History of Item
Blanket was made by Beverley's mother, Coral Fisher, before Beverley retuned from the BP World Camp. After Beverley returned from the Camp, she added the patches that Beverley had collected while she was away and added to it over the years. Coral also added the maps with the two ships she travelled on.
Beverley Halburd was born just before World War II, the daughter of Coral and Rupert Fisher, who rented a red brick home in Wood Street from 1940. In 1945, Beverley became involved with the 1st Albury Brownie Pack as a Brownikin, then two years later she became an enrolled Brownie. Brownikins were not an official group, it was something the Brown Owls started in Albury for Brownies who had sisters. They did not have a Guide Hall so met at the Baptist Church Hall in Macauley Street. The World Chief Guide, Lady (Olive) Baden-Powell, visited Albury on 1 November, 1947.
Beverley progressed to Guides, who met at the All Saints Hall in North Albury, and later qualified as a 1st Class Guide. She was then prepared to take the Queen’s Guide test, which was undertaken in Sydney. One examiner was Barbara Wentworth, wife of the politician Bill Wentworth. Mrs Daintry Heywood from Hawksview presented Beverley with the Queen’s Guide Badge in Albury. Beverley then went on to Rangers. By that time there was a new Guide Hall in Albury.
Beverley left school in 1954 and worked at Hunters’ shoe store for 12 years. When she was 17 she was invited to attend the Baden-Powell Centenary World Camp to be held at Windsor Great Park in mid-1957.
After returning to Australia, Beverley involved herself in many other official positions in Guiding and loved every minute of it. In 2000, Beverley was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for service to youth, particularly through Guides Australia, and to the community. Beverley spoke about her lifetime involvement with the Girl Guide movement in Australia and abroad at the Annual General Meeting of the Albury and District Historical Society on 13th of June 2018. Her presentation, “Memories of a Girl Guide from Albury”, is published in the July 2018 ADHS Bulletin no 591.
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