DEATH OF “JOCK” TURNBULL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26367, 23 January 1947, Page 2

DEATH OF “JOCK” TURNBULL

The recent death of Mr John S. (“ Jock ”) Turnbull will be regretted by large numbers of followers of Rugby football who are able to recall his notable, but all too short, career as a player. He was i contemporary of Richardson and other outstanding forwards of the same period and was regarded as the equal of any of them ar.d as a certainty for All Black honours had he remained in .the game. A returned soldier from- the 1914-18 war, he enlisted at the age of 20 and

saw active service with the mounted forces in Palestine. He played Rugby for the Taieri Rovers Club and subsequently for the Kaikorai Club, and represented Otago on eight occasions in 1920 and 1921. He was selected to train for the New Zealand team against the Springboks in 1921, but a disability developed which prevented his inclusion and cut short completely a football career of the brightest promise.

BUTTERFLY STROKE ALLOWED The Otago and former New Zealand breaststroke champion, W. H. Dyson, of the Kiwi Club (Dunedin), gained the distinction last week of being the first Dominion swimmer to use the “ butterfly ” breaststroke in a rac§ without being disqualified. Dyson diet this at a carnival in Auckland, the big crowd watching with keen interest as he moved over the full distance of the 110 yards open breastsroke handicap with a very effective “butterfly’ action, throwing his arms forward above the surface, instead of pushing them forward beneath the surface, as in the orthodox breaststroke. He won the heat in lmin 24 2-ssec, a good time. As the “butterfly, has always been banned in New Zealand, Dyson was expected to be excluded from the official placings. However, the referee, Mr H. P. Congdon, allowed Dyson's performance, as he had used the stroke for the whole distance, thus complying with the internatiohal law. The decision was applauded by many of the spectators. In the final Dyson was second to Miss M. Craney, to whom '.e gave a start of 30sec.

TRIPLE SUCCESS Miss Valmai Baird, the Otago High Jump champion, was the only athlete to win three events last Saturday. She won the High Jump from scratch at 4ft 7in. at which height she won her provincial title last year. Her other successes came in the 220 Yards Handicap and in the 80 Metres Hurdles. The former race is regarded as the women’s ’• marathon,’ - but Miss Baird finished it out in resolute fashion. A small field contested the Hurdle Race, and the winner’s ability over the obstacles was a factor in her success. Miss Baird had another run to finish second in the 75 Yards. Miss A. Dodds won both the Discus and Shot events, in which the Otago champion, Miss Nancy Hanlin. who is not up to her top form, had the best actual distances, 84ft in the former and 27ft Bin in the latter. Although unable to score a win. Miss M Simpson, with three third placings. was a consistent performer, and Miss O. Devlin won a hard-fought finish in the 75 Yards. FORCEFUL BATTING A S. Mills, who has been keeping wickets very well this season for the Albion-Y.M.C.A. eleven, is also a capable batsman of the forcing type. On Saturday, after his side had lost two wickets for 14 runs, he took charge of the bowling, and first with Smith and then with Robinson retrieved the position and laid the foundation for a solid total. Mills’s chief scoring strokes were the hook and forward drives. Some of his hook shots were lofted, but fell safe, and the fact that his 57 included three 6’s and five 4 - s is sufficient to indicate the weight of