PROGRESS OF BOWLS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9222, 29 April 1908, Page 2

PROGRESS OF BOWLS.

GROWING POPULARITY OF THE OLD GAME. Lord Rosebery' s eulogy of the " noble ► old game," in his letter intimating his . pleasure in becoming „a patron of the English BoAvling Association, will give a greater fillip still to the pastime by the fact that his lordship's reference to his lawn having been played over by ; Evelyn and Pepys in th© reign of ■ Charles 11., when howls was verily a royal and general society game. Remarkable to relate, it was in a lawn' game, at Middleton Park, Bicester, in 1899, that the first international bowling mateh — though but a small on© — took place, when the Earl of Jersey captained a rink against one of colonials, skipped by the late Mr John Young, the " King of Bowls," who, as president of the New South Wales Bowling Association, visited England with Mr Charles Wood, president of the Victorian Bowling Association, and several other Australian players, in an endeavour to bring about the intemationalisation of the pastime. From that lawn game there may be said to have arisen the Imperial Bowling Association, now merged into, the English Bowling Association; therefrom followed the formation of the Irish and Welsh associations; therefrom, too, came the Scottish Association's first visit to London; followed by the international annual championship contests, and the formation of tho whole of the four national associations into an international board. INCREASE OF LONDON CLUBS. The pastime in London (says the "Daily Mail") has made remarkable progress during the last decade, a fact greatly due to the London and Southern Counties Bowling Association. Before its formation, bowlers had hardly been known to cross the Thames." Now, however, the metropolis with its hundred clubs at least, many of which, however, are unattached, is undoubtedly becoming the hub of the pastime. In relation to the internationalism of the game, the Motherland owes a debt to the colonies. She has never ' returned the visits paid her by the Australian and New Zealand teams. ' The late " King of Bowls," in what proved to be his dying message to this country - last year stated that "England could expect no further visit by an Australian team until she repaid that made by the Commonwealth team, as well as the New Zealand combination." And now a unique opportunity presents itself. Sir Thomas Brooke-Hitch-ing, a fellow patron with Lord Jersey and Lord Rosebery of the English ■Howling Association, has just announced that he will be most pleased to form a member of a representative team to tour the rinks of Australia and New Zealand during the next colonial season. Councillor T. Baines, the honorary secretary of the English Bowling Association, to whom Lord Rosebery forwarded his communication, has displayed much energy in this matter, and bowlers interested would do well to communicate with him thereon. Sir Thomas Brooke-Hitching states that, especially as bowling is so popular with the ladies in Australia and New Zealand, ho would like to see ladies included in th© outgoing party, and Lady Brooke-Hitching would be delighted to form one of the number. The game in our outposts of Empire has just received further impetus by th© laying down of a green for th© Duke of Con-naught in the grounds of the palace at Malta — a fact intensified through the Duke's grandfather, the Duke of Kent, being a pioneer of the pastirn© in British North America. THE WORLD'S OLDEST SPORTING CLUB. And in relation to the game in Canada ther© will this season be -becoming over of a Dominion contingent, iv return to the itinerary made on Canada by the English, Scottish and Irish team three years' ago. There are a hundred clubs in Canada, and no keener players follow the recreation. The game of , bowls, although only lately attracting particular attention through the really astonishing way in which it is spreading, can boast of possessing what is undoubtedly the oldest sporting club in the world — that of the Southampton 8.C., upon whose green the gam© hae been played continuously since the year 1299 — a link from Edward I. to Edward VII., himself a practical bowler. In the south of England howling has advanced in almost all directions. Health resorts are now recognising the attractions of bowls ac both a healthful and enjoyable game, and this is notably so in the case of Bournemouth, where on payment of a small fee per game everybody may revel upon th© rinks, without any need of purchasing bowls or needing to carry to and from th© green tEes© somewhat heavy implements. On th© public parks' penny-a-game principle, Edinburgh and Glasgow show extraordinary results, nearly 300,000 playerhaving been registered upon the muni- ' cioal grounds of these two clubs last ' season. The Japanese hay© for some ■ cime recognised the advisablenes. of : affording thee© public means for bowl- '. ing, and hay© greens laid down in th© ' open spaces of Kobe and Yokohama ; the officials at Kowloon have allowed a bowling green to be made there, and \ there are two greens in th© British quarter at Shanghai. In South Africa - the game afforded an extraordinary ] instance of its following the flag a : green, being under play on what was ■ the site two years before of the witch : dances of the Matabele. ' v