JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 22

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS.

OTAGO RUGBY UNION.

SUCCESSFUL SMOKE CONCERT.

The functions arranged by the Otago Rugby Football Union for the celebration of its jubilee were commenced on Tuesday evening, when a smoke concert was held in the Earl}’ Settlers’ Hall. Representatives of all periods in the history of the game in Otago were present. Mr H. Harris (president of the union) occupied the chair. r The chairman, in welcoming those pre sent, expressed gratification at seeing so many old players present. He especially welcomed Messrs G. L. Denniston, A. Y Smith, J. J. Mallard, and R. Brown There were of' course, others, but the men he had_mentioned had been playing before or at the time of the formation pf the union. Mr Brown had come from Christchurch and Mr Smith from Invercargill. He also welcomed the delegates from the various unions, including Mi M'Phail. president of the Canterbury Union; Mr Robinson, president of. the Southland Union; and Mr King, of the Wellington Union. Numerous messages of congratulation had been received. They came from Dr Adams (president of the New Zealand Union), the New Zealand Union, the Wanganui West Coast, East Coast (North,lsland). and Thames Valley Unions. Messrs W. J. Morrell (rector of the High School), R. Isaacs, J. O’Shea, Spencer G. Smith. Peter Anderson, and Jack "Williams. Those present then joined in the enthusiastic singing of the old football song “ On the Ball.’’ led by Mr J. Clark. Mr A. E. M'Phail, president of tne Canterbury Rugby Union, proposed the toast of “The Otago Rugby Union.” He said it gave him great pleasure to meet so many fine supporters of the Rugby ’ game. Their associations with the Otago Union had always been of the most pleasant kind and the Canterbury Union realised the very fine work which bad been carried out by’ the administrators of the game in the sister province. The speaker mentioned the services which had been rendered in the past by Mr Harris and Mr Campbell. They, with others, bad kept the flag of Rugby floating at the masthead. — (Applaue’e.) Canterbury nad already held its jubilee celebrations, and they had proved most successful. The en thusiasm at the celebrations was just ae great in Canterbury as they were show ing that night. The game of. football was well worth playing, and it had been very capably administered in-the past and also jd the present by those they had placed at the head of affairs. The first game played between Otago and Canterburv was in 1880, and it ended in a draw. The speaker congratulated Otago on then win against Canterbury" the previous Saturday. He said he had been asked by two men well known in football circles in Canterbury—Mr Sam Wilson and Mr Evans—to express his best wishes for the success of the Otago celebrations. — (“Hear, hear”) Referring to the visit of the British team, Mr M'Phail said that they might have a difference >f opinion regarding the administration of the game by the International Board in England, but they had to remember that the game was. on a more democratic basis out here, and the legislators in the Dominion, maybe, took a broader view of >t than those in the Old Country.— (“ Hear hear.”) The game was reaching out everywhere in New Zealand, and it nad taken a very strong hold in the schools. The point was stressed that they should instil the spirit of the game into the boys, and if that were done they had nothing to fear for the future of the game.— (Loud applause.) Mr W Robison, president of the Southland Union, also spoke to the toast. He thanked the Otago Union, on behalf of the Southland Union, for the many kindnesses extehded to them over a great number of years. That was a night of memories, continued the speaker, and the items played by the orchestra had proved most fitting.— (Applause.) The speaker mentioned Mr J P. Maitland, Dr Coughtrey. and Sir James Allen amongst others, wh'o had worked so well for the game. These men had laid the foundations well and truly; and it behoved those, who followed them to build judiciously on those foundations.' The game was really an education, and it helped to make them good citizens. — (Applause.) Mr Robison went on to refer to the number of youths who watched the game from the bank instead of playing it themselves, and said they should take" an active " part in the game.— (Applause.) He concluded by again wishing the Otago Union every success in its .future -activities.

