COURSING.

Timaru Herald, Volume XCVIII, Issue 18084, 11 June 1924, Page 22 (Supplement)

COURSING.

Coursing’, one of the oldest of British pastimes, is practically unknown to the younger generation in South Canterbury. At different stages in the development of the district, however, the sport was a flourishing one, and the periodical coursing fixtures attracted enthusiasts from far afield. Not a few prominent citizens of the earlier days maintained kennels, one ex-Mayor of Timaru having a string of greyhounds which were cared for in a manner nowadays associated in New Zealand with a racing stable. In the early days most of the coursing took place in the open, but the last few meetings of the Timaru Coursing Club were held in an enclosure, popularly known as the plurnpton, at the Washdyke racecourse. The decay of the sport in South Canterbury dates from Hie time when the profession of bookmaking was placed outside the pale of the lav/. Coursing depended mainly upon facilities available for wagering, and the ostracising of the fielder virtually removed this form of the chase from the calendar. Meetings are still held in three or four parts of the Dominion with illegal betting more or less openly conducted, but in South Canterbury it was quickly decided that it was not worth while to carry on when the only alternatives in sight were financial failure or defiance of the law.