HAWERA ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 77, 5 January 1881, Page 2

HAWERA ATHLETIC SPORT S.

The firsiiorning of the new year broke fine, wit«y cool southerly breeze, and although X bank of clouds in the southwest thrlafened showers during the day, the clerkLofthe weather had naercy'on tha Hawera' b^iday makers, and provided, perfect weather for the occasion. There was plentT of sunshine, but an occasional light cloud tempered the heat of the sun's rays and consequently the first remark made by all one's Mends and acquaintances was, " what a beautiful day 1" As a matter 1 of course the attendance was large, and it was variously estimated at from seven to twelve hundred during the day; including children, of which there were a j#at many, w#are of opinion that the latterestimate was not greatly over the mark Almost every stranger to- the place! wlio saw the ground for the first time was loud in his admiration of the course, which was' in good condition, the mass being short, with a close sward, the turf springy and -as green as a leek. The arrangements were certainly not perfect, but they were really good for a country gathering, and the committee-men, almost withont exception, did their best to make the meeting thoroughly successful ; their efforts; were well rewarded, for upon the wholeHhe meeting went off Well. There was good racing throughout the whole day, the handicapping was marvellously close, and we .never remember to have seen' bo many dead heats, among a few events as were" recorded on "Saturday last. Even in the Cup, the great event of the day, there was almost a tie between three competitors, and the probability is that if the heats had been run off, the judge would have had to record 16 points to each' of the three who. were in it. Syme scored first in the hundred yards, and tied for first with Marshall for the 220 ; but in the quarter-mile he ran nowhere, and was clearly "pumped out" at the close of ate day. Marshall, on the oth r hand, wits, strong and comparatively fresh, and was' almost sure to have .secured the' tie if they had run off the dead heat. ? Synie would thus have had a first worth ten points, and a second worth six, equal to sixteen ; Marshall had a fair claim, to count his equal third in the hundred with G. Bayly as a gift to him, because the latter had nothing to gain by running it off against Marshall. This would have left Marshall with a first and two thirds, equal to" sixteen points;' and Thomson had a first in the quarter-mile, and a second in the hundred yards, and had thus sixteen points also. As it happened, Marshall agreed to accept third place, leaving Syme first and Thomson second ; and-no one begrudged the " Hawera colt" his victory, for he- ran gamely and well throughout the day. The two-mile .walking . match created great excitement, Vaughan and Hodge being very close to one another the whole journey, until the last round, when both men spurted magnificently for the whole of the lastjjuartermile lap, which they compassed in second ' or two less than two minutes. They came down the straight shouldet to shoulder, and the course was fairly mobbed by the backers of ed.cb, the judge being unable to separate them at the tape. Vaughan certainly touched the tape an inch or two in front of his rival, .but a friendly hand pushed him on to it and lifted him in. It was the race of the day; but had Hodge been in training he would probably "have been able to bave-teken-first place. The Consolation Handicap, 150 yds., also resulted: in a dead heat between Riordan. and Graham, who elected to run- off, but on the signal being given Graham failed to get away, and Riordan walked over. Graham considered that the starter had not given him due warning, and challenged Riordan to run over the same course again for the same stake. Riordan at once accepted, another starter was enlisted for the match, and at a quarter past six a last grand neck-amU. neck race came off, Riordan again wutairg this time by not more than a foot. , It is such a difficult matter to make competitors at country meetings attend , promptly at, the starting post, and it is so rarely successfully accomplished that it seems hardly fair to complata greatly of so common a failing. We' Ventured to make a suggestion in these v ,wlumns "that a time-board should be mr g up. at the dressing-room stating as nearly as possible the times of the several events. This was not done'; but even thtt precaution alone is seldom sufficient ti> ensure a quick despatch of business during the day. of committee-men can always be useftillyemplSiyed iv mustering competitors, for the «Sff«iiHinliCT "lif it to gat in progress, up to the dressing booth "letting it be understood that, if in any event the men were not at the scratch within five minutes of the time, that event should be either but