EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27082, 17 May 1949, Page 4

EIGHTY-FIVE YEARS AGO

FROM THE FILES OF THE ' ®tago ©all? TEtmea DUNEDIN, MAY 17, 1864. We take the following, says the Daily Times, from the Melbourne Herald: —“Mr Shadrach Jones, the caterer for the public amusement in Dunedin has arrived in Melbourne in search of novelties. We understand that he has already entered into negotiations with Mr • Lyster for the Opera Company to visit Otago at the termination of the present season.” There were no fewer than 17 individuals charged before the Resident Magistrate yesterday morning with having been drunk, either on Saturday or Sunday evenings. Of these 13 were fined in the usual penalty of 20s or 48 hours’ imprisonment; and four were discharged, because they had been locked up sixfee Saturday night. The weather being very fine the attendance at the Maori Point races was better than might have been expected, nearly 400 people, chiefly miners were on the ground. The course was selected on the Western Terrace above the river, the only objection to it being the difficulty of access. Horses had either to be swam across the Shotover —swollen considerably by the ;recent .floods —or taken along the dangerous sidling which forms the first part of the track to Skipper’s Gully. A fatal accident happened early in the day to a well known Riverton horse, Sugar. As he was being led up to the course by young Welsh Pennefather, the trooper, came by at h gallop. Sugar got excited and broke ' away, falling immediately over the frecipice, some, 400 feet, and was illed on the spot. He was considered safe for the Hurdle Race and Steeple Chase and his loss was much .deplored by his owner and backers. A ball took place in the evening at the Victoria • Hotel, but was not a great success, owing to the limited number of the fair sex—three only being present.