IS ROWING DECLINING IN POPULARITY?

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18926, 23 November 1929, Page 23 (Supplement)

IS ROWING DECLINING IN POPULARITY?

Sports Requiring Less Rigorous Training Ma\e Inroads on dub Membership. (Written for the “Star.”)

Keen Men Still Control Organisations Which Have Produced Many Champions .

In spite of strong counter attractions for young athletes, the sport of rowing in Canterbury still has a very strong hold, and, judged by events of recent years, and the interest created by the acquisition of eight-oar craft by the rowing centres throughout the Dominion, the sport is likely to increase in popularity. It has had many setbacks, and there have been times when strong clubs have dwindled in membership until they have, become only a shadow of their former brilliant selves. With the natural swing of the pendulum these clubs have later on taken on a new lease of life. Generally speaking, the sport has been more or less holding its own as far as the keenness of rowers goes, but it is disquieting to note that the official opening of the boating season does not draw the huge and colourful crowds that were wont to spend that particular afternoon on the shady banks of the Avon. The decline in the popularity of the opening of the boating season has tK*en due to a great extent to the waning

popularity of pleasure boating. Whereas years ago the Avon below the Fitzgerald Avenue bridge was well populated with pleasure craft on Saturday afternoons, it is unusual to find even one or two craft on that part of the river now. This decline in the popularity of pleasure boating has had its reflection in a less lengthy and gorgeous procession of decorated boats on opening day, to which can be traced some of the falling off in public interest in the procession. Pleasure boating, like rowing itself, has felt the result of the lure of the motor-car and the rise in popularity of such sports as bowling and tennis. These have taken away many members of rowing clubs, and also many prospective members. The owning of a motor-car is a possibility within the range of a large percentage of the people nowadays, and many there are who have taken advantage of it. A motor trip into the country, or a picnic at the seaside, is in itself a healthy pastime, and not requiring any serious preparation as in the case of rowing. Bowling has, of recent years, taken unto itself many comparatively young adherents, some of whom, were it not for the hard training involved, might have taken up rowing as their principal sport.

Then, again, tennis, in common with bowling and motor trips, offers a social side to its sport that rowing lacks. The boating sheds certainly have their social functions, but the serious training of the sport itself, and its -being confined to masculinity, prevents that spirit of social intercourse which, in the opinion of some sports devotees, is the essence of a pleasant afternoon. In spite of these drawbacks, rowing in Canterbury has progressed, particularly in the last few years, and there is added interest in inter-club and interprovincial events. ■ The success in Australia of New Zealand champion fours has given New Zealanders confidence in their ability as oarsmen. The Dominion eight-oar crew who went to Sydney in 1925 took all before them, and a year later, at the Henley-on-Yarra regatta, Melbourne, the Otago champion four, consisting of F. Brough (stroke), J. Werges, C. J. M’Ara and P S. Anderson (bow), emulated this success by winning two events. They outclassed the opposition and won popular victories. In the previous season the

Hamilton champion four won their heat at the Melbourne Henley, but were beaten in the semi-final by a margin of eighteen inches. In 1927 the Waitemata four, and in the following season the Wanganui Union crew, won the Stewards’ Cup at Henley-on-Yarra, giving New Zealand crews three wins in succession.

Coming of the Eights. Interest in rowing grew with the arrival from England towards the end of the 1927 season of the eight-oar boats, for use by associations throughout the Dominion. The craft were the gifc of the New Zealand Rowing Association, and two of them went to Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin and Wanganui, and one each to and Blenheim. In view of a revival of interest in rowing in Invercargill, it is probable that an eight-oar boat will find its way into Southland. All the eight-oar craft, of the finest quality cedar wood, have been built for the average twelve-stone crews. Each measures sixty-one feet in length. Put, being built on the three section principle, each is easily transportable, and it is convenient to fail the craft from one end of the Dominion to the other. Each section measures just under twenty-one feet, and one boat, in its

three sections, can be fitted comfortahly into its packing case of not unwieldy length. All have been constructed on the same lines as the boat which was built for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force crew in 1919—a boat which put up an excellent record on the Thames, as well as on the Seine It will be recollected that in the Olympic contests in Paris this boat beat all the other crews of the twelve stone average weight, and it would doubtless have done equally well at Henley if its ex-Service oarsmen had not been a little stale after taking part in all the principal events rowed on the Thames during the months prior to Henley. The first interprovincial eight-oar race in New Zealand was won by Canterbury. Then last season, when the event was held on Lyttelton Harbour, from Governor’s Bay to Corsair Bay, Otago came in first and Canterbury second. It is probable that this season will see the eights racing in inter club events. The eight-oar championship will be held at Auckland this season. The Head-of-the-River competition was at once responsible for keener rivalry among the clubs on the Avon. The banner donated by Mrs D. Lee, wife of the president of the Union Club, was won in the first season by Union. Last season the Canterbury Club wrested the banner from Union. The ’Fifties. Rowing in Canterbury dates back as far as the ’fifties. At first the competitors had only the choice of whaleboats, watermen’s skiffs, ship's boats and dinghies; the crews were deep-sea row-1

