Guiding still strong

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33052, 20 October 1972, Page 5

Guiding still strong

The Girl Guide movement is as strong as ever throughout the world, and interest is even on the increase, Mrs W. G. Turnbull, Chief Commissioner for Girl Guides in New Zealand, told the annual meeting of the Canterbury \ Guides Association in Christchurch on Wednesday evening. Mrs Turnbull attended the recent triennial conference of ;the World Association of! Girl Scouts and Girl Guides at Toronto, Canada. The world association has! 91 members, 79 of whom were represented at the conference. Of these, the j smallest has a guide member-!

ship of 87 and the largest/ 3m. Previous to the world conference, a Comonwealth guide conference was held in Jamaica. It was the first time a Commonwealth conference had been held outside Britain, said Mrs Turnbull, and Jamaica w'as quite ai stronghold of guiding. The world conference was held at York University in ‘ Toronto. Sessions were taken t]in English, French, and :! Spanish. “When I had attended a few business sessions, I soon realised that we >jin New Zealand have very! i; little to contend with in our; /guiding,” said Mrs Turnbull.! : “Our problems are very; ■ ’small,”

The conference, which lasted 10 days, was attended by 467 delegates. New Zealand was one of the founder members of the world association. At the recent conference, seven new countries were admitted— Barbados, Kuwait, Malta, Rhodesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Zaire. At Wednesday evening’s meeting, Mrs Turnbull presented guide movement’s order of merit to Mrs G. O.! Osborne, provincial commis-i sioner of the Canterbury Girl; Guides Association. In her report, Mrs Osborne! said that the total uniform’ membership for Canterbury! was now 5307, an increase of! 300 on last year, j >