Photo: Supplied.
BY JAN NARY
Barb Hodkinson was marked for a future in the Australian Girl Guides from her early days.
“My mother was in the Guides in the ’30s and she loved Guiding,” says Barbara.
“I had two older brothers who were very sporty, so it was something different for a girl to do. When a friend took me to a ‘bring a friend’ night, I was hooked. I joined at the age of seven, and apart from ten years I took off to have my own children, I’ve been involved ever since.”
Barb is now the Moreton Region Manager, in charge of seven regions that extend from the bayside to the city, and her passion for guiding is unabated.
“Guiding is such a wonderful opportunity to learn skills that you ordinarily wouldn’t – either because you’re a girl or because you just don’t have the opportunity. I learned how to camp in a tent – my family weren’t campers, but I loved it; I loved learning knots and how to hand-sew. I remember the first time I lit a match it was like conquering the world. We still have girls who’ve never lit a match. Guiding teaches basic life skills and I think it’s probably more relevant today because today parents are time poor and often both parents work.”
Barb says that girls are often attracted by word-of-mouth from their peer group.
“A guide may go back to school and tell her friends that she’s been camping without her parents – that she’s been abseiling, or kayaking, or done archery or cooked damper on a campfire – she’s stepped out of her comfort zone and done things she’s never had the opportunity to do – in an all-girl space. As one of my 12-year-olds said, ‘we make unexpected friendships’.”
While there have been some changes – an updated uniform and possible merging of different age groups – some things remain the same. Core skill badges of proficiency still exist – as does knot tying. An innovation in knot tying is that knots can be tied in snake lollies; a successful knot entitles the Guide to eat it!
