TOKANUI SPORTS

Southland Times, Issue 19773, 22 February 1923, Page 6

TOKANUI SPORTS

SUCCESSFUL MEETING. The Tokanui Caledonian Society was a heavy sufferer by the elements last year, the Society’s annua! gathering on that occasion having to be carried out under most adverse climatic conditions. This year the Clerk of the Weather relented to the extent of allowing the sports to get well under way before taking a hand, but in the middle of the afternoon, rain set in for the remainder of the day and the sports were carried to a conclusion under depressing conditions. The special train from Invercargill brought nearly 300 people to the sports and there were about 500 more present from the township and surrounding districts.

Great interest was taken in the bushcraft events and although a counter-attraction was responsible for the absence of some of the best bushmen in the province, there, were some excellent performances. This section of the programme went like clockwork with Messrs M. Dowling and T. O'Byrne at the head of affairs, their labours being considerably lightened as a result of the splendid ground arrangements made by Mr B. Phillips and his assistants. The valuable Under-hand Chop was won by one of the most promising axemen in the pro vince, S. Pollard, who comes of a weil known family of bushmen in the Western District. The Standing Chop went to a local axeman, W. Lee, who has been a consistently good performer during the current season, and who got through his kamahi log with beautiful, effortless cuts. The Tokanui Sheffield Handicap was unfortunately marred by the fact that Diack was blocked by spectators, but the winner, L. Blakie, has been running well this season and his win was a good one. A local competitor, T. Hagen, did very well in the other races on the programme, winning the mile and securing second place in both the quarter and half. The dancing and piping section of the programme was most affected by the change in the weather, but the competitors carried on cheerfully, although heavy rain towards the. end of the afternoon necessitated an adjournment to the Public Hall in order to get through with the remainder of the programme. Both piping events w r ere carried off by C. Selby, but in the dancing section the prizes were widely divided. BUSHCRAFT. 12-inch Standing Block Chop of £l2 IQs; second £3; third £1 IDs:—First heat—W. Lee Bsec 1; P. Scott 4sec 2; AV. Pollard scr 3. Eight starters. Won wuthout difficult}*, a blow between second and third. Time 47 4-ssecs. Second heat—G. Hammond scr 1; S. Pollard 6sec 2; A. Agnew 6sec 3. Seven starters. Won easily, second and third fairly close. Time 38sec. Third heat—R. Andrews Bsec 1; C. Murdoch 12sec 2; W. Murdoch 12sec 3. Six starters. Placed men well spread out with several seconds between each. Time 44sec.

Final:—W. Lee 1; G. Hammond 2; S. Pollard 3. Lee was first to turn and won by three seconds, less than a blow between second and third. Time 42 l-ssec.

Double-handed Sawing Handicap of £l2; second £3; third £l. (15-inch blocks):—A. Agnew and W. Sutherland 4sec 1; A. Fraser and T. Murdoch 4sec 2; W. Gill and G. Hammond leec 3. Nine pairs competed. There was not more than a second between the first three. Time 31sec.

Single Handed Sawing of £6; second £2; third £l. (15-inch logs) :—T. Murdoch 3 sec 1; W. Pollard 3sec 2; A. Agnew 3sec 3. Ten starters. Won easily, second and third close. Time 40 2-ssec.

Underhand Chop Handicap of £27; second £5; third £2 (15-inch logs):—First heat— S. Wybrow 13sec 1; P. Scott 12sec 2; J. Bone scr 3. Ake started—C. Murdoch 18sec, G. Whipp 18sec, J. Dunston 16sec, T. Murdoch _l6sec, F. Stevens 16sec. Won by three seconds. Time 68sec. Scratch man’s time 64sec. Second heat—S. Pollard 14sec 1; G. Hammond 18see 2; R. Hogg 18sec 3. Also started—W. Sutherland 18 sec, R. Fraser 18sec, R. Kinzitt 18sec, A. Agnew Msec, W. Pollard 6sec. Won by 3sec, about 3sec between second and third. Time 63 2-ssecs. Third heat—G. B. Phillips 18sec 1; H. Stevenson 12sec 2; A. Egerton 18sec 3. Also started—M. Forde 18sec, H. Murdoch 18sec, J. Davis 18sec, D. Kelleher 18secs, R. Andrews 14sec. A great battle between first and second, there being the smallest margin between them. Time Imin 25secs. —Final— S. Pollard (Wakapatu) 14sec .... 1 S. Wybrow* 13sec and G. B. Phillips 18secs (equal) 2

