SCOUT NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 142, 13 December 1933, Page 18

SCOUT NOTES

(By The Scribe.) ■ The following have'consented to become active 'members o£.the Metropolitan Scout Council, the first meeting of which will be held shortly:—Dr. F. T. Bowerbank, Dr. T. G. Gray, Mr. Eric Lawson, Dr. Marshall ■ Macdonald, Mr. Dudley Tripe, Colonel J. J. Esson,'.Mr. F. W. Furket, Messrs. Johu H.,Owen, L. T,'Watkins, P. D. Hoskins •D. R. Burgess, W: BlundeH', H. F Wood, R. L. Button, and J. T.'.Martin ; Estracts';.frora.':the examiners' report.on the. 1933 cainpcr'aft competition' will be of general interest,' 'as' well- as of educational ■ value to .|uture'cp)Bpqtitqrs For the pur--1 pose of allocating .points,. the. programme section was . diveded into five parts—(l) Written programmes, handed in at the commencement;. (2) general routine; (3) special Items/ (cleanliness, rest periods, etc.); (4) nature-study test; (5) first-aid test. Four groups competed. The report says:— ■;''.'. Written • Programmes.—Group A: Programme very good. Owing to the boys not being previously aware that their activities were to be confined to camp limits an adjustment had to be made, but the programme was an excellent one for a normal weekend camp. Group B: Programme for a normal day in camp was handed in, and was avgood one, but no allowance was made for the conditions of Saturday and Monday, making and breaking camp, etc. Group C: A detailed programme, but rather too elaborate tb fit the circumstances. Group D: Too many gap's. Long periods left under heading of "Reserved," with no mention of what they were reserved for. General Routine. —This covered activities not under other sections—punctuality; organisation, co-operation, Scout spirit, etc. Group A,: With the exception of the Patrol Leader this was a very young and inex- • perienced patrol, and very much credit is due to:the leader for the excellent way in which he managed them. They worked together quietly,' arid it,was evident that the young boys thought a lot of their leader. Their punctuality was very noticeable in spite of the' fact that they had no watch between them. The leader showed his appreciation of the importance of punctuality all the.time. "On certain occasions they were instructed to report to me at headquarters at a given time, and '■ each time they turned up, not more than three minutes, nor less than one minute, before the appointed iime, never late. Group B: This patrol worked fairly well together,, and generally. speaking, the cooperation was • good," though there were occasional minor lapses. . .So long as the leader was' directing' activities he controlled them well. . They were punctual aceordingto their programme. Group C: This patrol did' not exhibit as much cooperation as any of the others. There was too much recrimination. They were the least punctual of the patrols, but their lateness never amounted to more than a few- minutes. Their programme was_ a difficult one, "but they made insufficient effort to stick to it. Group D: These worked- quite well together, with very few lapses. They were about ten minutes ■late for one appointment, but were other.wise punctual.. A few general remarks may be added. There was not in any case a very, high standard of organisation of routine. This presentedia difficulty for boys, but should be encouraged and exercised. Opportunity was given at two campfires for patrols to give stunts. Two patrols were willing in this matter and.both entertained the gathering well. The other two were very diffident. This.is'an important matter and requires attention.' In some cases activities Jb£ a useful nature were - mentioned in programmes but were not carried out. Recreation appeared to be limited mainly to football and reading. Owing to the fact that the necessary work of the camp was fairly strenuous, there was not the need for recreation of a strenuous nature, but more quiet occupation of a Scouty kind-might have been worked in between the necessary camp work.' ■'Remarks on the other parts of the programme section will be given next w6ek. The newly-formed St. Hilda's group held a pound night on December 1 in the presence of D.C.s Miller.and Hitchens, D.S.M. Heath, and Secretary Harris, together with a large gathering of parents. Some forty Scouts, including visitors from St. CuthbertV under their A.S.M., had