FIVE-YEAR WORLD TOUR BY HARROW SCOUTMASTER

Press, Volume XCI, Issue 27638, 20 April 1955, Page 14

FIVE-YEAR WORLD TOUR BY HARROW SCOUTMASTER

Tales of his experiences in Europe, Scandinavia, Canada, the United States, Central America, the Pacific Islands and Australia, should make every rover scout in this country envious of Mr Peter Grives, a scoutmaster, of Harrow, England, who arrived in Christchurch yesterday. Mr Grives, who has been travelling ever since he left his home town five years ago, has made a personal study of the Boy Scout movement in each of the countries he has visited. He has worked in a wide variety of jobs to pay for his travel. In 1950, Mr Grives left England for Canada, and spent several months touring eastern Canada and the New England States. He was present at the American Boy Scouts’ Jamboree at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania in that year.

Mr Grives left Canada to attend the Austrian Scout Jamboree in 1951, and travelled by way of France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. He was back in Ontario a few weeks later, working for a fire and burglary protection company during the evenings, and an insurance company during the day. After working for 18 months, he had earned, enough money to continue his travels and buy a car.

After visiting towns and cities on the Canadian prairies, he was attracted to

the Rocky Mountains, and spent several weeks working in a cafe 8000 feqt up in the mountains. He next visited Vancouver, and he describes the city as the most beautiful he has seen so far.

Last year, Mr Grives earned money working at Kitimat, British Columbia. There Canada has spent 250,000,000 dollars driving a 10-mile tunnel through the Rockies to divert river waters xyhich formerly flowed into the Arctic. A huge power station has been built in the tunnel to furnish electricity for aluminium smelting. In January of this year, Mr Grives set out from Vancouver for New Zealand. He toured California, Arizona, Colorado, and Central America on his way to Panama to connect with a ship for New Zealand. He found Guatemala quiet, but had to fly across Costa Rica and Nicaragua because of rioting there. From Panama, Mr Grives visited Tahiti, New Caledonia, and Australia. After seeing the Royal Easter Show at Sydney, he came to New Zealand. Mr Grives has no definite plans for the future, but said yesterday he was looking forward to seeing Milford Sound.

two hosts in Christchurch are Messrs E. W. Wright and G. H. Keen, whom he met at the fourth World Rover Scout Moot in Skyjaak, Norway, in 1949.