BOWLING.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 68, 21 March 1934, Page 14

BOWLING.

TOURNAMENT CHAT.

BOWLS ON THE AIR.

(By TRUNDLER.)

A perfect afternoon for bowling was enjoyed on Saturday, introducing a delightful week-end which gave promise of favourable conditions for the very full programme for this week. A good deal of visiting took place, but otherwise the chief interest centred in getting on with the numerous club matches, now that the championships have been disposed of. A spectator relates having seen an unusual shot played at the Howick open tournament last Thursday, when C. H. de Launay (Carlton) met C. H. Skinner (Onehunga). The former was lying the whole seven when each skip had a bowl to go, but Skinner trailed the jack for six, and the Carlton crack dropped too short to save even one. A tliirteen-shot is rather a remarkable feat for anyone, and especially to one who was only really introduced to classical play at the Christmas tournament, when he was No. 3 for li. Cross, in the rink which created some surprise by surviving until the sixth round, after defeating such celebrities as Mingins, Ramsey, Russell and Parsons. Open tournaments this week are at Auckland, Mount Eden and New Lynn to-day, antt' Buckland's Beach, Manurewa and Ponsonby on Thursday. The only club tournaments next week are at Rawhiti on Tuesday and Pukekohe on Wednesday.

Most people are aware of the large number of bowlers who learn the game at one club and afterwards join another. At the champion of champions tournament at Carlton there were 110 less than four champions who "graduated" at Edendale, in addition to the club's own champion, A. Hill. These arc: J. H. Baker (Mount Eden), G. A. Neilson (Hallyburton Johnstone), G. Crdnin (Grey Lynn) and E. McConnell (Mount Albert), and the first three were all at Edendale at the one time. Bravo, Edendale. Professor Maxwell Walker will be "on the air" on Thursday evening, when the vast majority of the 15,300 bowlers in the Dominion who can make it convenient are sure to tune in to IYA at 9 o'clock in order to hear the first broadcast talk on "The Ancient Game of Bowls." It is true that actual games have been broadcast before, in Auckland and Wellington, but these have been at an hour when most people are either at business or enjoying the open air. Occasionally, also, the tournament results in the "Star" have been included in the news service of IYA in the evening, but this will be the first general talk on the game. For the benefit of those who are not familiar with Professor Walker's standing in the game, it may be mentioned that he holds the record of bejng the only player who has won a Dominion championship five times, and he shares with Ernie Harraway (Dunedin) the record of having won in all three events, singles, pairs and rinks.' His outstanding local successes have been the championship of the Auckland Bowling Club three times, and of Ponsonby five times, following these up by winning the champion of champions of the Auckland Centre twice, and being runnerup once. In pairs he won the Auckland open event once, and was runner-up once, besides winning all the three Rotofua pairs tournaments. In rinks, his favourite game, he has won so often, not only in the city, but also at Cambridge, Rotorua and other places, that it would take too much research to count his wins. Naturally his wins would not equal those of Willie Carswell in number, but the latter was playing bowls for five years before "Max" won the scholarship that took him to the Auckland Grammar School. However, his talk on bowls will be fatmore interesting than a mere discourse on wins and losses, for he is recognised throughout the Dominion as the greatest authority on every aspect of the game, from the cultivation of a neat and easy delivery to the choice of a better green on which to play important finals than they selected at Dunedin and Christchurch. For those who are not familiar with the game, his cultured diction alone, quite apart from his subject, will at once attract attention, for whenever he rises to speak his hearers may be assured of a literary treat, such as might well be expected from the Professor of Modern Languages at Auckland University College. Professor Walker's choice of a title for his talk suggests that bowls is probably the oldest game in existence. It is centuries older than cricket or golf, and apparently several millenniums older than tennis or billiards. Most people will remember that the late Mr. C. A. Semadeni discovered some Maori stone bowls at Tauranga, of which a few specimens are now in the War Memorial Museum, and that evidence suggests that these were used more than six centuries ago. There is also an actual bowling club in England which has had a continuous existence for nearly six ccnturies and ft half, but further research carries the game much further back.

A book written by James M. Pretsell, however, "The Game of Bowls," makes it date back to somewhere prior to 2000 B.C. Pretsell believes that the ancient Egyptians played the game, using a porcelain bowl about the sii* of the modem carpet bowl. Herodotus says this game was the invention of the Lydians, in Asia Minor. They also used spheres of various kinds, made of bran, or husks of corn, these being covered with leather and sewed with string. Mr. G. T. Burrows, who seems to be an authority on the game in England, reviews this book in "The Bowls News" of January 25, which arrived last week, and makes a curious addition to Mr. Pretsell's reference to "husks of corn," by adding "maize, one supposes." Those of us who have grown both maize and wheat have never noticed any husks on maize, and would judge that these Egyptian husks were more likely to? be wheat. Recent finds in old Egyptian tombs also suggest that wheat was the staple grain in those days, and that when the famine was "sore in the land," and Jacob discovered that there was "corn in Egypt," a saying which has remained proverbial ever since, it was wheat thaA he had in mind when he sent his sons to Egypt, to "buy us a little food."

PONSQNBY CLUB. The Ponsonby Bowling Club hold a tourney last evening for rinks representing various sports. Results:— First Hound.—Spelr, Cook, McLeod, Francis (indoor bowling) 8, v. Macintosh, Rowbottom, Lincoln, Donaldson (cricket) 5; Oswald, Lovett, Aitchison, E. Jury (snooker) 12, v. Knox, Eshelby, Earle, Stltchbury (table tennis) 7; Potts, Richardson, Orlfliths, Lethcm (Association football) 8, v. Israel, R. H. Wilson, J. Hill, Keys (golf) 4; Swinton, It. Carbines, Oates, L. Jury (League football) !), v. Conway, Mayhill, Vincent, Addison (Rugby football) 0. Sccond Round. —Addison 21, v. Stltchbury 7; E. Jury 8, v. L. Jury 7; Keys 8, v. Donaldson 5; Francis .8, v. Letham 4. Third Round.—E. Jury 5, v. Donaldson 2; Francis 7, v. Stltchbury 7; L. Jury 6, v. L. Keys 3; Addison 9, v. Letham 2. Totals. —L. Jury, 3 wi,ns; Francis, 2J wins; E. Jury, Addison, 2 wins; L. Keys, Letham, 1 win; Stltchbury, 4 win; Donaldson, 3 losses. A pairs tourney has been substituted for the first-year fours event originally set down for this evening. LOCAL BODIES' COMPETITION.

Last year after the City Council v. Harbour Board howling match, when . the latter won, the Hospital Board, challenged the winners to a match of two rinks, and with the aid of the medical staff, won the match. This year the City Council teams beat those of the Harbour Board, and again the Hospital Board has asked for a two-rlnk match against the winners. Mr. J. B. Paterson, chairman of the Parks Committee of the City Council, is trying to arrange the match for some • time after Easter, and says that it would be a good thing if the Power Board and Transport Board could get teams together before the season closes, to meet teams from other local bodies, not so much in a keenly competitive spirit, but to foster the feeling of comradeship between the members of local Oodles. Mr. W. K. Howitt, who is arranging the teams for the Hospital Board, has submitted the names to Mr. Paterson. The Auckland Bowling Club has consented to allow the match to be played on their green as-*was the case last year.