SCOUTCRAFT

Evening Star, Issue 15432, 4 March 1914, Page 9

SCOUTCRAFT

[By Leadeb.] [Reports of meetings and parades,' items of interest, or guektiojis should l/e addressed to "Leader," cjo Y.M.C.A., Dunedin before 5,30 on Monday of each ■week.

In spite of many other attractions, ■ the Foani Queen was fully manned on Saturday, and a flue cruise took the place of the usual gruelling work of wood-gatnmng. Two new hands received instruction i» p.wg» am * then sail was made, and the Foam Queen headed for Anderson Bay- At.the new wall the crew anchored the boat, and all nands 3-.ad 'swhuniing' practice. This. i? a new feature of the drill,, and the crew are rapidly becoming tifu-ient in the art of swimming, There is now room for two new hands. On Wednesday evening the Ocean Beach Troop he'd their weekly parade at the Central Battery, St. Kilda. A good evening's work was done under the co.amand of S.M. Ras. mussen. Ambulance, knotting, and signalling were the principal subjects dealt with. The discipline was exceptionally good. The Second Mornington Troop, under Scoutmaster Jeffs, are working hard to have every member at least » second class Scout. Scouts E. Miller and J. Johnson quahßed for theirs last Tuesday, and several other members are partially through. The Wolf Patrol elected Scouts W. Miller and A- .Nicholson leader and corpoi al respectively. The Hounds Patrol will elect new leaders as soon as the patrol is full. , , No. 3 Mornington had a good meeting last week. Second class tests are being pushed 'fo-ward. Corporal J. M'Ewan qualified for his badge, and others are going through. The First Mornington Troop had a very good muster on Friday. Tho mam portion of 'the evening was given over to the election ot 'A cricket team and arranging for cricketmaterial. The rest of the evening was devoted to second and first class badge work. The cricket match arranged betwen Ocean, Beach and Ist Mornington Troops took place last Saturday en the Mornington grounds. As only six of the Ocean Beach and nine of the Mornington took part, Ocean Beach had three inuhigs and Mornington two. Three of the Mornington team acted as fieldsmen for the visitors, to even up things a bit. Scores: Mornington, 31 and 67, total 88; Ocean Beach, 10,'28, and 29, total 67 Whelan, Kennedy, and Ronald bowled and batted best for Mornington, as did Feamley and Rennio for Ocean Beach. District Commander Dredge, has granted permission to Senior Scoutmaster C. J. Darracott (Waverley Battalion) to form troops at Maori Hill and North Dunedin, where at present no troops exist. There are several lads eager to join, and it is only a question of time before two very good troops will be in working order. Boys should apply to Scoutmaster Darracott if they desire to join. The existing name of Waverley Battalion will probably be dispensed with, and the .Roslyn Baptist, Maori Hill, and North Dunedin Troops will, although having separate club rooms, go under tho common name ot the Dunedin West-Central Battalion. —Boy Scouts in Melbourne.— (Continued from last week.) January 19 (Monday).—The Queensland and Now Zealand Scouts were invited by the Hon. L. Groomc, Minister of Customs, to inspect the House of Representatives.' By •an error tho New Zealand lads first went to tho Governor-General's residence, Government House, where they were received very hospitably bv Lord and Lady Denbam, who. inspected the troop, had. a talk with the bpvs, and witnessed the haka. After refreshment the lads marched off on their way to Parliament House. Here they were received by Mr Gro'ome, who had them snown all the "Jtems of interest. Again followed refreshment, after which the boys set out for the Zoo. Here a complete inspection took place of lions, tigers, leopards, etc., which was quite an object-lesson. Monday evening the boys had free, as the scoutmasters were being entertained by the \ ictorian scoutmasters and council. Previous to the dinner a short conference was held, which 1 intend to report on separately. After the conference the visiting scoutmasters and delegates were royally entertained at Sargeaut's. This was followed by tha visual speeches, songs, etc. January 20 (Tuesday).—The boys met at Flinders street station at 9.30, and then took the train to Wiiliamstown, where arrangements hud been made for their inspection of the Naval Depot. One of the officers took charge, and showed the lads everything of interest, including the destroyers, torpedoes, boat building, men's quarters, oldfashioned guns, etc. Then back to the city. In the afternoon a visit was made to the Botanical Gardens, where a whole afternoon was spent in sightseeing. January 21 (Wednesday).—Left city at 9.30 for Port Melbourne, where the visiting Scouts met to ?o aboard the s.s. Lady Loch, the Government steamer. This had been placed at The service of the Scouts hy the Premier. The trip was to Port Arlington, over two hours' steam clown tho harbor. The boys and scoutmasters were entertained at dinner oil board, and were- addressed by Mr Snowball, M.L.A., who apologised for the absence of Mr Watt, -.n account of parliamentary business. During the stay on shore a programme of sports was held, the New Zealand bovs winning five events. Queensland two, Victoria two, and Tasmania one. On the return journey tea was partaken of on board, and we arrived at Melbourne at 5.30. Then the boys were dismissed to prepare for the evening reception. In the «//ening the boys were the guests of tho Overseas Club. The Scouts, under command of Mr Benjamin, were formed up as a guard of honor preparatory to the arrival of the Lord Mayor The visitors, numbering 150, were splendidly entertained by the club. Suitable musical items were arranged. The , Lord Mayor, Dr Springthorpe, and Mr Snowball, M.L.A., all spoke on tho Scout movement Mr Benjamin (New Zealand) responded to tiic toast of tbe visitors, and the New Zealand Scouts gave the haka. All the speakers made much of the fact of the presence of the New Zealand boys—so much that they rather hurt tho feelings of some of the other visitors. January 22 .(Thursday).—Met at Flinders street station 'at 9.30. A visit to the Mint had been arranged for that morning. The morning was taken up by this inspection. The whole process of minting was shown and explained in an exceptionally clear manner. In the afternoon we were invited by the M.C.C. to witness tbe New Zealand cricketers play, the Melbourne Cricket Club. In the evening we met at Luna Park, St. Kilda, famous everywhere as a wonderland. Here the lads indulged in the switchback railway, jov wheel, etc. January 23 (Friday).—Met at station at nine. Went to Sears, Collins street, where the troop were photographed. Then at 9.45 we set out for Newport to inspect the Kailway Workshops. Hero the manage! made arrangements for us to see everything of interest. There could be seen engines and carriages in all stages of structure, an immense crane at work, etc. Close on 5,000 men are employed, and three trains run each evening to take the workmen home. There are dining rooms for employees—soo or over 4o each dinner. There is a wonderfully-organ-ised system of distributing meals, which, although containing three courses, cost but 6d. Back by train to the city, and then in the afternoon we inspected the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade Station, and witnessed a programme of drill by tbo firemen, horse drill, turn-out, etc.; rescue by lines and I pyramids bv tho firemen. Most of the boys aiso went up the tower (150 ft), getting thereby % grand view of the city. In the evening we met at the station and journeyed to Spotswood, where arrangements had been made for us to sec through the bottle works. The different methods of bottle-making were shown and explained, both the machine and hand methods. Seen by electric light, as in cur case, it proved a fine sight (800 men and boys employed). (To be continued.)