REGATTA DAYS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21414, 11 February 1933, Page 1 (Supplement)

REGATTA DAYS

BY MATANGA

MEMORIES AND HOPES

Refreshing our memories of Auckland regattas as they were once upon a time, especially those that marked Anniversary Day, we have profited from old chronicles that preserve the gala spirit. That was a " day of small things," but obviously real pleasure was got, and who shall say that the race for gigs so vivaciously described by the sports pressman of the New Zealand Herald -and Auckland Gazette of 1842 was not as exciting to contestants and onlookers as any event nowadays ? That the pleasure was real is evident from the fact that Auckland was not content, even in that year, with one regatta. On St. Patrick's Day, 1842—perhaps because the Anniversary Regatta was deemed another injustice to Ireland—there was a second.- Not much is recorded about it—no details like those concerning the Leander and the Black Angel. But it seems to have been adequately organised, not " got up at a few hours' notice," as was the first Anniversary regatta. Subscriptions to its funds were received at S. A. Wood's Royal Hotel, Watson's Exchange Hotel, Crummer and PhilUpsthal's Victoria Hotel, and the office of the New Zealand Herald.

3 Captain Hobson gave this loyal Irish 1 regatta his patronage, like the good 5 Irishman he was, and the stewards were W. Shortland, Esq., R.N.—to quote the newspaper notice—W. F. Porter, H. 1 Tucker, Esq., R.N., and David Rough, ® Esq., Harbour Master. Nor was Auckland the only place in the northern portion of New Zealand that held two regattas a year. In those distant days there was not the wide and a varied choice of pastimes so accessible to - later generations, and to concentrate on } this one was natural as well as convenie ent. To build their own boats was itself a pastime for many young men handy f with tools, and some of these amateur 3 products were no less seaworthy and fast than any turned out of the regular boatj builders' yards. So to wait twelve months for a second opportunity to try conclu- ' sions with all-comers was all the more _ irksome, and a day of organised contests, in addition to those of casual challenges between clipper craft, had its special £ delighis. 3 War Canoes [ In Swainson's book of 1859, " New r Zealand and Its Colonisation," is an j appreciative word for Auckland's regattas. 3 He bemoans the lack of forms of sport loved of Englishmen; of hunting none ] at all, and pigeons, curlew and wild j duck affording the only sport for the j, gun. " There is an annual race meeting," he languidly allows; " but the province , has never been celebrated for its breed of horses, and but little can be said in favour of the Auckland Races: however, { a well-contested race between several wellmanned canoes, usually to be seen at the Auckland Anniversary Regatta, is a sight, for interest and excitement, hardly to be . exceeded by the ' Derby' or the , T Oaks.' " | This form of aquatic display was com- [ mon until the 'eighties, and many of the . old folk of to-day recall with a thrill the i with which fy was contested: the ■ fearsome hakas—some akin in ferocity to the extinct war dances of the olden time —the feverish embarking, the lining-up for i the start with shouts of defiance, the sudden hush for the signal to go, then the i quick flashing of the myriad paddles to get under weigh, the chant of each kaii tuki—the fugleman standing amidships > on a thwart-j-as he set the measured stroke and his fervid brandishing of mere and sharp cries of urging as the pace had tactically to changed to a veritable ' rush through' ihe churned water. Oh, ' it was exhilarating beyond imagination! Attempts to put it into words have . all failed to convey half of the thrill. ( It had to be seen—and heard—to know what it really was. i A Memorable Race 1 In the JJew Zealander's newspaper ac- ' count of the 1857 regatta, however, is ' a recital worth repeating: Fifth CRace.—This was the Race for "Walea ' Taua (war) canoes; and never, probably in ' this or any other part of the world was i there a more animated or energetic struggle. Three canoes, of nearly equal proportions, Btarted:»they were superbly decorated with feathers of the wood-pigeon, and were proi pelled by stalwart crews numbering from 35 to 45 in each. Three prizes were offered (£2O, £lO and £5), in the event of five canoes competing. . . At 11.57 a.m., being in line abeam of the flagship, a magnificent i start was effected, and away they went • at a killing pace—shouting and exciting each other, and keeping a neck-and-neck position ' all the way to the flag off Freeman's Bay. which was rounded, at 12.5 p.m., so closely that a blanket might have covered them all. " Pikiwahini," the most powerful and numerously manned of the three, obtained and kept possession of a trifling lead; but great dexterity was evinced by " Manatepa," which, from a third, achieved the second place in rounding the flag. It was a truly splendid sight to follow and watch this race. The excitement and the exertions of the competitors were intense; and the efforts of the crew of the " Manatepa " to recover the second place, which they had lost, were absolutely Herculean. The flag off Judge's Bay was rounded, at 12.20 P ,m ;: " Pikiwahini "; in 15 seconds after by Tautarutu"; and in 80 seconds more by Manatepa and now thews aud sinews were taxed to the utmost to over-run the tide and train the flagship. It was nt once grand and distressing to witness the unflagging and zealous efforts of '» Manatepa " to win upon "Tautarutu": she gained inch by inch; and though she could not diminish the distance betwixt her and " Pikiwahini " she did not suffer her stronger leader to increase it. Perhaps the effort to revive Maori arts and crafts will make possible a resurrection of this splendid sort of display, in oldtime war canoes and with something of the old-time enthusiasm. Certainly no centenary pageant will be complete without something of the kind, so much of history and romance is in the waka taua. Manned again and driven at furious speed in _ chase or flight, it would be worth going a long way to see. The Maori had not lost all his inherited love of the sea when Tasman lighted on these shores long after him, and even when Cook came there were long coasting expeditions after the old manner. It was the ancient call of the sea that enthused his blood what time the pakeha gave him inducements to bring out the waka taua again—this, and the unkilled lust of battle. So he disported himself to the manner born, adding to the zest of the water gala a touch that deepened its joy for all. Other Times Those days seem far away. They really are. Our recent regatta had a very different appearance and nature, with sail displacing oari and paddles, and even sail threatened with eventual displacement by motor-engine. What our great grandfathers would think of it all can be imagined. How will our great grandchildren view what wo now have 1 There may be ventured the hope that never will the delights of the yachtsman pass from enjoyment. Back of them are long centuries of British love of the sea, and in them a lostering of human prowess at close grips with Nature. Mechanical propulsion can never give quite the same deep thrill of satisfaction, nor develop the manful qualities that make for national greatness. Better the zest of hand-to- ■ hand contest with the elements and their close study to make them serve human skill, better far than mere point-to-point, 1 noisy speed in a flurry of blinding spume. ' It would be a sad day for Englishmen, no 1 matter where found, if they could respond '• with no abandon to the joys of " a wet 1 sheet and a flowing sea, ana a wind that « follows fast," or of a stiff fight to wind- '< ward. "" 1