CITY GUARDS

Southland Times, Issue 22159, 30 October 1933, Page 3

CITY GUARDS

ANNUAL DINNER. Nearly 50 members, old City Guardsmen and visitors assembled at the Rosewood Tea Lounge on Saturday evening at the second annual dinner of the club The president, Mr E J. McLauchlan, presided. Amongst those present were Dr A. F. Ritchie Crawford, president, and Mr C. H. Cunningham, secretary, of the Southland Rifle Association, Sergeant-Major S. Stewart, of the Defence, and old Guardsmen A. Anderson, T. Dawson, Colquhoun and Hislop. President A. R. Wilis and Mr W. Milley represented the Invercargill Rifle Club. A musical programme was supplied by Mr J. Harvey’s orchestra, including several appreciated solo items and some community singing which helped to make the evening thoroughly enjoyable. In welcoming his guests the chairman spoke of the necessity of preserving the social side of all sporting activities, particularly that of rifle shooting which was necessarily a competitive game. He stated that since their earliest existence rifle shooting had received the support of Governments of all countries, as an adjunct to the defence system and the same was as true to-day as it was with the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when certain varieties of ball games were prohibited by law in England and Scotland as they tended to interfere with archery. The support to-day was of course given differently but it was a material support and without it rifle clubs could not function at least on the open range. Despite such support rifle shooting, it appeared to the speaker, seemed to suffer a measure of acute isolation in this country, a condition which he understood arose with the abolition of the volunteer system in 1912. The chairman urged all riflemen, particularly the older riflemen, to give the game better support and more encouragement. Rifle clubs would then better justify the assistance at present given them by the Government. In the meantime he was pleased to observe the improved standard of shooting in Southland and trusted that with a little more effort Southland riflemen would be second to none in the Dominion. The chairman then touched on the successful activities of the club which held, bar one, every trophy for which it was able to compete for in Otago and Southland, and mentioned also that of their members, R Ure had won and J. Ure had been runner-up in the Otago Championship last Easter. He paid tribute to the excellent coaching the teams had received at the hands of its former president, Mr W. McChesney, to whom the teams owed much for their success and the club for its existence and present strong position. (Applause). The following prizes were prescnted:-- ■ Club Championship—J. Ure. Club Trophy—C. Johnson. Mr J. Flaus’ Medal—C. Johnson. Witcomb and Caldwell Cup—J. T. Wilson. Rankin Cup—F. E. Wright. J T. Wilson Cup—C. Johnson. J. Ure Cup—F. E. Wright . Craigie Memorial Cup—F. E. Wright. Miniature Memorial Championship— A. A. Ford. The following was the toast list:— “City Guards Defence Rifle Club,’ proposed by Mr A. Anderson and responded to by Mr J. T. Wilson; Southland Rifle Association” (the chairman —President Dr A. F. R. Crawford and secretary, Mr C. H. Cunningham); Defence Department” (Mr W. McChes-ney—Sergeant-Major S. Stewart); “Sister Rifle Clubs” (Mr A. N. SmithMr A. R. Wills and Mr W. Milley); “Old Guardsmen” (Mr F. E. WrightMr T. Dawson and Mr A. Anderson); “Ladies and the Press” (Mr A. Wilson). , ~ The chairman proposed the performers and thanked the members of the orchestra for their valued assistance.

In responding to the toast of the Southland Rifle Association the president, Dr Crawford, asked that riflemen, particularly the young shots, make every endeavour to attend the association’s rr.-eting at Otatara on Boxing Day and the day after and stated that an attractive programme which allowed for tyro shooting and as a new venture pairs shooting which had proved so successful in Australia. He reminded junior shots that last year the Southland Championship was won by an Eastern District shot, Rifleman Milne, who shot as a tyro. Mr A. R. Wills, in responding in happy veir to the toast of sister clubs, supported other speakers in their view that the result on the range was not the only goal a club or rifleman had and stated that the good fellowship which he had always found amongst riflemen and the uncertainty of the game were its greatest attractions. Mr W. McChesney, in proposing the toast of the Defence Department, spoke with sincere appreciation of the helpful assistance tendered the club since it was first formed four years ago and presaged that now that we were getting back to the old volunteer days rifle shooting was starting on a new era He stated that too much attention could not be given throughout Southland to young shots who often required special attention during their earlier periods on the T. Dawson and A. Anderson were able in responding to the toast of Old Guardsmen to recount many interesting and happy incidents of the earlier days and spoke of the appreciation with which old members viewed the successful progress of the club and rifle shooting generally