some sadness we said goodbye to where we had been staying for the past week.

This morning saw us arrive at Questacon (www.questacon.edu.au) around 11:30am and we quickly had lunch before entering. Questacon was brilliant. Certainly a highlight for the Wilbur and he enjoyed being taken round and seeing everything that was happening.

After a very pleasant 3 hours looking round, the cubs were rounded up and boarded back onto the buses.  Tea was had at Wagga Wagga and it was certainly a appreciated stop. We ended up spending two hours at tea break instead of the assigned hour. This put us behind for the rest of the trip. But it wasn’t really noticed a great deal as most of the cubs were soon quickly asleep. A few woke up each time the bus stopped, but overall it was a trip in which most of the cubs and many leaders slept through. Akela made sure though that she got her Farmers Union Ice Coffee at the 1^st chance she got in!

It was certainly good to get home and back to our own beds. Akela and Wilbur both had a nice bath/shower and went to bed for a few hours in the afternoon. We are pleased to advise that Akela’s 5:30am getting up has come to a stop and she is back into a normal routine.

We hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures on the road with Akela and the rest of the South Australian Cubs and Leaders who went to the ACT Cuboree. It was certainly a experience and one that those who are able to attend shouldn’t pass up

ACT Cuboree trip - Day Seven

Today proved to be another full day of activities for the South Australian cubs and leaders that I was with.

Today’s morning visit was to the National Museum (http://www.nma.gov.au/index.html) The National Museum of Australia is a social history museum. It also has a focus on Indigenous histories and cultures, histories of European settlement and the interaction of Australians with the environment.  

One of the points that captured the interest of Group Nine was the radio room, where there group spent considerable time.  The down side was that there was not enough time to see everything or spend the time going through the shop – there were certainly some good bargains in there and Akela was disappointed that she didn’t get a chance to spend more time going through there to check out things as much as she would have liked. It was certainly a good visit and the areas where the kids could do stuff was also good.

After eating lunch at the museum, we headed to the CSRIO Discovery Centre. It was noted that Akela fell asleep on the drive – in fact, she fell asleep this morning as well, before we had even gotten onto the Cotter Road! How bad is that? Yet, she still can’t seem to sleep in the morning pass 5:30am, no matter what time she goes to bed. Bet she’s looking forward to getting home!

CSIRO Discovery Centre (www.csiro.au/places/Discovery.html) was another interesting to visit.  It is a unique public science centre showcasing current Australian research and technology from CSIRO, Australia's largest research organization.  The cubs certainly had a great time doing the hands on activities and being able to handle several insects and animals. Some of the leaders were also able to have things crawling all over them as well.

The time here was short, and it didn’t seem like we had been there long before we were heading to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex (www.cdscc.nasa.gov).  This is certainly a place we would recommend people visit when they visit Canberra. This was place while not huge in physical terms was huge in being able to capture the minds and imaginations of the cubs who were there. The talk was fascinating and certainly a enjoyable place for us to visit. There are a number of former cubs in staff, including one who was a youth member in South Australia and earned his Queen Scout Award. The talk certainly held the attention of all there.

Once we finished here, it was time to return to camp for our final night at Camp Cottermouth. Once tea was completed, it was time to relax and watch a movie.  A relatively early night for Akela – we’ll see how it goes tonight with sleeping in past 5:30am!

Day Six - Wednesday 19th January

Today was the second day of sightseeing.  Getting up and ready for breakfast was more relaxed, even though we still had to be on the buses as a particular time.  But one thing was for sure; everyone was wearing their uniforms today!

The first place to be visited today was the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au).  Our first activity while at the Australian War memorial was, as a contingent was to visit the Unknown Soldier. We had a talk from a veteran, which was then followed by 4 cubs laying the wreath and one reading the ode. It was something all the cubs took seriously and their behavior was quite good, considering their age and the seriousness of this service. It is certainly something that they wouldn’t have been able to have done if they had stayed home in Adelaide!  It was certainly a experience and even though we were there for around 3 hours, the time went all to quickly and certainly more time is needed to do the venue properly.

After finishing at the War Memorial (which also included lunch), we headed to Parliament House (www.aph.gov.au).  Here, we had a guided tour, which saw us visiting both chambers. From here, we had a chance to wonder and this included a chance to go onto the roof – and have a look at the huge flag pole (which was also a fascination for many cubs).  There was even plenty of time to visit the shop as well, which seems to be a compulsory part of visiting different places around Canberra.

Tea was at had at the Campsite and many people took the chance to change out of their uniforms. Tea was eventually had in two parts as after having main course, it was time to get back onto the buses and head to the National Dinosaur Museum. (www.nationaldinosaurmuseum.com.au). For those who want to know more, from the following is from the website “Starting from humble beginnings in 1993, the museum has grown from just a small collection to housing the largest permanent display of dinosaur and other prehistoric fossil material in Australia. With 23 complete skeletons, and over 300 displays of individual fossils, the museum continues to grow and expand our collection and our depth of information.”
Again, the Cubs enjoyed the visit as well as the chance to explore something different. 

 Having it done in the evening was also a change to the routine. Many Cubs headed straight to bed once back at the camp site, opting to miss dessert. A sure sign a cub is very tired when they start missing chances to eat!