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St. Matthew's LLO Scout Den

Near CompletionThe following is an account of the undertaking to build a new Den for the Group.  Various sources were used to obtain the information, and as many as possible are referenced at the end of this page.  One of the primary resources was the 50th anniversary souvenir handbook compiled by Mrs. Jean Hickman and Mr. David Hickman, stalwarts of the St. Matthew's LLO Group for many years.

There are records in the Minutes of the Group Committee back in 1945 (and possibly earlier) reporting that the Group was looking for land to build a new Den, although it is not clear if this is for the Group, or just the newly formed Rover Crew at the time.  It is known that the Rovers approached the St Albans Tennis Club at some point  and asked for space to errect a hut, but were turned down.  It is interesting to note that it is also the St Albans Tennis club who had been given land that had also, in error, been offered to the Group later on.

It was becoming apparent by the mid-1950's that the use of the St. Matthew's Church Hall (Now the Scottish Society Hall, which can be found on the corner of Caledonian Rd and Edgeware Rd) was coming to an end.  The Church was planning to redevelop on a new site near English Park on Cranford St (145 Cranford St., where the Church is now).  Thus it was no surprise when the Church informed the Group on August 2nd, 1956, that the building had been sold to the Scottish Society.  And while the church had negotiated the continuing use of the hall in the meantime, these arrangements did not extend to cover the Scout Group which was no longer considered part of the Church organisation (In the early days the Church had often enforced an 'Anglican Only' rule on the Group, however this was no longer the case by the 1950's).  This could be considered the final break from the Church, and it was most certainly the push needed to get the Group to seriously consider building a den of their own.

During 1957 and 1958 the Group met in both the Winton St. and Berwick St. Halls, and in 1959 in the Seventh Day Adventist Hall in Madras St... all the while searching for a new home.

Originally a plot of land was offered by the Council, but it was discovered after accepting the offer that it had already been offered to the St Albans Tennis Club...

In 1957 the Drainage Board informed us that a plot was available beside the Harrison St Pumping Station, but that it was under offer to the Shirley Scout Group - if they didn't need it then we could have it... and fortunately they had chosen to accept the offer of old St Stephen's Church site in Hills Rd (St. Stephen's began in 1912, as a branch of St. Matthew's, to provide for the rapidly expanding eastern side of the parish, and services later moved to the current site on the corner of Shirley Road and Emmett Street[1]).  After considerable negotiations had taken place, permission for St. Matthew's to use the land as a site for a new den was given.

<to be continued... much more to add>

 

The official programme for the opening was as follows:

Flag Break

National Anthem

Prayer: Rev. C. L. Dobbs, Vicar of St. Matthew's

Speakers:

  1.   L. A. Holden Esq., Chairman of Group Committee
  2.   W. A. Pickering Esq., M.P. Member for District
  3.   A. J. McTanish Esq., Drainage Board Representative
  4.   R. F. MacKisack Esq., District Commissioner
  5.   C. H. Clibborn Esq., JP, First Chairman of the Troop
  6.   A. W. V. Reeve Esq., Dominion Headquarters, Commissioner for Island Territories & Lones
        Ex. Scout and Scoutmaster with St. Matthew's LLO
  7.   Sir Joseph G. D. Ward Bart., Provincial Commissioner
        Who will officially open the Den

There is a Troop Scrapbook which contains a number of clippings of the event from various magazines and papers - as well as an original invitation and telegrams from people who could not attend, including one of the very early ASM's, W. (Bill) Sey.  The contents of this scrapbook, along with some photographs, have been added to one of the photo albums, here.

References:

General reference, quoted throughout - The 50th Anniversary Booklet

[1] St. Stephen's Church History - http://www.ststephens.org.nz/history.php