GUIDE CONFERENCE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22579, 18 November 1936, Page 5

GUIDE CONFERENCE

(COMMISSIONERS MEET OPENING IN WELLINGTON VICE-REGAL INTEREST [BY TELEGRAPH —OWN CORRESPONDENT WELLINGTON, Tuesday Commissioners from various parts c Now Zealand, who have come to Wei I ington to attend the Girl Guide Com I missioners' conference, gathered in th I Oddfellows' Hall tins morning for th I official opening of the conference b; | Her Excellency, Viscountess Galway i who is the Dominion president of th | association. i Lady Galway was met by Miss Her i rick. Chief Commissioner, who pre | sented each commissioner to her. Mis | Hcrriek expressed the great apprecia j tion that they felt in having Lady Gal I way to open and take part in theii 1 conference As Her Excellency was i guide commissioner in her own conn I try, said Miss Hcrrick, sho must knoTi I what their aims were. Of• the several things which were tc j lie discussed during the conference I Miss Herrick said she would mentior I at this stage only one, that of the New Zealand Centenary in 1940, for whicl I a decision as to what form the contrij bution of the guides would take in the celebration would have to be made. Toward this end, which Miss Herrick said was not as far distant as might be thought, it would be necessary to obtain more guiders capable of taking responsibility, so that something on a really j worthy scale might be planned. She suggested that particular efforts should be made toward this purpose in the intervening years. Importance of Movement Miss Herrick also remarked that the movement should be brought before the public as one of national importance, so that a wider outlook might be established and that it should be lifted out of the category of an organisation merely for *' good works." Lady Galway, who took the chair, congratulated the commissioners on their enthusiasm and on the numbers in which they had foregathered and expressed her pleasure at taking part in the conference. She stressed the fact that the movement was needed more to-day than perhaps it ever was. •In referring to the mention in the last annual report of the drop in numbers among guides, Lady Galway remarked that this was not altogether to be deplored, and that allowances had to be made for circumstances. It was more beneficial not to encourage companies to keep going unless they were really able to keep up to standard. Many people had tbe view that there was a great deal of " red tape " in the organisation, but a movement such as this could not be efficiently run without stringent rules which, however, must be kept within the bounds of wisdom and reason Difficulties to be Faced Another point which Her Excellency remarked upon was the fact that guiding was up against the stress of modern life and the spirit of adventure, and the attractions it held would have to be continually brought forward to enthuse the young people and to encourage them to join. There seemed, she said, to be an attitude toward the girl guides in this country which was certainly not found in England, and this was that the young people tended to scoff somewhat «;t the guides and what they did and to hold what might be called a " lofty " view toward them. This was unfortunate and a thing that could only be quelled by the commissioners and guiders spreading the enthusiasm of the work among their friends and bringing them into the movement. International Gathering As provincial commissioner, Mrs. Martin Tweed expressed thanks to Her Excellency for her attendance and encouragement, and welcomed all those present. M iss Joyce Duthie, who recently attended an international conference of girl guides in Sweden, followed with a I lively and informative description of what took place there, stressing, as she went on from one incident to another, the wonderful organisation and the spirit of comradeship that was found throughout the gathering. Guides of 26 different countries had been present at the conference, she said.