Bumper Springbok Scout Year for 1st Durbanville Troop

2024 was a bumper Springbok Scout year for the 1st Durbanville Scout Group as no fewer than five scouts achieved this prestigious award which is the highest award a youth under 18 can achieve within the scouting movement.

Daniel Wilbraham (17), Oscar Berteler (18), Keagan Coetzee (18), Luke Fittock (18) and Hannah Murphy (18) attended the annual Springbok celebration dinner at 1st Bergvliet scout hall on 19 October where scout chief commissioner Gary Pienaar handed out their certificates.

The Springbok Award is the culmination of years of hard work and adventure. During the last phase of this journey a scout must (among several other tasks) plan and complete 40 hours of community service; plan and hold a troop camp for two scout patrols; and plan and execute a three-day/two-night hike of 30 km with a scout patrol over terrain that they have not hiked before. Lastly, a scout must plan and undertake a major scout skills project such as a pioneering project, a construction project or a banquet and involve a scout patrol in the execution of the project.

Daniel Wilbraham was the first of the five scouts to achieve his Springbok Award. He led his patrol of five scouts on an expedition in the Groot Winterhoek mountains. Daniel also undertook a 57-hour long community service project of which the outcome is a continuous supply of fresh vegetables for a local community of farm workers. For his major project Daniel did a pioneering project whereby he led his team in the construction of a Brynbach Tower.

Daniel also became the first scout at 1st Durbanville to earn all four challenge award cords, namely the Bosun’s Cord, the Airman’s Cord, the Bushman’s Thong and the Service Cord.

Oscar Berteler was the second scout to achieve his Springbok Award. He led his patrol of five scouts on an expedition in the Cederberg mountains. Oscar also undertook a community service project whereby two large bookshelves made from recycled wood and filled with over 500 books were donated to two underprivileged farm schools. Oscar chose a Dutch-themed banquet as his major project. Oscar also earned the Bosun’s Cord.

Keagan Coetzee was the third scout to achieve his Springbok award. He led his patrol of three scouts on an expedition in the Cederberg mountains. For his community service project, Keagan cleaned and repainted parts of an old age home in Bellville. Keagan chose a 007-themed banquet as his major project. Keagan also earned the Airman’s Cord and the Bushman’s Thong.

Luke Fittock was the fourth scout to achieve his Springbok award. He led his patrol of three scouts on an expedition in the Nuy Valley. For his community service project, Luke painted the trunks of camphor and fever trees in the Durbanville area to combat bark stripping. Luke’s major project involved building a campsite on an island in the main dam of a local farm. Luke also earned the Airman’s Cord.

Hannah Murphy was the fifth scout to achieve her Springbok award. She led her patrol of four scouts on an expedition in the Groot Winterhoek mountains. For her Springbok community service Hannah held a drive to gather stationery items which

were packed into 100 homemade pencil bags and donated to an underprivileged primary school. Hannah’s major project was a Christmas-themed banquet.

“Five Springbok Scouts”: The five Springbok scouts and one scouter are (from left) Gary Pienaar (Chief Commissioner of Scouts South Africa, Johannesburg), Luke Fittock (18 from Kenridge), Keagan Coetzee (18 from Stellenberg), Daniel Wilbraham (17 from Valmary park), Oscar Berteler (18 from Thalmen) and Hannah Murphy (18 from Sonstraal).