LAND AND WATER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3247, 7 June 1916, Page 60

LAND AND WATER.

| OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY. FIFTIETH ANNUAL MEETING. The fiftieth annual meeting of the Otago ' Acclimatisation Society was hold in tho : Trades, Hall on the 31st ult. Mr G. W. M'lntosh (president) occupied the chair, and there was a fair attendance of members. In moving the adoption of the annual report and balance sheet, the Chairman dealt with several items of income and expenditure in the latter, stating that the society was in the fortunate position of having a net balance of £lB9 14s to the good. He referred to the culling of the red deer herd in the Hunter Valley, and pointed out that the society was fully aware of the importance of this matter. In the first contract let 1254 deer, including 250 stags, had been thinned out; and a further contract, which was now in progress, had been let for the careful culling of another 500 head. Mr Moorehou.se, of Rotorua, had recently been sent down, and, as a result of his visit, it was now felt desirable that the Hunter Valley herd and tho Waitaki herd should bo placed under one control. In the Morvon Hills and Lindis district tho council had been trying to get rid of the surplus of deer, as the herd was in very poor condition, and step 3 were being taken to effect that purpose. In regard to the red deer, it was proposed to seek Government assistance, and the work would be done as soon as circumstances permitted. This year a saving had been _ effected in the matter of hawks. Touching upon the question of fish, the preside ni gave some figures showing- the numbers of ova, yearlings, and two-year-olds thut had been liberated, an increase being noticeable in : every case.- He added that the council was 1 considering tho question of enlarging- the pond at Clinton. An attempt was being : made to introduce Australian swallows into ' New Zealand, these birds being of great ! value in destroying insect pests j and oxpen- : rnents with that object m view wore at ' present being carried out in Melbourne. Mr C. P. M. Buttcrworth seconded tho ; motion. He referred to the large amount it had been necessary to devote to poachers | and safeguarding the society's property, and instituted a comparison with the sum spent on the Clinton hatchery. It would be an excellent thing if tho license-holders, tho farmers, and the landowners could bo brought to realise that the society's assets wore also their own property, and. should be protected accordingly. He had pleasure in informing those present (hat tho nunbow trout at Hawoa were doing very well. The speaker was of opinion tl at something drastic should In; dono in regard to tho fallow deer herd. 11 about 2000 head wore destroyed it should put this herd in working order. Tho motion was carried. The following gentlemen wero elected to

fill tho vacancies on the council of the society:—President, Mr G. W. M'lntosh; vice-presidents—Messrs C. P. M. Butterworth and R. RuSierford; members o£ council—Messrs C. Baker. G. ]',. Ogilvie, A. Cowie, G. Matthewson, C. A. Wilson, and John Llungerford. In accordance with notice the chairman moved that the rule respecting the eligibility of members and life-members be altered so as to remove any ambiguity from its moaning.—The motion was carried. The balance sheet showed that the sum set aside some years ago as an employees' benefit fund now amounted to oidy £213 9s 7d; and, as the income derived from.this was too small to be of any value, it was decided that the sum should be transferred back to the general funds of the society. Mr Butterworth moved that £25 bo voted to the funds of the Otago Women's Patriotic Association.--The motion caused some discussion, but was _ finally carried by an apparently large majority. Mr J. C Anderson brought two matters under the notice of those present. He moved: (l)'That tho society approach the Government with a view to obtaining financial assistance for the purpose of establishing quinnat salmon in the Clutha River, as such an enterprise would prove of great commercial value;" and (2) "that this society ask the Government for Assistance in stocking the tourist routes and tho reserves in the back country with opossums, the skins of these animals being of great value.''—Both motions were carried unanimously. The Chairman made reference to the fact that the meeting that evening marked the jubilee of their society —tho oldest acclimatisation society in the dominion. The occasion would be marked by a special gathering, to be held at a later date, when he would read a paper covering tho very estimable record of the society during that long period. LADIES' HOCKEY. SEVEN-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT. The annual seven-a-side tournament of the Otago Ladies' Hoc-key Association was carried through most successfully at Carisbrook on Saturday. The competitions began at 10 a.m., and were carried on till shortly after 4 p.m. Tho tournament was divided into two sections, there being nine teams competing in the A Grade and 14 in the B Grade. Tho matches were played in two four-minute spells, with a minute interval. Messrs Martin, Fogarty, Courtis, Webb (2), and Stewart earned tho thanks of the Association for their services as referees throughout the day. The association is also especially indebted to Mr G. A. Nelson for tho great assistance he gave in the organising of the whole tournament. There wore a considerable number of spectators on the ground, and tho course of the matches was followed with keen interest. Balolutha Ladies' No. 1 team, consisting of Misses V. Worsdell, M. Malcolm, M. Johnston, K. Armour, Roach, E. M'Donald, and I. M'Masters, won the A Grade competition with 14 points to their credit. Otago and St. Joseph's, with 12 points each, came next. Tho Columba College girls, who gave a pretty display, succeeded in winning tho B Grade competition, and thus retaining the Junior Cup they won last year. Their team consisted of Misses L. Duthie (captain), H. and F. Manchester, A. Acheson, M. Cawley, M. Burt, and Thelma Smith. They had five wins and a draw to their credit, the Mosgicl High School girls being close up with five wins and a loss. The whole proceeds of the meeting are to bo divided" between the funds of the Auzac Club and the Walton-on-Thamcs Hospital. The ladies of the association ran a sweets stall, which brought in ■ very satisfactory returns. It is anticipated that, as a result, thero will bo a total of £l2 or £ls to hand over. The following are tho detailed results of the games : A GRADE.