■ Major King, speaking on behalf of the Wellington Union, said he had been charged with all sorts of good messages from his .union. They had nothing but • the best recollections of their games with Otago. He considered, that the people of Otago did not see the Otago team it its best if they had not seen it. in action in Athletic Park, where it had put up some wonderful games.—-(Applause.) He referred to a very fine match which had taken place on Athletic Park in 1908. when a great set of Otago forwards were matched against a very fine back team Much to hie delight Otago bad won by 17 points to 15. points. There were always thousands of barrackerg for Otago when they played at Athletic Park, and they cheered on the wearers of the Blue with the greatest enthusiasm He believed in playing the game to win, notwithstanding that some people argued that the win was not everything. They should, however, play the game to win, realising, of course, that it must be played in "accordance with the rules and in the "true spirit. They, had overheard it said that the finest football was played in the secondary schools, and rightly so. The boys were imbued with the proper ideals, but he asked them- not to believe that the boys themselves or their school masters did not care who.won or lost.— (“ Hear, hear.”) Some people asked why they should make such a fuss over a mere game. Well, if for nothing else, it was a tribute to those men who had devoted their time and energy in the past to the administration of the game. — (Applause.) The gathering that night, and similar functions, were, on that basis, well worth while.— (Applause.) Their fine grounds, etc., were a tribute to the manner in which the foundations of their game had been laid. He congratulated

Otago on its proud record over 50 years. The speaker said he had received telegrams from Messrs Millard and M'Naught asking him to express their best wishes for the success of the celebrations. — (Applause.) Mr “ Billy ” Wallace and Mr Mark Nicholls had also given him personal messages wishing the Otago Union every success.— (Applause.) He was very pleased to read that their old friend. Charlie Sonntag, had on the previous Saturday! secured the record for the greatest number of games played for Otago. He congratulated him, and said that no followers of the game were more delighted than those in Wellington when Sonntag last year had been selected to represent New Zealand—an honour long overdue.:—(Applause.). ■_ The chairman, in reply, said, that the union had, of course, started in a very small way, and one could feel proud in looking back bn the- record of the game in the province He had been looking through the union’s first cash book kept by John 11. Chapman, one of the founders of the game, and he had discovered that the revenue of the union in its first year had been £29. Of this amount £lO had been contributed by the Dunedin Club and £5 by the Union Club There must be something in the game when it could carry on for 50 years and rise to wbat it was at the present day The game in Otago owed a great deal to the visits of overseas teams. The first team had been Stoddart’s, which had come under the auspices of Shrewsbury and Lilleywhite, whom he remembered watching a trial match before the team arrived. The game had progressed very much after the visit of Stoddart’s team, and New South Wales and South Africa had helped to bring the game to the high standard which it had reached at the present day. Rugby was now the national game. It was indeed a fine game, which brought out the good qualities of a young man in after life. The Management Com mittee owed a great deal to the loyalty of the club and their officers. He was sure that the present members did al' they could to treat all clubs alike. Looking into the future, it was hard to see what it would bring forth. A great deal had been heard about the old and new rules, but after seeing the British team play it would be agreed that the old rule was good enough for the average man to play.— (“Hear, hear.”) The game was fast enough, but the question would arise as to what rule was to be played. He hoped that all countries would play the old rule, so that there would be an' Empire game of Rugby It was often said that there was something wrong with the game, though he thought that it was as good as ever. One thing, however, struck him forcibly, and that was the fact that the senior clubs in Dunedin were becoming too unwieldly. It might be advisable to consider whether sonic jumoi clubs could not be formed which would absorb some of the membership of the senior clubs. Rugby.’ as a game, was designed to bring out initiative, and that should not be killed. It was possible that referees were acting on wrong lines in trying to find rules for every small point in the game. He thought that a referee should go on the ground and make up his mind to keep to the rules in a broader sense and see that no unfair advantage was gained by either side, and decide the small points for themselves.— (Applause.) As long as the game was played in the present spirit there would be nothing to fear for the future of Rugby Union football.— (Applause.) Ihe toast of “ Departed Players ” was then honoured.

