CUP FOR GIRL GUIDES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20893, 8 June 1931, Page 10

CUP FOR GIRL GUIDES.

THE LADY BLEDISLOE'S GIFT,

SENIOR GIRLS' COMPETITION.

CELTIC DESIGN FOLLOWED.

A magnificent silver loving-cup, fully 12 inches in height, was presented to the Girl Guides of New Zealand yesterday afternoon by Her Excellency tho Lady Bledisloc. The cup is to be a trophy for competition among -companies of rangers or senior Guides throughout the Dominion in all-round Guidework. The presentation look place in the Mayoress' room at the Town Hall, immediately before the annual combined service for Scouts and Guides, at which tho Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, delivered an address. In welcoming Her Excellency, the Dominion Chief Commissioner, Mrs. W. R. Wilson, said the Girl Guides of New Zealand felt honoured by the interest which the Lady Bledisloe had taken in the movement, and would greatly appreciate tho very fine gift which she was about to make. Her Excellency, addressing Dr. Margaret Knight, Dominion head of tho rangers, said she had always been most anxious to do ivhat she cculd to help forward the Girl Guide movement in New Zealand. Sho wished all Guides, from Brownies upward, every success in their work. Remarking that tho cup was of Celtic design, Her Excellency handed to Dr. Knight with it some notes upon early British silverware forwarded by the makers, the Goldsmiths and Silversmiths' Company, of London. Dr. Knight, in returning thanks, said that the rangers, although individually older than other Guides, being for the most part girls earning their own living, were tho youngest branch of the movement. She felt sure that the gift would bo a real encouragement to them. The first competition for the cup would be held in September, and it was hoped that Her Excellency would be able to present the trophy in person to the winning company. Tho cup, which is a beautiful piece of work, again exemplifies Their Excellencies' taste in silverware, which was shown in the very fine communion service which they presented to St. Matthew's Church some months ago in commemoration of the movement toward religious unity on the 1900 th anniversary of Pentecost. The handles of the cup are in the form of arcs of circles, a distinctly Celtic feature, and small raised motifs ornamented with spirals and other Celtic details are placed below the handles and at intervals around the lower part of the bowl. An inscription records tho donor's name and tho year.