a very enjoyable evening and demonstrated to the gathering", that Scouting, is worth while. The Cub pack of 3rd Lower Hutt, under Lady Cubmasfer Miss Withington, gathered, .with a large number of friends, to see their Assistant Lady Cubmaster receive her; warrant. An exhibit of useful articles made by the Cubs was much admired. . Games and Cub work and a cubby banquet, which were much enjoyed by all, completed, the evening. ._ The Belmont group exhibited the cup ■won by them at the Metropolitan competitions for signalling to a goodly number of parents at a pound night .last week. Roy Kilmister received his warrant as A.S.M. at the : hands of the . Hon. : Metropolitan Commissioner. Among those present were D.C'.s Nelsonand Browne, D.S.M. McKenzie and P.CIM. Mrs. Hoggard. _ A game built up on the conventional signs used in road-sketching-proved interesting and instructive.- The.chairman (Mr. Bennett) pleaded for more .parents to, show' their interest .and visit the Scouts at .work.' After supper round the fire all went home Happy. ' .. . ' ' The . Hon. Metropolitan Commissioner looked in . unexpectedly on the Terrace group last', week and found a full muster of,the troop. G.S.M. was giving good advice on taking' notes during hikes arid not just trusting to memory to make up a report, later on. • The Hon. Metropolitan Commissioner, with D.C. Browne and Rod Harper of the Petone group, visited the Wairarapa District rally last. Saturday. " The Memorial Park, with its beautiful trees, made a very picturesque .scene with the Mastertoni Featherston, Greytown, and. Martinborotigh group.displays. A fire lighting and water boiling competition, in which a score of Scouts took part, proved a real Scout event. The . Cubs, under 'D.C.M. Miss Hubbard, presented a tableau.of the Cubs of many'nations and the brotherhood of Scouting. :. The patching of full-sized tents ■with fly complete by five separate teams surprised many of the adult, visitors. The proceedings were, opened by Mr. 'Tate as Deputy Mayor with a' few helpful words. D.§.' Carter was in charge of what proved a spectacular afternoon, and all were pleased to see G.S:M.; the Rev. E. McLevie, present with the two groups of St.'Matthews. . The. problem throughout the' area is why many more parents do not attend Scout displays'., and so encourage the Scouters in the good work of helping thel boys to grow up into healthy, happy, and useful citizens. Op Saturday, December 2, the St. Augustine Group Committee entertained the group committees ;of the St. Aloysius' Catholic and Petone "Irresistible" Sea Scouts. There was a good attendance and all.entered.into the games with true Scout spirit. The programme was run'as a troop pound night, with Mr. H. E. Browne as Scoutmaster. The meeting commenced with the breaking of the nag, and the boys were looked over by the Scoutmaster, who accepted no excuses for any not being in Scout kit. Most of the outfits appeared to be "in the wash," an old excuse, but.none the less effective. The games were active and played extremely well. Scouters. acted as. Patrol-leaders and did their best to instil Scout smartness into their charges. Following the games a "campfire" was held. ' During supper the chairman of the St. Augustine group (the Rev. G. V. Gerard) welcomed the visitors and expressed, hopes that the function would be the forerunner of many similar ones. The Group Scoutmaster handed over to Mr. Gerard a series of photographs, framed by' Mr. E. A. Zambra, depicting the work on the ball, from the first working bee. Mr. Gerard said that the group ■would value this record of its progress. Mr. J. Carr spoke on behalf of the St. Aloysins' committee and. Mr. McConville returned thanks on behalf of the Sea Scout representatives. The various sections, of the group are,preparing to break up for the Christmas , holidays. The Rewarewa pack held a pound night on December 11, and the Wharepouri troop have planned an outdoor meeting at the hunting grounds off Seaview Road, finishing with supper roiind the fire. The "Wi Tako" troop became a band of bloodthirsty pirates-on December 10. Scouters and Patrol-leaders will spend the weekend at the ramp site on preparation work. Second J. Davidson and Scouts K. Amies and A. Hart, of the "Wi. Tako" troop, received their Second Class Badges on December 5. A service star was. also presented to Davidson.