Mosman scout group in fundraising drive to operate boat shed for members

The oldest scout club in Australia has been left high and dry after the Royal Australian Navy temporarily blocked access to the club’s long-running boat shed due to concerns over the ageing state of the building.

Scout members say the boat shed is a vital part of the club’s activities.

The oldest scout club in Australia has been left high and dry after the Royal Australian Navy temporarily blocked access to the club’s long-running boat shed due to concerns over the ageing state of the building.

The 1st Mosman 1908 scout group is hoping to raise $70,000 to carry out upgrades to the club’s boat shed after it was told by the Australian Defence Force the building needs to be ‘repaired and made safe’.

The boat shed – located on Sydney Harbour at Balmoral Beach – has been owned by the scout group since the 1920s but can only be accessed by crossing through the HMAS Penguin naval base, operated by the Australian Defence Force, or via the beach at low tide.

The scout club has not been able to access the site since the outbreak of Covid-19 as part of a “stand down” order issued by the Department of Defence that required the club to temporarily vacate the site in line with public health orders.

Members of the scout group, who had hoped to return to the site this year, say the stand down order meant the club had been unable to access the building since 2020 to carry out required maintenance works.

An aerial photo of the navy base, showing the location of the boat shed (in red).

The Department of Defence has now told the club it can return to the boat shed, but only if repairs to the shed are carried out by a specified contractor with defence security clearance.

Colleen Godsell, a long-term volunteer for the scout group, said the defence force’s preferred contractor has provided a $70,000 quote for the repairs – a figure far exceeding the club’s financial position.

Colleen Godsell, pictured at the club’s main scout hall in Mosman.

Ms Godsell said both the scout group and the navy are in support of the boat shed reopening once the required building works are completed.

“We recognise there is work that needs to be done to the building but the quote is way beyond our modest means,” she said.

“Because it is the Department of Defence we are duty bound to use their contractors so at the moment we’re between a rock and a hard place.

“Scout groups like everyone struggle to survive and are deeply impacted by insurance rates hike, energy costs, and we try to keep our charges as low as possible to keep the group together.

“It’s going to take a whole lot more than a community barbecue (to raise the funds).

Members of the scout group rely on the boat shed for their activities.

The boat shed has been operating since the 1920s.

“We can understand why we were stood down but we also feel the desperation of wanting to get access to the water craft and get kids back in water to recover from a difficult time in their lives and reconnect them with the environment.”

The Mosman Daily understands the scout group has held meetings with the representatives from the navy where discussions centred on how the building could be made safe.

The identified repairs to the building include fixing concrete beams, walls, and installing a new waterproof membrane on the observation platform.

The scout group is known as the first scout troop founded in Australia.

A Department of Defence spokeswoman said it had not received any formal funding request that it could contribute to the works.

“A sea scout representative has identified that the scouts boatshed does require maintenance (and) defence has suggested the use of a local contractor with the necessary clearances to facilitate the repairs of the sea scout boat shed should the sea scouts wish to use them,” she said in a statement.

Caroline Baulderstone, whose son attends the scout group, said the boat shed was vital for the continuation of the club’s water-based programs.

An aerial photo of the navy base.

“The scout club is heavily focused on water-based activities and all the watercraft are stored in the shed – the kayaks, canoes,” she said.

“Not having access means the kids don’t get the full opportunities of gaining water based skills and team building.”

Ms Baulderstone has launched a fundraiser to carry out the rectification works to the boat shed. The fundraiser, to date, has raised $2150.

The boatshed is understood to have been built in 1927 and underwent major restorations in 2010.

The scout group, which was founded in 1908, is still able to access its main scout hall in Mosman.