HARBOUR LIGHTS GUILD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 286, 3 December 1938, Page 16

HARBOUR LIGHTS GUILD.

The final committee meeting for the year of the Ladies' Harbour Lights Cuild was held at the Missions to Seamen Institute on Thursday. The meeting wait preceded by a devotional service in the mariners' chapel, the address being given by the chaplain, the Rev. H. K. Vickery. At the general meeting Mrs. Preston Chambers presided over a full attendance of members. The honorary secretary, Mrs. Austen Goss, presented a report of the various activities of the guild during the past month, and arrangements were made for the festivities during the Christmas season, when many oversea ships will be in port. A letter was received from the board of ' management expressing the thanks of the members for recent gifts made to the mission and for the successful functions arranged by the guild. At a luncheon which followed the general meeting, ail opportunity was taken to bid "bon voyage" to Mrs. \V. A. Browne and Miss Browne, two guili members, who are about to leave for a holiday in South Africa. In the evening a large number of seamen from ships in port were the guests of tile junior branch of the guild.

Barbara was Just an average girl, leaving school at 16 and with vague ideas about a future. Several friends of hera with good poaitiona each seemed to have had speoial training. It was all so difficult. One day a wise old business friend of her father aald, "Why don't you make an appointment to aee the director of ... . College?" Barbara and her mother found hia advice aympathetic and intereated, and decided that a buaineea career waa the moat practical and lucrative within the shortest time. Barbara enrolled for a complete aocretarial course with the school which all her father'a friends conaidered the only one. The courae included bookkeeping, secretarial practice, business English, letter writing, shorthand and typewriting, aa well as the use of modern office machines. At the College she mads many friends of an excellent type. Some of the girla were taking Commercial Art, others Oreesmaking, soon to graduate and occupy important poaitiona in the City. Time for Barbara seemed to fly. Passing lha Government examinations, ahe accepted a poeition in a mercantile office where her practical training brought her promotion to a poeition at (3 3/ a week. To-day, at 23, ahe earns n a week as confidential secretary to the general manager of her Arm in London, where ahe often meets New Zealand girla and fellow etudenta. Barbara looka baok and conaidera the moat Intereating and valuable year of her career waa that in which ahe received eueh a thorough and practical training at Druleigh College. —P.B.A.