NORMANBY ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 75, 29 December 1880, Page 3

NORMANBY ATHLETIC SPORTS.

President, Lieutenant • Colonel Roberts; VITOTPTOSKfattti, Major 2?oalw t * ire&sw y, Mr. a. Dacre ; secretary, Mr. A. G. Brett ; judge, Mr. T. Wolner ; starter, Mr. J. Ash ton; clerk of the course, Mr. W. '. Vine ; - committee, Messrs. C. R. Wreford, B. Dacre, S. Gray, M. Johnston, P, 22. TZrebb, Jos. Ho\>Bbn r &. 3>B»t, W.Lookington, T. Mabey, T. "Wolner, J. ABhton, N. Johnston, J. D' Alton, A. G. Brett.

The third anniversary sports took place at Normanby on Monday last, which was observed as a genera] holiday, B©2U»£ Day having fallen upon Sunday this year. There -was a large gathering of people, considering the population of the district — probably about 700 to 800 at one part el lib© day — many of the natives living across the river, and at Taiporohenui and Matangarara, having come to see the i sports, which evidently afforded them a considerable amount of amusement. There was a strong gale blowing during the morning, but it did not prevent the Hawtsca people from going to the sister township in large numbers, and from nine to eleven o'clock there was quite a cavalcade of horsemen and traps going along that road, which is now characterised as "No Man's Land," and the ruts of ■which want repairing so very badly. It is not to be wondered at that a shopkeeper from Hawera had his buggy smashed in pieces, and that he and his family had a narrow escape, whilst endeavoring to "work their passages" to the sports. But the Government 8&yB it does not own the road, and will have nothing further to do with it ; the county council would not put a few pounds' worth of gravel on it, because, forsooth, Buch an expenditure would be illegal; and the road board will think over the matter, because the main traffic to New Plymouth, including her Majesty's mails, travels over this much-battered and tattered " Queen's highway." In the meantime, whilst these discussions are going oq, what does it matter if the seeks of a few of the ratepayers in this part of the county are broken, and then* drays and buggies smashed hi pieces into the bargain? But this by way of digression. When holiday-seekers m&nagen to gel on to the ground where the sports were to be held, they found the change an agreeable one. A nice clump of bush gave shelter from the strong wind, and the dust was, to a large extent, got rid of. Happily, the wind abated during the day, and the rain, which became so threatening in the evening, did not come down, as it generally does at holiday tunes. The course was rather rough, and there were a few very sharp nasty turns, which must have been very disagreeable to both walkers and runners. As will be Been, there was a large committee of management, but it only existed on paper, like Napoleon the Third's grand army, at the time when 11 On to Berlin !" was Bhouted in every street in Paris and Marseilles. Practically, ibe wbota management of the sports was left to Messrs. Dacre, "Wolner, and Ashton ; the duties of clerk of the course and b llman devolving upon Mr. Vine. These gentlemen did their level best, but they were, as might naturally have been expected, unequal to the occasion, and. as a consequence, no less than five events had to be knocked off the programme. There was no timekeeper, and there were no ropes to keep the spectators from crowding too closely around the athletes during some of the contests — notably, those of the hop-step-and-jump, high jump, putting the stone, and long jump. In foot, so close were the spectators during the first-mentioned event, that one of the competitors, who carried weights in his band, came down on one person's face , with an awful thud, the " claret" flew round, and the countenance of the by- ' stander was considerably disfigured. But the latter took it gracefully, and that is . more than can be said of some others, whom the clerk of the course, in a way ' mot ft fotcMe, than polite, endeavored to "whip" into obedience. It is fcutrighv to state, however, that the hon. secretary, Mr. A. G. Brett, who worked very hard before the day of the sports, was prevented, hi consequence of business engagements, from rendering assistance, which he would have most willingly done had he been able to do bo. Two ox three other members of committee were busily at work decorating the new Town Hall for the ball which was to take place in the evening ; whilst one or two others informed our reporter that their names were placed on the committee without their consent having been obtained. There were several disturbances of a minor character during the day, but chiefly amongst the natives, and " Sambo," who wanted very much to engage in a row with some person or another — he was nob particular to a shade — was conveyed to the lock-up by Constable Pleasants. Sergeant Cahill and Constable Crozierwf-re on the ground during the day, but they wisely determined to allow a little more latitude than at ordinary times. They acted as peacemakers in several i»sia»Cßß, but they. xe> (raided from taking the disturbers to the look-up. The A.C. band from Cape Egmont, fourteen in number, played selections during • the day, and the good musio contributed greatly to the day's amusement. Bandmaster Dixou is to < be congratulated upon the high state of efficiency to which he has brought his men. There, were two protests — one against Reardon, who won the Maiden, it being alleged that he had already won other races ; and the other against the winner of the first event for the Normanby Cup, on the ground of a bad start having been given. The following are the details of the sports, which commenced a little before eleven o'clock, and were brought to a close about a quarter past six :— Maiden Eace, 220 yards— First prize, £2 ; second, 15s. Entrance, Is. Reardon 1 Knowles ... 2 Oliver 3 Blbsbbl, Fearee, QmckfeU, Wills, Lynch, and Hughes were the other competitors. The start was a bad one. Reardon got

