ANNIVERSARY FESTIVITIES.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXV, Issue 5870, 24 January 1880, Page 2

ANNIVERSARY FESTIVITIES.

The fortieth anniversary of the Province was celebrated on Thursday by amusements of various kinds. The day was almost as fine as could have been wished for, but the high wind prevailing interfered with a portion of ’’ the excellent programme provided by the : Regatta Committee. Picnic parties were to be seen in all directions, and family parties, in almost every description of vehicle, from a brougham t» a spring-cart, wended their way in different directions from the city. The fete at the Lower Hutt proved very successful, and the Naval Brigade's ball at the Arcade in the evening was crowded. The chief event of tbs day, however, was

THE REGATTA. Ships’ Gias.—Distance, two miles. Eu- - trance, £1 Is. First prize, £7 10s ; second, £4. Opawa (N.Z.S. C 0.)... ... ... ... 1 Western Monarch 2 ' Lutterworth ... ... ... ... ... 0 - Eastminster 0 The boats got off with a capital start, and when a short distance from the wharf,. the Western Monarch took the lead, closely pursued by the Opawa, the crew of which boat seemed in splendid form, rawing together as one man. The Lutterworth tried hard to obtain second place, but was out-distanced before the course was gone half over ; while the Eastminster, the crew of which pulled very gamely, fell far behind. Consequently the last mile of the race was left to the Western Monarch and the Opawa. When opposite Kaiwarra these two boats were stern and stem, r and a fine race resulted in the Western Monarch winning by six or seven lengths. First Class Coasters Race.— For vessels under 60 tons. Distance 20 miles. First prize, £4O and Messrs. Kohn and Co.’s Cup ; second prize, £ls. Time allowed,; lOsec. per ton. Clematis (ketch), 67 tons ... .. ... 1 Poneke (topsail schooner), 82 tons... ... 2 Alert (fore and aft schooner), 67 tons ... 0 Sarah Pile (brigantine) ... ... 0 Ellerton (three masted topsail schooner) 0 This was a capital race amongst the three first-named vessels, and it excited considerable interest. The Alert had been allowed to enter at the same tonnage as the Clematis, although she is a much smaller vessel, but the committee were induced to make this concession, inasmuch as the Alert had been sent to Wellington on purpose to contest the race, which was, in the first programme advertised, stated to be for 45-ton vessels. The advertisement was afterwards altered, the altered regulation thus excluding the Alert, but she was subsequently allowed to enter at the tonnage named. The time allowance was lOsec. per ton, consequently the Poneke, being entered at 15 tons greater than either the Alert or the Clematis, had to allow both those vessels 2J minutes. The five vessels entered had all taken up their moorings preparatory for the start shortly after 11.30, the Clematis being close to the wharf, the Sarah Pile next, the third position being occupied by the Poneke, with the Alert fourth. The latter vessel, however, shortly after anchoring, dragged her anchors to about; a cable's length astern, and her original place was taken by the Ellerton, which vessel was under command of Capt. Bendall, with a Naval Brigade crew. The breeze was strong, from the northward, with a chopping sea on, the weather being such as to effectually test the Weatherly qualities of the contesting vessels. The course was from between the wharf and the flagship buoys to a buoy off Ward Island, thence past Somes Island to a buoy between Ngahauranga and Petoui, thence to the starting place ; twice round. A good start was effected at 11.54, the vessels casting off on the port tack, and standing away in the direction of Point' Jerningham. The Clematis had the weather gauge of the others, the Ellerton having the leewardmost position, the Alert being astern, but lying higher. It soon became apparent that the Ellerton’s position was a critical one, as she was close in shore, with but little room for staying. As it was known that she takes a. long time in stays it was prophesied on all bands that she would go ashore, and the event proved the prophecies to be correct. She stood into Oriental Bay, and then made an attempt to go about. Her head came up into the wind, but she hung in that position, arid then gathered stern way. An anchor was lot go, but she dragged it, and finally brought up on the beach, where she remained. Had the anchor been dropped sooner it would have been an easy task, with a goad crew, to club-haul the vessel, and thus get her round on th-? other tack, but what is possible with a crew of seamen, is not so easy of accomplishment with a crew of “fresh water sailors,” however able the commander himself may be. While these events were progressing the other vessels had reached Point Jerningham, the Clematis leading, the Poneke occupying second position, and the Alert and Sarah Pile following closely, the Alert having already considerably improved the bad position she bad at starting. The vessels then worked across to the Ward Island buoy, the Clematis showing the best Weatherly qualities, her centre-board giving her an advantage over the others in this respect. By the time she had reached Ward Island the Sarah Pile was virtually out of the race, having lost ground considerably through not being able'to lie so close to the wind as the others. She subsequently met with several accidents, chief of which was the carrying away of her jibboom, and this compelled her to give up the race, much to the disappointment of her backers, long before the finish. It was acknowledged, that the race was a gift to the Hobartoniaa (the Clematis), she making shorter boards than the others, and making no leeway. The greatest interest was consequently centred upon the Alert and Poneke, which vessels were engaged in a close contest for second position. Off Ngahauranga the Alert bad overhauled the Poneke, and on the completion of the first circuit of the course the three vessels passed the wharf as follows :—Clematis, lh. 50m,; Alert, lh. 54m.; and Poneke, lh. 64m. 255. They then proceeded round the course again, and upon passing the Cormorant .the Alert luffed up into the wind, thus giving the Psneke, which was better steered, a slight advantage. The Poneke eventually overhauled the Alert, and the relative positions of the vessels then remained unchanged to the finish. The race was completed in grand style, the two leading vessels running in with every stitch of canvas, set. The Clematis came in at 3.49, and the Poneke at 3.50.12. The Alert, which had two aud a halt minutes allowance from the Poneke, began to take off sail when the latter got in, and therefore did not finish until four minutes later than her antagonist, and then she passed outside instead of inside the buoy, having apparently given in. Had she kept all sail on until the close of the race it is more then probable that she would have beeen in in sufficient time to claim second place. ■; s 9

