A Gala Day at the Basin Reserve.

Free Lance, Volume XVI, Issue 849, 13 October 1916, Page 21

A Gala Day at the Basin Reserve.

Some Casual Comments.

W% EFORE commenting on the sports J|J • -gathering last Saturday there- are — one or two statements I would like to make about' the Basin .Reserve and the improvements that have been made to our principal sports grounds since last summer. First and foremost, it was a. picture to look at on Saturday. The grass was green enough to make one feel inclined to burst into superlatives, and the way in which the coui'se was flagged out elieited.many very favourable comments .from the officials and spectators..

Someone wrote to one of the daily papers complaining about the uprooting of the plantation just inside the Kentterrace gates of the Reserve. In passing, it may conifort him to' Itnow that the trees have- all he en replanted in various parts of the city—many of them at Newtown Park —where they are all doing well and thriving. The grassy bank that has replaced the plantation is satisfying both froth.' the beauty and the utility standpoint, and the mind that conceived, it —-Councillor Frost. the Chairman of the Reserves Committee, I believe- —and the man that carried it out . "Budge". Brewer—are deserving of the best thanks of the citizens - r

There are other improvements In progress, . and: if this grassy bank is a sample of what is going to be.done to the Basin Reserve when it is finished I only ;hope the-croakers will- keep ' quiet for a while and let these men who are working in the interests of beautifying the Basin Reserve- have' a- free, hand" to carry out their "intention. The ' money spent in its. improvement—-I believe this bank I have been referring to only cost the city £15 above the wages of its ordinary workmen to make—will be money well spent, if some of the ugliness can. be removed from the sports ground that should be a credit t<> Wellington. It has hot been in the past, therefore the present 'effort to improve it should not-be cur-tailed in any wav.

' Just one more thought in. this connection. The barn-like structure that, has done duty as a pavilion- for fifty years could be pulled down and replaced by an up-to-date structure. Tlianks. however. to the efforts of Mr. Doddrell, of the D.l.G..staff,.it was a thing of beauty

on Saturday, the decorations in the box where the pressmen and scorers do their duty every Saturday - afternoon : - during, the cricket season converting 4t into a fairy bower for the time being. * * * * The Sports were a sort of a go-as-you-please affair, although the items were many and varied. There was an Association football match between representatives of the town and country (Porirua principally) schools. But little interest was taken in itj although some clever football was shown by the boys, the town lads proving more expert than the mingling of Maori and white boys opposed'to them. They won by v four goals (by Ryan. James; Nash, and Griffith), to one (by Lambert/.

A ladies' hockey match, with- Mr. J. C. Cusack in a. full cricket costume as referee, filled up a comfortable halfhour. some of. the young, ladies showing fine sprinting ability.; So much so that the management put on. a 100 yds race for them. at the conclusion of their exhibition. ihatch, the result of which was; — Miss Lang 1, Miss McKenzie 2. Miss McDonnell 3.

Mr. Alex. Campbell, the well-known contractor and bowler and the old-time Wellington Rugby representative forward, looked just the thing in a. "kiltie" suit, his fine big frame and brawny Jegs proving him to be a typical Highlander. Alick had with'liim Jackßrodie, another- Rugbyite of the past—also in Highland costume—and a nice bevy of kilted girlies, who gave some in,spiriting exhibitions <*f Scottish dancing. A full band of pipers were with them, and Scotland had a good hearing from its sons in consequence of the display, of kilts and bagpipes.

The, .parade of . Boy • Scouts and the handing ;ov,er of a beautiful French flag to Mr. Macintosh, the French Consul, for the Boy Scouts of France, was worth while. It took up a lot of time, but the'boys were happy in doing honour to the boys of our Allies, and their pageant was illustrative of the fighting forces still in reserve in New Zealand when they come of an age to help uphold the traditions of the British race. •

