MANAIA ATHLETIC SPORTS.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1894, 3 April 1888, Page 2

MANAIA ATHLETIC SPORTS.

President— Mr. R. E. Ecßae. VicePresidents— Captain Good and Mr. A. W. Budge. Committee — Mesßrs. E. G. Allsworth, J. Adam son, G. A. Hurley, H. E. Gapper, F. McGovern, Jno. Gilmour, jur., Jno. Lambie, P. J. McCarthy, J. R. Stewart, D. Hughes. Judges — Messrs R. Lambie, S. Forsyth, J. R. Stewart, J. Adamson, F. McGovern. Starter— Mr. R. E. Mcßae. Clerk of the Course — Mr. R. Higginson. Handicappers — Messrs J. R. Stewart, J. Adamson, and J. M. Byrne. Treasurer — Mr. E. G. Allsworth. Secretary —Mr. Robt. Smart.

The morning of the holiday on which the Manaia Sports are now annually held broke cloudy and with a cold wind ; but the weather improved before noon, and occasional Rlimpses of the sun gave promise ot a pleasant outing to all those who felt disposed to see the Easter Monday Sports on the Waimate Plains.' About noon, coaches, 'busses, buggies, and two-wheelers of all sorts began to discharge numbers of holidaymakers from Hawera, Normanby, Opunake, Okaiawa, and elsewhere ; and by one o'clock it was estimated that there were more than a thousand persons on the ground. Tho afternoon, however, turned out rather chilly, as a westerly wind blew bleak and cold across the ground. The plantations on the south side now give good shelter from all southerly gales ; but towards the north and west some more shelter is much needed. It waß Btated that in all pro- J bability the sports committee would find they had a good balance in hand after paying all expenses. Those who noticed how much the lightly- clad competitors suffered from the cold wind will probably agree with us in thinking that athletes at future gatherings would be grateful to any sports committee which would expend a few pounds of profits in hand in planting the west and north-west 6ides of the Recreation Ground. Visitors, onlookers, and future committeemen would also appreciate such provision for their comfort. During the day the committee worked hard and stuck to their duties ; but the intervals between the events was too long, so that the last race was not run until near dark. We heard no complaints of the starting or 3udging. The chief event of the day — the Manaia Cup— fell to T. Taylor, of Ngaire, who ran first in all three events, receiving Byds 16yds, and 28yds from the scratch men. G. H. McKenzie ran second in the two events, be receiving Byds in the 100 and 25yds in the 440 Handicap. The "daik horses" thus " scooped the pool "in these events. In the other events, H. Good came out strong for the first time as a " hurdle racer," winning the Maiden and also Quarter-Mile Hurdles. In the latter, Good started from scratch, and won a hard race from G. H. McKenzie, who had 30yds allowed him. W. Good pulled off the high jump and pole-vaulting in good style, giving all his opponents several inches in each event. Hobbs pulled off the two mile walk in good style. During tbe day, the Hawera Band provided good music, and plenty of it, under tbe able leadership of Mr. Smart. Those who secured the privileges seemed well satisfied with their speculations, and the booth and luncheon tents appeared to drive a good trade all day. The first event on the card was the quoiting, for which tbe following entered: — Thos. Dawson, F. Townsend, J. Nichol, D. Kehely, J. McCarten, J. Donnelly, J. J. Mathers, J. McKenzie, J. H. Newman, McLennan, J. McOarty, and Oughton. The first prize fell to J. Donnelly; T. Dawson, second. The first race of the day was the Maiden Plate (150 yards), which resulted as follows :—: — Maiden Plate, 150 yds. Ist prize, 30s ; 2nd, 10s. F. Atwa 1 O. Murdock 2 F. W. Carrington 3 The Maori drew out from amongat his competitors some distance from home, and won by several yards. The next event was a Boys' Race, under 14, 150yd5. lat prize, 10s; 2nd, ss. C. Young 1 B. Hair 2 N. Carroll, F. Wilson, and J. McKay also ran. No less than twenty- six entries had been received for the Manaia Cup, of 20 guineas. But of these only nine accepted and came to the post. The race proved a gift for the long start men, and resulted as follows : — Manaia Cup, of 20 soys. lßt event, 100 yds. Ist prize, 20s ; 2nd, 10a. T. Taylor, Bydß 1 G. H. McKenzie, Byds 2 C. Murdock, Byds 3 G. H. Gibson (Byds), Poe (Byds), C. Tait (9yds), W. Betts (6yds), J. Mioninix (4yds), and A. Good (oyds) also ran. Time, 10 4-sth sees. The Hop, Step, and Jump brought out thi'ee competitors out of six entered. The contest was keen. A powerful, heavilybuilt half-caste named Te' Artu from Parihaka led off with 43ft 7£in. W. Good on his third trial made 43ft 9£in, but, as he was handicapped to give Te Artu six inches, W. Good could only get third. A. Good, however, covered 43ft 2in, and, as Te Arlu had to allow A. Good six inches, the latter took the first prize; Te Artu second. Hop-Step-and-Jump. Ist prize, 20s ; 2nd, 10s. A. Good (12 inches), 44ft 2in 1 Te Artu (Ginches), 44ft l£in 2 W. Good (scratch), 43ft 9in 3 For the next event eight came to the post. Publicans' Handicap, half-mile. Ist prize, 60s ; 2nd, 40s ; 3rd, 30s. T. Power C64yds) 1 G. H. Carrington (50yds) 2 J. C. Hobbs (scratch) 3 Dnggan, 15yds ; Betts, 40yds ; Henn, 50yd b ; Henderson, 40yds; Gibson, 50yds, also ran. Young Power, with a long lead, was never caught, and won easily, running with a nice easy stride, and promising to make a good long distance man if he sticks to the buiness. The scratch man, Hobbs, did not run up to the form he has shown at Wanganui and elsewhere, being apparently not at his best, though ho won the two-mile walk in good style later on. For the Maiden Hurdles, H. E. Good was a strong favorite, ana his backers won their money with something to spare. Maiden Hurdles. First prize, 20s ; second, 10s. H. E. Good 1 W. Bayly 2 Ray 3 F. Gapper, G. W. Carrington, and F. W. Carrington also went to the poet. Good got away badly, but came through his men, until at the laßt hurdle, which Good and Bayly jumped together. The two raced together to the post. Good, always with a little in hand, won easily. Gapper was left at the post. For the wrestling, Messrs. Lewis, Dawson, Poe, Te Ari, and J. Stoddart entered. Tho event was won easily by the half-caste Te Ari, who had little difficulty in defeating any of his opponents. Poe was a good second. An offer was made to match G. Pearce against the winner, but tbe offer was declined. Running High Jump. First prize, 20s ; 2nd, 10s. W. Good (scratch) 4ft 6£ins Poe (4 inches) 4ft 2ins A. Good (6 inches) 4ft Oins

