THE AUSTRALIAN-LEADS AT THE

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 12055, 27 December 1906, Page 3

THE AUSTRALIAN- LEADS AT THE

BUT iS xfa%E£ TO A- STANDSTILL.

The great race for £200 aside and the championship of New Zealand, between James Stanbury, ex-champion of the world, and Win. Webb, champion of N4W-- ZfiftUftid; wife rowed yesterday on th» Ejuwhaiki course, and, aa everyone now,; knows, resulted in & win for Webb, wfio£*l)y dogged pluck and sheer grit, towed his great antagonist to a standstill, after a severe and punishing race orer nearly the whole of the three-mile course. T&at the long-looked for event would caut* fully as much interest as was explcted was early evident by the crowds wltfeh packed every trip of the steamers th conveyed the onlookers up river. 11, Bix/bf the fiver fleet were engag•om'e of them making three tripß ? and when the last of the boats arjftred at the convincing ground, about 1.8Q; tdmething like 2500 people had been cojtTeyed. Tn addition, there was all themdming a steady stream of rowboats, iiXong crafty " canoes, and launches, all bduria for the" same destination while the thin but stead duet cloud on both aidea of the river testified to the large member travelling by brake, trap, or bicycle. *Ttie attendance when the time arrived to decide the ownership of the stake must have been at least 10,000, and a /varied crowd, it was. Holiday-makers antt: sportsmen were there from all over the district' between Patea and Morton aim- Buapehu and Cook's Strait. Taranafei and, Manawatu sent strong contingents, 'while large numbers of enthusiastic sports had travelled from Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Auckland, and the South Island, Not a few Australians alio,"'- s holiday-making in Maoriland, had ind&ded, Wanganui in their itinerary for thff* purpose of seeing their famous coSniifyfaian floing bailie with the Now Zealand champion. Tftfe weather conditions were excellent. The"' Mating sun of Christmas Day had hidden himself behind a curtain of cloud, &i£i 1 ' though " the smoke of bush fires helped 'to make it somewhnt sultry, the heat was pleasantly tempered by a coo.l breeze* which was not fresh enough tb mfltke ' the water ' rumpy. Tlie willows which line the' banks of the Wanganu) !♦* •» many miles all wore their brightest Sji^en, and till the police boats' warntags 'senV all the craff to moor on the bank;fl, the scene, with the busily-plying iteainers, the throbbing launches, the large number of small craft, was a very bright and animated one. PJcnicing was the order of the day as •oott as the people were landed, and. luhdn over, everyone left their camps for a coign of vantage. A goodly number patronised the following, .steamers, while those who preferred to see the race from shove took Up tbe most advantageous positions they could find on the hills which to»e in a natural amphitheatre round tho bend made by the last 600 yards of the course. The^croird, clustered very tbickly on 'the elpnel rfbpvfe the finish, San 3 from there to ' the bend itself there was an almost continuous row of eager and ex- ' pectant spectators. The scene from the river was a rery pretty fPfiPi* KOd iiflougjf the vast hill space was by no means crowded — it could have held 50,000 spectators with ease — yet there were more than enough of them To~show the great interest felt in the event from end to end of New Zealand. THE BETTING. There was not a great deal of betting on the race, but in what little did take .pUoe^Staakwy-Jwas -favourite at' 6 to 4 •n. A fair amount of money was accepted by some of the local man's more ardent supporters at the price quoted, but the total 'amount which changed hand* would not amount to very much, though one of Webb's backers won something like over the result, and others won fair sums. AT THE STARTING POINT. The scene at the starting point was a memorable one, with the four river steamers fairly packed with excited pa.« •engere waiting for the men to start. It wae noted that the wind was down the river — with the scullers — whilst the tide had almost finished running our, there being almost dead water. Shortly alter two o'clock Webb was seen to start from hid camp, and pull leisurely to the starting point, nearly a mile further up the rive.r. Here Stanbury wa« being rubbt" down' under the trees by Harry Floyd. Punctually at 2.3o— the hour arranged— Stanbury was afloat, and rowed up and down in front of the steamers once or twice. Then the men took' up their positions, when it was seen that WEBB HAD WON THE TOSS, and ha chosen the Kaiwhaiki side of the river. Clad in his light blue he looked a stripling alongside of' Stanbury (red and white). The latter gave one the impression that he was very fit, though it was hard to judge a man of his build. That he had done a vast amount hard training was well known, and both he and hie trainer were confident of the result. As for WebtJ, lie was in TIIVTOP FOBM, having done a very long and steady course of training under the able supervision of Mr. J. D. Barqett, who deserves every credit for the' splendid ccnction in which he turned his man out. It Vim known amongst a select few of ih<- Jccal man's supporters that their charnpim had 'done some highly satisfactory trials, •nd they looked forward, to smug Webb put up a big race. There was a lot of pent-up oxcitcmnc amongst those on the steamers and the banks whilst the two men manoeuvred for positions for the start, which wal to be by mutual consent. Once they got letel, and Webb started, but Stanbury was not quite ready. Again they fuel up,' and then a roar went up, " THEY'RE OFF !" as both scullers struck the jvater sinmlTfnjSWflty^ahd set bff'at a tremendous rate. Stanbury rowed 38 strokes 'n the first minute, and Webb about 34. It Was thought by many that the Australian would take the lead from the jump, but instead of that the pair were level for the fitst • quarter of 1 a mile or so, Webb, although rowing a slower stroke, keeping pace with his opponent. This tfrih very encouraging to his friends, as thjk-fcjost :, enthusiastic scarcely expected .to "see the local man holding his own at the. -start. So far. so good, but just a? they were beginning to think Stanbury could not get «away from' the Wanganui iriin the Aiietralian lenpt hott&d oiit n little, and as he did so his boat BEGAN TO GRADUALLY BUT SURELY* ECVR&ED AHEAD, both men closing: in on the vKaiwhaiki shbre. At the half, mile Stanbury had gtmeti slightly .o^' a.. length on Webb, and then almost before it could be realised had - TAKEN WEBB'S WATER. This was somewhajt disheartening, as it meant that ttoej ;Jos»l s man. was getting

