GIRL GUIDE NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21733, 26 August 1932, Page 2

GIRL GUIDE NOTES

By Guidek. (All reports of Guide activities in Ota* are to be sent to this column, and shou! reach the Provincial Commissioner, 7( Castle street, by Friday of the week pr coding publication.) “Go forth into the world in peace; I of good courage; hold fast that which good; render to no man evil for evil strengthen the faint-hearted; support ti weak; help the afflicted; honour all men love and serve the Lord; rejoicing in tli power of the Holy Spirit. And the bles, ing of God Almighty, the Father, the Soi and the Holy Ghost be upon you an remain with you for ever.” —(Blessin given at the thanksgiving service a Chichester Cathedral on Guide Sunday.) The accounts of Guide Week celebn tions in Great Britain provide very ii teresting reading. Perhaps the mos thrilling came from Denbighshire, where as part of the birthday celebrations, Union Jack was handed round from on district to another, mostly on foot. Specia leave was obtained from the Office o Works for the Guides themselves to 11 the flag from Denbigh Castle for a ehor time on the first and last days of Quid Week. On Sunday, May 22, Gulden Bangers and Guides who were not alread; wending their way to their appoints posts on the road along which the flag wa to pass to its first destination, aesemblei inside the castle grounds at the foo of the steps leading up to the cast) walls. Here the . County Coramissione explained the purpose of the gathering. Having received the flag the colon party turned, mounted the steps on to tin battlements, and marched along thi walls to the flagstaff while the rest of fin Guides formed a horseshoe in the groum below. “God Save the King” was sui:j as the flag broke at the mast, prayen for the Empire arid for Guides were rear by the Presbytreian minister, and aftei the singing of the Guide law chant, th< flag was lowered and placed in a rucksack With it were cards of greeting from tin County Commissioner to all the com panies and packs in the county, and .' wallet for contributions in pennies (tc be turned into cheques before being sent on) towards the Guide County Fund for the relief of the adopted unemployed man The flag then started on its journej round the county, being given a cheer os it passed/out through the castle gates. Taken mostly on foot, but also by other mean s from one district to another, all round the county, the flag returned to Denbigh on Sunday, May 29. In order to give every availab.e Ranger and Guide a hand in the bringing in of the flag, and at the same time enable them to be pressent at the closing ceremony, a series of very short relays was arranged at the end of the route. 'Tne finish was exciting in that time was running short, and a message had to be parsed back that the last two miles must be done at top speed to ensure the flag getting in to time. This was carried out to such good effect tha: the flag actually came in a minute and a-half before it was due. A similar ceremony to that of the previous Sunday then took place, the prayers thi 9 time being read by the rector of .Denbigh. At the end of the short service the flag was slowly lowered for the last time during Guido Week to the singing of “God Save the King.” . When the remainder of the contents of the rucsack were investigated, the wallet was found to contain cheques amounting to over £2O, and there was also a token for the county commissioner in the form of a hand-made loose-leaf volume, beautifully illustrated, containing the signatures of every president, Guider, Ranger, Guide, and Brownie in the county, 'company HISTORIES. This week we begin a series of company histories, and the type of report wanted can now be seen. It is to be hoped that the series will not be held up by com-i panies failing to send in reports. ‘ IST ROSLYN. As far back as 1918 a company of Girl Peace Scouts was formed in Roslyn by Mrs Beath (the pioneer of Girl Scouting and Guiding in Dunedin) and Mrs Glen-, dinning. This company grew and" flourished,, and in March, 1924, changed over to Guides, thus having the honour of being the first Girl Guide company in Dunedin. Mrs Wilson (chief commissioner-) enrolled Miss Milly Thyior as the first captain, Miss Jeffrey acting as lieutenant. The