First-class Yacht Rack. —Distance,. 26miles. First prize, £2O, and N.Z.S. Company’s cup ; second prize, £lO. Time allowance, ISsecs. per ton. Xariffa (16 tons) ... 1 Templar (10 tons) S Florence (12 tons) ... ... 0 A good start was effected at 12.46, the Xariffa having weatbermost position, and leading, with the Florence second. The Templar hung in the wind for a second or two, and did not get away as soon as the others, but aha soon made up for lost time when she did pay off. The Xariffa kept away in order to pass under the stern of the Cormorant, which vessel was, very inconveniently for the competitors, moored right in the course. In addition to this her steam launch and one or two boats were tailing out astern of her. These, bowsever, were taken oat of the way Of the competing yachts by a fishing smack which was pleasuring about the harbor, and which, either by accident or design, ran athwart the painter of the warship’s steam launch, cutting the launch and other boats adrift, and leaving the

course clear for the Xariffa, which thus passed closer under the Cormorant’s stern than she would have heen otherwise able to do. This Incident caused considerable merriment ashore at the expense of the man* o’-war, and the general verdict was one of “sarve him right.” The race was between the Xariffa and the Templar, the Florence sagging to leeward so much as soon to be altogether out of the race. The two first-named had a very good race of it throughout, both vessels being very well handled. The course was the same as that of the firstclass coasters, and on the completion of the first round the Xariffa passed the wharf at 2.57, the Templar passing smin. 58sec. later. ■ It was thus apparent that the Templar had lost ground considerably since the start, and this she continued to do for the remainder of the distance, the race being completed by the Xariffa coming in at 4.34 p.m., and the Templar at 4.48, there being thus 14 minutes between the two. This, ho wever, is reduced by 1J minutes, the time allowance. The remainder of the sating races were postponed until Saturday afternoon, the committee wisely to take the responsibility of starting them, considering the bad state of the weather. Whaleboat Race— Distance three miles. First prize, £2O; second prize, £7. Wheel of Fortune (Wellington) ... ... 1 Arawata (Naval Brigade) ... ... ... 2 Titdcowaru (H.M.S. Cormorant) ... ... 3 Crews.—Wheel of Fortune—Bow, H.Fluyd; 2, W. Hearn; 3, W. Taylor; 4, J. McGrath ; stroke, J. Smith ; B. Crowther, cox. Arawata —Bow, W. King; 2, W. Valentine ;3, W. Gnnson; 4, W. Nicholson ; stroke, W. Simpson; F. Dyer, cox. The wind had by this time fallen a good deal, and it was resolved to get at least one of the pulling matches off. The Wheel of Fortune drew ahead almost directly after the start, and maintained, the lead the whole distance, winning as they liked. Almost directly after the start, the bow of the Arawata (King) broke hia oar, and in order not to encumber the others he at once jumped overboard, and swam to a place of safety. At this time it was resolved to postpone some of • the races remaining on the list until the following day, and some untißSaturday (to-day). yesterday’s RACING. Yesterday the weather was as different as it could possibly have been from that of the previous day. The harbor was as smooth as a mill-pond, and there was hardly a breath of air stirring, while the atmosphere was beautifully warm and genial. At an early hour the bellman was sent round to proclaim that the four-oared races would take place that morning, and there was a very considerable attendance to witness each of the events, the first of which was to have started at 9 o’clock, but in consequence of some delay the boats did not put in an appearance until close upon 10 o’clock. Four-oared Outrigger Race, —Distance, 3 miles. First prize, £25. Dolly Yarden (Wellington) ... ... I Tiger Lily (Wanganui) ... ... ... 