A steely determination that can perhaps only be found in the heart of a hardy, courageous scout inspired by the legend of the Anzacs. 

Fortunately, St Helens had plenty of the above in store on Monday when a team of 15 scouts participated in the town’s first ever Anzac vigil, which saw the group guard the Cecilia Street cenotaph from 6pm the preceding day until 5.45am on Anzac morning. 

After a handful of Tasmanian scout groups successfully completed the state’s inaugural Anzac vigils last year, St Helens Scout Leader Stephen Yam said his group had been itching to get involved in the concept. 

“I think it's really good to see kids these days take up the Anzac spirit so to speak,” Mr Yam said. 

“When we have the Dawn Service, from Dawn Service onwards it's all about the focus on adults and the serving men which is the right thing to do, but the vigil becomes something the kids themselves can do to show their respect and their thankfulness for what's been done by the Anzacs.”

The scouts paired up to split 30 minute shifts between them throughout the night, before passing over to the St Helens Naval Cadets at 5.45am Anzac morning.

Mr Yam said the long night out led to some some healthy conversation about the many problems Anzacs faced overseas.

“During the early hours some of them were feeling a bit cold and we had a discussion about what happened to the Anzacs when they were out there in the trenches in France and stuff like that without eating.

“So it actually brought out some discussion out about how the soldiers would have felt on the front line and things like that.”

The night was not without its comforts however, with a number of wellwishers popping by to boost team morale. 

“We had a couple of visitors who actually dropped by and said hello to the kids which was really good and while Eric Hutchinson couldn't make it he asked someone to drop by with a big bag of lollies as well.”