Lord and Lady Baden-Powell inspecting the Girl Guides at Southampton Docks.

On Friday 16 January 1931, an honour guard of 100 Boy Scouts and Girl Guides lined the Southampton quayside to see Lord and Lady Baden-Powell set sail on the SS Rangitata. They were to visit Australia, New Zealand and South Africa in a trip lasting until July. Having enjoyed his previous trip, he was looking forward to seeing how the scouts had developed.

The largest gathering in New Zealand attracted 30,000 people (13,000 being Scouts or Guides). The population of New Zealand was, at that time, just over 1.5 million people. Though we tend to know him as the founder of the scouting movement, Baden-Powell was still a war hero to many people, and well known for the Siege of Mafeking, where he and a small garrison of badly equipped troops held out against the Boers for 217 days. It is debatable what military value the siege actually had, but it was portrayed as a much needed victory when the British were badly in need of good news and the lifting of the siege was greeted by street parties in London. The founder of the Scouts of New Zealand, Lieutenant-Colonel David Cossgrove, has served with Baden-Powell in South Africa.

After that, they moved on to Australia where, on 21 March the biggest scout rally ever held in Australia at that date took place on Randwick Racecourse, Sydney. There were 14,000 (or 18,000 according to another report) Scouts, Guides, Cubs, and Brownies and up to 40,000 spectators. The march past consisted of a column marching eight abreast, which was reported as a “splendid spectacle”. It took over an hour, from 3 pm to 4.15 pm for the entire column to pass.

At the end of the event Baden-Powell made a speech and read out a message from the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VIII) and his sister Princess Mary.

It was for this part of the visit that the 32 mm silver medallion was produced by Stokes of Melbourne, a well known Australian manufacturer.

The visit to South Africa also went well, and Sir Montague Burrows was able to read out a message from Baden-Powell at a meeting of 4,000 young people at the Kingsholm rugby ground in Gloucester, including how the movement had helped a disabled girl in South Africa to pass her knot tying badge. She had no arms but learnt to tie knots with her feet.

They returned from their 6 month tour on Monday 13 July aboard the liner Kenilworth Castle, and reported that the movement was thriving in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. “In organisation, numbers, and efficiency we found the Scouts and Guides remarkably good , ” he said. “They are fully appreciated by the authorities, Governmental, Church, and educational . ”

The numbers involved were – New Zealand—11,000 Scouts and 11, 400 Guides. Australia had 41,000 Scouts and 21.000 Guides. South Africa had 15,000 Scouts and 14,000 Guides. Modern figures (which do not count boys and girls separately are 12,000 in New Zealand (2020), 52,000 in Australia (2022) and 54,000 in South Africa (2022). It’s fair to say that although numbers have generally fallen, particularly when viewed against population growth, Scouting still has a significant membership, even when competing with TV, video games and social media. This is particularly true in South Africa, where Nelson mandela was a supporter of the movement and its educational aims.

Lord and lady Baden-Powell would return to Australia in 1934 for the 1935 Jamboree held as a celebration of scouting, and as part of Melbourne’s centenary celebrations. They would also spend a month in New Zealand as part of that trip. They would also visit the 1936 South African National Jamboree in East London, which is sited, confusingly, in Cape Province, South Africa, rather than London.