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Elmore set for scout invasion |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jan 04 2007 at 1:47 PM |
Dated 29th Dec - Source
THOUSANDS of scouts from across Australia and the world will converge on Elmore next week for the mammoth 21st Australian National Scout Jamboree.
Elmore's population will increase by more than 10 times when almost 12,000 people - including more than 8000 scouts and 3000 adult volunteers - attend the event from January 2 to January 12.
The $11 million event is being held at the Elmore Field Days site, which is being transformed into a virtual town capable of accommodating such a crowd.
Tonnes of food and supplies have already been delivered, and the site's own police station, fire station and medical centre were being set-up yesterday.
Water is being piped from a bore on a private property 1500 metres away to a special on-site treatment plant and then pumped into the site's existing dams.
"We are going very well, really," said jamboree chief director Peter Mentiplay.
"All the camp sites are ready, the water is ready, all the sewerage is ready - that's the main things," he said.
Mr Mentiplay, who began planning the jamboree five years ago, said he believed it would pump about $10.5 million into the local economy.
"It's Elmore and district really," he said.
"Echuca and Bendigo and Elmore all benefit from it."
The event would be a "magnificent" experience for all the scouts involved.
"It's only the leaders that stress," Mr Mentiplay said.
"The kids will have a great time."
Scouts will travel from 30 countries, including Timor, the Maldives, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the US.
Many of them have been sponsored to attend by Australian scout troops.
"The excitement level among the kids will just be rising. They won't be sleeping," said Andrew Taylor, jamboree marketing manager and leader of the 1st Balwyn scout troop.
The scouts will be welcomed to the event by Governor-General Major Michael Jeffery at a special opening ceremony on Tuesday evening.
Ten action-packed days will follow, including a special market day for visitors on Sunday, January 7, when each of the 230 scout troops will run their own stalls.
About 120 buses will be used to transport 4000 scouts and their leaders off-site during each of the jamboree's eight activity days, including trips to Bendigo, Echuca and Lake Nagambie.
As well as enjoying an on-site water slide, scouts will be able to take joy flights at the nearby airstrip.
A team of 13 four-seater Cessnas will be making constant trips, with flights leaving every minute.
"There's a massive team of commercial pilots who are giving up their time to fly kids for 10 days," Mr Taylor said.
The jamboree will contribute infrastructure worth about $600,000 to the field day site.
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