ers. The difficulty of obtaining fairly calm and open water militated against the rise in popularity of the pastime. The difficulty of coaching—even if expert coaching could have been had—was vastly greater, unless the crews could be coached from the bank. The Waimakariri course, though the best river course within easy distance of Christchurch, had the disadvantage of being on a tidal river, the result being that positions conferred an undue advantage on the crews fortunate enough to secure them. The oldest club is the Canterbury Rowing Club, colours all white, which was founded, in or about 1861 as the “Christchurch”. The first light rarity—was the Oxford clinker-built “Isis”, a four-oar presented by Mr R. J. S. Harman in 1863, and long used as a training craft. The year 1865 saw the foundation of the Union Rowing Club, and about the same time the formation of the old Avon Club, the Lyttelton Club, and the Cure Boating Club at Kaiapoi, which last-named club entered crews at Heathcote Regatta on Boxing Day, 1868. The Union Rowing Club was first known (till 1869) as the “Railway Rowing Club”, which title indicates its genesis. Its colours were dark blue and white-hooped jersey, dark blue cap; headquarters at Opawa,

about three miles from the city" till 1867, then alongside the Canterbury Club on the Avon, and thence, in 1881, to its present position. Subsequently were formed the present Avon Rowing Club, the Waiwera (Little River) Rowing Club and the Christchurch Amateur Boating Club, first known as the Y M C.A. Rowing Club. Local regattas were held at Lyttelton on New Year’s Day, and at Heathcote, Kaiapoi and Akaroa. 1866 a Kaiapoi crew—W. Wright, W. Burnip, R. Wright, R. H. Matthews (stroke)—in the Tui brought the Cure Club to its zenith. The Tui was inrigged and round-bottomed, and scored at the turns —of which there was generally one in a race—or in rough water. From 1866 onward the Black Eagle crew, Avon Rowing Club (J. Dawson, A. Reese, R. Dawson, D. Reese) held honours. ’ A crew of exceptionally fine physique, on more than one occasion they carried their boat over the Bridle Path to port, won their race, and carried the boat back again. About the same time the Lyttelton Rowing -Club, just before the regatta, had their best four-oar, Snowdrop, practically ruined by a landslip on the shed. Inter-Provincial Four-Oar. The first interprovincial event for four-oar best-and-best boats was rowed on the Heathcote Estuary on February 20, 1872. Of seven starters, including representatives from Otago and Wellington, the winners of the £l5O first prize was the Lyttelton Rowing Club’s Water Lily, manned by T. H. Harrison

(builder of the boat), E. W. Roper, W. Cameron, C. Cuff (stroke). The three miles were done in 20min 26sec. One pf the fastest races ever rowed in New Zealand was the interprovincial championship of 1874, on the Waimakariri. Three miles were traversed with a fair wind in limin 36sec by the winners, the Ilyssus crew, from Woodstock, near Hokitika (P. Bradley, W. Hearn, J. Walton and H. Bradley). The Bradleys afterwards earned fame by their fearless handling of a whaleboat during the disastrous Timaru gale. j(Vt the same regatta W. Hearn won the championship sculls. In 1875 the Christchurch Regatta was instituted. About this time a famous Canterbury Rowing Club crew—A. Fooks, R. Lanauze, J. C. Martin and A. C. Lean—amongst other wins did the “hat trick”, winning three four-oar races on the same day. Lanauze (with Duncan in 1878 and with Lean in 1879) won the senior double sculls at Lyttelton (stump outriggers). J. O. Jones (Canterbury Club), with Gray in 1875, with T. J. Grierson in 1876 and 1877, and with L. M. Ollivier in 1881 and 1882, won senior races at Christchurch Regatta. About 1877-?8 the racing history of the Union Rowing Club commenced with a win by G. Gapes and F. D. Kes-

teven at Kaiapoi Regatta (March 17, 1878), who secured the junior double sculls and rowed in the winning junior fours (for youths under eighteen years of age). In the same season Herdson’s Canterbury Club crew won the interprovincial four-oar race at Wellington, rowing thirty-six to the minute at the fastest. That was before the days of sliding seats, but stroke, finding his mates longer in the reach than he, made an impromptu slide by greasing the thwart. In 1878 a Lyttelton crew —Duncan, Taylor, Harkiss and Carter —won the interprovincial race at Wanganui in a foar-oar belonging to the Canterbury Club.

