Sacred Heart College.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 150, 26 June 1937, Page 5 (Supplement)

Sacred Heart College.

He was the first of them to gain All Black honours, playing for Xew Zealand against New South Wales in 1921. Unfortunately an injury caused his early retirement from the game. Another old boy who distinguished himself as the All Black who scored the greatest number of tries in the crack 1924 team in the United Kingdom and Fiance is A. G. Hart, one of the speediest wingers the Dominion has produced. In 1928 New Zealand defeated Xew South Wales at Wellington after a hard game. Twelve of Xew Zealand's points were accounted for by X. Bradanovitch, whose ability to kick goals undoubtedly saved the day. Xick repeated his performance at Dunedin three days later.

Athol Mahoney, of Bush Districts, is the latest old boy to acquire fame as an All Black, having made two trips to Australia in 1929 and 1934, and the tour of the United Kingdom with the 1935 team. That he represented New Zealand in each of the four Tests is sufficient tribute to his ability as a loose forward.

A New South Wales repr-esenta-tive, Ernie Reid, was one of the best all-round sportsmen to attend Sacred Heart College, being captain of the first XV'., a member of the first XI., senior handball and boxing champion and a member of the first swimming team. In Australia he played regularly for New South Wales, and toured New Zealand with Tom Law ton's team in 1925.

New Zealand University representatives l>esldes Bradanovitch, include W. Barker, N. Goodson, J. Molloy and J. McVeagh (who recently toured Japan with the University team), while the list of old boys who have attained provincial honours is formidable.

Very rarely does one hear of a schoolboy representing his province while still at school. This, however, wjb the experience of the school halfback, P. Oteen, in 1913. Several of the representative games were Raufurly Shield frames and included the match against Wellington.

Nor has cricket been neglected at the college. Outstanding among old boys in this sport is N. C. Sneilden, a most versatile cricketer, who has captained Auckland and New Zealand, and is at present a Dominion selector. He represented Auckland

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from 1009 to 1928, while he played for Xew Zealand in Australia in 191.1-14 and in Xew Zealand 1920-21 and 1922-23, being captain in the last season. A brother, Cyril, 'tiso represented Auckland, ar.d hi.-s century against Hawke's. Bay still stands as the sole instance of a

player registering a century in his initial Phinket Shield match. Nesbitt also made his century that day, the only occasion where brothers have registered centuries in Phinket Shield games. Cyril is now president of the Xew Zealand Rugby League. A third brother, K.A., who lost a leg at the war, also showed brilliant promise at the game. Sacred Heart College has produced some fine athletes and it is significant that many of the athletic achievements belong to the jumping sphere—hurdles, high and long jumping, and the hop, step and jump events. Indeed, remarkable is the fact that of the only five New Zealanders. who have topped Oft in the high jump, three—P. P. Haekett, E. Brady and M. Farrell—are former pupils of Sacred Heart College. Phil. Haekett, a Xew Zealand high jump champion, while still at school, revealed a penchant for high jumping, clearing si"t 7iin, a New Zealand schoolboy record. Fred Brady won the Xew Zealand high jump title in 1930. Matt Farrell was for five years high jump, long jump and hop, step and jump champion of Canterbury.

One of the most striking personalities of the running track in New Zealand was Koger Lander, who, when senior athletic champion at the college in 1920, established the school hurdle* record, thus presaging his subsequent prowess and ability as a hurdler. He won the New Zealand 120 yards title for successive years. Besides this he* won the 440 yards hurdles and discus throwing titles —both New Zealand and Otago —but his best performance was in 1927, when he won the 120 yards title at Auckland, in time equalling the Australasian record. He won the Australasian "title at Wellington the same year. Other prominent athletes include Guy McLeod and J. Prendergast, Xew Zealand University champions. T. Vangioni, former Wellington 14U yards hurdles champion, G. Ball. Otago, R. Callinan, former pole vault and 440 yarcU hurdles chain-

pier., of Hawke's Bay, and N. Mc Carthy, well-known walker.

One of the most promising athletes the college has produced of recent years is E. Wordsworth. Besides being a member of the first XV. and the XL, lie was senior swimming champion and holder of four senior athletic records. At the Auckland secondary schools' sports he won the SSO yards in the officii 1 Xew Zealand schools' record time of 2.2 2-r>. As a result of this performance he was chosen to represent the Xew Zealand secondary schools at the inter-Empire games held in Melbourne. Boxing has always been fostered at the college, and many clever and robust exponents have* been produced. Matt Hatton, winner of ■several Xew Zealand and Australian boxing championships, is perhaps the best known, while T. Mullins, New Zealand amateur light-heavvweight champion of 1930, J. O'Sullivan, New Zealand bantam-weight title holder of 1924, K. David, recent holder of the heavy-weight title of the South •Seas, are others. In 1929 no fewer than four of the finalists in the New Zealand Universities tournament were old Sacred Heart College boys.

The present single sculls champion of New Zealand, Bob Smith, is an old boy of the college. He represented the Dominion at the Empire Games in Melbourne. Another old boy, Leo Qnin, was New Zealand amateur golf champion in 1924. In 1927 he was a member of the New Zealand Kirk-Windeyer Cup team in Australia.

Swimming and diving have always lieen fostered at "the school, and o*ld boys in the persons of W. Hassan, several times New Zealand diving champion, and D. Shanahan, one time Xew Zealand intermediate swimming champion and Auckland record holder, have excelled in these eports.

In the skiing world Brian Murphy, an old boy of recent years, has held the Ruapehu, Egmont and Taranaki championships, and last year was runner-up in the New Zealand championships.

Finally. Sacred Heart ran claim an heroic but tragic connection with the Melbourne Centenary air race. Flying Officer Oilman, who was killed in Italy in the course of the race, being an ex-pupil. "Light blue and dark blue, The colours of our school, Heart true and hand true, We'll make those colours rule; Try boys—we'll try, boy.*, To keep them pure and [iron.l; High ltovs —on high, bovs. We'll 'lift their praises loud.'" The foregoing are the word- i»f the refrain of the college sun;:, eu.uposcd by Roderick Quinn, the uvllknown Australian poet. Readers may j'uoge for tlieni-. i. m whether or not the linjn of S.i. i>-«1 Heart College have carried the banner of victory on many a far-flung field. Much, no doubt, U due to after-school development, but miiXi. very much, is owing to the solid training they received, at their alma mater, where they learned that the first victory to be gained was the one over self. "Confortare esto vir" (Take courage and be a maul is the sterling motto of the scho.d. and many a boy found his manhood at Sacred Heart College. Sport, no doubt, played its part, as also did the academic knowledge acquired, but the foundations were much deeper etill in the solid moral and religious training without which all other is of litUe worth.