back to the bottom of the list, or the first man at the mark 'be allowed to walk over. On Saturday once or twice the delays which were complained of took place among the competitors themselves, v/ho dawdled and waited for one another ' in the dressing-room. There was an interval of half-an-hour about one o'elook, when the committee had a hurried and well-earned lunch. . The interval ought to have been notified on the card, as many of the visitors would have taken advantage of the chance' afforded them to go and lunch. likewise. The starting was capitally done by Mr. GAdamson, and the judging gave satisfaction, although 'the judge needed a box between him and the competitors to keep his eyes off the race and on the' tape. A ' neglect of this well-known rule rendered him a little uncertain when the finishes were close, as they were very frequently. Mr Flint proved himself a smart salesman of the " 'erect card," and secured a substantial addition to the funds of the committee from this source. Mr Oweijlgbooth did a roariflgjjrade. ,— The committee deserve~a~Wßrd-of praise :or the success which, attended .the three handicaps made during theday, for which in each case a large number accepted, and as the result showed, every man stood a fair chance of winning. Also, for the workmanlike style in which the course was flagged off, with figured distance flags at the starting points for. the more important eventsT We were glad to see that the pavilion was given np to the ladies, and hear that? they expressed hearty thanks for the consideration shown to them. Mr Pitcher and Mr Yorke acted as tune-keepers. At eleven o'clock the competitors mustered for the . ' Maiden Pjoate, 220 yards. — First prize, 605.; second, £1. Thomson ... ... - ... 1 H. Bayly 2

Wles ' and Murray also ran. fi«* £ ?*? * A K ood race between the »E!r !? ho raoed cl °se together from ha ™ R aUttle *• *°*» Stjsp, and JuMP.-First prise, 205.; _/• second, 10s. .''Murray V 9 J Graham Z, Z Z 3 Tr A ., BOod match between the 'two first, ■uood winning at last however by about «ix inches. . Cot » 100 yds. handicap, inree events. First prize, £15 ; second, £8, third, £2. Syme, 10yds 1 J Thomson, 6yds. ...' ... 2 G. Bayly, 6vds. .., ... 8 Marshall, 3y<ls. .:. t.. 3 - , a Minnex (Byds.), Riordan (6yds.), Hood joyds,), ana Skeet (7*yd 3 .) also ran. Time, lUseca. (equal to llse/cB.) A good race, Byrne with 10yds. being a little too good for the rest ; a grand race between Bayly, Marshall, and Thomson for second place. Buknino Long Jump. — First prize 205.; I Second, 10s. - *.i Marshall was allowed a. walkover. He <Mmred 17ft, 6in. in the first try, and no oro tried against him. Hood entered. Egg and Si»oon Race.— First prize, ,205.; t second, ss. Nine entries. A good race between Hodge and Minninex, both of whom dropped and had to pick up their eggs. Boys' Rack, under 14 years of age ; 150 yards. No entrance. First prize, 10s ; eecond, «">j. a " Evftttfc „ 1 A Tail 2 ■ McKay 8 m There were a number of entries for this ■ race, the starter proving himself an excel- ■ lent judge of the capabilities of the boys. Time, 28secs. Hawera Cup, 220 yds.; second event. Syme, 15yds f Marshall, scratch f Minninex, scratch 8 G. Bayly (syds.), Thomson (syds.), Hood (4ydß.), Riordan (syds), and Skeet (7yds.) alro ran. Time, 24£secs. Syme kept a locs lead until within forty yards of the post, when Marshall came up very *- last and collared, him on the post, making a dead heat. The race was run at a fast pnce throughout. Bayly would probably have been placed, but was unable to get through his men., Minninex also was interfered with, and was unfortunate all day. Thbee-legged Race.— First -prize, £1 ; second, 10s. Minninex and Dougherty ... 1 Crowhurst and Hodge .... 2 Two entries. Won easily. Hanpwap Flat Race, 100yds.— First prize, £4 ; second prize, ill. G. Bayly, 4yds 1 Graham, 4yds ... ' ... 2 Minninex, lyd 3 Thomson (Byds.), Hood (4yds.), H. "Bayly (syds.), Knowles (6yds.), and Mur-ray-ffydtj.) also ran. Time, lOJsecs. for A good race all the way, Thomson being well up at the finish. Graham and Bayly made the pace very hot. There were originally thirteen entries for this race. The "weights" were given out about noon, and, nine out of a possible eleven accepted ; the cup winners naturally reserving themselves ibr the third < event. One Mile Handicap.— First prize, £Q; second, 80s.; third, 20s. Waite, 70yds 1 Vaughan, scratch 2 "Riordan, 20yds 8 Kelly (80yds.) and Barrow (130 yds.) also ran. Time, 4min. 45socs. Waite cut out the running, and soon passed Kelly and Barrow. In the last lap Vaughan came up and passed Biordan, but could not catch Waite, who won as be liked by about 30yds. Extra Boys' Race, under sixteen years ; lSOvda. Bartlett ...