DONALD DINNIE. DEATH OF FAMOUS ATHLETE. (Fsosi Ooa Own Correspondent.) LONDON, April 21. A low wooks ago 1 was lunching' with a woll-'known oilieer of the New Zealand M< dical Service —a Scot —in a London hostelry almost as well known. We w-ero talking about Scotland, and a solitary stranger opposite sat silent for some time. At length, being a Scot himself, lie had to admit it and join in the conversation. Ho had been a groat athlete in hie youth—a wrestler, runner, tosscr of the caber, and sundry other thing's that are approved by Deoside, and by-and-bye ho drew from his breast pocket a letter, which he was evidently treasuring l . It was not scores of years old. As a matter of fact, he had only received it the previous day, and it was from ono Donald Dinnie, written in a clear, even hand, more like that of a man of 30 than of ono of 80. The surprise to me was that Donald Dinnie was still alive. It is long enough since he was a tradition amongst the frequenters of New Yeai-'s Day sports mcet'ings in New Zealand, and then he was always talked of as one of the earlier generation. Nevertheless ho was alive, and was actually living in Portland road, Netting Hill Uato, his chief means of support being an annuity resulting from the fund

raised 30 years ago by a great benefit performance at the .London Scottish Hall. Donald Dinnio was bom at Aboyne, Deeside Valley, in 1837. At the height of his athletic glory he was 6ft lin in height, and 4?£ inches round the waist, and weighed 2201 b. He oxc< lied in practically every sport that the Scots will tolerate—a pretty wide field, —and he won 11,000 contests and received more than 150 championship cups, meuais. and awards. At sheer feats of strength, such as hammer-throwing, tossing the caber, and wrestling, he was never beaten; yet, in spite of tin's and of his weight, he made a high leap of 6ft lin, a long leap of 20ft lin. a hop skip and leap of 44ft, and ran 100 yards in 10 2-ssec, in 1874 lie threw a 161 b 2oz hammer a distance of 138 ft Bin, and in 1873 he threw a 221 b hammer "!07ft Tin. Our interest in Donald Dinnie is throefold. There was his athletic reputation. There was the fact that he lived in New Zealand for some years. And there is tho fact that his younger brother, Mr Walter Dinnie (formerly Commissioner of Police) still lives tb.ere. The New Zealand Government has been sending over 25,000 eggs of the quinnat salmon to the Tasmanian Government for some years part, and Mr L. F. Ayson informed a reporter a few days ago that this annual consignment had been despatched from. Hakatararaca for transport to Wellington by tho ferry boat, in order to catch the st. uner for Sydney leaving Wellington on Saturday.

- _■ -ti q a 0 9 Q "5 Balclutha I 6 0 2 14 Utago 4 0 4 12 St. Joseph's 4 0 4 12 Waiata 4 1 3 11 Balclutha School 4 2 2 10 University 6 3 2 8 Bald nth a II ... 1 1 6 8 Momona 3 5 0 6 Konini 2 6 0 4 B GRAD1 30 i a Q 43 .S Columba 5 0 1 11 Mosgiel High School ... Girls' High School I 5 4 1 1 0 1 10 9 Ravensbourne 3 1 1 7 Taieri I 2 2 2 6 Momona 2 1 2 6 (Jtago Girls' High School II ... 2 2 2 2 2 6 6 St. Joseph's Taieri II 1 0 1 1 3 5 5 5 Waiata II 0 1 5 5 Ravensbourne II 0 1 5 5 St. Hilda's 1 3 2 4 Waiata I 0 .3 3 a