Nella Levy, nicknamed ''"The Lev"'' was a pioneer of Girl Guiding in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. She was the first Division Commissioner in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She had "a firm belief in the principles of Guiding, was young, keen, a dynamic personality, had a great sense of humour and fun, but was also a disciplinarian". Nella Levy became a Girl Scout in 1908 while a boarder at Lingholt School, near Maidenhead in England, and also attended the

1909 Crystal Palace Scout Rally The Crystal Palace Rally was a gathering of Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts at the Crystal Palace in London on Saturday, 4 September 1909. The rally demonstrated the rapid popularisation of the Scout Movement with an estimated 11,000 boys attending ...

, which led to the foundation of the Girl Guides. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

she was a Patrol Leader of the Night-Hawks (later Heather Patrol) in her school Company. In 1920, she read a newspaper report concerning a meeting of prominent women in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

who had decided that Guiding was not needed in New South Wales as girls already had sufficient opportunities to be outdoors. She wrote to the newspaper contradicting this feeling, and subsequently was invited to tea at Government House by Dame Margaret Davidson, wife of the Governor of New South Wales. Davidson told her " Queen Mary would like to see Girl Guides in New South Wales, and I want you to start it." Levy took the challenge. She travelled widely, recruiting volunteers, forming Companies and enrolling Guides. The Nella Levy Chapel was an outdoor chapel at Tara, a Girl Guide camp in

Silverdale, New South Wales Silverdale is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. Approximately 30 minutes from the city of Camden, New South Wales, Camden, Silverdale is close to the historic township of Warragamba, and the main water supply for ...

. It was built in 1972. The property was sold for development by Girl Guides NSW/ACT in 2009–10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Nella Girl Guiding and Girl Scouting Scouting and Guiding in Australia 1898 births Year of death missing

See also

References