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The idea of Dragon Skin was first conceived back in 1983 when Chris Holcroft, newly arrived from Victoria,
approached Graham Roberts (AAC Venturers, St George Area) and the VL from 1st Narwee about the possibility
of running an event similar to Hoadley Hide. Hoadley Hide had been running successfully for many years in Victoria
over the Easter weekend. It was felt that NSW Venturing was ready for a Hoadley Hide look-alike -
so the new event was born, but it still lacked a name.
A committee was formed to run the event, the first committee consisted of Graham, the Narwee VL,
Russell Field (DVL Bambara District), Malcolm Wilson (Branch Commissioner, Venturers) and Iris Parr. The first item was
to name the newly formed event, after much discussion "Dragon Skin" was agreed upon.
The Dragon was the symbol of St George Area and the skin a reference to the Hoadley Hide
concept.
The first Dragon Skin was held at Wallaroo State Forest and was attended by 350
Venturers from across the State, the eventual winners being 2nd St Ives ably lead by
Richie Sim.
Since its humble beginnings Dragon Skin has become Scouting's largest annual Venturer
event in Australia with numbers peaking at 1400 venturers during the early 1990s.
Dragon Skin is now attended by teams of Venturers and Ranger Guides from NSW, ACT
and Queensland, it has also attracted individual Venturers from Western Australia
and New Zealand.
Dragon Skin is now held annually in a State Forest within two or three hours of Sydney
and attracts about 850 Venturers and 700 Rovers/Leaders, it is now entrenched in the
Venturer yearly program with Venturers striving to win the coveted "Dragon Skin Award".
In 2004, the 21st Dragon Skin, Fred Longley, a long time ardent supporter of Dragon Skin,
presented the magnificent perpetual Trophy, a large forged steel Dragon mounted on a board.
This trophy is presented to the winner each year by the winning team form the previous year.
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