BOWLING

Evening Star, Issue 18808, 5 December 1924, Page 4

BOWLING

[By Measurer.]

With courteous consideration for thoss bowlers who have time to give an occv sional thought to other pastimes, the Centre Executive arranged no matches for last Saturday, as a trotting meeting wak being held at Forbury Pane. Some enthusiasts, who have no time for “ Trotsky,” are emphatic that such an interregnum is wicked; but the voice of the selector (whose worries are increased a hundredfold on race Saturdays) carries weight, and perhaps it is ns well. Too much of any one thing—bowls or alcoholic liquor is an evil. Caversham and Taieri took advantage of the off day to decide their four-rink game, alluded to later on. St. Kiida, too, who have a gala day next Saturday, had made arrangements to go to Green Island and anticipate the twosection club fixture. Unfortunately rain interfered .with tho game when it waa about -two-thirds through. The position then was that St. Kiida was 9 down in one section and 5 down in the other. By the conditions governing the interclub contests, the Centre Executive will now decide whether the game shall start afresh or be resumed with tho scores as they at present stand.

The other two sections for which St, Kiida was engaged this week, against Anderson Bay, were decided on Tuesday evening, when the Bay men were easily defeated. Leith Club, the new bowling organisation of the north end of the city, had its formal opening last Saturday. Special significance attaches to this club. It is the first formed on a public reserve in Dunedin, therefore the nearest approach to a public green we have. All tho same,at is not a municipal green in the true sense. Private interests still have fl;e main say. The time has vet to arrive (it must come) when real public greens, open to everyone under defined conditions, will he available to all and sundry. To revert to Leith Club specially: The gentlemen interested, with Mr John Gray as president and Mr 11. Rowley as secretary, have done wonders. Granted a portion of tho Woodhaugh Gardens, and also allowed the assistance of Mr Tannock, in the course of a few months a great change has been made on the spot selected. Tire new green is picturesquely situated, just off the Woodhaugh road, best approached by Quinton avenue, a few yards past Duke street, via George street. It is 110 ft x 110 ft in size, with a spacious croquet green alongside. There is plenty of room between the green and the Woodlmngh mad for a pavilion after the necessary filling-in is done, and it may be reasonably .supposed that in a year or two Leith Club will really count. The memersbhip at present, of course, is only medium—in the neighborhood of forty or more—but it must increase. 'Die colors of the club, as worn by the president and secretary last Saturday, are neat —dark brown with gold edging and facing, No permanent appointment as greenkeepei has yet been made, but Mr Mitchell, wlm will he remembered in connection with Otago, Dunedin, and St. Kiida greens, is lending valuable advice and assistance. At the opening on Saturday last (a full account of which lias already appeared in the ‘ Star ’) the green was naturally a bit rough and uncertain : but it is astonishing what improvement is possible before the season closes. Leith Club may take it that (lie best wishes of other clubs attend its advent. Tho opening ceremony, at any rule, was quite a success.

The four-rink champion games are now fairly going. Ca.vor.sham met Taievi last Saturday afternoon and got homo by 4 points—B7 to 83. By mutual arrangement twenty-one beads were played in this match. Fur Caversham, Tretheway beat Davidson by 25 to 21, Portcous beat Allan 29 to 16, and Forrester beat Mackio 23 to 15. For Taieri, the veteran Carswell nearly pulled the game out of the fire by scoring 51 to Thomson’s 10, By the way, had the match been decided on tire sixteenth head, ns set out' in the rules, Taieri would have won, having a, lead of half a dozen points or so at that period. An intensely exciting- game resulted when Balmacewcri and Dunedin met. The hill club may not bo formidable in iulevclub matches, whom its fullest numerical strength is exerted in the laudable desire to give all members a game; but it can raise four handy rinks which are likely to push (be best’of them. Dunedin Club found it so. Two Balmacewen rinks were ahead, Wright scoring 20 to Stewart’s 15, and Ferguson leading Neill by 17 to 15. For Dunedin, Hogg scored 15 to Buchan’s 10, and S. Hutchison 14 to Lambeth’s 9, with* the result that Dunedin won by a single point—67 to 56. As will be seen by the figures, Hutchison and Lambeth had a very keen game, only 25 being scored on tho sixteen heads. They wore the last to finish, and on the final head Lambeth was lying a tie with five shots till Hutchison sent up his last bowl, which, fortunately for his side, turned a. bowl in for fifth shot.

