The New Zealanders at Bisley.

Southland Times, Issue 19381, 3 September 1904, Page 1

The New Zealanders at Bisley.

OVEK £200 WON IN PRIZES. (Dunedin Star's correspondent.) LONDON, July 21. This week the New Zealand team have heen doing exceedingly well at the butts. The ' Military Mail,' I notice refers to them this morning as "the famous New Zeolnnders." Up to the present every man except one has secured prize money, the avorage per man being about £20. The merit of this performance will i>o admitj ted when the general ox\jellance of the shooting at Ilisley is realissd. When as many as twenty-eight competitors will put on the " highest possible '* in a match, with about three times that number only a point behind them, it is evident that tho prize money sometimes requires a good deal or subdivision. Thus, some of tho New Zealanders. after finishing only a point behind the man at the head of the list, have received 1-. nd as their share, or 8s lOd, as the rase might be. Still, the team have already won over £200, and considering that there ara nearly aooo competitors, that is a fino performance of a dozen men. Sandford, Tivine. McKenzie, Shanks, Uhing, and Hnwjthorne have been doing exceptionally well, especially the first named, who has won considerably more prize money than! any of his fellow-members. Curiously, enough. Sanclford's shooting in tho coin-* petitions which preceded the selection of the' Kolapore Cup team was disappointing, nnd lm failed to gain a place fin tboj team. Since then, however, ho has quit© I rerovorpd his form, and throughout tho woekj has been thooting brilliantly.Shanks, who ftl»0 failed to win a place in| the Kolapore team, Is another of the most Kuceeq.qful .prize-winners. Ho cams second in the Duke of Cambridge's Match,, winning £10, and has been well up in other events. Sandford won a ten-gujnet^ rifle nnd £5 as rango prize at r KH) yardon Thursday, beating loo? competitors j and amongst other prizes which this young marksman has annexed this week may he mentioned — £3 in the Alexandra" end Secretary of State for War Matches? £_ in the 'Graphic,' ' Daily Te'.egraph,' Armourers' Sweepstake, All-Comers' Matches -. £1 in the Alexander Martin, Keystone Ilurgundy, and Scurry Matches. — " Hard Luck." — Now Zealand missed the Belgian Challenge Cu[i by tho narrowest of margins.Hut for a piece of bad luck they must h'ave won it This was a team's match' of ten men a-.idc from: any volunteer unit, ft was a quick-firing competition, (he men being each required to lire eight shots in .Vlser. ut (500 yards. The New Zealand team got in one shot less than their competitors, owing to ono of Ballimrer's cartridges jamming in the magazine The time lost by this accident (which \\v»s unavoidable) meant iho inatcl. to tho New Zealanders. Had Rallinger hud time to fire his seventh shot it wouli_J only hnvc been necessary for him to hit the target for N'ew Zealand to win tho Cup As it was. that seventh shot had to go unfired. Kvon so, New Zealand shared with 7th Middlesex (^London Scottish) the honour of the highest score— 99 points Pur luck was against the column Is An analysis of tilt- scores gav© the first prize to the llome team, ior according to liisley rules the team with the fewest outers wins when the totals era equal. Thus, although New /.p.it.ind got <"»7- shots on tho target, as against Middlesex's 0,1, the latter team won on " outers .'' Seventeen teams competed In this match. New Zealand lias llmst competed in three teams-matches — Kolapore, Belgian. and Mackinnon — and finished first, second, and third in the respective contests As for the individual members, there huve been New Zealanders In tho prize-list of every match for which tlu-y were qualified to shoot. — Interesting Competitors. — The feature of this year's T»i<n*y has lii-en the wonderful shooting of SergeantMajor Wollingford. nn instructor of thd IT> the Sohool oi Musk.etrv. Wullingford is undoubtedly the best marksman at Ilisley ivith ihe Service ritle, and one of tlio l greatest shots thut ever pointed a gunbarrel. Last week he distinguished llitnself by putting on twenty-six bulls in succession In the Steward competition lio scored a highest, possible, two possibles for the Association Cup (two ranges)'* two possibles in sweepstakes, a possible in the ' Daily Crnphic' a possible for, the Vrituv of Wales (200yds), and tHrco more in the revolver competitions. One of the hitter was made at. 50yds, onitf constitutes a record, no officer OV man ha\in<_. ever before sc.mil seven consecu* tivo bull's-eyes at the range to individual competition. Besides winning numerous prizes. Sorgeuiit-Ma.ior Wnllingford has tied with Lance-Corporal Sam Ways, xfit llorsct. for All-comers' Aggregate with! 108 points, mado in \\w ' Paily Tole^ graph.' ' C rapine." and Alexandra events;. His work at Bisley is. in fact, a record of bull's-eyes, of wViieh he puts on at out thirty a day with nmu/.i-i^ regularity.! His style is characteristic, lie " spreadeagles " over the matting, atld bis rifle points at an acute angle with his body.He twists his arm into the sling, and before firing each shot he pla.es his telescope along the barrel, of the rifle, gaugethe light on the target, und estimates the quality of the wind by the moving tufts of heather at the bottom of tho canvas His place at the (irinu point can always be distinguished by the knot of admiring marksmen who gather to watch! his shooting. Another interest imr feature ha '-> "i-een tho appearance of a lady ri tie-shot (Miss Florence l.ewcs. of Stains). Sho is young, tall, and handsome, and has tliO steady nerve and the clear eye of tho sound shot Miss l.ewes shoots in tt. brown costume, belted at the wnlst, nnd her jacket is lilted with leather ClbOW patches A white shooting cap fits closely <0 her head. and in this serviceable kit she is finding work for the ninrkers ill patching up the bull's-eye. On her first appearance at Bisley hist Saturday MiSS Lcwys scored IV2 out of '.."> at ihe 200 yds. only missing the bull's-eye three times. She also shot at 000 and GOO yards, but was not so successful at theso anges She is unquestionably the best lady shot since the days of Miss Lealc,of Ovu-rnsey. who competed at Bisley ill He early nineties.