In 1933 the Forest, like the rest of Australia, was suffering from the cruel effects of the Great Depression.......one young man in his late teens was determined to get Scouting established. Keith Spence and his brother worked a vegetable farm named "Koorawong" in the area where Haigh Avenue is today. Keith had been a Scout himself and wanted to pass it on.
In August 1933 he applied for registration of 1st Frenchs Forest with himself as Scoutmaster, and a troop of 12 Scouts. The Troop was officially registered as Troop 936 on September 26, 1933. The troop met mainly on Saturday afternoons and enjoyed many hikes, with an occasional swim in the clear bush stream that flowed through "Koorawong" . Unfortunately at the end of 1934 Heith found it impossible to make a living any longer from the farm and went off to search for a job and never returned to the Forest,
The Group appears to have lain dormant until in 1961 when Bob Morgan obtained registration for a 12 strong Cub Pack, November 1, 1961. Bob, the Cubmaster of 1st Belrose was prepared to undertake double duty in the spirit of scouting and became 1st Frenchs Forest Cubmaster. Mr R Bailey, the District Cubmaster offered the use of his property in Penrose Place for pack meetings. By 1969, the waiting list for 1st Frenchs Forest was so long it became necessary to form another Group. 2nd Frenchs Forest was formed in August 1969.
One might expect that a plot suitable for a Scout Hall could have been readily located in the Forest area. It took nine and a half years of searching and battling, winning and losing, cajoling and demanding , by a succession of dedicated supports before the present site was secured. The Group sought and gained the support of The Hon.R.O.Healey who approached the Minister for Mines in 1963 seeking to have part of the Banrty Bay Explosives Reserve made available for youth and community recreation. By the end of 1969 Utyana Place and Grattan Crescent had been constructed and the necessary rezoning accomplished. Early in 1971, the Department of Lands officially advised Branch Headquarters the Allotments 6 and 7 "would be reserved for Boy Scouts" . The Great Hunt was over!