A Miracle?

By the time the meeting was three quarters through it appeared that Waite's motion would be defeated despite substantial support. Clearly a miracle was needed. And it came. Present at the meeting was Otago President Andrew Guest, known both at Canterbury and Victoria as a vocal critic of the present national officers. The anti-group thought that he would support withdrawl so did not attempt to disrupt him.

However his line turned out to be very similar to that of Petrie's, although expressed in a different way. In many respects, like the suits he wears, the situation was tailor-made for Guest. Using the scapegoat idea he blasted the national office for incompetency but claimed that changes had already been made and improvements evident.

To a large extent it was a conservative address. Many of his accusations were opportunist and would not stand up to close scrutiny. But in amongst that were perceptive and pertinent observations about the need for a national association. Because of his reputation only he could have got away with an address like that. He knew the mood of the masses and spoke accordingly.

And the meeting accepted his logic despite a demogogic appeal by Lee who was obviously surprised and frustrated by the role of Guest. The meeting voted by about 370 to 260 to remain in NZUSA. Had it not been for Guest the vote would have probably been reversed by a similar margin. His speech was brilliant although not that accurate.