Mr F. H. Campbell, in proposing the toast of “ Rugby Pioneeers,” stated that it was appropriate that his toast should follow the silent toast. Gratitude was due to the pioneers for the work • they had done and the football they had played. In the management of Rugby two men stood out They were Mr John H. Chapman, who had for some years practically “run” the union, and Mr James Hutchison, who, shortly after Mr Chapman’s retirement, had taken up the position of honorary secretary, and who had done a tremendous amount of work in difficult times. Mr Hutchison had been a great and silent figure in the union for many years, and the speaker had never felt that he was on safe ground until he had heard what Mr Hutchison had had to say. He himself had been a great hero worshipper and had had his wonderful ideals in football. He had been in the habit of following Jack Taiaroa to the Caledonian Ground on Saturday afternoons, picking him up in Princes street. He remembered a game in 1883, against Auckland, in which Taiaroa was to have played against Whiteside. Taiaroa however, had been injured in a trial. As was expected, Whiteside had taken off his boots in the second spell. He had taken the ball at halfway and at last came to- Braddon. Jack Murray had then come up from behind and pushed Whiteside into Braddon. The two had gone down together and the match Lad resulted in a draw. On that night Whiteside had been followed by a cheering crowd. Braddon had been a wonderful player, and was the finest full-back the speaker had ever seen. He had been closely followed by Thomas, of North Otago, who had played two wonderful games against the. English team in 1888. The speaker went on to refer to the duel between Stoddart and Tom Lynch/ It had been a wonderful battle, and they had been great players indeed. Reference had been, made to the goal which Simpson had kicked The question whether the goal had been kicked by Simpson or Morrison had been the subject of an argument between them, which had laster for some years. Both of them had been following the ball, and one of them had “ let fly ’’ at it. and it had gone over the goal posts. A voice: They meant to kick it into touch.

Then, said Mr Campbell, he came to Keogh.— (Loud applause.) They w-ere all proud of him, and it was very pleasing to see him present. He had been very quick to adopt the feint pass. He had indeed been a wonderful player. With him ranked J ack Thomson, who had been a wonderful player, though he had lacked physique. Alex. Downes had been another wonderful player, and Gus. Restieaux had been the finest goal-kicker Otago had ever had. George Robertson and Arthur and Jim Morns had been fine forwards, and there had also been the Taieri Allens and Gibsons. He did hot wish to go too far, but he must men-

tion “Jimmy” Duncan.— (Applause.) He had been a very unselfish player, and had gone a great deal to build up teams and keep them together. Mr J. J. Mallard congratulated C. Sonn tag on the record which he had achieved the previous season. The speaker said he had played in the Otago School in 1874 and 1875. when they played Soccer In 1875 an Auckland team had come to Dunedin, and they had beaten them at the Rugby game. He thought- Mr G. L. Denniston was the only member of the 1875 team with them that night: He asked Mr Denniston to stand up Dixon was still in Sydney, and he understood Bob Park was dead. Mr Smith was with them, and he was another of the old- ♦ imers : .. .

