BOWLING NOTES

Gisborne Times, Volume LV, Issue 6142, 28 July 1921, Page 3

BOWLING NOTES

BY TOUCHER

, ITS FIRST BIRTHDAY. On Thursday last the Poverty Bay Bowling Club celebrated its first birthday, when its first annual meeting was held. During this first year of its existence the new club has made wondrous strides. Less than twelve months ago the present green of the club was the. site of an old firewood yard. _ Now it is a thing of beauty and a joy for ever. Several gentlemen, chief among whom was Mr G. 'C. Munns, got busy less than twelve months ago and considered the time had arrived when the residents of Whataupoko should be furnished with a bowling green! They chose upon the location of the old •wood-yard as the most suitable, for the purposes of a bowling green, and ascertaining that the property was a borough reserve, they got.busy, and the Borough Council, looking upon the proposal with favor, as they saw the conversion of their property from an eyesore to a beauty spot, with no expense to themselves, would come about, granted an application by these gentlemen for the use of the property as a bowling green. To-day what a" change is there, ■ my brethren ! A bowling green, pleasant to look upon, and I doubt mot but that it will be ideal for play this next season, is now existent as a valuable asset to Whataupoko, the only sports ground, outside of tennis, that is playable in Whataupoko. For this pleasing state of affairs the thanks of the bowling community is due in the first place mainly to three gentlemen, Messrs. G. O. Munns, C. Matthews, and J. Greig. Mr Munns did the preliminary spade work in organising the chib, in seeking the co-operation of the sister clubs in extending the game of bowls. In this he was highly successful. To Mr C. Matthews the club is greatly indebted for financial assistance rendered at a period when the club had no status as an institution.' Had this monetary assistance not been forthcoming the club would not have been able to furnish its green. To Mr Greig the members of the club are indebted for the efficient state of the green thus early in its career. Mr Greig laid down the green, he worked at it himself, and time was nothing with him when matters relative to the green needed attention. He built the green; there is no question about it, and members . should not forget it when the club j thinks of electing life members. I Of course, in the execution of their various duties the members mentioned above had the assistance of other enthusiasts. Chief among these lias been Mr W. Paltridge who ascertain- i ed the levels of the green for the | club and lent his lawn mower to the ; club while the officials were awaiting the receipt of their own machine. Mr T. Corson gave Mr Grieg the benefit of his advice as to the preparation of the ground, Mr Corson having been on the Ground Committee of the Gisborne Club for several years previously, and was thus well qualified to give advice. The officials of the other two clubs gave their advice on all opints of club management, lent their plant to the new, club, and, I understand, the Gis- j borne Club lent their caretaker i n order to give the officials advice in ■ relation to their green. In other matters relative to the inside working of bowling clubs, freely given suggestions were much appreciated, | and when the rules of the club were , framed Mr J. Mahoney generously ; printed them, free of cost to the } club. Other members of the club displayed a generous spirit, as shown by J the gift of a seat by Mr. Gilbert ; Bull and a sprinkler by Mr Oxen- ; ham. Mr Paltridge showed his , generosity in the club’s initial stages j by throwing his green open _ to the new club, and at the same time providing the members with afternoon tea.

THE CLUB’S FINANCES. The hardest row that a bowling chib has to hoe is that relative to its j financial position. Some clubs are • fortunate in this respect, but such i are few and far between. Most clubs j are laden with overdrafts, debenture j Issues or other “monkeys.” The i Poverty Bay Club bas been fortunate j in having as president Mr C. Matt- • hews, who. as I have already stated, came to the assistance of the club in its initial stages. His effort allowed the club to get a footing, and the club has at present an overdraft somewhere in the region of £2OO. This load has to be carried by a J comparatively small membership, and j as I stated' in tins column some I months ago, the club will have, a , severe testing this coming _ season, j A number of enthusiasts assisted the I club financially during the past sea- j son, as they held the opinion that a j third club was necessary in the dist- i rict. These gentlemen, of course, I have not altered their opinion in this ! regard, hut they all do not see their ; way to further assist the club to the ! extent shown during the past soasin. On the other hand, there will no ' doubt he an accretion to the ranks of the members of those who were waiting to see the club established before joining, howlers who wished to have a decent green to play upon before leaving 'the club of which ' they are at present members. Lack of funds prevented the erection of a pavilion during the past season, but this difficultv is about to be overcome. . The club has decided to issue £1 debentures for a term of five years bearing interest at 7£ per cent. Two hundred and fifty of these will be floated, and I have no doubt but that members will take up the lot. This will allow the erection of a pavilion worthy of the club, especiv ally as the greater part of erecting the building will he done by voluntary labor of members. Another move with tho object of assisting the finances of the club was made at' the annual meeting' by the raising of the subscription from £2 2s to £3 3s. This was a step that I anticipated and stated was necessary when dealing with the affairs of this club some months hack, as I saw no hope of the club being run seuccessfully on a. two-guinea subscription. The club will also require more members. and I hope to see. it secure enough to put it on a solid basis financially. The present membership is 60—55 active and 5 honorary. THE OFFICIALS.

