SCOUT NOTES

Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 147, 18 March 1931, Page 16

SCOUT NOTES

Activities of Troops CHIEF’S FINAL MESSAGE

(By

B.A.M.)

• Lord Baden-Powell of Gllwell, on the eve of his departure from ISew Zealand wrote to the Metropolitan Commissioner, Sir Alfred Ilobiu, and expressed his great pleasure at the rally of scouts in Wellington, a!nd stated: ■ “In numbers and appearance thej «<-re most satisfactory. Here and there, it s true there were some under-sized little scouts, more fitted for cubs than scouts, and It does.harm rather than good to promote them too soon. Also manj troops marred their appearance by not cart) Ing staves. The 'comradeship of the staff has not, apparently, been fully realiseu Here «s vet The cubs made a brave show and the individual troops did well, and I was glad to see so many King s Scouts and lirstclass scouts among them, as well as a Jolly enthusiastic spirit. I also noted with satisfaction that a fair number of scouters had earned the 'wood badge. The rovers in particular struck me as a remarkably fine upstanding lot, and I was much pleased to hear the reports of their earnestness and good services. They will be a big help to the movement In its coming development if they put their backs Into it—as I know they will. May I congratulate vou and your staff on the success of the rally, and may I at the same time offer my cordial thanks to the scouters, scouts, and cubs for the fine welcome they gave me, and for coming, as so many of them did,- long distances to do so.: I loved their cheery march past.” Dominion Executive Meeting. ' A meeting of the Dominion Executive of the Boy Scouts Association will be held in Christchurch next Friday at 7.30 p.m., ■when important matters in connection with the Chief Scout’s visit will come up for consideration. It was unanimously recom mended at a recent meeting that ex-Com-missloner F. IV. Kibblewhite, of Oamaru, be granted the rank of hon. commissioner. There will be no inspection, for the Sea Scout Trident this year, and the trophy will remain in the hands of the present holders until recalled. Issue of the association's long service medal has been approved for the following scouters:— G. J. E. Stokes; D.C.M., J. G. Olds; C.M., L. K. Berry (Christchurch); S.M., J. Chivers; A.S.M., C. Scarfe; and C.M., H. Flatt' (Nelson). Fraternal greetings from the scouts of the Transvaal were conveyed by Scoutmaster Groom and his party. The party , had been hospitably received In Dunedin, Christchurch, Timaru, Plc-ton, Wellington (Lower Hutt), Wairarapa, Rotorua, . and Auckland. The party was inspected by the Dominion Chief Commissioner, Dr. Fenwick, who expressed his pleasure at meeting them, and hoped they would carry back kindly remembrance of their visit to the Dominion. North and Central Districts. The North and Central Districts have .now settled down to work, after the Chief ‘Scout's visit, and many of the groups are now looking forward to Easter camping time. Commissioner F. W. Vosselerand Ituver Leader. C. Meachen, hon. secretary of the district, recently visited St. Peter's Troop of. Scouts, and found all patrols working hard on their tenderfoot, compass, and first class tests. A visit was also made to the Ist Jewish Troop, Commissioner Vosseler giving a short talk on "Bush Life in and Around Wellington.” D.S.M. H. Donkin visited the Terrace Troop of Scouts, when eighteen were present under g.M. C, Horner. On the same evening a. visit was paid to the Molesworth Street Troop by a party from the Natural Camp Group, and joined with the boys in the camp fire. During the same week St. Michael's Group was visited. Karori Group (troop and pack) had a good attendance at their weekly meeting last Friday. All are looking forward to the demonstration to be given tod the parents on April 17. Milestone in Hover History. A further milestone In the history of the Ist Wellington City Rovers was passed last Saturday afternoon, when their whare in the butterfly was officially opened by the Metropolitan Commissioner, Sir Alfred Robin,- iu the presence of a representative gathering of approximately 250 persons. Special, buses carried parents and supporters to Mr.' Burdan's residence, Rona Bay, and the track to the whare site, was crowded with old and young. At 3.30 p.m. .JI had mustered, and afternoon tea was provided by the rovers under bush conditions. At 4 p.m. all rovers, scouters, and scouts present formed a huge half-circle, gave the Dominion haku, and liaka of welcome to their Metropolitan Commissioner, after which a possie of honour was formed on both sides towards the entrance to the hut. Rover-leader Meachen thanked those present for attending, and asked for one minute’s silence In memory of the late Rover Uncle G. Hooper and Scoutmaster B. Dunlop. The Metropolitan Commissioner gave a general outline of "rovering,” wishing all many happy and beneficial days in their new hut, which he said was a pleasure to be named "Whare-a-l’araone,” which in Maori means "House or Browne.” A key mounted on a circular piece of wood was then presented to Mr. G. Burdan, owner of the property, and Sir Alfred thanked those people who had rendered such assistance to the scout movement in granting permission to build, and work, on private property. "I now declare ‘Whare-a-l’araone’ open,” spoke Sir Alfred, "and . trust that the rovers will spend many happy hours under its roof." The statu-' ette "Three Monkeys,” symbolising “See no Evil,” "Speak no Evil,” "Hear no Evil,” was handed over by the Metropolitan Commissioner personally as a token of his thoughts for the future of "rovering.” Training Commissioner at Hill District. On Friday last the “Hill” district was vsited by Commissioner for Training Sandford, who gave a demonstration of one way of running a troop meeting. A combined meeting of Ngaio and Khandallah groups was held in the Khandallah Town Hall, the gallery of which was crowded with interested onlookers. The cubs were included in the parade in honour of the visit.of the Commissioner. The Rev. Cowie and members of the group committee present extended a welcome to Mr. Sandford, as well as to Mr. Mallanche, son of the first scoutmaster in New Zealand. D.S.M. Olson then thanked the Commissioner for atending, and handed over the meeting to him, and In opening gave a very interesting talk on scouting in the early days. The Commissioner a~ssured the officers that they were working along right lines, and altogether the real scout spirit was much in evidence in the “Hill” district. Special credit was .due to the smart, happy appearance of the boys on parade. General Items. A gathering of all officers in the Wellington district is called for Saturday evening, March 28, at the Lower Hutt Scout Hall; addresses on the fundamentals of scouting will be given by the District Commissioner and others who will be on time limits. There will also be a social evening. The Boys’ Institute Rover Crew will camp at Khandallah at Dr. Gray's property for the coming week-end. The troop . now meets on Tuesdays, with cubs and rover crew on Monday nights. S/M. G. Bell is now in charge of the scout group, with Cubmaster J. Benfield in charfie of the cub pack.