* 1 Goodson 2 kWon easily, the winner' being much ler than most of the other competitors. kuLTiNG with Pole. — First prize, 80s.: | second, 10s. iMinninex practically walked over with a jump of about 7ft. 6in. Sack Race.— First prize, 10s.; second, ss. t Hodge 1 k Sangster 2 B Ward also started. Won easily. ■landicap Flat Race, 220 yards.— First prize, 605.; second, 80s.; third, 10s. ■I G. Bayly, 6yds 1 X TEoinson, 7yds 2 B Syme, 14yds 3 ■ Graham (6yds.), Knowles (16yds.), ■Dougherty (16yds.), and Biordan (9yds.) Halso accepted. Time, 24$secs. A close Kace between Syme, Bayly, and Thomson. P Bayly ran very strongly, and caught w Syme a yard or two from the tape, with Thompson close up on the inside. This was another instance of the success which attended the handicaps made by the com- ! znittee during the day, the number of acceptors showing that a large majority of those who entered considered that they had a good chance of winning. G. Bayly's win waa well received, and he was much congratulated. Two Miles Walking Handicap. — First prize, 80s.; second, 80s. Hodge, scratch f Vaughan, 25yds f Kelly also competed, but fell out after a caution in the third round. Tune, lOmin. 45secs. Hodge walked up to Vaughan almost immediately after the start, and for the next six laps just held his man. In the last lap, however, Hodge - put on a wonderful spurt, and left Vaughan qrite ten yards behind. Howev.r, the loi tjer'was unable to keep this pace up, and" Vaughan caught and passed him a second time before entering the straight, • Vfcere Hodge again drew up level, and tJfe, contest of the day took place, both men coming up exactly level during the }a.it X IQO yards, till within a foot of the popt, wbon Vaughan was pushed forward by a bystander on to the tape. Thpverc&jt was a dead beat. Intense exoitement prevailed during the final quarter-mile, which was done in less than two minutes. . Bunking Hjkjh Jump.— First prize, 205.; second, 10s. I Minninex, sft. 1 " • | Graham 2 ' A walkover for Minninex. Bjtb' Race, under 16. — First prize, 155.; second, 55.; third, 2s 6a. Cummins ... ... ... 2 7. Tftit ... ... ... 3

A very mixed lot faced the starter, who gave the small boys a liberal allowance of distance, which they made the most of, the bigger boys being out of it. Hawera Cup, 440 yards ; third event. Thomson, 9yds 1 Skeet, 4yds 2 . Marshall, scratch .., ... 3 Syme (20yds.), Hood (12yds.), also ran. This was a very fast race, the rearmost men quickly overhauling Syme, who was out of it in the first 200 yards. The cup thus, fell to Symd, who scored 18 points ; Thomson second, 16 points. - Putting the Shot. — First prize, 20s; second 10s.' Two entries. Murray 1 Hodge 2 Won easily. Practically a walk-over. Throwing the Hammer. — First prize, 20s ; second, 10s. Five entries. Langly (67ft. 7iin) ... 1 Murray (67ft. |in.) ... 2 Hodge and Parrington also threw well. The above figures were afterwards found to be wrongly entered, as, owing to the pressure of the crowd on the judges when measuring, the names of the competitors were interchanged. The judges decided to give two first prizes. One of the hy.standers was nearly killed by the hammer slipping out of the grasp of Hodge, and flying over the heads of the crowd round him. It struck the ground about fifteen yards away, within a foot of the head of a h'ttle child. The bystanders did not take the hint, to give more room around the competitors. 440 Yakds Handicap Hurdle Race. — First prize, £5; second, 255. Marshall (scratch) 1 Bayly, G. (70yds.) 2Hood (12yds.) 3 Tune, 63sec. The men ran in the order of the handicaps up to the b.bfc hurdle, where Hood fell, and Bayly stumbled over him. Marshall then came up, and passed Bayly easily, who tried at the finish. Half Mile Handicap Flat Race. — First prize, £5 ; second, 255. Waite (25yrds.) 1 Skeet (scratch) 2 Dougherty (35yrds) also ran. Time, 2min. 9Jsec. This was a hard race, run at a great pace all the way, Skeet pressing the Taranaki man, Waite, very hard. I He was never quite able to catch him, however, and they finished about the same distance apart as they started. Skeet appeared to be a little stale from previous efforts. 150 Yards Consolation Handicap.— No entrance. For non- winners in previous races. Riordan (9yrds) , 1 Graham (syrds) ... ... '■ 2 Hood (6yrds) T 3 Knowles (lOyrds), Dougherty (jl4yrds), and Minninex (scratch) also ran. This was a splendid race, all the competitors coming down the straight in a knot together. Riordan having a little the best of it, but was collared on the tape by Graham, who secured a dead heat. The two first men decided to run it off, but after they had reached the post, and the gun was fifed, Graham failed to getaway, and Riordan trotted over the course and took first place ; Graham's protest against the start being disallowed. A match over the same distance was at once arranged between the two, which Riordan won by a foot. This concluded an excellent Hay's sport.