Growth of the Clubs. The annual match between the Canterbury and Otago Clubs was started in 1880. It was won the first year by Otago, the three succeeding years by Canterbury, and was discontinued in 1883. From 1880 to 1883 a Kaiapoi senior crew—Winterbourne Bros., D. Perrin, G. Wright, and R. Day—who had already won often as youths, were invincible in four-oared outriggers, and even after the latter date won many races. About that time the interprovincial event, for some reason, fell through. In the period from 1878 to 1883 the Union Club had twenty-two wins, chiefly junior and four-oared sweepstakes. On the club’s roll of honour appear, among others, the names of Borland, Campbell, Gilmour, Gapes, Hawkes, Hyman, Joynt, Moule, §mith, Shand, C. Stringer and Wright. In 1880-81, Union won the senior double sculls at Heathcote; the club

had a good coach, R. Jones. One of the best crews of that time was that of F. Fuller, Styche, Shand and J. Fuller. F. Fuller and Styche were unbeaten in pair-oar outrigger racing. Again, the Canterbury Club, having obtained the services of F. E. Cobby, as coach, took possession of the local four-oar races. F. Dunnage, M. H. Lean, E. M. Boulton, A. L. Smith and Boulton, Dunnage, H. F. Nicoll and Smith were the best crews." In 1882 the Union Club and Star (Wellington) annual match was inaugurated, by the Star. It ceased in 1887. In 1884-5 Kesteven’s crew (S. C. Kesteven, F. D. Kesteven, J. G. Rule, and W. A. Styche) started a victorious career; undefeated that season, after beating Fuller’s crew in one of the best races on the Avon, they won £99. Their career finished in 1887, with ten wins out of twelve starts. In 1881 amj 18S2 Boulton and Grierson (C.R.C.), won the senior double sculls at Lyttelton. In 1886 outrigger rowing was discontinued at Lyttelton regatta. The year 1887 was the first occasion on which the Christchurch Regatta Club held its regatta on Lake Forsyth—a good course, unless the water is low, when it is weedy. Previous regattas had been held at Sumner, on the Estuary.

The same year at Lyttelton there were no four-oars, because there was no room inside the moles, and outside the water was too rough.

N.Z. Association Foraged. In 1887 the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association was founded. The Star ■•(Wellington), U.R.C., and C.R.C., amongst other things, straightened out the amateur rule to cover those who had derived no pecuniary benefit from rowing or from club funds. The Maiden and Junior definition was settled. The rules of the New Zealand Amateur Rowing Association were first enforced at the Lake Forsyth Regatta, 1887. In 1888 the first four-oar championship held under the New Zealand A.R.A. was won by a C.R.C. crew (the winners of the senior fours at the Christchurch Regatta), E. M. Boulton, F. W. Drunnage, H. F. Nicoll, A. L. Smith (stroke), coached by Cobby, an ex-Oxford 'Varsity man. With F. A. Styche in Dunnage’s place (unable to obtain leave), this crew went to Sydney that year, and were beaten by half a length on the Parramatta River for the first place, amongst representatives from Melbourne, Sydney and Tasmania. The 1886-7 season brought out F. Foster (U.R.C.), who won the stump single sculls at Lyttelton and the outrigger single sculls at Lake Forsyth; next season, with Ledsham, Atkinson and Rule (or with individuals of them, he scored wins—nine out of . thirteen starts; rowing for the Napier Club, he won the single sculls championship of i New Zealand, at Wellington. In 1888

the Forsyth Regatta was stopped by rough weather, and finished at Kaiapoi. During these seasons the U.R.C. won a few maidens. In 1889, Foster was fourth in the singles championship of Victoria, after winning the doubles (with Ledsham), and singles at Lyttelton. In 1890 he won the singles at Kaiapoi and Lyttelton. In 1889 the Canterbury Club crew (Macbeth, Speight, Daly and Laurie) started a winning career with the Ladies’ Plate at Lake Forsyth, winning by about a quarter of a mile. Out of eleven races this crew annexed eight. The same crew won the champion fouroar at Nelson in 1892. About this time a Cure (Kaiapoi) crew (W. Barnes and T. Taylor) rowed for four seasons, with very few failures. Barnes’s early death, in the general opinion, removed a possible champion. The Avon Club had good material, but, as in the case of other clubs, they lacked good coaching. The year 1892 saw Foster's last win—the singles at Kaiapoi.

