May Yates Bell

Evelyn May (May) yates was born in Halifax, Yorkshire in 1889. She was a Guide in the north of England from 1912 to 1917. She followed the arts, played the piano and guitar and also did wood carving.
After her marriage she came to Busselton as the wife of the only doctor in the area in the 1920’s. She was always interested in Guiding and the welfare of girls.
Guiding in Busselton had started in 1917, but records are sketchy, we do know that in 1928 the Country Organising Commissioner for W.A., Mrs C.E.F. Bull visited the area to form a local company of Guiders, and that Mrs Yates had been running a small informal company and was District Commissioner from 1920. The movement was formalised on May 30th 1928 when First Busselton Guides were formed.
Mrs Yates remained the District Commissioner and in 1931 she took up the post of first Divisional Commissioner for the South West, which was not only Capel, Busselton, Margaret River and Augusta but Bunbury, Brunswick, Collie and Darkan! All this in a time when horse and buggy were the main means of transport, although Mrs Yates had access to a car, her husband being a doctor and he was not called into the country she took full opportunity to use it. As well as Divisional Commissioner she remained District Commissioner for Busselton and outlying districts until 1958.
May Yates also gave up rooms in her house for Brownie and Guide meetings, trained leaders and was always there for all her “girls”.
In 1950 she received the Award of the Medal of Merit for outstanding service to Guiding.
She worked tirelessly to enable a campsite to be opened in the area, eventually this campsite was opened in 1958 and later named the May Yates Campsite in her honour. Unfortunately this campsite was closed in 2011.
In 1958 she handed over the District Commissioner’s job to another but continued as Divisional Commissioner until 1960 when she retired. She then became an elected member of the State Council of Girl Guides and remained involved with the movement for many more years.
Mrs Yates died in 1983 at the age of 94 years.