PROGRESS IN LIFE-SAVING

Taranaki Daily News, 30 January 1934, Page 11

PROGRESS IN LIFE-SAVING

TARANAKI CENTRE’S REVIEW. RECORD NUMBER OF AWARDS. The seventeenth annual report of the Taranaki Centre of the Royal Life-Sav-ing Society states that during the year ( the record number of 1257 awards was > gained by pupils of the various schools r in the district, through which the cen- [ tre has been fortunate to win the Wigf ram Shield for the third year in suc--5 cession. t The centre congratulates the New Plyi mouth Girls’ High School, which was . placed second in the Bamford Shield competition with a total of 260 a,wards, >' being only 40 below the Wanganui Girls’ [ College. , In a letter to the Royal Life Saving ; Society, the King, who is patron of the > society, advises that he has noted with . satisfaction that the number of awards ; issued continues at a very high figure, j in spite of the fact that the tests have i been made rather more stringent, and ■ from the account given of its many acr tivities during the present year, it is ■ clear that the society’s progress in. no , way -diminishes. The King was parti- ; cularly interested in the formation -of , the “life guard corps” which should not i only be the means of saving many lives, i but also be a fine example to the pub- ; lie, and lead to an increase in the in- ; terest taken by. them in the . most valuable work.. The letter conveys ; the King’s continued appreciation of the Empire-wide work of the society. ' During the season the centre’s various ' clubs have been good enough to visit the various branches close to their re-, spective territories and give demonstrations to younger clubs who have not , had the same experience and thus help to spread the knowledge of the society’s work and encourage these younger clubs. Another branch of the society has been : formed, the Taranaki Surf Association, and the centre has arranged for this association to take over the control of the reels and equipment belonging to the centre on the beaches. The centre congratulates the association on the efficient manner in which it is caring for the equipment and for the valuable as- . sistance it has rendered. Following are the points for the Wigram Shield:—

(Figures in parentheses, previous year.) The Bamford Shield (presented by Mr. P. G. Bamford, Christchurch), is a Dominion competition for a perpetual challenge trophy, to be awarded to the school, college or club gaining the most awards independent of the roll or membership. It was’ won in 1931 by the Auckland Training College with 263 points, in 1932 by the New Plymouth Boys’ High School with 416 points, and this year the Auckland Training College has secured the first place with the wonderful total of 583. Other placings are: Wanganui Girls’ College (primary and secondary) 300, New Plymouth Girls’ High School (primary and secondary) 260, New Plymouth West End Public School 170, New Plymouth Boys’ High School (primary and secondary) 155, Wanganui East School (primary) 135, Christchurch Technical College (boys) 115.

Popu- Pts. lation per in popuPlace Centre Awards Pts. 1000 lation SS=3 Auckland 1262 4167 406 10.26 (5) (1195) (3175J) (7.8) 1 Taranaki 1255 1638 62 26.42 (1) (1334) (25061) (40.4) 6 Canterbury 615 2185 265 8.25 (6) (489) (1892) (7.1) 2 Manawatu 413 859 59 14.56 (2) (601) (12481) (21.2) 'Wellington606 2266 253 9 (3) (1574) (51121) (20.2) =3 Wanganui 253 739 72 10.26 (4) (391) (1068) (14.8) 8 Otago 161 568 191 2.97 (7) (185) (6561) (3.4)' . 7' Hawkes Bay ‘ 89 295 63 4.7 ■* Gisborne 76 294 ■WR— — Nelson 53 187 —T- — Totals 4783 13,198