The 1st Upwey Scout Hall is proudly named after a great contributor to the early successes of the group commencing her involvement in 1968. Here is her story.
THE GRACE LOGAN STORY
Written by – Fiona E Mather – July 1979
Grace Miriam Logan was born on 7th December 1898 in Geelong. She was the daughter of David T and Charlotte M Logan. The family consisted of Grace, Allan and another brother who died before Grace was born. She attended Flinders School (State School No 260) until leaving to go to Geelong Business College. At college Grace studied piano and elocution. She started doing a lot of voluntary work whilst still at college for the Unity Club and the YWCA and this continued after leaving school. At this time she was also coaching basketball and swimming voluntarily and belonged to Aberdeen Street Baptist Church and Sunday School.
Grace was Lieutenant of 3A Guide Company, Aberdeen Street, Geelong, and as Lieutenant she attended the 4th Guider training week at Alton, Upper Macedon in January 1926. She belonged to the Church Guild, choir and tennis club at Geelong.
Grace was the Equipment Secretary from 1931 – 1937 for the Girl Guides Association of South Australia. She was also the Acting State Secretary of the Association for two periods during this time and was Secretary to the Chief Commissioner during the visit of the World’s Chiefs – Lord and Lady Baden Powell – in 1931. During her time in Adelaide, Grace was Captain of the Lady Victoria Buxton Guide Company (4th Adelaide), 12th Adelaide City Mission, Adelaide Teachers’ College Cadets, District Captain of the City of Adelaide and District Commissioner of Norwood.
Grace attended the All Australian Training Camp at Kiama NSW in 1933, the South Australian Centenary Camp at Goolwa South Australia in 1936, as well as many local camps and training weeks. She returned to Victoria towards the end of 1937. Her father, who had been the Senior Grader for Simms Cooper Pty Ltd, had transferred to Newport (Melbourne), but died in 1932. So Grace lived in Newport for some time and later moved to South Yarra.
Shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939, she became Secretary of the Junior Red Cross – Victorian Division and three years later became Director. She held this position until 1951. Grace shared a weekly Junior Red Cross radio session for some years on 3KZ. She was sponsored by the Red Cross to attend a camp at Mt Martha in 1944 for the Sons of Prisoners of War and Missing Men run by the RSL.
Grace lived in and gave service to several Legacy camps and attended two National Junior Red Cross study camps – one at South Arm Tasmania, the other at Clarendon South Australia. She was also co-leader in charge of the Red Cross children’s camp held at Crows Nest Queenscliff Victoria for the children of returned Prisoners of War.
From December 1945 to February 1946 at the cessation of hostilities, Grace gave Red Cross service to the children of No 3 internment camp at Tatura Victoria. This entailed living in the camp for short periods. The Junior Red Cross motto is I Serve and Junior members redoubled their efforts during the war years and gave outstanding service.
Grace was made Life Governor for the Royal Institute for the Blind in 1951 and in the same year received an award – the award being an inscribed model lighthouse which is the symbol of the RVIB – for her invaluable service to blind babies, children and adults at St Kilda Road School for the Blind.
Grace became Membership and World Fellowship Secretary of the Melbourne YWCA for the period 1953-1959. This entailed work amongst the post-war influx of displaced persons, migrants and many people of many nationalities. Grace represented the YWCA on the Executive United Nations Association (Victorian Division) from 1954-1959 and was the Chairman of ECAFE (Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East) for some five years.
Grace retired and came to live in Upwey in 1959 and built the present home with her friend Louise Whitcombe. Louise had lived in Upwey since 1926, when she and her partner had bought some land in new Morris Road (now Deans Road) and built the “little brown house” in 1928. They carried some of the furniture and the tools such as the hoe, mattock, spade, rake and full sized scythe from the railway station which was approximately one mile away. They grubbed out all the pear trees and the blackberries (the site was once an orchard) and they planted a beautiful garden. In those days there were only a handful of houses in Upwey South, apart from Forest Park and Kooringal estates. The now beautiful Griffiths Road was unmade and cattle wandered there, while Forest Park Road was merely a track leading into dense scrub. In 1959 the “little brown house” gave way to the present home.
Grace was a Religious Instruction teacher at Upwey South Primary School for six years and is a member of the Belgrave CWA and the CWA choir and the Dandenong Ranges Group CWA choir. She is also presently a member of the Medical Mission Group and the Guild of Holy Trinity Church Upwey.
In February 1968 George Parsell who was then a Scout Leader at the Upwey Group (formed in 1949) told her he had been to Melbourne to see Lady Baden Powell and Grace told him she wished she’d seen her. George asked Grace had she ever met Lady Baden Powell and she told him of the week she spent with the Baden Powell’s in South Australia in 1931. Later George said that Lois Kelly, Akela of 1st Upwey Cub Pack at the time, wondered if Grace would go to a cub meeting and give the boys a talk about Founders Day, it was the birthday of both Lord and Lady Baden Powell. That was the start of her involvement with cubs and Grace has been going ever since. (Eleven years as at February 1979).
