TOPICAL TATTLE

Evening Star, Issue 21958, 19 February 1935, Page 15

TOPICAL TATTLE

NEWSY NOTES ON SPOUT in, H.p..-.. Visiting Milton over 'the week-end was’Hon. James M'Leod, one of New Zealand’s best-known Rugby administrators and a man who is regarded as being one of those : most prominently in the running for a position as a delegate to the conferelice.to be held in England during the'tour of the All Blacks. Mi’ M'Leod has, been chairman of the Taranaki Rugby Union for a period of 25 years, and in its jubilee year this season is being tipped off as the next president. He has the unique distinction of having accompanied bn its tour every Taranaki Rugby team that has come south since 1903. 'He is the only man who/has been president of the New Zealand Rugby 'Union twice, and besides his Rugby activities he is a member of the Racing Conference, and was at’ one time actively associated with the New Zealand 1 Athletic'and Cycling Union, the controlling body in professional athletics. His wide knowledge of the Rugby game aud his fine personality would make him an admirable delegate. Jim M'Leod is one of the best fellows associated with the Rugby game in the dominion. * * * * One of the most popular swimmers to visit Dunedin —he came here several times at the invitation of the Otago Centre and of the Kiwi Amateur Swimming Club—was Eddie M'Conville, one of the best performers Canterbury has developed in recent years. Eddie is to be lost to Canterbury swimming, as he is leaving for England in the near future. He was met last week by members of ! the Christchurch and United Swimming Clubs and Taylor’s Mistake Surf Club, which made him presentations,'reference being hiade' to the good work'Mr M'Gomrille had done towards fostering swimming. » * * * At the age of 64 and despite poor health Harry Yardon, most famous of all golf professionals, has found a new interest in life. He, is superintending the reconstruction of his home course, the South'Herts Club.' His physical condition is such that he is forbidden to play golf, but his affection for South ■ Hefts, whbre he is a life member is extraordinary, and ho is rarely absent from the ‘course. ' Vardon has been serving the'club for 30 years, and when he was the British open champion—a title he won six times—he refused one of the largest offers ever made to a professional to join an American club, Vardon toured the United States on several occasions and was successful in the American open championship in 1900. His effortless style and faultless golf greatly impressed American players. It is still a. favourite topic whether Vardon or R. T. Jones, he American wizard, was the finest golfer ever to swing a club. « * * # The ‘ Westport Times ’ has a paragraph concerning the ex-New Zealand walking champion G. S. Cabot as follows:—“ The most interesting and enlightening performance as far as the younger generation of Westport was concerned was the walking exhibition of R. (this should be G. S.) Cabot, Otago and ex-New Zealand champion, who covered a circuit in faultless style. Not many of the crowd had had the pleasure of witnessing a walker in action, and the speed and ease with which Cabot covered the ground came as a revelation.” In a letter to “ H.P.S.” Cabot states that the Westport Club has a weekly evening meeting each Thursday, and it is really well attended —in fact, better than evening meetings in the main centres, and especially Dunedin. The members are very enthusiastic, and on the night of Cabot’s exhibition walk Eddie Holder, the All Black footballer and star sprinter on the Coast, ran against a whippet, and after giving away 40yds in 120 tho dog won. The club is a live body and is getting its team fit for Canterbury championships. * * * * The possible formation of a Southland centre of the New Zealand Amateur Athletic Association was referred to by Mr R. J. Smith, one of the soundest administrators associated with amateur athletics in Otago or Southland, at a social function in Invercargill on Saturday night after the Southland championships. Mr Smith said the matter had not yet been gone into fully, and he thought the time not quite ready, but he pointed out that if the sport in Southland continued to expand it would not be such a long time before the Southland Centre again came into existence. * * * * The Australian open golf champion. W. Bolger, intends to compete in the British open championship at Muirfield in June next. Sarazen, it may be recalled, when in Sydney, was impressed by Bolget’s form, and contributed £SO to a fund of £3OO that has been raised to cover Bolger’s 1 expenses for a trip to England this year. « * * • The Grange Cricket Club’s weekly euchre was held in the pavilion on Wednesday last. the winners being: Ladies, Mrs Gifford and Mrs Campbell; men, Mr W. Larkins and Mr Sutherland. » • « • Still another Australian cricketer seems likely to listen to the appeal of the Lancashire League, for T. Trembath, the Carlton fast bowler, is considering a suggestion that he should go to England and play League cricket (says an Australian writer). Trembath, who came to Victoria from South Australia, is a bowler of promise. He is built much on the lines of Larwood, and commands considerable pace. Playing with Carlton in pennant matches last season he took forty-two wickets at an average cost of 15,78 rims each. He was a member of the Victorian second eleven which visited Sydney recently.

The Otago Annual Regatta Committee is deserving of the highest praise for The way it has gone about its organisation of the South Island championship regatta at Port Chalmers on Saturday next, and with such a splendid representation of oarsmen from Otago and Southland the rowing events should be productive of a very high standard of keen competition. Although members of the Otago team will not have returned from the New Zealand national championships at Auckland the swimming events will be well contested, and the competitors will include members of the Otago team which won the War Memorial Shield at the New Zealand intermediate and junior championships at Timaru recently.

