ROWING

Grey River Argus, 25 March 1940, Page 9

ROWING

-hBBWELLINGTON, March 23. In conditions contrasting with those at the time of th<s New Zealand championship rowing regatta, at Wellington, to-day’s race for the interprovincial eight-oared 'championship was won convincingly by Wanganui. The weather was perfect. The course was two and three-quarter miles from Ngahauranga to Petone. Wellington and Auckland showed out in the lead momentarily, but after half a mile, Wanganui had gone to the front and steadily increased the lead to win by three lengths, with Wellington taking second place from Auckland by a length. WELLINGTON. March 24. Giving a lesson in rowing to representatives of the three other competing provinces, Otago, Auckland, and Wellington, Wanganui won the Centennial eight-oared race by three lengths from Wellington on the Korokoro course Wanganui was represented by the crew from the Aramoho Club which finished second to New South Wales at the championship regatta. They rowed a steady thirty-two strokes to the minute throughout the race and were never bustled, pulling gradually away from the three other starters almost from the start. Wellington and Otago had a hard tussle for. second, Wellington finishing in a hard sprint to secure a length advantage. Weather conditions for the race were ideal and a big crowd watched from special trains. Wanganui’s win brings them equal to Otago’s record of six victories in the series.

An interesting aspect of the race from the Christchurch point of view was the fact that Wellington was coached by F. Oborn, a well-known Christchurch oarsman, who was bow in the winning Canterbury crew when the first interprovincial eight-oared race was held in 1928.