off with a bound before the others, and easily kept ahead till the finish ; Knowles being. a good second, .and Oliver third. The latter entered a protest against Keardon, OU the ground that he hah recenfty won a race for money at Opunake. Boys' Race (under 14 years of age), 100 yards. — First prise, 10s-; second, ss. Entrance, Is. J. Q\nn ..» „. ... ... 1 T. Power 2 A. Taifc •• .» 3 Pleasants, Minninex, and Power also ran. The race was a very good one from start to finish. Peasants made a strong effort to get a place, but was unsuccessful. Sop, Step, and Jump.— First prize, £1 > second, 10s. Entrance, Is. Hood, 42ft. 9in 1 Minninex, 40ft. 10m. .~ ... f O'Flynn, 40ft. lOin t Oliver, 37ft. 3 3W© -W6SPB only, four, competitors. Hood won easily, and Minninex and O'Flynn, who .tied for second place, could not get near him. Nokmanby Cup ; first event, 100 yards (handicap). — First prize, i>lo ; second, £3 ; third, £2. Entrance, 2s. 6d. i Hood, 4yds. ... 1 Minninex, scratch ... ... ... 2 Reardon, 2yds. 3 Skeet (2yds.), and Knowles (syds.) »also started, there being only five acceptances out of a dozen nominations. Hood got the start, and had 'no difficulty in keeping i it, -winning by. about two yards ahead of Minninex, who led Reardon by about three-quarters of a yard at the finish. The start was, perhaps, the worst of the day, and both Skeet and Minninex entered a protest against it as being unfair. RimNzyG High ' Jump. — first prize, 30s > > second, 10s. Entrance, Is. Minninex, 4ft. llin 1 Broughton, 4ft. lOin 2 | Oliver, 4ft. 9m 3 These were the only competitors, and Minninex won easily. Uam^-Mile EL*2m>3cap. — 3?i*Bt prize, £3 ; second, £1. Entrance, Is. 6d. i Skeet, 20yds 1 Reardon, 15yds 2 Boulger, 20yds 3 B. Dougherty (20yds.), Lynch (25yds.), Pearce and Qniekfall (35yds. each), also ; started, there being only seven accept- , ances out of thirteen nominations. All got off well together, but Skeet soon went to the front, and kept the lead till the finish, beating Reardou by about a yard and a half, the latter leading Boulger by about tWO feet. In the final lap, all the other competitors had " given up the ! ghost." Three-Legged Race, 100 yards. — First prize, 205. ; second, 10s. Entrance, Is. Minninex and Dougherty 1 Wiley and Bursfcon ... ... ... 2 , Kahukina aud liuka, 3 Minninex and Dougherty had it all then* own way, winning by about five yards. Kahukina and Ruka came to grief a short distance irom the startingpoint. Handicap Hurdle Race, 220 yards.— First prize, £3 : second, £1. Entrance, Is. 6d. Minninex, scratch ... ... ... 1 Broughton, 3yds 2 Hood, syds. 3 The race was supposed to be over six ffigiite of hurdles, but only four could be raised. Hood led for p, short distance, and the three cleared the first hurdle, but all the other rails got tumbled down. It was a very poor race, although the start ■was an excellent one. Miuuinex took the lead before the third hurdle was reached, and won easily, Hood having got a tumble before coining to the last hurdle. Putting the Stone. — First prize, £1 ; second, 10s. Entrance, Is. Daniels, 83ft. 2in. ... 1 O'Flynn, 33ft. lin % Prouse, 31ft. Gin 3 Nicholl, Hurley, Lee, Price, Dolan, Blake, and Skeet also entered, but from the first it was evident that the final tussle would have to be fought by Daniels and O'Flynn, who took ftrsb and second places respectively, there being only an inch between them. Normanby Cup. — Second event, 440 yards (handicap). Skeet^ scratch 1 Hoo&.Sfyvfe. ... ... ... ... 2 Minninex, syds. ... ... ... 3 Reardon (scratch), and Knowles (10 yds.) also started. The latter led for about 100 yards, when Hood passed him. Skeet then shot to th front, and won easily, the others being nowhere, and only securing places at a walking pace. Handicap Walking Match, 2 miles. — First prize, i? 4; second, £2. Entrance, 2s. 6d. Vaughan, scratch ... ... ... 1 Rossmansen, scratch ... ... 2 B. Dougherty, scratch 3 E. Dougherty and M. Johnston, who were also nominated, did not accept. Vaughan was a strong favorite, and he was taken early in the day against the field. 'Rossmansen walked very pluekily, and at the thirteenth lap put on a terrific spurt, and passed "Vaughan, with whom he kept close company from the start ; but on coming round the fourteenth time, Vaughan again took the lead, and won easily by about 15 yards. Dougherty was out of it from the commencement, and Rossmauaen distanced him by fully 50 yards. Running Long Jump.— First prize, £1 ; second, 10s. Entrance, 2s. 6d. Hood, 18ffc 1 O'Flynn, 17ft. Bin 2 Eeardon, 16ft. 3 Hood began to astonish the " knowing ones " by his performances, and some of them appeared to be rather disappointed. They had, apparently, valued him too cheaply. He won easily, and is a good, clean juniper. Normaxby Cup.— Third event, 220 yards (handicap). Reardon, syds 1 Minninex, scratch 2 Hood, scratch ... ... ... ... 3 Skeet (scratch) and ILnow} g (Qyda.) also started, all going off well together at the report of the gun. Knowles led for a short distance, but the others soon passed him, with the exception of Skeet, who was taken bad with what is commonly termed a ".Stitch," which, instead of saving the proverbial nine, put him altogether out of the race, and he fed when coming towards

