BOWLERS ABROAD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 191, 13 August 1932, Page 17

BOWLERS ABROAD.

AUCKLAND RINK IN BRISBANE.

SIR JAMES PARR ON THE GREEN

(By TRUNDLER.)

The Auckland bowlers are still doing very well, the record when the mail left being 14 wins in the 17 matches played, and this week they are playing four more. The big tournament starts next Monday, and the local authorities have lent Mr. Gajdon, president of the Burnett District Bowling Association, to our party, as Mr. A. J. Parker is leaving for Sydney this week. The rink will then be H. Grocott, F. Binns, T. Gaydon, H. B. Jenkin.

In the meantime the social games are proceeding with great enthusiasm, the hospitality being unbounded. Mr. Parker has usually replied, and he had occasionally taken the opportunity to introduce the theme of Empire comradeship. However, for one day this week he has gone one better. Finding that Sir James Parr is in Brisbane, he has invited him to accompany the party to one green, and to reply for New Zealand to the address of welcome. All the officials of the Queensland Bowling Association have intimated their intention to be present, in honour of the Leader of the Legislative Council of New Zealand, and as Sir James is an old bowler himself one can well imagine how thoroughly at home he will feel while expounding the doctrine of the closest possible relations between all the constituent parts of the Empire. Speaking while the Ottawa Conference is sitting, he could not have a more appropriate time for enlarging on his favourite subject, and it also seems very appropriate that the function is to be at the Hamilton green, for Hamilton was the name of the city m Canada where the last Empire Games were played. In addition to the original Auckland rink there is to be a second one on that occasion, cpmprising W. E. Bush (a past president of the Auckland Bowling Clubhand formerly city engineer for Auckland), G. Pollard (Carlton), Wainwright, F. Gartrell (Sydney).

Brisbane papers seem, to regard the doings of the Auckland rink as quite worthy to be recorded, now that they are nearly always winning, just like the New Zealand representatives in football and hockey, and a very full account of the visit to Ipswich is given, where Mr. Parker was one of tlie five representative speakers who responded to the address of welcome from the club president, Mr. J. C. Minnis. Over 100 people sat down to afternoon tea, and the Auckland rink sang the famous haka, "Tenei te tangata pairawaatu," receiving the usual ovation. This visit entailed the rink's third loss, the only loss for the week, the score being: Townend, Minnis, Williams, Hooper (Ipswich) 27, v. Grocott, Binns, Jenkin, Parker (Auckland) 18.

However, Auckland defeated Booroodabin (Brown, Wetherell, Reid, Strachan) by 17 to 15, besides taking Geo. Pollard with them, and getting him into a rink which won by 20 to 15. Other matches recorded in the papers were against Coorparoo, where Auckland won by 32 to 20 against Cummins, Sibbald, Brimblecombe, Nicklin; and at Sandgate, where Auckland won by 27 to 21 against Burton, Salisbury, Millar, Ferguson.

Mr. Parker writes that on one afternoon his rink were accompanicd by Mr. E. J. Shaw, past president of the Australian Bowling Council, and Mr. C. D. Ferguson, president of the Queensland Bowling Association, and both of these officials asked him to convey their kind regards to "Trundler" and Mr. Pascoe, as well as all those who competed in Brisbane last year. He is still hoping that two rinks will come over next January. At time of writing he was looking forward to meeting a rink which was said to comprise four of the best players in Brisbane, viz., Percy Doctor, D. Farquhar, R. Gow, Fred Gould. It was to be played at New Farm, where the green is a bit heavy to suit Auckland, so they don't appear very confident about winning this time. New Farm is a comparatively new club, only formed in 1909, but it has won the A Pennant four times already, in 1913-14, 14-15, 28-29, and 29-30. Jn 1924 the club erected a magnificent pavilion, very much after the style of the Wellington Club's pavilion, and the playing areg comprises two greens.