In 1952 the award was renamed the Queen's Scout Award when the current sovereign Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne.
In 2020, the award was renamed again as the Queen's Scout Kauri Award and now has a new achievement pathway.
Kate and Hayden are the first two recipients of the award in this format.
To achieve this prestigious award, a Venturer must be able to set personal goals, plan and organise activities with themselves and others.
They are required to maintain a high level of determination to reach milestones and complete attainment to the very best of their abilities.
The current requirements focus on personal development and involve achieving challenges from several areas such as community involvement, adventurous activities, personal growth and leadership development.
In Kate and Hayden's case, their achievements include flying an aircraft solo, completing 50 hours service to the community in 12 months, and planning and taking part in a multi-day adventure on foot and by bike.
In New Zealand, the Queen's Scout Kauri award is gained by about 5 per cent of Venturer Scouts each year.
All Queen's Scouts are also invited to Government House to be presented with an official parchment by the governor-general, as the representative of the Queen.
Kate and Hayden spent the previous three years working on the milestones required to meet the Queen's Scout Kauri award standard.
This was made even more challenging due to the restrictions on outdoor activities and events imposed by Covid lockdowns.
After receiving her award, Kate said, "I am very proud of what I have achieved (although I am slightly relieved it's now done).
"It's been a goal of mine to get this award since I joined Scouts as a 5-year-old Kea.
"Getting this award is the ultimate cap off to my 14 years as a youth member of Scouts.
"I am a bit sad about leaving the youth section, but I am looking forward to continuing on with Scouts as an adult leader."
Hayden says it was a huge relief to finally get the milestones all done for the award.
"I felt pretty proud of the fact I managed to get there, even after all the disruptions these last couple years."
He says the biggest highlights of the journey for him were his solo flight and being a youth member of the National Council for Scouts NZ.
Going forward, he wants to be able to put the skills he's learnt through this journey into possible future positions and day-to-day life.
"I've been in Scouts for eight years now. I would say the opportunities you get to be part of are really no other, and the people you get to meet along the way you will probably stay in contact with for a very long time."
If you would like to learn more about Scouts, go to www.scouts.nz or call 0800 SCOUTS.
