ALL WORK STOPS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17347, 30 September 1924, Page 6

ALL WORK STOPS.

j A RUGBY CELEBRATION. MARLBOROUGH WINS THE SHIELD. (Special to the “Star.”) BLENHEIM, September 29. One of the most remarkable and en- ( thusiastic scenes in the history of Rugby football in New Zealand occurred this afternoon. when the Marlborough team, which won the Seddon Shield at Takaka on Saturday, returned home and was welcomed by a huge crowd. From the time that the cars conveying the team crossed the Marlborough boundary at the Rai Saddle until they arrived in Blenheim, the players were greeted everywhere with cheers and the display of the team’s colours, while their arrival at Havelock was in the nature of a triumph, the entire vpopulation turning out and cheering themselves hoarse. Blenheim, however, outdid the whole district in its welcome, and such scenes of enthusiasm were enacted as j have rarely been seen in the town, j The cars were met in Grove Road, J on the outskirts of the town, by the j band of the Sth Mounted Rifles, while I their arrival was signalised by the blowing of steam whistles and the clanging of bells. A procession was formed and, headed by the band playing “ See the Conquering Hero Comes,” the gaily-decorated cars filed into the town, followed by other cars, with ribbons streaming, and by a big crowd afoot. The route along Alfred Street was lined with cheering people., business having been temporarily suspended, and Market Square contained a dense throng. The foremost car of the procession contained the presi- | dent of the Rugby Union (Mr C. IT. Mills), the team’s manager (Mr H. E. Fuller), and other officials and members of the team, while the captain (Mr J. O'Brien) sat astride the car’s bonnet with the shield in his arms. Deafening cheers broke out as the cars reached the square, but they were finally drowned by the footballers, who insisted on singing a number of impromptu ditties, perhaps the most prominent of which was something about “ Marlborough will shine to-night,” repeated ad infinitum with certain variations. More cheers and the waving of banners followed, and when the din died down the team were formally welcomed home and congratulated on its victory by the Mayor (Mr E. S. Parker), who occupied a place on the band rotunda, and by Dr R. Noble Adams, ex-president of the Rugby UnThe cheering and demonstrations of enthusiasm continued for some time, after which the members of the team were entertained at a series of semiprivate functions.