Waiouru to host 1999 NZ Scout jamboree

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 619, 16 January 1996, Page 1

Waiouru to host 1999 NZ Scout jamboree

Upwards of 5500 Scouts will con verge on Waiouru in the last year of the century. At the closing ceremony of this year's jamboree in Fiordiand, Waiouru was announced as the venue for the next New Zealand Jamboree, in 1999, following a successful application bid by local Scout Leader Grant Hays to Scouts National Headquarters last year. "Planning and preparation will start soon to make

this one of the best ever, and already promotion of our area with the district motto of "Where Adventures Begin' is seen to be a fitting start for Scouting going into the 2 1 st century," said Mr Hays. The Ruapehu District Council and the Waiouru Army Training Group have indicated they will support the jamboree, which will be held near Helwan Camp just north of Waiouru. "We thought we' d blown it when the inspection group

called to check out the area because they arri ved the day the mountain erupted," exclaimed Mr Hays. The hope is that the 1999 jamboree it will be bigger

than this year's, which saw a smaller number of Scouts attend. Grant said he believed the travelling distance and cost to get to this year's event put a lot of

people off. With Waiouru being in the centre of the North Island, they hope to attract more Scouts to make the last jamboree of the century one to remember.