UNTRACED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 297, 15 December 1932, Page 3

UNTRACED.

RACING SKIFF. EIGHT-OAR SHELL MYSTERY. POSER FOR N.Z. ROWINGHEADS. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) CHRISTCIIURCH, this day. Information as to the whereabouts of one of the New Zealand Rowing Association's, eiglit-oared racing boats is desired by the Canterbury Rowing Association. The matter of the boat, which is one of several bought and donated to various provincial associations, came up at a meeting of the local association, when members expressed their desire for some definite information. Discussion began through the honorary secretary, Mr. R. J. Hobbs, stating that one special racing eight sent out to New Zealand had cost £20 more than the others. The case containing that boat was probably not specially marked, and the- cases were distributed from Wellington unopened. The New Zealand Council was under the impression that Southland had a racing craft, but two Otago men who were commissioned to go to Southland to measure it reported that there was no appreciable variation from the others in the Southland boat. Otago had won the inter-provincial eightoar race for four years in succession, and lie was sure that association would not like to win the event in a racing boat pitted against ordinary practice boats. The boat which the New Zealand crew used at the British Games was not a racing one. It had como to the ears of some members of the Canterbury Association that the special boat was held by Otago. In Duneclin, continued Mr. Hobbs, the crew which chose one particular boat always won. It was not fair to Otago to leave the location of the racing boat a mystery, as the southern association might not know that the one held by it was a racing craft. All that the Otago Association might realise was that one boat was faster than the other. The speaker would not like Otago_ to think that Canterbury was complaining. He believed that the southern association would be glad to know of the location of the racing craft.

After further discussion 011 the method of instituting inquiry, it was decided to ask the New Zealand Council to state the location of the racing boat.