ALHAMBRA FOOTBALL CLUB THE QUEST FOR GOLD: A RIVER DIVERSION AT NEVIS GORGE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22353, 29 August 1934, Page 6

ALHAMBRA FOOTBALL CLUB

THE QUEST FOR GOLD: A RIVER DIVERSION AT NEVIS GORGE

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS THE OPENING FUNCTION The opening function in connection with the fiftieth anniversary of the Alhambra Football Club was held last night at the Lyceum Hall, about 280 club members and visitors being present at a smoke concert. The chair was occupied by the president of the club (Mr A. Restieaux). The chairman briefly extended a welcome to those present and expressed pleasure at seeing so many clubmates, both old and new, taking part in this important celebration. Many of the men he saw round him had been his associates over a period of 50 years, and many of them could boast of strong friendships which had stood the test of half a century. He introduced some of the original members of the club—Mr F. Lowry, the first secretary, Mr H. Pellett, Mr E. Gibb, Mr A. Downes, Mr A. Green, and one young member, Mr E. Archibald, who had made a beautiful birthday cake and presented it to the club for the jubilee. The first toast was that of the “Otago Rugby Football Union,” which was proposed by Mr R. Bennett, who said that at a' function such as this it was only right that the toast of the governing body should head the list. The Otago Rugby Union had governed the sport in the province both wisely and well over a lengthy period, and today the organisation of arrangements for the representative matches at Cariabrook were all that could be desired, a fact which would be borne out by all who attended last Saturday’s match. The various clubs had their representation on the parent body, but it was to their credit that these delegates forgot all club feeling and worked harmoniously together for the good of the game generally. Of the men whose names were prominently associated with the work of the Rugby Union those of Mr H, Harris and Mr V. G. Cavanagh were high on the list. Both had worked hard in the interests of Rugby football and to them and those who had worked with them the present position of the union and the clubs was largely due. The response was in the hands of Mr J. B. 'Wootton, who said that Messrs Harris and Cavanagh had certainly done yeoman service. It was the aim of the union to give every club a fair deal and though it was somewhat difficult at times he thought that the union had been very successful in this respect. He congratulated the Alhambra Club on reaching its fiftieth year and on holding such a proud position among the clubs of the province. Mr V. G. Cavanagh proposed the toast of “The Alhambra Football Club,” and assured the gathering that no club had a greater claim on his admiration. It was a little difficult to realise that 50 years ago some of those present had been responsible for the formation of tho club. The club stood pre-eminent as one of the finest in the world, not only in football but in the way it trained its your* members to know what the club spirit meant and just what was the value of good social organisation within the club. The club brought the members together for the purpose of get-' ting what enjoyment they could out of life and taught them that if they played the game of sport cleanly they would also play the game of life cleanly. They were men who had helped materially to make the world a little better. The speaker went on to refer to the early days of football in Otago and expressed admiration of the work done by the Alhambra Club for football in New Zealand. It was always a fine thing to see clubs helping themselves, and in this vdspect he wished to congratulate tho Alhambra Club on the very good 1 pavilion it had secured entirely through its own efforts. He also wished to express his admiration for the way in which members of the club who had concluded their days of active participation in the game freely gave their services as referees ar.-J on the governing body. In conclusion, Mr Cavanagh extended his best wishes to the club and expressed the hope that the next 50 years would be as successful as the first.

Mr Restieaux replied on behalf of the club and said that it had always done its best in the interests of football in the Dominion. It had been the first club to copy the tactics of an English team which' visited Dunedin, and the other clubs had later followed suit. The club had been fortunate in that it had always had good secretaries, and he believed that having an efficient secretary meant a great deal to any organisation. A poor secretary frequently caused trouble. It had been the policy of the Alhambra Club to train its young members to have a proper respect for the old members, and the result was entirely satisfactory. The fact that the club had been successful socially was largely due to the good committees it had had. The members were always keen, and there was never a meeting that was not fully attended. The speaker went on to refer to several officers of the club whose services had been specially valuable, mentioning Messrs J. King and I. Grant as energetic members of the committee, J. M’Cleary and “Toby” Hobson as two outstanding captains, and Mr G. A. Nelson as a most efficient treasurer.

Mr J. M’Cleary and Mr A. Downes also spoke, both giving interesting and amusing reminiscences of the early days of the club.

The other toasts honoured were:— “ Absent Members,” proposed by Mr A. Allen; “Sister Clubs,” proposed by Mr J. King, and responded to by representatives of several other Dunedin clubs; “ Referees’ Association,” proposed by Mr J. Mitchell, and responded to by Mr J. Hayes; and “Old Timers,” proposed by Mr J. J. Clark. Mr I. Grant acted as toastmaster.

During the evening opportunity was taken to make a presentation to Mr A. (“ Punch ”) M’Dougall. The president made reference to the valuable services rendered to the club by Mr M’Dougall ovr a lengthy period both as a player and more recently as the club’s coach. It was in recognition of his work in the latter capacity that the presentation was being made. He then asked Mr M’Dougall to accept a bowler’s bag as a token of the appreciation felt by the members of the club.

Mr M’Dougall suitably returned thanks.

Begg’s Orchestra, under the baton of Mr J. F. Himburg, provided enjoyable music during the evening, and items were contributed by the following:—Messrs C. Hawes, J. E. Davies (songs), C. Paine, C. H. Russell (recitations), J. Coutts (instrumental item), J. Eggers (ventriloquist). The accompaniments for the singers were played by the orchestra.

When Mihailo Petrovitch, of Belgrade, proposed marriage to his landlady, she answered: “ Dirty old beggar man I would not marry you if you were the last man in the world! ” “One day you will regret not taking me,” replied Petrovitch, who rarely spent a penny, ate only scraps of food given him by neighbours, and would not light a fire even on the coldest winter day. Now Petrovitch is dead. And concealed in the patched mattress on which he died they found banknotes, with millions of dinars (,0 million dinars is worth £4000). Now, long-forgotten relatives of Petrovitch have appeared to claim the fortune. The feelings of his landlady are not reported.

A Cromwell syndicate holding an area on the Nevis River has taken advantage of recent periods of low river level to prospect an area of their claim by turning the river into a specially-constructed diversion channel. The area is one on which miners in recent years have won rich prospects down to the water’s edge. Unfortunately a high rise came on the day after the syndicate completed its wing-dam, and it was prevented from cleaning up the exposed section. However, some encouraging prospects of rough gold were won. Our pictures show (top left) a general view of the diversion channel on the right, the aim of the syndicate being to clean up the section in the lowei left-hand corner. The top right picture is a cross section of the diversion channel. Below are shown (left) the top end of the cut befoie the dam was completed, while the last shows the river diverted into the new channel, with the wing dam.