Pollard w r on easily. There was a good race between the next three, the scratch man, Bone, being two seconds behind the pair placed second. Time 64secs. Boys’ Chop Handicap (under 16), of 15/-; second 5/-:—H. Fraser 1; R. Fraser 2; G. Smith 3. The winner, a powerful boy for his age. chopped very nicely and w’on without difficulty, his brother being in second place. Time 30secs. RUNNING. Tokanui Handicap of £2O; second £5; third £2; fourth £l, (135 yards) : —First heat—E. H. Diack 7iyds 1; L. Blakie 6yds 2. Also started—J. Morton 9yds. Xhe judges evidently made a mistake in the numbers of the two placed men in this heat as Blakie won by about a yard. Time 14sec. Second heat—J. Jamieson 44yds 1; J. Skerrett 34yds 2. Also started—C. Poynton 12yds, T. W. Hagen. 12yds. Won by a foot. Time 13 2-ssecs. —Final.— L. Blakie (Ryal Bush) 6yds .... 1 J. Skerrett 34yds 2 J. Jamieson 44yds 3 The field got aw*ay to a good start. The race, however, was marred by a regrettable incident. As a result of spectators pressing in on the outside lane in which Diack was running the Invercargill runner was blocked after three-quarters of the journey had been covered. The other three finished close together, Blakie winning by a yard, inches between second and third. Time 13 l-ssecs. Mile Handicap of £l2; second £3; third £l: —W. Hagen 85yds 1; J. Archer 15yds 2; W. Archer 55yds 3. Eleven starters. W. Lilley (120 yards) led until the last lap when Hagen went to the front with J. Archer in a good position and moving up on the leaders. In. the back stretch J. Archer went after Hagen and the two were close together rounding the far bend. Hagen, however, had too much pace left for his big opponent and went on to win by 10 yards, 25 yards between second and third. Time 4min 30secs.

District Boys’ Half Mile (under 16) : Ist, medal and 10/-, 2nd medal and 5/-; third ’5/-:—-A. Blair 1; Leith 2; Thomas

Half Mile of £8; second £2; third £1: — J. Archer 38yds 1; W. Hagen 2; H. G. McLeod 40yds 3. Eight starters, Going round the back stretch in the second round. Archer took the lead from Hagen and held it until the straight was reached when Hagen challenged. A fine finish resulted in winning by two yards, four yards between second and third. Time 2min.

440 Yards Handicap of £10; second £3; third £1: J. Jamieson 20yds 1; W. Hagen 34yds 2; E. H. Diack 22yds 3. Eight starters. Jamieson did not have much difficulty in accounting for this race, winning without being extended by 4 yards, the next, two very close together. No time was taken. DANCING. Highland Fling (16 years and under) : Annie Matheson 1; Rita Park 2; Aileen Halpin 3. Eight competitors. Sailors’ Hornpipe (16 years and under) : William Batt 1; Annie Matheson 2; Madge Flaus 3. Five competitors. Irish Jig (16 years and under) : —William Batt 1; Annie Halpin 2; Rita Park 3. Seven competitors. Seann Triubhais (16 years and under) : Aileen Halpin 1; Rita Park 2; Doreen Driscoll and Annie Matheson 3. Six competitors.

Seann Triubhais (12 years and under) : Winnie Macpherson 1; Jean Matheson 2; Sheen a Macpherson 3. Six competitors. Highland Fling (12 years and under): — Jean Matheson 1; Winnie Macpherson 2; Doreen Forrester and Sheena Macpherson 3. Seven competitors.

PIPING. Marches:—C. C. Selby 1; L. Taylor 2. Three competitors. Reels, and Strathpeys:—C. C. Selby 1; L. Taylor 2. Two competitors.