UNUSUAL WILL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 191, 30 August 1937, Page 7

UNUSUAL WILL

Australian Grazier's "Fitness Competitions" PROBLEMS FOR TRUSTEES (From Our Own Corrbspondent.) SYDNEY, Aug. 20. Although 16 years have passed since the death of Mr. Peter Stuckey Mitchell, grkzier, the three trustees of his £150,000 estate are still wrestling with the problems that attend what is virtually a national trust. At a recent meeting they decided to seek legal advice whether plans for holding the competitions_ provided for by Mr. Mitchell in his will can be f'ormulated shortly. Within. a few .ybars at least £7000 a year will be available for these com petitions, which are extraordinary in ckaractef and are for perpetuity. Under the will they start ■ automatically upon the death of the widow, but the trustees are seeking legal advice whether they can begin, even in a limited scope, during hcr lifetime. Expert legal opinion is needed on the question whether' the competitions can start' before the nominal value of the estate, which fell owing to the slurnp in laud values immediately after Mr. Mitchell 'a death, is replaced. Whether the conditions oi the competitions are workable in their present form is another subject for advice, the trustees being divided on this point. Because many thousands of men and women in every State will be eligible for substantial prizes, the trustees feel that they must build flrmly and that the competitions, if they are to endure, must be placed beyond the possibility of wholesale criticism and dispute. Unusual attainments in Australian men aud women are sought in the com ditions. Mr. Mitchell tried to make provision for fostering high physical attributes among members of the military, naval and police f orces by these annual competitions. Conditions for the selection of 15 of the fittest women for participation in the prizes are that candidates must bo unmarried and not more than 30 years of age; they must be British subjects, residents of the Commonwealth, of the white race, and not offsprings of first cousins; they must possess physical excellence, good health, freedom from hereditary taints, and be bright and cheerful. They must have knowledge and understanding of the British Empire, general knowledge of the geography of Australia, and a thorough knowledge of En'giish literature, elementary anatomy, and physiology. Also required are knowledge of practical . housekeeping and domestic economy; nnd practical and theoretical knowledge of the nursing and training, care and rearing to perfect health and strength of babies and youhg children. It ia provided that competitors cuust be examined upon their knowledge of the following authors: — Shakespeare, Carlyie, Cervantes, Thackeray, Charles Reade, and a number of othera.