2 Crews—Dolly Vardeu : Bow, W. Hearn ; 2, McGrath ; 3, Floyd ; Smith, stroke. Tiger Lily : Bow, D. Miller ; 2, F. Holdich ; 3, Wheeler; stroke, C. V. Powell; cox, J. Rankin. The course was from the wharf round a buoy off Point Halswell, round the hulk European, and back to the starting place. The boats got well away together, but the Dolly soon assumed the command of affairs, and rounded the buoy some ten seconds ahead of her opponents. This lead was greatly increased, and the Wellington men won by some sixty or seventy seconds. Four-oared In-rigged Gig Race,—Distance, three miles. First prize, £l2 10s.; • second prize, £5. Rover (Wellington) ... 1 Maiden (Wanganui) ... ... ... 2 Crews —Rover: Hearn, McGrath, Floyd, and Smith, Maiden ;J. Leydon, R. Bassett, G. Wheeler, S. Clansey, J. Rankin (cox.) The Rover got away almost at the start, but she was hotly pursued by the Maiden, who was only a length aud a half astern at the turn. On the way home the Wellington men put on steam, and showed what they could do, winning by five or six lengths. ■ Volunteer Whaleboat Race. —Distance, three miles. First orize, £lO ; second do, £3. Elvira (Wanganui Fire Brigade) 1 Arawata (Naval Brigade, No. 1) ... ... 2 Our Boys, late Wheel of Fortune (Naval Brigade, No. 2).,; ... ... ... 3 Crews—Elvira ; Bow, J. B. Leydon ; 2, R. F. Wisdom ; 3, E. Miller ; 4, F. Holdich ; stroke, G. V. Powell; C. Cummins (cox). Arawata : Same crew as in Thursday’s whaleboat race ;T. Atkinson (cox.). Our Boys: Bow, W. Kitchen; 2, J. Douglas ; 3, W. Emeny ; 4, W. Harris; stroke, J. Taylor. The course in this race was the same as in Thursday’s whaleboat race. The start in this race was not so good as it might have been, for when the boats dashed off together the Elvira was fully a length ahead, A fine , race took place to the buoy,, at which place the boats were all together. Here, unfortunately, a foul took place, and one of the crew of Our Boys broke an oar, which caused that boat to lose all hope.of winning the race, which before it had an excellent chance of doing. From the buoy a splendid race took place between the Wanganui and Wellington men, and although these latter pulled gamely to overhaul the'r opponents they- were never able to do so, the Elvira winning by about a length, amid loud cheers from the people congregated on the wharf and the shipping. Subsequently Our Boys entered a protest against the other two boats for foubng, but at the committee meeting at two o’clock the protest was disallowed, the Elvira thus taking first honors. : The remainder of the races will take place to-day. CRICKET MATCH. The return match between the Banks and Insurance Offices took place on Thursday at the Basin Reserve, and resulted in a victory for the: former team by six runs, the match having been decided by the first innings. The Banks made 97 in the first inuings, and 85 in: the second ; whilst their opponents scored 91 in the first, and 60 in the second with the loss of eight wickets. Euglaud made a score of 35 for the Banks in the first innings, but got a nasty knock on the head while wicket-keeping, which incapacitated him from playing in the second innings. Both teams eat down to dinner at the Commercial Hotel in the evening, and spent some pleasant hours together. v V NAVAL BRIGADE, The second competition for Messrs. Kohn and Co.’s cup, and the final competition for Mr, Hislop’s medal, came off at the Polhill Gully.range on Thursday, when 37 competed. Some very good shooting was made. .The w'ather was very unfavorable for riflef 'shooting, as a strong north-wester was blowing the whole time. Bandsman Dixon carried off the cup with 49 points, and Seaman O. France the medal, making the best aggregate scores in the first three prize competitions. - The following are the scores of the ten highest competitors :