Mr Smith was asked to stand up. He expressed his appreciation of the welcome they had given him. > Mr Mallard said that there was another old-timer with them. His old friend Bill Mill.—(Applause.) He thought the Otago Union was greatly indebted to the old-timers. In the old days they bad .only’ the Dunedin and Union Clubs and they played two matches a year. The ground at the north end was something like Carisbrook last Saturday — (Laughter.) The spade work in connection with the Carisbrook ground was carried out by Mr Henry Rose. Mr Brown, Mr Maitland. Mr Sleigh, and one or two others. They had spent £2OOO in stumping and draining the ground, and they had put their hands into their pockets again and spent another £2OOO. — (Applause.) They now had one of the finest grounds south of the line. When he had played for Otago there was no Rugby Union. The speaker referred to the old English public school boys who had played in those days, and said that a few months ago he had been at the Franz Josef Glacier, and he had inquired for one of their old players named Robertson He had found a son of the Robertson who had been so well known in the earlier games of Otago. Robertson himself had died about six years ago. The speaker said he had a cut on his eyebrow which was a happy memento of Quentin M'Kinnon. — (Laughter.) Reference was made to many of the other players of the old days, the speaker concluding ’hmidst loud applause. Mr W. J. Strong also replied to the toast. He was delighted, he said, to see so many of the pioneers there that night. Speaking of the games played in the eighties, he said they were hard enough, and they were always played for the sake of the game. Particulars were given of the style of play when the speaker wore a jersey, and Mr Strong said he held that the games played by the Alhambra and the Kaikorai in the early nineties were just as good as were played to-day. — (Applause.) He hoped that the administrators of to-day would always keep the game strictly amateur. — (Applause.) The toast of “ Sister Unions and Subunions ” was proposed by Mr D. M. Stuart in a humorous speech. The toast was responded to by Mr Stevens (North Otago Union) and Mr Joe Davidson (Clyde). Mr G. L. Denniston said that names had been mentioned that night which brought back many happy recollections. He had specially taken notice when Mr Henry Rose’s name was mentioned. Air Rose had been an old friend of his. He spoke of the football uniforms worn m the old days, and said that employers were not always willing to let their employees away to play. He remembered on one occasion having to sneak away from the office with his red stockings—a very important part of the uniform —in order to take part in a game The game was the same game, and the mud was the same.— (Laughter.) He remembered the game played in 1875 against Auckland. Mr Denniston spoke of the numbers of footballers who had gone to the war and had never returned, and expressed the wish that the game -would continue to prosper, concluding amidst loud applause. Mr S. G. Styche proposed the toast ot The Otago Referees’ Association.'” He mentioned prominent members of the association in the early" days, and paid a tribute to the association’s work in the past and at the present time. He questioned, however, whether the Saturday night meetings of the association were fulfilling their purpose, and suggested that it led to ruling too much “ by the book.” Mr J. Himburg. in response, said that the members considered that they had as good an association as there was in New Zealand. His reply to criticism, of the rulings of referees was that during the past two years the rules had been changed so much that the referees hardly knew what to do. Clubs gave medals for the best players, but he thought that it would be a better idea to give medals for the players who knew the rules best(Laughter.) He thought that the Saturday night meetings of the referees did a great deal of good. Mr D. C. Jolly proposed the toast of “ The Dunedin City Council.” He said that the footballers of Dunedin were under a debt of gratitude to the council for the splendid grounds it had provided, and specially mentioned Logan Park and the Oval. He referred humorously to the age of some of the councillors, and said it behoved them t-o wish them well because they would not have them much longer with them.(Loud laughter). Speaking seriously, said Mr Jolly, they had to thank their City Council for the attention it had always given to the wants of footballers.

The Mayor (Mr R. S. Black), in reply said that he regretted that the young men of Dunedin were slow in coming to the assistance of their city. Footballers in Dunedin had good grounds, and need not be ashamed to take any visiting team on them. Mr V. G. Cavanagh proposed the toast of “Kindred Sports.” In a humorous speech, Mr Cavanagh claimed that if a man did not play some game he was mental. He referred to the Association game, to hockey—or shinty—and to cricket. He said that cricket was really the sister sport of Rugby football. He had. never played cricket, and he asked them to think what the game had really lost by the fact. The speaker concluded by congratulating the various bodice which, controlled their sister sports, and said they wished them every success.

Mr G. A. Wycherley (president of the Otago Cricket Association) referred to the financial assistance which the union had accorded his association. Cricketers owed it to the' union that it had in Carisbrook the finest ground in New Zea-

land. -There was an affinity between the two sports which, he thought, would always continue.

