BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN NORTHLAND’S HISTORY

Northern Advocate, 26 October 1936, Page 6

BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN NORTHLAND’S HISTORY

I ft. and P. SOCIETY’S GYMKHANA TO-DAY

I HUGE CROWD VISITS CARNIVAL AT : KENSINGTON PARK

-BIGGEST SPORTING EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF NORTHLAND * —THE SECOND GYMKHANA TO BE ORGANISED BY THE WHANPAREI A. & P. SOCIETY— WAS BEING HELD AT KENSINGTON PARK I; TODAY.: Following on yesterday’s rain, the society experienced a stroke f of unparalleled luck when the prospects, which were for further I downpours, suddenly changed to usher in a perfect day. $• - r .; .. ; Pt Owing to the heaviness of the grounds, fast time could not be made in |p, the track events, which were exciting and interesting, nevertheless. A || team of nine Old Grammarians, all Dominion or provincial title-holders, iff' added distinction to this section. I The nine bands which had been taking part in the provincial contests, «dded colour and harmony to the proceedings this morning.

I'Brilliant .weather, and brilliant, ph scenes preluded the opening of Gy ini' Ifchana Day. Long before nine o’clock immense throng had assembled at ; ‘ vantage points between the waterthough and the entrance to the park. . t.Everything was impressively col||i,QUrful —the flashing instruments, gay Korms and stirring martial music he bands; the thousand and one » used in the decoration of the cles in the procession; and the ti-coloured dresses of the throng, V'%ll bathed in beautiful sunshine. It a pageant of sound and movement, with happiness moving in one @ direction in real carnival spirit.

The whole fleet of Whangarei Bakeries was on view. Shortly after 2 o’clock, queues were still forming at the turnstiles leading to the ground. The chairman of the Gymkhana Committee, Mr H. W. James, estimated at that point, that the previous record of 8000,, established at the 1934 event, had been exceeded, and that between 9000 and 10,000 people were present.

The Judging.

In a day of motor cars, Sothern and Co. entered a Roman Chariot, manned by gladiators and drawn by a mettlesome steed.

Arrived at the Park, the procession was greeted by a vigorous haka given by the Kaikohe Maori Band, and the playing of music by . the massed bands, nearly 3000 instruments strong.

-v Assured Of Success. {'From the very outset the Whangarei ;W A. andr P. Society was assured of suc- £ cess for its greatest effort. • Optimistically, the society had ’ not troubled toinsiire against the ' weather as was done in 1934, and, as it happened, the sun came out .trumps. Special trains conveyed hundreds to , 'Vifhangarei, including many who were t, making their acquaintance with the North for the first time. . ■ ■ i V; ' .. , - ■■ .. The early crowd made the watertrough their conning tower. It was -. here that the nine bands assembled to participate in the marching .contest, Rqjdite a new thing lor Northland. They marched from the water-trough at fivemihute intervals, each. unit rounding tliie starting point with well-nigh

' The vehicles wheeled in order before the judges, -Mr and Mrs Roy Drummond, who commented upon the exceptional display, and made the following placements:— Best decorated motor car.—-Dave Hill (Dolly Varden), 1; Mrs J. Skow (Gondola), 2; Whangarei S.P.C.A. (Blue Cross Hospital), 3. Best decorated trade motor. —W. R. Patterson (H.M.S. Firestone), 1; Lifebuoy Rubber Co. (Maori Whare), 2; Sothern and Co. (Roman Chariot), 3. Trade Advertisement. —Grey and Menzies- (Tartan ale), 1; Yates and Co. (seeds), 2; L. A. Cotterill (Farmers Trading Go.), 3. Decorated Bicycle.—T. Day, 1.

flawless precision., 4 Then, as each briskly paraded over tfee marked section, of street, it was a question of all keeping in step and ife tune. Some.; enterprising drummajors added to the spectaular by Vigorously- swinging their batons, 'iOn thd heels of the Kaikohe Maori Band, the last of the uniformed brigades, came the procession of decorated'vehicles, under , the pilotage of Mr J&k Skow, in his A.A. patrol. In the Procession. fej\s the long column trekked towards Whangarei’s playground the observer impressed by attractive blending <SE; colours. Befitting spring, the more \tmaste hues were much in evidence, fjpee ns and light hides predominatih g to- create a garden-like effect. -

In the long line of motor vehicles, a stray horse or two, either part of the procession, or attended by a competiy>' tbr in the rink events, pranced and Curvetted. As if to guard against accidents the S.P.C.A. led the procession Jfrith a travelling blue cross hospital, driven by a neatly uniformed nurse. jMrs Skow struck the right note with Stance car, which nosed its way care- ~ folly up the canal. ■V ?yQne of. the most striking exhibits V/as that of All Black Taxi Cabs. A .dilapidated 1917 model Ford, picked ■ : d«t in white, with five youthful nigger ihinstrels, and driven in expert style by 11-year-old Bruce Wakelin, bore a ■liarge pimga in the back seat —the draping fronds taking the place of the lujod which had withered with the jrears. A tall Dolly Varden, draped in flowing crinoline, was an artistic gem, Which could not fail to catch the judge’s eye. Moving in line of action W;as a fully-rigged battleship, H.M.S. Firestone, with rubber guns, mounted ph tyre turrets. A native hoeing his kumara patch on the back of a lorry cheated interest as A. Yates and Co. s entry passed.

Spectacular and Arresting. Among the most spectacular and arresting of all was the exhibit of Grey and Menzies, Ltd. It was pre- > ceded by Piper McKay, who was followed -by a man-sized bottle, which jigged about in an. inviting way in the warm morning sun. As this exhibit passed the massed bands on the parade ground, the tune of “I’d give my shoes for a bottle of booze” was • pl&yed feelingly by one organisation. : ..One of the Whangarei Theatres took the opportunity of making known a doming attraction by erecting a lone -pine in a Rock Mountain setting. Nothing was more realistic than r, •'Maori whare, which completely hid "the vehicle underneath, which seemed tp move about without any direction. ! ;A; bevy of dancers in another car threw petals over the people as they passed. V’ The Bargain Stores hit a topical note v/ith a picture of Victoria Bridge, and the wording underneath: “Bridge the ' gap between pay-day and the saving’s , bank.”

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