Drill Hall & Rifle Range

Southern Cross, Volume 9, Issue 30, 26 October 1901, Page 12

Drill Hall & Rifle Range

Volunteers and Rifle Club members are invited to contribute to this column Items of news, diagrams of targets reports of matches, meetings, and all events of interest to volunteers and shooting men will be received. Address <* Magpie,” Southern Csoss Office.

NOTES BY “MAGPIE.”

Parade nights of local corps : Garrison Band, Mondays and Thursdays ; City Guards, Mondays, regularly ; Oreti Rifles, Tuesdays, regularly ; Awarua Rifles, Fridays, regularly; Mercantile Eifles, Wednesdays, regularly ; the Gore Eifles parade regularly, Government Inspection being held on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays in each month ; Southland Mounted Rifles, town contingent, foot parades 37 zry second Thursday at Garrison Hall, mounted parades every fourth Wednesday afternoon at Waikiwi ; Winton, Thornbury and Otautau contingent parade as per dates on cards isshed to each member. Wallace Mounted Rifles: Wairio and Wightcaps Divisions : Saturday nights; Otautau Division : Monday nights.

Corporal Ford, of the Fifth Contingent, returned to Invercargill on Wednesday afternoon, and was welcomed on behalf of his old comrades (the Southland Mounted Rifles) by Lieut. Todd. * * * It is satisfactory to know that the objects sought in initiating our Query Competition will be attained. Although the number of competitors is not as large as was expected, the correctness of their replies is generally very satisfactory, and the circulation of quips and questions not often debated in ordinary volunteer life, cannot fail to achieve some good result. * ■* * General Sir Hector Macdonald has come and gone, leaving none but good impressions behind. Indeed, it seems remarkable that such a quiet, unobtrusive man could have come through the many exciting and dangerous experiences we know he has, but these characteristics often go together, and the whole-hearted admiration of all Britishers which he has earned many times over, was spontaneously shown by Scottish, English and Irish alike. * *

I hear of at least two volunteers who are extra well pleased with their good fortune regarding the General’s visit. Having often occasion to visit Bluff on business they happened to be in the vicinity of the landing stage of the Westralia when Sir Hector came ashore on Tuesday morning, and were honoured by being presented to him by a chief of the Caledonian Society, and thus claim the honour of having actually first welcomed ‘Fighting Mac’ on his landing in N.Z. The first—Captain M. —is himself of Scottish proclivities, while his companion is an N.C.O. fairly well known about town.

There are many things less diverting than a football match, especially an amateur one, and that between the City Guards and Awaruas provided much good play and more comicalities than was expected. The teams were very evenly matched, and the game was ever in doubt right to the end, when the Awaruas had accumulated 11 points to the Guards 3. The funniest and most exciting part was when Bob Wills chased Morton fully 90 yards up the field, neither gaining a foot on the other, and when a try was scored through the good following up of Wesney, it was felt that honours were easy regarding these two redoubtable sprinters. Of those I knew, good form was shown by Robinson, Francis and Watts for the Guards, and by Morton, Woodward, Pascoe, Pettigrew and Luxford for the Awaruas.

Some time ago inconvenience arose through the summary retention and taxing of letters franked through the post-office in the usual way, viz., by rubber stamps, but a further regulation now removes the ban, and secretaries may again frank volunteer correspondence without recourse to their captain’s handwriting, pro-

vided the envelopes be not sealed. Very sensible, too. * * * I am glad to see the local corps recruiting well. Sergt.-Major Knee’s squad numbers a score or more, but whose fault is it that only a dozen attend regularly ? * * * The Oretis bad a good night’s drill under Sergt,-Major Knee last Tuesday evening, when the new system of signalling was detailed, followed by a lecture on the Lee-Bnfield magazine rifle. There was only an average muster, the instruction imparted being worth a larger attendance. Lieut. Hall was in command of the company.