the winning-post. This race was a very exciting one, as it was the final contest for the Cup. Hood, although only third in this event, became the winner, it having been decided by points, as follows : — Ten points for the first place in any of the three events, six for second, and three for, third places. When the last event was finished, the positions stood thus :—: — Hood, 19 points ... ... 1 Mi»»i»ex, 15 points... ... 51 Reardon, 13 points 3 Consequently, Hood, although securing only third place in the last race, won by four points. He did not appear " overtrained," and he was even seen calmly smoking his pipe between the different events. One Mile Handicap Race. — First prize, £5 ; second, £2. Entrance, 2s 6d. Reardon, 45yds. ... ... ... 1 Boulger, 45yds 2 Vaughan, scratch 3 Skeet (45yds.) and Heilly (55yds.) also ran. A good start having been effected, j the latter very soon dropped out, and Skeet, after ineffectually making a bold effort for the front, followed Reilly's example hi the middle of the fourth lap. Vaughan was a hot favorite, and was backed, in some instances, at long odds against H>e field. But he never recovered any ot the ; distance that separated him from the two foremost compesitors, and gave up in the middle of the seventh lap. He appeared to run strongly, but to a casual observer he certainly did not appear to possess the requisite pace to regain the 45 yards handicap Srom either BoYilger or Reardon. However, many persons asserted that Vaughan could have won easily, had he chosen to do so, but that it did not suit the books of some of his friends. At all events, there was considerable disappointment amongst his backers. Eeardon won very easily, Boulger being a considerable distance off. Consolation Race, 220 yards. — First prize, £1 ; second, 10s. Lynch ... ... ... ... ... 1 Knowles... ... ... ... ... 2 ■Wilkinson, -who bad entered for another event, but did not run, started for the Consolation Race. He was, however, easily disposed of, as he fell after running 15 or 20 yards. Lynch had no trouble in taking the last event of the day.