In the evening a plain and fancy dress ball was given at the Arcade, which proved a great suct-ess, 'The gallery was crowded with visitors. Mr.' Godber, Cuba-street, acted as caterer, and Mr. J, B. Murphy proved an efficient secretary, ‘ LOWER HUTT PARISH FETE. These sports, which were got up for the purpwsqTbf reducing the debt on the Church of England now in course of erection at the Hutt, proved very successful, large numbers having gathered on the grounds both from Wellington and the Hutt. Among those present were Sir William Eitzherbert, K.C.M.G., and Lady Bitzherbert, 1 Tea was provided during the day in a large tent erected on the ground, and there was a stall for the sale-of fancy goods, presided- over by several handsome young ladies. '’The'Hutt band contributed some musical selections during the day. The following is the result of the athletic competitions: Maiden Bace, 200yds. J. Avery Ist ; JD. McKain, 2nd. Hop, Step, and Jump—T. Area, distance, 39ft. 4in. Handicap Boys Bace, under 10yrs., 200yds.—H. Olapcott, Ist; B, Byan, -2nd. One Mile Walking Handicap Bace—A, Aimstrong, Ist; A. Zescb, 2nd, Sack Ka<r, liOyds.—A. Zesch, Handicap Hurdle Bace, '2ooyds., over four hurdles C. Cudby, Ist;- B: Keen, 2nd. Boys’ Bace, 150yds, under 12yrs.—W. Cudby, Ist; J. Windsor,' 2nd.* One Mile Handicap—!w. Bennett, Ist; J. Greeks, 2nd. Three Legged Kace, 100yds.— Greeks and Bennett, Ist; Gore-

Bros., 2nd. Tug of War, four teams of I men each—Taitawon. 100yds. Race—T. \i ", Ist; F. Kitching, 2nd. Smoking Race, 2-)oy*K —O. Cudby, Ist.; Meta, 2nd. PICNICS. The children attending tho Alolesworthstreet Sunday School spent Anniversary Day with their teachers and friends at Petone. There was a large attendance. Not far from the spot occupied by this school, on the other aide of the road, the children attending the Tory-street Sunday School, meeting in the . Princess Theatre, held their annual gathering. There were over 300 children, and many visitors. A most enjoyable day was spent, and the children returned to town by rail, singing and cheering tho whole of the way. There was also a large number of private picnics in some of the most favored spots in the vicinity of the harbor, and a good many availed themselves of the tramway as far as Newtown. the theatres. The Theatre Royal and the Academy of Music were well patronised. At the Theatre Royal, in addition to the very excellent programme of the previous evening, a pretty operetta was introduced, entitled “Cups and Saucers,” in which Miss Ella Carrington and Mr. Taylor appeared to great advantage.

Name. 200 400 , yds yds ; 500 yds Tot. H. *iion .. 17 18 14—49 Seaman A. Dixon .. ..14 20 IS—47 P.O, Stock ..: .. 16 18--4.6 Seaman Devine .. . 19 15—46 Seaman Walker, .. 15 15--44 Seaman Ingle .. . ..13 17 15—44 Seaman O.'JTrance.. .. 15 15 14--44 Seaman Deiz 14 14--44 Beaman Tandy 12 16 Seaman O. France.. n 16--43