There was no doubt about it but that the members were unanimous in their approval of the work of the officers during the past season. This was shown fhen the election of officers came round.! Mr C. Matthews was re-elected as president, and I' fail to see ho,w the members could do otherwise. Mr Matthews had giv<&i the. club valuable financial assistance and there was no other way of showing their appreciation, than by re-electing that gentleman to the position of president. I hope to see Mr Matthews oftener on thegreen in the season to come and meet him in friendly rivalry in, the. good old game. Mr G. C. Munus again occupies the position of vice-president. and a worth ey occupant he is. Ho worked very hard in the club’s interests during the past season and no doubt

T4.E" PASTIME AND ITS PLAYERS

will work as hard in the season that is to come. He spared neither time nor trouble and without doubt is the right man in the right place. Mr S: O. Claro takes up the secretarial position for a further term. Last season- was his first year at howls, and of course Jio was handicapped by bis want of knowledge of the workings of a bowling club. He was, however, willing at all times to accept advice, and it was not long before he thoroughly grasped what was required of the position. He did himself and the club every credit, and members can rest assured lie will leave no stone unturned to further the best interests of the club in the season that is to come.

Mr H. R. Hendon is the treasurer, and he will have all his work cut one to show a balance on the right side next season. The members of the committee arc: Messrs J. Grieg, T. Corson, T. A. Crawford. G. T. Bull and J. S. Allen. The worl® of Mr Grieg in the interests of the club during the past year I have already commented upon, and he ■ has au able confrere on ground matters in Mr Corson. Mr T. A. Crawford is an enthusiast in the club’s welfare. During last season he coached the beginners and brought them on to such an extent that they were looked upon as players before the season ended. This duty is an onerous one and is not sought after by players generally. Any bowler who takes on coaching the young players is an enthusiast of the first water. Mr G. T. Bull took on bowls for the first time actively last season, aind is showing great promise at the game. He bring to the committee all the keenness of a young enthusiast. Mr J. S. Allen is the remaining committeeman. What he doesn’t know about the workings of a howling club isn’t worth knowing, for he was president of the Gisborne Bowling Club three seasons ago and is also a player of calibre. He is keen to see the game of bowls progress and is thus helping along the infant club. The club should enter upon its new year with every confidence. The finances of the club are most promising, the green is already showing the makings of an excellent sward, and with the erection of a pavilion arid the planting of the shrubs' promised by Mr Horton, the outlook for the future is full of promise. GISBORNE CLUB’S MEETING.

The annual meeting of the Gisborne Bowling Club takes place this evening in the Club’s pavilion, Kaiti. A largo attendance of the members is anticipated.

CARD TOURNAMENT. The inext card tournament between the Gisborne and Kahutia Clubs is set down to eventuate at the Kahutia’s Club pavilion on Friday, evening of next week. An enjoyable time is promised to those taking part. I hear that several bowlers are taking to heart the advice tendered by Sir James Carroll at the last gathering, when he advised bowlers to get together and go in for more harmony and part singing. These bowlers are now hard at practice with the verses I published lately, and in addition they are stated to be practising a song set to the tune of “There’s a Tavern in the Town.” The words are as follows:

Dear friends, let’s say ere we depart (we depart), We wish you well with all our heart (all our heart), And may we meet another day, When all the world is bright and gayChorus—

Fare thee well, mow we are leaving, And we all of us are. grieving, But ’tis true the very best of friends must part (must part). Adieu, adieu, kind friends, adieu, adieu, adieu, We can no longer stay with you (stay with you). , Then, here’s a cheer to the pals we leave behind, And may they keep us oft in mind. We sure will miss you cheery pards (cheery pards), Your famous prowess with the cards (with the cards), And most of all vour hospitality, Will long by us remembered be, Chorus. —Fare thee well, etc., etc. AUSTRALIAN BOWLING CARNIVAL. Bowlers from all parts of Australia. : recently assembled in Sydney to dei cide which was the pre-eminent State ;in the Commonwealth. As in tho 1 past, the Queensland howlers demoni started their superiority over New [ South Wales. They won the first | and second legs of the rubber. The | openin match resulted in Banainaj land’s favor by 11 points. In tho i next they were beaten by 9, hut m j the third they’ rubbed it home, as if \to show the New South Welsnmon i that they were nie*e?v tolerated on ’ the second day. Tho margin against i New South Wales was 35—no fewer. } Victoria, failed badly in that they j met defeat on all three days against > New South Wales. The first match I they lost by 24, the second by 17, j and the third by 8. In. their games against Victoria, ; the Tasman’an Cuviers met defeat. Victoria triumphed in the first match | by 111 to 63, and won tho second j match by 113 to 82, thus winning the rubber. Tasmania a 1 so met defeat j at the hands of New South Wales, j uie margin being "‘■' j oints. Tho South Australians won tlieir ! rubber. Until the last shot in tho j last head of tho last match had fini jshed rolling it looked as if 13 would . prove the margin in each of all three games. The visitors won the first, at Chats wood, by 13. They lost the second, at Beecroft, by 13 1 and. they won the third, at Randwick, by 12. j Had their surplus in the concluding | match been 13 —and the escape was ; very narrow—what a lot the supei i stitious would have, made out of it! I There, is good luck and ill luck m i 3 as well as 13, we are told. In [boxing we have the *‘devil’s round^ i tho 13th —and so superstitious is | the follower of tlio game that he sits I back when that stage is reached and looks for. something unusual—a great change in the tide of battle, or peri haps the finish. These occurrences are not seen in "the 13th round more t often than in any other period. Indeed, 13th rounds are most often . disappointing than not. Still, the 1 superstition' sticks.