company numbered 35, and about 12 Fairy Scouts became Brownies under the leadership of Mrs GRndinning. Much could be written about these early days when the company was in its infancy, and many girls have happy memones of the camps, hikes, and concerts, etc. Following Miss Taylor’s resignation, Mrs Beath again took charge until the increasing Guide work in Dunedin forced her to resign 'so as to be able to devote all her time to her duties as district commissioner, Mies Sell became captain, the lieutenant being Miss Ina Clarke, who afterwards becarpe captain, and is ■ at present captain of the Dunedin Central Rangers. The Roslyn Guide Company is extremely fortunate in having an excellent committee, and, thanks to these ladies, we are able to meet in the Linden Lodge Hall. The Brownie pack, numbering 18, is under the leadership of. Mies Milly Taylor, Brown Owl, and Miss Smyth, Tawny Owl. At present there are 27 Guides-and 3 recruits. Last year the company was successful in securing five all-round card awards and seven firstclass badges. The present officers are;— Captain, Miss Stella Marett; lieutenant. Miss Veronica Roger.. Ist DUNEDIN, j The Ist Dunedin Company was formed during the second terra of the year 1924, although it was not registered until July of that year. In its earliest stages the company, under the captaincy of Miss Z. Sanderson, was composed entirely of St. Hildas girls, though outsiders joined and were welcomed to the ranks. Miss Cave acted as company lieutenant for about six months, and .then left to get married. During the eight and a-half years of its existence the Ist Dunedin Company has had no fewer than seven captains or acting captains, and has changed its place of meeting five times, commencing in the Overseas Club rooms. When Miss Sander«>n left for, England at the efcd of 1924 the company was taken over by Miss Kelly. and meetings were held in the V.W.C.A. Hall, after having been held for a while in the Congregational Hall, Moray place, whence it had moved from St. Paul’s Schoolroom. After Miss Kelly Game Miss Carpenter acted by Miss June .Batchelor and Miss Halsted, who carried on for some time till Miss Eulalie Roberts took charge and moved from St. Paul’s, whither the company had returned, to the Technical College Hall in York place. Here the 2nd Dunedin (St. Paul’s) Company joined with the Ist on the retirement of Miss N. Fenwick and Miss L. Williams. Miss Roberts held office until her marriage partly with the aid of Misses Batchelor and Halsted, and partly alone., During Miss Roberts’s time the proportion of non-St. Hilda’s Guides decreased, and the company became, as it has remained, entirely open in character. Miss J. Vespair and Miss C. Conn and Miss M. Mitchell next took charge, and returned to St. Paul’s once again, also altering the day of meeting from Friday to Wednesday. Finally Miss D. Chrystall took over in 1930, and Miss L. Braseh and Miss V. Livingston returned, one in 1931 and the other in 1932. to help her. The Ist Dunedin Company claims for itself the honour of being the first in Guide uniform in the city, though the truth of this statement has never been proved. The great occasion was a bazaar given by Mrs Nicol at her house in aid or company funds, when six proud P.L.’s arrived in uniform, an pncomfortable proceeding owing to the novelty of the thing to outsiders, especially small boys with peashooters. The. company, under Mias Kelly, took part in a King’s Birthday parade in 1925, when Guides made their first appearance in public. Since then the Ist Dunedin Company has been represented at all Guide rallies and other functions ■in which the movement took place. There 5s no Brownie pack attached to the company. BADGE RESULTS. Embroideress.—Rosamund Cunningham. Betty Beatson, Dorothy Lippert, Nancy M'Lellan. Joan Bradfield (Ist Anderson’s Bay), Mary Duke (Ist Musselburgh), Helen Dodd (Ist Mornington), Annie Schofield, Daisy Stewart '(lst Roslyn). Margaret Steedman, Shirley Croy, Rosalie Newman. Ina Steedman (Ist South Dunedin), Marion Morrison, Effie Elder (Ist St. Andrew). Maori Badge.—Eileen Whiteside, Edith Whiteside (Mornington). ; Toymnker.—Betty Simpson, *' Edna Curry, Flora Lockhart (Ist Caversham), Daisy Stewart (Ist Roslvn). Eileen Whiteside. Joan Whiteside, Edith Whiteside (Mornington).