Question of Boat Types. The question of class boats was troublesome. Seniors and juniors used best and best boats, and maidens used stump clinker-built craft. Batswings had been condemned, and maidens were not considered fit for best and best

outriggers. The Canterbury clubs put their maidens in clinker stump outriggers, but the boats varied in size. It was left for the New Zealand Association to fix a size. In 1891 the Crosbie and Samuels combination, trained by W. G. Atack, began to carry all before them. In 1893 Lyttelton’s fine crew, D. R. Page, J. F. Page, A. Aschman and Harkiss, won the champion fours at Kaiapoi. Lyttelton had also at that time the Hufeton Bros., who won the doubles, pairs and (with comrades) the maiden fours; a performance equalled in 1892 by Crosbie and Samuels. The same pair in 1893, after several wins, paddled home in the double sculls championship on a hurricane day at Lake Forsyth: the pair-oar championship they secured on the completion of the interrupted programme at Kaiapoi; they, with G. Hobbs and W. E. Mills, were in the Union boat which finished next to Lyttelton in the champion fours. This last-named was the race concerning which arose the well-known charge of shifting flags to give the winning crew

an undue advantage. Complaints were heard that betting was rife at this regatta. Crosbie and Samuels won eleven, were second in four, third in one out of sixteen races; their prize money totalled £123. In 1896 and 1897 Wairewa won the Championship Double Sculls; crew, Chapman and Read. Chapman, also in 1897 secured the Single Scull Championship at Picton. In 1896 the Canterbury Club won the Champion Pairs. In 1898 the championship Dunedin regatta took six days on account of rough weather, and the Canterbury crews left before, it was over without competing. The same year an unsuccessful attempt was made to shift the N.Z.A.R.A. headquarters from Wellington to Christchurch. In the latter year the championships were held at Lake Takapuna (Auckland) ; no Canterbury crews competed. The Canterbury Club won the Senior Double Sculls at Wellington; at Christchurch the same club had a day out, scoring several wins.

Numerous Trophies. There are numerous trophies for competition. One long-established cup is the Canterbury Rowing Club President’s Cup, instituted 1874-5; the first

win was by W. H. Gundry’s crew, in the Ilyssus. The primitive arrangements of early days, when the, clubs had merely a tenancy on the sufferance of the City Council and obtained a bath through a trap door over the river, have given place to up-to-date club houses on clubs’ freehold. The equipments have at all points kept pace with the advance of the community and challenge comparison with any in the Colony. Amongst the names that figure on the long roll of honour stretching from i early days, and connected with the history of the Christchurch Club are those of R. J. S. Harman, L. M. Ollivier, J. F. Grierson, J. O. Jones, J. R. Evans, F. R. Dunsford, C. B„ Dobson, E. W. Strange, T. Taylor, T. J. Grierson, E. Denham, A. F. N. and C. R- Blakiston„ J. J. Collins, Archdeacon Lingard, Mel. lish, S.M., K- J- Paul, Herdson, A. D. Thomas, A. L. Smith, H. F. Nicoll, E. M. Boulton, F. W. Dunnage, N. L. Macbeth, J. Laurie, J. Y. Daly, A. C. Lean, M. Lean, F. W. Hobb6, F. I. Cowlishaw and others. The Union Rowing Club put up 4

new clubhouse in 1890, which was destroyed by fire in J 896. A new, commodious and up-to-date building rose on the ruins. Amongst the names of those intimately connected with the progress of the Union Club are Messrs H. Thompson, Hennah, C. C. Bowen, W. Rolleston, G. and J. Gould, the Rev J. O’B. Hoare and Mr S. C. Kesteven. In the early days the club’s chiefs were styled commodores. The Avon Club has a fine club-house lower down the river from the Canterbury Club. The outstanding rowers of the twentieth century are well known to the public and to local followers of the sport. There have been many great races, and many champions. One of the outstanding events has been the general adoption of eight-oar rowing in New Zealand. The future looks bright from almost all angles: and one very satisfactory feature is that those men who in the past have figured prominently as oarsmen have in many casee remained with their clubs to help on the administrative side. The Canterbury Association includes many men who have devoted practically the whole of their time and energy in furthering the progress of what is undoubtedly one of the finest and cleanest of amateur sports.