Mr James Hogg (president of the Otago Hockey Association), and Mr A. Sinclair (secretary of the Otago Football Association), emphasised the spirit of co-operation which existed among sporting bodies in Dunedin.

Mr G. A. Nelson proposed the toast of “The Press.” He said that they as footballers, and also as a union/ owed a great deal to the newspapers. During the evening items were given by Messrs J. Simpson, J. Clark, W. Ruffell (songs), and Keith Hunter (violin solo). Begg’s Orchestra, conducted by Mr Himburg, contributed a number of enjoyable selections.

HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL BALL.

BRILLIANTLY SPECTACULAR SCENES.

If there was any feeling among members of the Otago Rugby Football Union when they made the arrangements for the celebration of its jubilee that the inclusion of a ball among the functions might be attended with the risk of failure they must have been relieved, not to say delighted, with the success which their venture achieved. The jubilee ball, for which the Otago Pioneers’ Hall was engaged on Thursday night, must be ranked as one of the outstanding social successes of the year, for the dancing space was taxed almost to its utmost, about 150 couples being present, and the friendships formed during 50 years and more of football helped to create an atmosphere of good comradeship which enabled those in charge of the arrangements to impart a swing to the proceedings that could not have been obtained otherwise. It was by no means entirely a young people’s function, though pre-sent-day footballers were largely represented, but a casual observer must have been struck with the fact that there appeared to be a preponderance of players representing past, generations. They entered into the proceedings with enthusiasm reminiscent of the days when football clubs’ dances were almost as essential a part of their yearly opera tions as their matches. Those in charge of the proceedings had had sufficient foresight to see that a large proportion of “old timers” would, have to be catered for, and the programme contained a generous sprinkling of dances which in recent years have almost gone by the board. The decorations, among which the dark blue of the union figured prominently, were in excellent taste, and these, combined with frocks of a variety of brilliant hues, made the occasion no less spectacular than it ,-was successful. The music, too, did not fall below the general standard. The whole of the Early Settlers’ Hall was occupied with the supper arrangements, and here the completeness of the committee’s plans was emphasised. The utmost use of the available space prevented overcrowding, and the decorations were even more spectacular than in the main hall. Each table had a plentiful supply of flowers, and an almost countless number of gas-filled, balloons, brilliantly coloured, was attached to the chairs. The whole effect was extremely beautiful, and when the dancers took their places at the tables and donned paper hats the scene presented was an unforgettable one. The function must have been generally voted a brilliant success, for there had been no sparing of the necessary expense and hard work to make it a success. Young and old were catered for alike, and dull moments were banished by the renewing of old acquaintances. The proceedings, in fact, were characterised by the lightness of heart that invariably pervades gatherings of old friends, when the happiness of the whole and not of the individual is the first consideration.

SEVEN-A-SIDE TOURNAMENT. Under unfavourable ■ weather conditions the seven-a-side tournament, which formed part of the jubilee celebrations of the Otago Rugby Football Union, was held at Carisbrook bn Saturday. At the start of the games heavy rain fell, making the ground heavy and the ball difficult to handle. It also the attendance,, the spectators numbering about 1000. In spite of the conditions the games throughout were full of interest and roused great enthusiasm among the spectators. Zin-gari-Richmond, who .filled the bottom place in the Flag Championship, caused a surprise by winning the. senior contest. The players went on the field in a heavy hail shower, and rain fell throughout the game. The conditions could hardly have been worse. Rain was falling steadily,, and the players were soon covered with mud. Neither of the teams, High School and Southern, had scored after the specified time had elapsed, and, after extra time had been played, the game was declared a draw. The senior games were played in two six-minute spells, and the junior games in five-minute spells. i In none of the games except the junior final was it necessary to play extra time. The arrangements were admirably carried out by a large committee, and officials. of the Otago Centre, N.Z.A.A.A., assisted in the carrying out of an excellent programme of running events.

The referees were: Messrs W. Jenkins, F. Swete, R. Herd, H. C. William-