SCOUTING SUNRISE

Bangor Cubs and Scouts attend a historic Scouting Sunrise event at the Sydney Opera House to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the start of World Scouting and enjoy a BIG day out to Manly and North Head.

It was dark and cold at 05:30am when a group of Cubs, Scouts, Leaders and parents met at Sutherland station for the train trip into the city. We arrived at Circular Quay just as the sun was touching the tops of the tallest buildings and we joined many other Scouts heading for the Opera House. There was a check-in and line-up process, then we marched around to the northern side of the Opera House and sat in front of a stage decorated with flags.

While waiting for the ceremony to start we met Malcolm Turnbull, federal member for Wentworth and Minister for the environment and water resources, representing the Prime Minister at the Scouting Sunrise ceremony.

The ceremony opened with the National Anthem, followed by Her Excellency the Governor and Chief Scout of NSW, Marie Bashir, who led the reaffirmation of the Scout Promise.
	Then at 08:00am a Kudu Horn was blown by a Queen's Scout from atop the northern sail of the Opera House, just as Baden-Powell blew the horn at 08:00am 100 years ago this morning to signal the start of that first experimental Scout camp.

After the formal ceremony a giant flag was unfurled and carried through the crowd and around to the front steps of the Opera House for a photo opportunity.

Now we began our BIG day out adventure. We walked back to Circular Quay and boarded a jet cat to Manly. It was fast and the harbour looked magnificent on a glorious sunny morning. As we crossed the heads we were disappointed that the forecast 2m swell appeared more like a 2cm swell.
Street fountains were a lot of fun in 'The Corso' at Manly.	It was a beautiful day to be on the beach and we saw dolphins playing in the waves and an old sailing ship out to sea. Everyone got wet and sandy.
From Manly Beach we did the ocean front walk around to Shelly Beach in Cabbage Tree Bay, enjoying the art work along the way.

From Shelly Beach we decided to keep walking to North Head via bush tracks through Sydney Harbour National Park and enjoyed great views over the northern beaches and inspected some historic defence sites.

The track led us to the North Head Sanctuary that was opened to the public earlier this year. It used to be a prohibited military area for the School of Artillery where army gunners lived and trained. We had lunch on the wide lawn in front of the visitor centre and luckily there was no-one else around to see all the boys get into a stacks on wrestle. Next we followed the Gunners Walk self-guided map that took us through the Gatehouse and past the historic parade ground and barracks, then via a raised walkway through the scrub to lookouts with fantastic views over the harbour and city.

By the time we arrived at North Fort, the home of the National Artillery Museum, there was only one hour left before the last bus back to Manly. The staff very kindly did a tailored tour to fit the time we had left. A massive cannon was installed at North Fort as part of the WW11 harbour defence system. It cold hurl a 173kg shell over 20km. The gun was scraped in 1945, but the underground support infrastructure is intact and we explored the maze of tunnels connecting power plant, crew quarters, hospital and ammunition store.
	The museum had a wide range of guns and missiles that kept the boys interested and our guide Dave knew the history of every piece of equipment. After the tour we had only minutes to wait for the bus back to Manly wharf and enjoyed second lunch on the ferry while cruising one of the most beautiful harbours in the world.
The train trip home was crowded and noisy, but despite being tired the group spirit was still high because we had had a really great day. We arrived back at Sutherland by 4:30pm, just 11 hours after meeting there that morning. Thanks to the Leaders and parent helpers who made this memorable adventure possible and thanks to the Cubs and Scouts for being a great team - we can take you anywhere.