GIRL GUIDES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 9, Issue 87, 17 June 1946, Page 6

GIRL GUIDES

TANEATUA COMPANY FORMED FIRST 12 MEMBERS ENROLLED An event pleasing.to those interested in the youth of Taneatua took place recently, when the first twelve Guides of the Taneatua Company were enrolled. Five Brownie recruits were also enrolled and added to the already strong little Pack. The ceremony took place on the lawn outside the Guide and Brownie parade room, and was performed by the District Commissioner, Mrs W. H. Rushbrook. Parents and friends with interested spectators, and the Guides and Brownies reflected great credit upon their officers, Mrs Moor, Captain, and Mrs Ricketts, Brown Owl. Their smart new blue and brown uniforms added colour to the impressive little outdoor ceremony. The District Commissioner, in her charge to the ndwly-enrolled girls, impressed upon them the importance of Loyalty—to God, to the King, to parents, teachers, Guiders and friends. A special word of thanks was accorded Mrs Ricketts for her pioneering work in connection with the Movement in Taneatua.

During afternoon tea, which was served in the Brownie’s “Fairy Glade” by the district representatives, Mrs N. Semmens and Mrs Gardner and parents, the Commissioner introduced two overseas Guiders, Mrs G. S. Connor, from London'and Shanghai, and Mrs Godfrey Sanfion, formerly of Wales, and no wof Taneatua. The company was privileged to hear short talks from both thesd experienced Guide officers.

Mrs Connor told the girls something of her work with the 4th Shanghai Company, where the Guides were mainly Chinese and Eurasian', with a few Russians. Their appearance in uniform vas much the same as that of the Taneatua Guides, and Guiding was doing much for girls in the East. Mrs Connor told, too, of her London Company, and of her association with the Guide training centre in England, “Foxlease,” at Lyndhurst, in the New Forest —where Guid.-s from many lands gather for training and fellowship. Mrs Connor’s father is a keen Scouter, and is Commissioner for Shanghai at the present time. Mrs Santon told the Guides that

it was. 25 years since she was enrolled, and she spoke of her Guiding days in Wales, where she* and her three sisters had each turn captained the Guide Company. New Zealand, she said, was a splendid country for Guiding, with its many months of good outdoor weather. In England a very small percentage of Company meetings could be held out-of-doors. Mrs Santon mentioned her meeting with other Guides during her nursing service in the Middle East, and how often it was dasy to distinguish the mark of Guiding upon these women. Mrs Santon said she would be delighted to help the Taneatua Company, and that she looked forward to visiting them at parade soon. She hoped to learn from them something of New Zealand native trees, plants and flowers, which were new to her as yet. Hearty applause was accorded dach speaker, and the Guides and Brownies formed a Guard of Honour for the Commissioner and visiting Guiders as they departed.