ROWER’S IMPRESSIONS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27333, 8 March 1950, Page 5

ROWER’S IMPRESSIONS

VISIT OF AUSTRALIAN STROKE KARAPIRO’S POSSIBILITIES “Karapiro has the makings of a wonderful course,” said Alan Brown, stroke of the victorious Australian rowing eight at the British Empire Games, in an interview with the Daily Times yesterday. In the course of a holiday tour of New Zealand since the Games, in company with a Sydney University classmate, H. P. Christie, Brown has been the guest In Dunedin of his uncle, Mr H. E. Gardiner. According to the Australian oarsman, all that Karapiro now requires to make it an ideal course for rowing is a windbreak on the south-western bank, and this he understands is being planned. “It is an extremely fair course with splendid accommodation for spectators,” he said.

Br.own is a .product of Sydney High School where he rowed in the No. 4 seat in the school eight in the Head-of-the-River Race, and during the war he stroked an air force crew in England. He has spent the last four years at Sydney University and has stroked the University crew to victory in the InterVarsity Eights • for the last three years. Six members of his crew and the coxswain were included in "the Australian eight which was successful at the Empire Games, the- other two coming from the Sydney Rowing Club. “We did not expect the comfort ■we had at Karapiro, and every member of the crew was satisfied with our stay there,” Brown said. The Australian stroke believes that given the opportunity and the facilities, the West End eight, which represented New Zealand at the Empire Games, would be prominent in the next Olympic Games at Helsinki. The crew is young, and the experience gained at the Games will be most valuable to it,” he said. “ The opposition from the New Zealand crew was much stronger than we expected.” Brown also commented that the West End crew was clearly at its peak for the Games, but unfortunately had passed it when it. went on to Wanganui to be beaten by the Aromoho crew In the Eights at the New Zealand championship regatta.

Since the Games concluded, Brown has been on a holiday tour of New Zealand. He likes all he has seen, and not the least enjoyable part of his visit to Dunedin was a gamp at the Balmacewen golf links, which he described as comparable with any of the Sydney courses. He left for the north yesterday morning.