Mornington and Koslyn hud a great fight. So close was it that a tie resulted, and an extra, head had to bo played between Hardie, jun. (Mornington), and C. Anderson (Roslyn). Hardie scored 5 in this, and Mornington won by SI to 40. As showing how evenly the. whole game was contested the, following scores are given (Mornington names first): Thompson 9, Wedderspoon 10; Holguin 12, Wilkinson 11 ; Whelan 14, Barnett 15; Hardie 16, C. Anderson 14. The most striking feature in the game between Green Island and Huori, which went in favor of the former by 65 to -W, was Carswell’s defeat by Sloan \2r'i to 9). The other rinks ’ropt else. West Harbor had a rather easy win against Anderson Bay by over a score of points. W. Connor (West Harbor) and Campbell tied; the other three rinks were in Die Harbor men’s favor. In (he first Wednesday rink game. Kaituna played Mornington at Kaituna, and recorded'a win by a narrow margin. Mr W. ¥.. S. Knight, who waS playing lead (or Kaituna, renewed acquaintance with Mr Orr, one of the Mornington rink. These gentlemen had played together when boys ;it .Miller’s Flat in 1365, and had never met in the interim. It seems strange that, while both have been living in Dunedin for some years, thev had rim into one another until that day. Needjess to say, they had a good deal to chat over about the incidents of sixty-one years ago. The club ties arc moving on steadily, but no games of particular interest have taken place in the hist week. On Tuesday last an enjoyable afternoon was held, when three rounds of mixed progressive doubles were played, twenty-two members of the ladies’ club and fourteen of the men’s club participating. Miss Adams, with three wins, proved the winning lady skip, and Mrs W. .1. Crawford, Miss Coull, and Miss M'Beath, each with three wins, were, the winning lady leads. Mr A. M'Kenzie ran the competition with bis usual thoroughness, and the afternoon wa.i altogether very successful. A gala day has been arranged for tomorrow by St. Kilda Club, when all sorts of attractions are promised on the club’s green. The idea is to raise a sufficient sum to wipe out an annoying overdraft, and the club’s lady friends have for weeks past, been exerting themselves in this cause —and with success. To-morrow sees_ the culmination of their efforts, and, given fine weather, the green should be a merry spot. Drawing and driving competitions will be held, and all kinds of other devices will be used to make as poorer than we already are, if such a thing be. possible. It is certain that things will be lively, even i? it do%s cost a shilling or so. St. Clair Club has suffered another serious loss through the sudden calling away of Mr Hugh Russell. Though taking on the game only a season or two ago, ho was a playing member of real use in matches, being a serviceable load. Apart from that, he was a good club man—one of the obliging and sportsmanlike-type. Wellington ‘ Times ’ writer says that so far no official communication has been received by the Dominion Council with respect to the proposed visit of bowlers from tne United Kingdom during next season ; but there are evidences that such a trip is contemplated. Mr M. Orchard lias already wirtten to tbe,m’esid*n*- 43—ia—-

minion Association, stating that ho has received a communication to the effect that the visit'has been definitely decided upon. Lately inquiries have been made by the High Commissioner’a Office in London as to the facilities that would be offered to the visitors in travelling by rail and by steamer in New Zealand, and as- to the consideration they are likely to receive in the way of accommodation here. It is understood that the Department of Internal Affairs is making inquiries into the matter, and will report to the High Commissioner. This may be a convenient way of securing the information, but it seems strange that up to the present the Dominion Association has not been communicated with officially. Already a largo number of applications are being received Jrom the Various centres desirous of being included in the itinerary of the visitors. The headquarters of the association will be at Dunedin when the English bowlers are in New Zealand, and the arrangements for the tour will probably be made from there. It is proposed to Include Australia in the tour; hut, as the time occupied in coming so long a distance and the expenses in connection with the trip are so great, it would he a pity if the time spent in New Zealand is unduly curtailed. We have so many unique natural features in New Zealand'which would interest the visitors that a comprehensive tour should be planned in order that they may bo able to see all the interesting parts of the dominion, quite apart from enjoyinc the pleasures of the bowling green. To do this thoroughly irnn'd nr-cnov no less than six weeks. It is noted that the visitors intend to come without any followers, and the absence of women folk would make it possible to arrange a pleasurable tour without it baimr too much of a tax. The recent argument over three or five games for the pairs at the association tournament at Wellington in January next has provoked some feeling between Auckland and Wellington, which can ho guessed at from the following, extracted from the Wellington * Times-Auckland leads, and the rest of New Zealand follows," is now' becoming such, a commonplace that the domination of Auckland is even felt in the game of bowls. The Dominion Tournament Committee, which comprises the Wellington tjembers of the dominion executive and representatives from the Wellington Centre, in its good judgment, considered that three games of sectional play was the best for the dominion pairs in order that finality might be reached in the first week of the tournament. The Auckland bowlers, led by their representatives on the Dominion Association and the prolific writers of the Press, rose up in arms and objected. The result is that the Executive Committee has decided to _ amend tire programme so as to meet the wishes of the northern objectors. The tournament may be unnecessarily strung out in consequence, but who cares so long as Auckland is pleased?