BOWLING.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 12 July 1924, Page 10

BOWLING.

GAME PLAYED BY ANCIENT MAORI. * ‘ INTERESTING DISCOVERY. “Trundler” in the Auckland Star 'V as follows: When the president of the Auckland Centre,. Mr J- W. Hardley, officially onenecl the new club at Patumahoe last'December, he delivered an interesting historical address, in the course .of which he mentioned that the Maoris used to play bowls at Tauranga in the old cannibal days. Old stone bowls had been discovered shaped with a distinct bias, and tradition suggested that the game flourished splendidly until some of the competitors developed the disagreeable, habit of throwing these bowls at each others’ heads, instead of playing to the head that was being built round the jack.Apparently, a good m'any of Mr Hardley’s audience thought that he was romancing, and certainly a number of those who read about it were of that opinion, if one can judge by their com-, ments. It seems, however, that there is fairly conclusive evidence that the Maoris indulged in the ancient game, although unfortunately there is nothing of a documentary nature to support it, such as a minute book, a tournament certificate, or even a championship banner. This interesting discovery was made by Mr C. A. Semadini, ex-presi-dent of the Dominion Road Bowling Club, about 20 years ago, when he was stationed at Ta,uranga, prior to taking up his present appointment as" headmaster of Edendale school. While located at Tauranga he made a hobby of collecting ancient Maori curios, and he spent a good deal of his leisure time in searching in the neighbourhood of old Maori settlements.. Most of his finds were made near Mount Maunganui, where there were evidences of a former fairly dense population, and storms often moved the sand sufficient-, ly to disclose the sites of old dwellings near the beach. Among the discoveries made there, he found several stone discs, whiqh greatly aroused his curiosity. Some of his friends found others, and they called them “cheesestones,” from their resemblance to a small cheese. Probably most people would notice even a closer resemblance to an emery wheel, such as one often sees in an ironmonger’s window, for they look like one in size and material, with the notable difference that they have a distinct bias. On one occasion Mr Semadini and a friend found one of these stones, and his companion rolled it along the hard sand as they walked along the beach at low water.' It ran with a wide and regular curve, and his companion remarked that “the ancient Maori must have played the ancient game of bowls.” Neither of them took it seriously, however, until Mi- Semadini came" across the following passage in “Gpptain Cook’s Voyages,” in his account of the Sandwich Island natives: “They play at bowls with pieces of whetstone, mentioned before, of almost a pound weight, shaped somewhat like a small cheese, but rounded at the sides and edges, which are very nicely polished; and they have other bowls of the same sort, made of a heavy reddish-brown clay, neatly glazed over with a composition of the same colour, or of a coarse darkgrey slate.” This coincidence was altogether too striking to he overlooked, as anyone will admit who c-ares to go to the Auckland Museum and have a good look at them, and the finder had to come to the conclusion that the stones he had discovered were really howls, and that the sport of howling must have been indulged in at Tauranga. in ancient times. Most likely the game was played on. the hard level sand at low water. Captain Cook does not mention the kind of ground on which the Sandwich Islanders played, hut it would probably be on the heac-h. On a lawn they are rather heavy, but on an asphalt court they run auite easily, and even two of them which seemed to the eye to have no bias (or bevel on the circumference) curved quite sft from a straight line in travelling 20 yards. Hard sand would form a splendid bowling “green” for the Maoris, and if it became cut up after a few games there would be no trouble in shifting to another “rink.”

Altogether Mr Semadini retained nine of these stone bowls. Their average weight is 41b 9oz, average diameter SJ, inches, and average thickness nearly 3 inches. It seems possible that Captain Cook underestimated the weight of the Sandwich Island bowls, of which there are some specimens in the British Museum, for the late Mr Cheesemnn had a drawing of one. which was 3£ inches across, very similar in design to the Maori stones, and one of the latter

that is only slightly larger weighs more than 4i-lb. This drawing is in Heape and Partington's work on “Polynesian Ethnography,” and it may be* mentioned that this Sandwich Island game, is described in Byron’s “Voyages” and in Ellis’ “Journey Through Hawaii.” A critical examination of the Maori howls fails to show whether they had a system of howl-testing, such as is now Worrying the modern howler, for their shape varies a good deal. Some have a most noticeable bevel on the running surface, and they look as if they would almost describe a semi-circle in reaching the jack on an ordinary length. Others of them have practically a flat circumference, and appear to‘depend on a slight projection on one side to give them the necessary bias, just as our wooden bowls do. * Probably the former were used by the skips, a*s thev would have no difficulty in getting round all the short “timber,” while .6 latter would no doubt be popular with those leads who like “nokers” that will only iust pass the test. After examining these old and worn Maori howls, so old that even their traditions hardly touch them, what becomes of the claim of the Manlv Club m Sydney, that they have “probably the oldest pair of bowls in existence?” they even siiggest that it was the very pair that Sir Francis Drake used oh Plymouth Hoe in 1588, but the trouble fis that our friends- in Australia give so little, information to substantiate their claim. For instance, there was recently the reiterated claim that the Parramatta was the oldest club in the Antipodes. And yet Mr J. C. Redmond, ot the Wellington Bowling Club, who has indulged in a great deal of Research on the matter of bowling history, proved to them two or three years ago, on their own green, that the claim was quite untenable. He showed them that then- first rinks were only laid down in 1870, whereas the Auckland green was opened in -1862, the club having been formed the previous year. Also the )' mdsor Club was formed in Melbourne m 1864, so that both are far older than the Parramatta.

_ The bowling writer in the Sydney Referee recently stated that in the days of Drake they used stone bowls, so that this is rather severe on the Manly claim. It is also severe on the claim of a member of the Timaru Club, who has iii his locker the identical pair of wooden bowls that Drake used in his historic game. His wife is a direct descendant of Sir Francis Drake, and the bowls have been handed down throygh the ages. Possibly some of our bowlers who are at the British Empire Exhibition may be able to find out a little more about the ancient history of how but until there comes, a claim substantiated by “better evidence than has so far been forthcoming, it would appear that the oldest wooden bowls in the Southern Hemisphere are the pair that are carefully guarded at the Auckland Club, the oldest club in the Southern Hemisphere. These weigh onlv 21b ojoz and 21b respectively, although of solid heavy wood, like lignum vitae, and they are well worn with constant use, although far smaller than any of which there is any record or picture. As for the oldest bowls of any kind, it is ’ difficult to olaee a date on the stone bowls found by Mr Semadini, or which he has presented some to the Auckland Museum, but. as Maori tradition cannot recall any exact details of the game, it is more than probable that they do not belong to the present race of Maori at all, but to tlio ancient j*ace that held sway here prior to their arrival about 525 years* ago. If any of the present members of the Tauranga Bowling Club can find any old Maori traditions bearing on the ancient game of bowls, it will be a pleasure tomublish the result of their researches.