YOUNG AUSTRALIA LEAGUE

Evening Star, Issue 20022, 13 November 1928, Page 15

YOUNG AUSTRALIA LEAGUE

PROJECTED AMERICAN TOUR BOYS TO BE SELECTED FROM THE DOMINION I ___ The opportunity of seeing America and Canada under a perfectly-organ-ised scheme of travel is being presented to the boys of New Zealand by the Young Australia League in its projected tour. The/ founder of the League (Mr J J. Simons), who is leading the party, is desirous of securing a representative company from the dominion, and has commissioned Mr John Tuckei to tour the North and South Islands to select suitable boys During the months he has been in the dominion Mr Tucker has visited all the principal schools in the North Island, and arrived in Dunedin on Saturday to commence the last stage of his tour.

“ The organisation has been established purely in the interests of the boys.” stated Mr Tucker this morning. “ The headquarters ol the league are at Perth, and the buildings in which it is housed are probably without equal in the southern hemisphere for ornate design and beauty Several stained glass windows are devoted to various phases of Australian national life, and include statesmanship, oratory, discovery, exploration, engineering, music, and poetry, each window being devoted to the leader of the art represented. Within the building the activities of the league include radio, gymnastics, debating, and music. The cost of the building was £30,000, ol which but £4,000 still remains to be paid off. This was made possible by the efforts of the parents’ auxiliary and the boys who had been on tour with the league. “ The service towards the league that has been rendered by the leader, Mr J. J. Simons,” continued Mr Tucker, “ is the outstanding feature of its history. Ho has given twenty-two years of hard work towards its establishment without fee or reward, and during that period has taken part in forty State and interstate tours, this being the fourth overseas tour that he has coducted. Over 8,000 boy', have been on tour with him.” “The work of the league was recognised by the representative men of the British Empire, and in every country visited the party had been received by the leaders ol public opinion. King George and Queen Mary especially approved of the scheme of education by travel, and Queen Mary, in conversation with Mr Tucker when he took a party of boys to Buckingham Palace, said that she thought it an excellent scheme that the boys should learn about the Empire, its peoples, and their industries. Tho Prince pf Wales was also enthusiastic regarding the work of the league, and the Archbishops of Canterbury and York had shown their interest in the movement by inviting parties to their palaces. As a result of the twenty years’ experience it had been revealed to the leaders that the fear expressed by many people that such tours would unsettle boys ■of from 15 to 17 years of age had proved to bp groundless. In no instance had it come to the knowledge of the league that boys who had been taken on tour had been rendered dissatisfied, but rather had they returned to their schools with a keener desire to succeed and settle down in their own land. Mr Tucker stated that he would be in Dunedin for three days to address schools and interview parents, and it was essential that applications be made to him before ho left Dunedin, as the time was so short to make propartitions for embarkation. Boys must be physically fit and must be certified by their head masters or some well-known clergyman as being of good character. The cost of the tour would bo £195 for each boy, and with special clothing and pocket money would approximate £239. The New Zealand party would leave Wellington for Sydney on December 18, and would spend five days in Sydney prior to embarking for San Francisco via Wellington. The tour would occupy six months, terminating when tho Aorangi reached Auckland on June 18, 1929. Mr Tucker addressed the pupils of the Otago Boys’ High School and the Christian Brothers’ School this morning. and was accorded most enthusiastic receptions at both institutions.