* * * * The only lady among the judges of the diving at the New Zealand national championships at Auckland is Miss D. Brown, of Canterbury, who also acted in a similar capacity at the intermediate and junior championships' at Timaru. Besides being such a capable official, Miss Brown is an fait with everything concerning the administration of the sport, and if ever anyone deserved to have the distinction of being awarded a New Zealand blazer it is Miss Brown. Two other officials who have acted at both meetings for years past and who were among those appointed for Auckland are Messrs O. Bryant (the doyen of starters) and L. Annand (who is convener of the swimming judges). « * • » Here, surely, is a unique golfing feat. It was accomplished by A. C. Beck, the Sherwood Forest professional, in a Nottinghamshire Alliance tournament at Radcliffe-on-Trent recently. Beck actually halved every one of the eighteen holes with bogey! He had only to hole putts to win on several greens, but missed them, and as a result his figures were exactly the same ns bogey—72. Many competitors beat bogey at some holes, and lose to the mythical “ Colonel ” at others, but for steadiness this golf by Beck is astonishing- ■ * • • At the West Coast (North Island) track and'field championships ilext Saturday. the ex-New Zealand champion, Don Evans, will contest the 440yds, 880yds, and one mile championships.

Presuming that C. K. Jackman is available his omission from the Canterbury side to play against Otago this month is rather hard to understand (sftys the ‘Star’). He has not been given a chance of Canterbury honours for the last five years, during which time he has been keeping so well that he deserved a trial at least, but he was selected fpr the South Island v. North Island match, in which he gave an excellent exhibition. Now, after a good showing in such an important match, he is dropped again. There are no material changes in the team, even though, with the shield won already, there was a golden opportunity to see how some of the younger players, such as Newton, of Sydenham, would fare against representative opposition.

An incident which caused considerable amusement among both players and spectators was witnessed in the first grade cricket match between Parnell and North Shore at Eden Park on Saturday. Owing to the North and South Island match depleting the numhers of both sides, the teams were obliged to call upon one another for substitutes. In Parnell’s second innings one of the batsmen hit a soft catch to deep mid-off, which the fieldsman, who was a ( Parnell player, dropped. Spectators on the bank humorously tried to give a significance to the happening, but their comments were drowned by laughter when off the next ball, which was declared a no-ball by the "umpire, the batsman hit another catch to the same fieldsman, who made no mistake on this occasion. # » » » Instead of making a profit of £SOO or at least “ breaking even,” the Victorian Amateur Athletic Association, in conjunction with the Victorian Centenary Celebrations Council, will lose between £SOO and £6OO on the Centenary Games, which concluded on the Melbourne Cricket Ground recently. In making this statement the secretary of fh® V.A.A.A. (H. R. Weir) said that the directors of the carnival were in no way disappointed, because from a publicity and propaganda point of view the, visit of the internationals had been worth while. The performances of local athletes had provided a clue to Australia’s Olympic chances. Some time ago the Centenary Council had agreed, to support the venture up to £I,OOO on a 50-50 basis, sharing the profits and losses alike. * * * * R. W. Coupland, the former Otago rep, cricketer, captained Canterbury’s •team against the West Coast last week. * * * * A swimming romance which had its inception at the British Empire Games in London last August ia revealed by tho announcement from Toronto of the engagement of Miss Irene Pirie, Canada’s pretty all-round free style champion, to Fred Milton, popular long-distance champion swimmer. They both reaped laurels at the Empire Games at Wembley, and there appeared to fall in love at first sight. The wedding is slated for next May at London. * # * » Walter Jarvis’s brilliant win of the 100yds title in 55 2-ssec at the Npw Zealand national senior swimming championships at Auckland not only represented the fastest swim eßer put up in a national championship event, but it was only the second time the event—the ” blue ribbon” of the New Zealand swimming—has been won by an Otago competitor. Just thirty-one years ago, H. A.- Creaghe won the title at Lyttelton, in 67 3-ssec. Old-time swimming enthusiasts will remember Creaghe who came to Dunedin from Queensland, and did not remain long after he had won the New Zealand championship. Jarvis’s win was all the more impressive by reason of the fact that almost on the eve of the championships his training was interrupted by tho injury to his left shoulder. Comment from Auckland is to the effect that Jarvis was accorded an enthusiastic reception after his victory, and it is apparent that his style of swimming has impressed northerns just as much as has been the case with Otago swimming followers. * • ♦ .« •

The Auckland Swimming Centre has shown not only commendable wisdom, but admirable sportsmanship in deciding after all to hold the low board section of the New Zealand diving ehamuionships at the tepid baths, and the high board dives at the Mount Eden Baths, ft decided that it would be unsatisfactory to bold the championships from a punt moored in the harbour, and has now decided on action which was the subject of suggestion made by the Otago Centre in its protest to the Now Zealand Council. The Auckland Centre could very easily have decided to carry on just the same, but it has adppted the sporting attitude, and this will be appreciated by other centres throughput the dominion*