CLOSER CONTACT

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 127, 25 November 1938, Page 11

CLOSER CONTACT

ASSOCIATION BEING FORMED

The announcement that an association of \Rhodes Scholars in New Zea* land is in process of formation was made by Professor F. F. Mies during a discussion at the meeting Of the^ Victoria University College Council last night. Professor Miles said that the matter had been discussed since the visit recently by Lord Lothian* secretary of the Rhodes Trust, London, and it had been agreed to go ahead.

In an interview today Professor Miles said that Dr. Focken, of Otago University College, and Mr. M. M. Cooper, Wellington, were the joint acting secretaries of the movement, in which Lord Lothian had taker the keenest interest when the project had been discussed with him.

The idea of having such an association, said Professor Miles, was simply that if, for example, the Rhodes Trust wished to consult the New Zealand Rhodes Scholars, the association would be a convenient channel for discussion; also it was expected that it would play a part in choosing the represen tatives of the Rhodes Scholars on the New Zealand Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee. That usually was the practice in mos; countries Where such associations existed , Although at present provision was made for, and there were, representatives of the Rhodes Scholars on th.. Selection Committee, it was felt that appointments through an organisation would associate the Rhodes Scholars- more intimately with the _ election.

Professor Miles said he thought the membership of such an association at the present time would be in the neighbourhood of 15, Although the idea of an organisation had been talked about before, nothing practical had been done. One reason was that there had hot really been many Rhodes Scholars resiuent in New Zealand, and another was the scattered nature of the New Zealand population Whereas in New South Wales and Victoria probably the . lajority of RhodesScholars would be resident somewhere in the neighbourhood of Sydney and Melbourne, here in New Zealand they were distributed all over the country There were some in Auckland, for istance, a- little group of three or four in Wellington, and another group of four or five in Dunedin, and the distances between them were pretty considerable.