OTAGO CURLING

Evening Star, Issue 22086, 20 July 1935, Page 10

OTAGO CURLING

EARLY DAYS OF THE SPORT When Scotsmen are to be found together with any thickness of ice, there will oihj find the game or curling played. There was nothing more natural, therefore, than , for the Scottish settlers in Central Otago in the early days to , play the roarin game.” . , .... ■ The game was first introduced, from Scotland by Mr Watson Shennon, one of the large landholders on the Maniototo Plains, who imported a number of stones from Scotland with the object of keeping his station hands amused during the long arduous winter months. The game spread to other districts and in the Royal Caledonian Curling Club’s annual of 1887-88—its 49th issue—a copy of , which is in the possession of Mr J. Francis of Naseby, we find the New Zealand province affiliated with six clubs, representing Blackstone Hill, Dunedin, Kyeburn, Mount Ida, Otago Central, - and Upper Manuherikia. Of these the Mount Ida Club appears to be the senior, it having been admitted to the Royal Caledonian Curling Club in 1873. The Dunedin Club, however _ was formed the following year and affiliated with the parent body at the same time. Mention of the Dunedin Curling Club will remind the older generation of the hard winters which were the rule many years ago, when curling and skating were carried out on the pond at the Woodhaugh Gardens. This fact proves that the winters experienced in Dunedin nowadays are mild in comparison with those of the early days of the city. As an example of the keenness displayed by the curlers, one year a party made the trip from Dunedin in an open horse-drawn brake in the depth of winter to play a series of games against the curlers of Naseby. It is said,that the trip occupied three days each way, a striking contrast to the party of Dunedin motorists which intends to travel up one day, have their curling, and return the following day. Many of the early curlers were wellknown men, who are remembered to this day. The Dunedin Club had Mr George H. Moodie as president and Mr James Anderson as vice-president, while Dr D. M. Stuart was the club’s chaplain. The committee included Messrs William Wright, John M'Neill, James Jack, Angus M'Diarmid. David Baxter, and W. 0. Smith, while looking at random through the list of ordinary members one sees such well-known names as Thomas Brydone, James

Scoular, John Watson, John Ogg* George Gather, J. G. Denniston, Alex* ander Burt, James Edgar, J. M.Ritchie, John Roberts, and James Allen. At that time Sir Robert and Lady Stout were patron and patroness of the Otago Central Club, and Sir A. and Lady Hamilton Gordon filled a similar position with the Mount Ida Club. A reminder of the large number of Chinese who were working on the goldfields at that time is the name of Ah Wah in the. list of members of the Otago Central Club. He appears to be the only member of his race to have turned his talents in that direction. The present-day curlers, many of them no longer young, are not a whit less keen than their predecessors, and on the day of the bonspiel they travel over distances up to 40 miles to start play at 8 o’clock in the morning. Not content with the daylight hours, curling brethren in the vicinity of Oturehua have this season turned night into day with the assistance of powerful flares, and until a late hour one can hear the “ bir-r-r-f ” of the stones sliding over the ice, and the cries of the skips as they direct the play of their team mates at the other end of the rink. . • ~ There are no distinctions on the me during the curling, and a spirit of good comradeship is manifested. A bad shot is never played; it is either “a nice stone,” “ neatly placed,” or “a good try.” This is an example of the feehng of good-fellowship on the ice. If a remark was, passed. about a bad. shot the player might be hurt, so he. is praised for a good try. Curling is a sport which all classes may follow. There are farmers, miners, ministers of the Gospel, and policemen all mingling without that feeling of professional or class distnction which is so often felt. In New Zealand the curling season is a comparatively short one, but while it last* it provides sport of a very high order.