TURF TOPICS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2671, 24 May 1905, Page 52

TURF TOPICS.

There was a dash of eccentricity about the first sportins; revels held .n Austra ha which then consisted of (says Boondi ) the lovely harboar State only, and this may account for the fact that eccentrio w a 2 er , 3 were very popular in olden times although seldom heard of to-day. In the brave days of old it waa hard for half a dozen men to start yarning together without a wager being made binding one of them to do or attempt to do some strange feat or other. A little group of good old-time eports were sitting on the verandah of the Coach and Horses (a pub. on the Sydney road about six miles from Bathurst) skiteing about the brave deeds they had done, and could still do, when old Billy Boyle, pointing to the top of a small hill a little distance off, said ho would wager £20 he could pull a drag loaded with a ton of blue metal up to that point within four hours. As this seemed an utter impossibility, old Billy could have been accommodated 50 times over, but he said once would do, and closed the hot with a sound and safe opponent, his only stipulations being that he was to have the loading of the cart and be allowed a man to chock the wheels waen the puller of the cart was resting. Next day a goodly crowd rolled up to see the fun, and everything being in readiness old Billy had the cart loaded, so that the ton of "gibbers" was equally balanced on the axle tree, and the shafts could easily be raised with one hand. The signal to start being given, Billy faced tho load, uiekecl un the shafts, and puled them round to the left, so that the right wheel came round nearly 2ffe, and the maai attending on him instantly chocked that wheel. Then Billy slewed the shafts about as far rotind to the right, so that the left wheel came on a couple of feet, when it was al c o chocked ; and by so slewing the shafts backwards and forwards in this fashion he actually got the ton load' to the top of the hill in 3hr 51min, and won his £20 wager.