Grace helped with the cubs in many ways including such activities as yarns, singing, subs, banking, etc. From 1968 to 1979 she kept a log book of the 1st Upwey Cub Pack’s weekly activities and for approximately the same period she wrote (and continues to write) an article for the 1st Upwey Group’s monthly magazine, Scoop. In recent years Scoop has had some fine editors, such as Ed and Sylvia Bonner and John and Joy Hutchison. The present editors, Gwen Smith (Brownie Guider) and Allan Smith (former VL and now DVL) are a dedicated husband and wife team. Scoop now covers Brownie and Guide news also.
Grace was, for some time, on the District Scout Committee, Sherbrooke Forest District. She has helped the 1st Upwey Guide Company prepare a Guide for her Queen’s Guide Award and, together with the District Commissioner and Guide Captain, helped to organise the 21st Birthday celebration of 1st Upwey Guide Company.
During her term with 1st Upwey Cubs there were three Akelas – Loris, Kelly, Iris Brooke and Pam Moore. Assistant Cub leaders have included Betty Myers, Audrey Parsell, Dot Fenby, Jean Kinross, John Anderson, Helen Cooke, Pete Sparkman and Linda Mauphan. Peta Sparkman and Linda Mauphan worked on the ACL Training but did not complete their warrants.
Wood Badge holders from 1st Upwey Pack include Lois Kelly, Audrey Parsell, Dot Fenby and Pam Moore. 1st Upwey B Pack was formed in February 1,1977 and has two Akelas in Valerie Gilbert and Melva Bauer. Both Val and Melva are holders of the Wood Badge.
Grace values her continued friendship with the leaders and the cubs over the years and feels that in friendships she has made she has received far more than she has ever given.
During her time with the 1st Upwey Cubs from 1968 to 1979, Grace has experienced many highlights and annual events with them. Annual events have included the District Swimming Sports, the District Football Lightning Premiership and the District Field Day. These were all thoroughly enjoyed by the cubs.
It has been the policy of 1st Upwey Cub Pack to give each cub the opportunity to take part in the events, irrespective, say, of their swimming powers. The Pack has had some good little swimmers throughout the years and has managed to maintain a “middle of the road” result on final points. The cubs always had a great day and the Cheer Squad excelled themselves.
Sherbrooke Forest District invited Mildura (Sunraysia) District for a long weekend and 1st Upwey did their share by billeting leaders and cubs from there. Later Sherbrooke Forest District visited Mildura. Ist Upwey also joined in a most interesting District visit to Coal Creek, Korumburra. On Visitors Day at the 11th Scout Jamboree held at Churchill National Park Dandenong (December 1975 to January 1976) the Pack had a most exciting day.
The Leaders and the Pack always attended the Founder’s Day Service held by the District on the Sunday morning nearest to 22nd February in the heart of the Forest at Kallista.
Through these same years 1st Upwey Cub Pack has paid regular visits to the Traffic School in Dandenong, has visited and been visited by other packs in the District and beyond and joined with the Brownies on special occasions.
Mother and Son nights have been held regularly as have Father and Son nights and twice in the past three years a well planned and thoroughly enjoyable Father and Son weekend has been held, together with a super Pack holiday.
Each year a visit has been made to the local fire brigade during Fire Prevention Week; otherwise two of the Officers have come to the Scout Hall to talk to the cubs. Visits have been made to the Gang Show, the Melbourne Zoo, the Old Melbourne Gaol and the Railway Historical Museum at Williamstown.
The cubs also visited the Sugar Loaf Dam Construction Site where their guide was Rusty, a Group Leader from the Doncaster area. The cubs were also lucky to inspect the Carrum Purification Plant where their guide was their own Assistant Cub Leader, John Anderson.
Grace attended 95% of all these outside activities.
The transition from the old to the new uniform and to the revised new approach to Cubbing went without a hitch and the cubs have continued by working on and passing their Boomerang Tests and their eight year, nine year and ten year old badges.
Going up ceremonies to the Scout Troop have been varied in their forms – those held out-of-doors at the Archery Grounds and across the little bridge by the creek being memorable.
Since the formation of the Upwey group in 1949 Group Leaders have included: Bruce Cocks, Alan Houston, Frank Kerry, John Roberts and John Hillman. John Hutchison was appointed as Acting GL in March 1979 and this is John’s second term in this capacity.
Grace was presented with a Supporter’s badge from the Scout Association of Victoria and in 1971 she received the For Service badge of the Scout Association.
In January 1979 a Rover Crew was formed at Upwey and in March of the same year the Crew honoured her by naming it the Grace Logan Rover Crew. When she resigned from the group in the same month a perpetual trophy for the Runner-up in Sherbrooke Forest District Cub’s Lightning Football Premiership was named after her – much to her delight.
Grace is still interested in both the Scouting and Guiding movements and wherever possible is glad to be of service.