The New Zealand Scout Jamboree is a Jamboree which is held every three years by Scouts New Zealand. The Jamboree is traditionally held in summer between late December and early January, with a significant New Years party. The 23rd New Zealand Scout Jamboree will be held at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton in the North Island from 30 December 2023 to 7 January 2024.
History
The first NZ Scout jamboree was held in Dunedin in 1926. In recent years Jamborees have been held every three years.
The list supplied from Paul van Herpt, National Scout Museum Adviser, is as follows
1926 - Dominion Jamboree Dunedin
1959 - Pan Pacific Jamboree Cornwall Park, Auckland
1962 - First class Jamboree, Waiora, Dunedin
1966 - Progress Jamboree, Trentham, Wellington
1969 - National Jamboree, Blue Skies, Kaiapoi
1972 - National Jamboree, Pukekohe, Auckland
1975 - National Jamboree, Tokoroa
1978 - 8th NZ Jamboree, Oamaru, 3rd Asia Pacific
1981 - NZ Jamboree, Venture, Regatta, Hawkes Bay
1984 - Feilding
1987 - Rangiora
1990 - 12th New Zealand, 11th Asia Pacific, Mystery Creek, Hamilton
1993 - Upper Hutt
1996 - Te Anau
1999 - Greytown
2001/02 - Hamilton
2004/05 - Feilding
2007/08 - C-JAM, Christchurch
2010/11 - Adventure Jam 2011, Mystery Creek, Hamilton
2013/14 - NZ20, Manfeild Park, Feilding
2016/17 - Renwick Domain, Marlborough
2019/20 - Mystery Creek, Hamilton
2023/24 - Mystery Creek, Hamilton
Note: The 1939 Jamboree was cancelled due to the outbreak of war, details below
1939 - International Jamboree, Heretaunga, near Wellington
Prior to update, the list included a reference to a Jamboree in 1942, as labelled on the www.teara.govt.nz website; it was in fact a rally, of which there were many.
1942 - Scout Rally in Wellington
22nd New Zealand Scout Jamboree
The 22nd New Zealand Scout Jamboree was held at Mystery Creek Events Centre, Hamilton in the North Island. It ran from 28 December 2019 to 7 January 2020 This Jamboree, unlike earlier ones, has 1 central command centre (known as the hub), with 4 villages surrounding. Villages used to be known as subcamps. Within these villages, there will be a "Village Green" - A central area to meet with other scouts, trade badges and more. The Jamboree hub is located at the central pavilion. At the hub, you can pay for gas, retrieve birthday cakes, purchase ice, or locate lost items. There is also a charging space and merchandise shop present. Villages were named after lakes which connect with Mystery Creek. These are Maraetai, Arapuni, Waipapa and Ohakuri.
This Jamboree also changed the patrol system to the "Teams system". Each team consists of a Team Leader, Assistant Team Leader, and team members. There are 6 teams in a troop, similar to previous Jamborees, with 6 patrols to a troop. Each night at Jamboree, each troop has a Team Leader's Council, where each Team Leader decides what they want their Team to do the next day. The Duty Team Leader attends the Jamboree Team Council, with all other Duty Team Leaders that day. This has been promoted due to the new Scouts NZ policy, "Youth leading, Adults Supporting".
Some programme activity themes included; Survival; Water; Challenge; Adventure; Lake Karapiro (Overnight base).
21st New Zealand Scout Jamboree
The 21st New Zealand Scout Jamboree was held at Renwick Domain, Marlborough in the South Island from 29 December 2016 to 7 January 2017. Giesen Park in Renwick will host the main camp site with four other activity hubs in Picton, Blenheim, Omaka and in Pine Valley. As in almost all Jamborees, the event is divided into a number of sub-camps and attending Scout troops are allocated to a specific sub-camp. Each sub-camp has its own administration and support, provided by volunteers. The event has been welcomed locally with the 4500 participants expected to bring an economic boost to the area. Special transport arrangements have been put in place to get all the Scouts and supporters to and from the site.
Staff
Jamborees provide opportunities for both adults and young people to work as volunteer members of staff (often called the "support team" to provide a number of services to the Jamboree. Staff members arrive a number of days before the jamboree begins and usually depart on the same day or a few days later to set up the site so that it is ready for the scouts to arrive on opening day.