Guide leaders can make “valuable contribution”

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33383, 15 November 1973, Page 6

Guide leaders can make “valuable contribution”

Women who join the Girl Guide movement as leaders with no previous experience as guides can make a valuable contribution to guiding, according to Mrs H. G. Hay, the newlyappointed provincial commissioner for the North Canterbury guide district.

“The movement is in need of as many leaders as it can get,” said Mrs Hay in Christchurch yesterday. “We can never have too many. Women who have never been in guiding before can bring to it a freshness and an inspiration.” Mrs Hay has been in the guide movement “intermittently” since the age of 11, when she was enrolled in the Sumner company. “Although my active involvement was intermittent, I maintained a strong interest which brought me back to the movement when the opportunity offered,” she said.

In the early 19505, her old company then meeting at Redcliffs — was without a leader, and so Mrs Hay offered her services. More recently, she has served as district commissioner with the Papanui-Bishopdale area guides. Over the last eight years, the number of units in that area has blossomed from seven to 25. “Leaders are needed, of course, but what is more important and more urgent for the units in that area is places to meet,” said Mrs Hay. “So many new suburbs just do not have community halls. We would even be grateful of someone’s big garage, but even garages are hard to come by.” Mrs Hay sees as one of the major changes in guiding in the last few years the new programme and the introduction of the New Zealand handbook for each guide, where previously British handbooks had been used. "The new programme gives each giri a chance to explore it and develop her talents to a greater extent,” she said. Although as provincial commissioner Mrs Hay’s post will be primarily administrative, she hopes to keep “really involved with what the girls are doing.” The post is for a five-year term. Mrs Hay takes over,

from Mrs G. W. Osborne, who retired recently. “Mrs Osborne and the provincial secretary, Mrs Maureen Smith, have given a quality of leadership which will be a continuing challenge to us to maintain,” said Mrs Hay. Next year, New Zealand will host a gathering of leaders from the Asian and Pacific guide area, who will attend training sessions in the country and make an examination of New Zealand guiding. “I think Australia and New Zealand are in a unique position in this part of the world,” said Mrs Hay. “We are an established guiding country, and we are able to

offer help to the countries where the movement is struggling a little."