The Soldiers' Races. There were twenty starters in the lOO.yds championship for soldiers, now in camp,..which.was run in three heats and a final. The heats were walkovers for Corporal Mark, Corporal Bunting, and Private Knapp respectively. The final, however, was a fine race between the nine starters. K J. Mark having to try all the way to. win from E. P. Stock, with W. C. Buntmg third. The 220 yds was another good race, Mark again winning, with A. J. McDougall second, and Stock, third; McDougall ran a good second in the second heat of the 100 yds, but the judge missed him altogether, and he was not placed: Corporal L. J. Mark is the wellknown Auckland sprinter, who ran -^ec-

ond to .A. T. Duncan. in the two sprints (100 yds and 220 yds) at the lust New

Zealand 'Championship meeting held in Wellington. Corporal Stock hails from Timaru, Private Bunting, from the Thames, and Private A. J.- McDougall is .a Lower' Hutt boy,; which proves - that' our soldier athletes come from all parts of New Zealand.

The mile walk was a real good exhibi-. tion between Corporal W. L. Free and Corporal. G. Webster, who kept together all-the- way round, - their heel-and-toe work being considerably above what one would expect from casual competitors at walking. •... Private J. Middle/ton won the sack race in a way that proved lie was no re-! cruit at the game, daylight—and a Vig lump of it, too—being second to him. There were several other events 011. the programme for the soldiers —a boot and barrel race, a. hair-dressing -and a hat-trimming competition—but I "did not take the trouble to find out who won them. They provided plenty of fun for the spectators, a.nd also for the competitors, which was all one could expect. ' . & & 4S- . . -0. The Weather Was Fine, which was wonderful," considering how dreary', and .dispiriting; the morning had been. There was a fine crowd of specta-; tors, included amongst whom were His Excellency the. Governor and Lady. Liverpool, and. they all evinced a. pleasing. interest in the bill-of-fare provided, for them.: The object of thes gathering was to augment the fund for providingClxristmas comforts for our soldier boys, at the front, and the amount ' raised should have been satisfying. The committee responsible worked ' hard early arid late, and deserved all the success they met with . © ■» «• « Personal Comments. -Mr'. J.' H. Pollock, whose health has not been of the best of recent years, felt the call of -the sports on Saturday, and; was -amongst the -spectators. He received' many congratulations , from his friends on his apipearance on the Basin Reserve, 'where he has done much fine work ; as an. official in the past. "When L. J. . Mark won the 100 yds Soldiers'; championship he picked him out as a. runner above the average, arid was satisfied his judgment was correct when he heard his name. May- J. H. Pollock continue. on the -road, back to good health, and'his old-time, activity. ' What fine, fellows there are connected with the game of ~ Association . football in Wellington, and good sports evea'y. one. This thought comes to me in reviewing this outing on "the Basin Heserve last Saturday. The secretary (G. S. Hill) is an old Queen's Park player, and his quondam captain (T. Shields) was assisting in the management, as were .aslo were" Albert Wells (chairman of the Association), W. Auld; (Roversplayer and referee), and Harry McKeoweri (ex-Association secretary)..' And this is not the only time these, fellows have been associated with the r.unnihg of a gathering for the benefit of our soldier bovs. I- looked round for a " long while before I found a -Rugby official, but eventually D. D. Weir- happened along to do ..his bit. Barring -- Alex. Gampbell and J. referred to > .who were . running what: was really a side-show of tl ie i rown —-Mr. Weii- was the only Rugby man X-saw in an official position. •

A sports meeting in Wellington would not be complete without the other fellows who were on duty on "Saturday afternoon, and in mentioning their names I am doing all that is necessary. They were : A. A.. Marryatt (supervisor). W. H. Pollock, B. A. Guise, and A. Davies (jiidges), and T.. ~ffl- ' Leslie

(starter, and judge of- walking).: Cr. G. Frost (Chairman of the Reserves Committee) was also an official, and he is welpome ; wherever sports' gatherings are held., . There is no. on . the City Council who is _so deservedly popular armongst the sports in the community Cr." Frost is', as it is recognised by them ail that he has strong leaning towards; thedevelopment of' our young men; phySicaJly.' .'And' vcatli "tHis ment that admits. of no I- will.wind' up my review of the successful outing at the Basin Reserve last Saturday afternoon. .