The Cub leader of the 4th Williamstown Sea Scouts has received Scouting’s third-highest award for distinguished service, the Silver Koala.
Peter “Baggy” Ryan, 41, joined the Scouts when he was eight.
He acquired his nickname when he was an assistant Cub leader and his designated character was Bagheera, the black panther from The Jungle Book.
When he became leader, his character changed to Akela, the big wolf from the same book. But everyone still called him Baggy.
Mr Ryan said the biggest award for him was seeing the children smile.
“What I love most about Scouting is handing down the skills I got from my predecessors and putting that into practice with the kids,” he said.
“The kids enjoy themselves. They’re happy and the parents are satisfied and that’s my biggest enjoyment: seeing big smiles on the kids’ faces.”
He said Scouting had taught him self- respect and self-reliance, along with outdoor and survival skills.
Mr Ryan said one of his most challenging adventures was hiking at Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, doing a 90-kilometre trek in summer “which almost killed me”.
The 4th Williamstown Sea Scouts is the largest group in the Scout district covering Footscray, Altona and Williamstown.
It has more than 100 members, including more than 30 Cubs.
A room at the Scouts’ Williamstown clubroom is expected to be named in Mr Ryan’s honour.
