JUBILEE SPORTS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16338, 12 May 1927, Page 4

JUBILEE SPORTS

LARGE CROWD AT THE OVAL. SMART FIRE BRIGADE DISPLAY. The feature of the combined sports gathering at the Oval yesterday in connection with the jubilee festivities was undoubtedly the display of modern lirefighting methods given by the Gisborne Fire Brigade. Talcing into consideration the decidedly unfavorable conditions under which the meeting was conducted, the sports were a pronounced success financially, the attendance being one of the largest seen at the Oval, and the diversified programme ensured the interest of the spectators being well sustained; so extensive was the programme that the Maori poi dance, which was to have followed the fire brigade display, had to be postponed until today. The athletic events, the results of which were published last evening, were all highly interesting, although the conditions were hardly conductive to any outstanding performances. Probably the inclement weather was responsible for the poorness, numerically, of the entries in the athletic, section, but nevertheless, some close finishes were witnessed. The seven-a-side Rugby competition was bright and entertaining, but did not afford scope for the finer points of the game. The burning of the two-storey "house," facetiously named "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and the display of lifesaving and fire-fighting by the brigade, was the main item of the evening, and all eyes were- focused on the building when smoke was first seen to 'be issuing from it. Two men, dressed and made up to represent Uncle Tom and Cloe, were to be rescued from the burning house-, and before the actual display began they carried out some amusing comedy work. At tke far end of the ground an enclosure had been erected to represent the fire station, and on the receipt of the alarm the men smartly donned their uniforms and helmets, mounted the engine, and proceeded to the "fire.'' There the escape ladder was promptly run out, and Cloo was "rescued" appropriately. The building then blazed furiously, and a message was telephoned to the "station" for one of the trailer pumps to be sent out. This arrived without loss of time, and the intake of the pump was placed in a tank prepared for the purpose, the tank being filled from a fire-plug in Stanley road to enable the operation of the pump to be demonstrated. With good pressure of water a few minutes sufficed to quench the flames before the building was completely destroyed, the framework being left standing." Although the display was, in parts, in the nature of a burlesque, it served as a very fine exhibition of the systematic working of the firemen.

In the Rugby tournament two games were played. Celtic defeating Old Boys by 18 to nil. as published yesterday, and High School defeating a combined team of Y.M.P. and Old Boys by 13 to 10. In the final Celtic defeated High School by 13 to 3. Mr. Billcliff refereed all the games.