The 22^nd Pretoria Sea Scout Group was founded in September 1936 by JB “Skip” Hall. Initially it consisted of six Scouts who transferred from 2^nd Brooklyn Group. They were all keen to establish Sea Scouting and underwent an intensive training programme. A full Troop was recruited after that and the Cub Pack established under Mrs. Leach.

The Central Scout Hall situated in Troye Street in Pretoria, was used for meetings on Thursday evenings. This Scout Hall was demolished in the late 50's to make way for the Gilbaden Flats and Scout Shop. Meetings were then held in various make-shift venues until the YMCA on the corner of Pretorius and Wessels streets came to our rescue. The Group’s name was changed to 22^nd Pretoria (YMCA) Sea Scouts. The YMCA closed down and meetings were held at various homes, the Arcadia Park and the Hatfield Fire Station. In the late 60's the disused municipal Pump House in Beckett Street became the new Headquarters of the group and meetings changed to Friday nights. The latest move came in the middle 80's when the decline of Arcadia and Sunnyside as a residential area forced the Group to look for a new home. Fortuitously, 32^nd Waterkloof was in decline and 22^nd took over their Scout Hall and remaining Cubs and Scouts. The Group’s name changed to 22^nd Pretoria, Waterkloof (YMCA) Sea Scout Group. This remains the official name, but the Group is once again referred to as the 22^nd Pretoria Sea Scouts.

The Group purchased erf 50 Kosmos, Hartbeespoort Dam in 1936 to use for its water activities. The property was purchased for £60.00 and named “Brownsea” after Baden-Powell’s original training base at Poole, England. The Bunk House was the first structure to be erected and it doubled up as the Boat Shed. A platform on the roof was used as a bridge and had a flag mast. A boat house was constructed next to the waterfront during the late 30's. It was washed away in the middle forties when the level of the dam rose 10 foot (3 metres) over the spillway. A second, stone-built, boat house with a watch deck was then constructed on the same site. The wall of the dam was raised in the late 60's and the Boat House and Agnes Avenue became flooded when the dam was full. A new concrete and stone boat house was erected in the late seventies on the site of the old parking bay. The new Agnes Avenue cut through Kestrel’s campsite.

The Bunk House soon became inadequate and construction was started on a Guardship in the late forties. The Bunk House was renamed the “Phong House” after Skip Hall’s house next to the Central Scout Hall. Scouts now slept in the Mess Deck of the Guardship, and the Phong House was then only used as a galley. The concept of “phonging” was practised at the showers of the Central Scout Hall and Skip’s house, and later at the showers of the YMCA and of course at the dam from day one.

The chronicles are not clear when the original “Heads” were built, but it’s difficult to imagine life without them. The latrine pit dug in the South West corner at Brownsea was in the fashion of a “kleinhuisie”. The wooden box seat had to be scrubbed each day and left in the sun. The new “Heads” and Shower House was built in the late 50's and expanded in the late 90's.

Parallel to the development of the physical facilities at Brownsea and in Pretoria, “22^nd “ developed a unique character which still appeals to the boys of today. Many yarns have been told of the “old” days, traditional practices like phonging and the Neptune Ceremony, and hikes to return the restless Kosmos Ghost to his den at the mountain top Block House have with the lure of boating, contributed to a fascination that has influenced the lives of over 600 boys in the 60 plus years since the Group’s establishment. Interwoven with these influences have been innumerable work parties to level terraces for the parade ground (now the main campfire circle), Patrol camp sites; and foundations for the Guardship and Boat Houses. The resultant blisters were added to those gained from rowing and holding main sheets and jib sheets.

The changes of mood and water level of the dam has been the central natural environment around which 22^nd tells its story. At times the water level stands at 1 metre of irrigable water and the distance between the Boat House and the water’s edge is over 100 metres. At other times the Boat House floor is covered in water. The incidence of the water-hyacinth in the seventies restricted water activities severely. Storms have destroyed numerous jetties and the first boat house. The Scouts have gone out in storms to save people from certain drowning.

It is no wonder that a full graduate of this remarkable group stands out as a worthy citizen of our country.