SCOUTS’ COUNTY CONFERENCE

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26523, 11 September 1951, Page 2

SCOUTS’ COUNTY CONFERENCE

“808-A-JOB” SCHEME DISCUSSED

The "bob-a-job” scheme was one of th® most powerful publicity forces that the Boy Scouts* Association in New Zealand had ever had; used effectively, it could provide all the finance that the association needed each year, whether it was to send boys to jamborees, build a Canterbury county headquarters, or establish a training ground and permanent camp site, said the assistant county commissioner for headquarters (Mr L, A. Lilly) at the annual Canterbury county conference of the Boy Scouts’ Association, held during the weekend. In Britain the “bob-a-job” scheme had been dramatically successful, added Mr Lilly. If jt was properly organised in New Zealand it would enable scouts to earn in one week all the money they needed to finance the movement for the year. Commissioners, scoutmasters, cubmasters and women cubmasters, and rover scouts from Kaikoura to the Waitaki river, and lav workers from throughout the province attended the Christchurch conference, which started with the annual meeting on Friday evening, and concluded with a Scouts’ Own (an interdenominational scout church service), at Victoria Park yesterday afternoon. There were nearly 200 representatives altogether. The Inadequacy of the permanent camo site at Cossgrove was mentioned at the open session of the conference on Saturday morning, and the need for a good permanent training ground Was emphasised. However, no areas were suggested as possible sites and the lack of suitable land anywhere near Christchurch was mentioned. The Dominion director of training (Mr J. A. Harper), said he agreed with scoutmasters that a permanent training ground would be a great asset to the county. The responsibility for raising money to send scouts to jamborees was discussed bv the conference and the advantages and disadvantages of leaving troops to raise their own finance were put forward. Some speakers suggested that scouting was losing touch, or at least direct touch, with the churches. An instance of this, it was said, was the manner in which a number of troops had broken their association with the church by which they had been sponsored.