Second Event of Cap, 220 yards. Ist prize, 40s ; 2nd, 20s. T. Taylor (16yds) 1 J. Minninix (12yards) 2 Tbe second man was tbe only one who seemed to threaten tbe winner of thefirst event, and in the end Taylor won with a little in hand. Quarter-mile Hurdles. First prize, 60s; 2nd, 30s; 3rd, 10s. H. E. Good (scratch) 1 G. H. McKenzie (30yds) 2 G. H. Gibson (20yds) 3 The' scratch man came through those immediately in front of him without much trouble. Two hurdles from home Good drew up to and challenged McKenzie, who had a long lead of Gibson. The two raced together for the last fifty yards, Good drawing away by about a yard at the finish. Time, lmin 7secs. "Vaulting with Pole. W. Good (scratch) 1 J. McCarten (12m) 2 The winnar cleared 9 feet, the last vault being pro bono publico, his opponents being previously vanquished. Third Event of Cup, 440 yards. Ist prize, 60s ; 2nd, 40s ; 3rd, 20s. T. Taylor, 28yds 1 McKenzie, 25yds 2 A. Good 3 McKenzie ran a good race, but could not catch the winner. Putting the Shot, Ist prize, 203 ; 2nd, 20s. H. Good, 32ft 4in < ... 1 J. Lambie, 32ft 3in 2 Mathieson, 32ft lin 6 Eight entered. Hawera Cojnty Handicap, 300 yds. Ist prize, 60s ; 2nd, 40s ; 3rd, 20s. Ohaia, 16vds 1 A. Good, 15yds 2 G. H. Gibson, 15yds 3 W. Bayly, H. Good, T. Hastie, and J. Minninix also ran. One Mile Handicap. Ist prize, 80s ; 2nd, 40s ; 3rd, 20s. James, 110 yds 1 Butler, 120 yds 2 Power, 120 yds 3 Duggan, 120 yd s; Henn, 50yds ; and Hobbs, scratch, -also ran. James won easily, the scratch man being quite unable to catch up, although about 20 yards ahead of the second man. The winner was much exhausted after the race. Two Mile Walking Handicap. Ist prize, 60s; 2nd, 30s. T. C. Hobbs 1 G. Holmes 2 P. H. Pease 3 L. A. Henderson and G. H. McKenzie also started. The winner walked in good style and though Holmes made a good race of it until near the finish, the result was scarcely ever in doubt. Pease walked pluckily.but his style is open to question at times, and he was cautioned by the umpire. The bagpipe competition was a walkover for Mr. McGregor, of Opunake, who delighted the ears of all those who appreciate tbe wild strains of the pibroch. For the sword dance and tbe Highland fling, only two competitors, Cameron and Butler, came out, they being placed in tbe order named.