Giant jamboree camps out at Vic Park

VICTORIA Park has hosted the first Australian Girl Guide Jamboree in four years with more than 1000 campers taking part in the weeklong event that ends tomorrow.

Traditionally run every three years, the jamboree was rescheduled due to the pandemic with the previous camp taking place in Sydney in 2018.

Coordinator, Helen Reid said Ballarat is the perfect place to the Guides return to major events.

“Ballarat was able to give us the opportunity both with this beautiful park for us to camp in but also having the lake close by,” she said.

“[This is] a chance for girls to not only build their own resilience… but also [it’s] a chance for them to challenge themselves.

“They’ll try activities they wouldn’t normally do in their Guide units and… build lifelong friendships.”

Participants aged between 10 and 17 took part in the program that included rock-climbing and bushwalking as well as survival games at Pax Hill and boating on Lake Wendouree.

The Governor General, Linda Dessau, is set to attend the jamboree’s closing ceremony today where she will announce the next event’s location.

The jamboree, known as Kani-Karrung, means “women camping together.”

City of Ballarat deputy-mayor Cr Amy Johnson said the Girl Guides’ visit provided an economic boost to the region.

“Here at Vic Park we have such a fantastic events space and there is so much to do within the city,” she said.

“All the Guides will be staying here at Vic Park. When they’re coming into our city, they are buying food, petrol, visiting local tourism destinations.

“[This] obviously goes a long way to stimulating the local economy.”

The park is closed to public use while the jamboree’s taking place.