Memories of a scout

It was as a cub and then a scout that my memories are the strongest. I would be out some nights with the scout mates spotting possums around Domain Creek, star gazing, learning about my place in the solar system and orienteering.

I remember well the badges I could earn, such as an Arborist badge for knowing the types of gum trees in the park. Aboriginal culture was also a topic and the bark canoes that they used in the river when hunting turtle and eel. The trees that those canoes came from were shown to me as scar trees; it represented a time stamp of their history. I was always on a push bike back then, riding from the weir when the river was in flood to finding lost golf balls at the parks Mays Hill site.

I was told at an early age about the triumph of the local dentist Billy Hart when he flew from Penrith to Parramatta Park and landing on Macquarie’s Cattle Paddocks that also served as a cricket patch on summer days and a touch footy oval in winter. I treasure these memories; they are pearls in the oyster of our wonderful park. Read more