LONE SCOUTS’ FRIEND

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29330, 8 October 1960, Page 15

LONE SCOUTS’ FRIEND

Mr A. W. V. Reeve On Visit To City A real friend of the Makogai Lone Scout group, on the Pacific leper island, who is now visiting Christchurch is Mr A. W. V. Reeve, a Dominion Headquarters Comissioner of the Boy Scouts’ Association of New Zealand for island territories and lone scouts. Mr Reeve will attend the opening of St Matthew’s (Lady Liverpool's Own) scout den in Harrison street, St. Albans, this afternoon.

Mr Reeve was a scout and later scoutmaster of the troop for some years,. ‘Prom 1943 to 1948 he was Dominion Headquarters Commissioner for Canterbury and also provincial secretary. He is the holder of the Silver Acorn in recognition of his outstanding service to scouting for 35 years. In 1951 a Roman Catholic Sister of Mercy at Makogai, who- had formerly been a cubmaster in Lower Hutt, wrote to Mr Reeve and asked how she should go about forming a scout group on the lonely island to help keep the boys interested. Mr Reeve sent all the information possible and immediately set about raising money through well-wishers in the movement, to help’ the new group to get established. Over the years some hundreds of pounds have-been made available to the group for gear, equipment and uniforms, and many Canterbury cubs and scouts, especially members of the Fendalton troop, have been most generous in their support. Mr Reeve takes no credit. “It is just scouting,” he said. Two years ago the Makogai group under group Scoutmaster W. J. Stephens, built a cabin cruiser which they named Scout Group. The boat was built entirely by the scouts in their spare time. Then came the question of a motor. They wrote to Mr Reeve and he soon launched an appeal which the public and scouting oversubscribed in three days. The result was that an outboard motor was purchased for the craft. The Governor-General (Viscount Cobham) was taken ashore in the launch from his aircraft on his visit last year. ‘