Stanbury's wash. However, Webb did not ease dowfl, but continued rowing a long, powerful stroke of about 30 to the minute, into which he had settled. It was noted that Stanbury, who was striking 31, was not sculling so cleanly aa Webb, but the former steered as straight as an arrow, whilst | WEBB WAS ZIGZAGGING, I as if uncertain whether to try to pass on the outside or be content to p\ug along behind and continue to get the i FULL BENEFIT OF STANBURY'S ' WASH. j After travelling threequarters of a mile, Stanbury had apparently a length and a half's advantage, and though he kept doing his best he gained but littte on hia rival, who Avas rowing s\ game race. At the mile poet Stanbury had a two lengths' lead, which was not' so much as many of even the local man's aup« j porters had anticipated. Moreov^r, Webb was travelling now quite as fast,though he had lost considerable by cutting out into midstream and then back again into Stanbury's wake. He was doing his best, rowing with dogged determination, whilst Stanbury wa« also doing all he knew how. That the RACE HAD BEEN HOT was evident, since the time recorded for the mile was 5.30. ' In the Searle-Stnn-bury race in 1888 the time tor the first mile was 5.35, which was the record. ' Hugging the willows very closely and cutting off every inch the men continued . the struggle. ' The Australian began to WIDEN THEI GAP slowly but surely, and Webb's supporters J were beginning to feel disheartened. On the other hand, Stanbury's backers were jubilant, and there were cries that there was " ONLY ONE MAN IN It." but they sadly misjudged Webb. The latter had been badly handicapped by . having Stanbury's wash, and further, ho had^got too close into the willows, and \ his supporters had a very anxious few moments as he was scon to be running into some projecting willow branches'. By a clever twitch of his right scull, however, he managed to avert the danger' and the light blueites BREATHED FREELY once again, only to notice a lew seconds later that he was apparently going slapbang into another tree. Once again ' Webb 'B wonderful watermanship • stood him in good stead, as he cleverly dodged the ti'ee and just escaped a snag on the • •th«r side, though he lost a couple of J strokes. At this stage the scullers wei'e ' lost to view in A CLOUD OF DUST which swept down from the road, down which a big troop of horsemen were galloping. When they came into sight again it was scon that Stanbury had nearly a THREE LENGTHS' LEAD, and looked all over a winner, as he was ' sculling well just then and apparently ; confidently. He increased his lead perhaps n little, and was nearly lour lengths ahead shortly after passing the half distance. At i his juncture some of those on tho steamers began to cry out that it was "ONLY A PROCESSION,"' but they did not know of what shift Webb is made, nor did they realise that Stanbury was getting anxious, as he felt the pace beginning to teTl on him and saw that his younger rival was not yet beaten. &t the mile. post the , gap was still about' the sanfe distance/ but Stanbury had been doing his best, whereas Webb quickened up from 26 to 27, and yvss. .. FfiXJl- Jieatly and with a ( 'powerful 'stroke; On the other hand, the more experienced watchers noted that 1 Stanbury was hitting the water. The splashing on the part of the visitor became more and more pronounced as the bend was approached, and a representative of this journal drew attention to the fact that "STANBURY WAS DONE," as he was labouring* Many thought that it was only " put on," and that be was playing with Webb, but the latter was — . in response to the enthusiastic calls of the thousands on the bank and steamers . — gradually but surely CLOSING ON STANBURY, who appeared to 'momentarily Collapse when the local man got to within two lengths of him. On he went again, however, rowing GAMELY, THOUGH ROUGHLY, v noiv, but still ahead, and many thought only waiting till Webb drew level to go away again. Those who understood the game knew better, of course, as the experienced eye could detect signs that THE AUSTRALIAN WAS TIRING. Meanwhile Webb was coming on the outside, and as he crept up closer and closer the EXCITEMENT AVAS INTENSE. Just .as the bend was reached — about SQO yards from horne — and when there was every prespect of a desperate struggle being witnessed to the finishing post, a great roar went up as it was seen that WEBB HAD DRAWN ALMOST LEVEL, an<l his supporters were yelling themselves hoarse, as— knowing what a wonderfully good- finisher he i«— they looked upon the race AS GOOD AS WON unless — as some of the more timid imagined — Stanbury had "SOMEiTHING UP HIS SLEEVE." But he hadn't, as before anyone could quite realise what had happened, and the anxious and excited watchers near the finishing post were expecting to see a i grand finish to a struggle which will be ever memorable in tho history of aquatic sport in New Zealand, a tremendous shout proclaimed the fact that " STANBURY WAS BEATEN," as he was seen to stop rowing. One glance at "the ex-champion of the world, as the boat passed him lying on his oars in a condition which told plainly of total collapse, convinced all that he had been ROWED TO A STANDSTILL. When Webb realised thA his opponent was done with he eased off, and was just ' paddling along, but in answer to calls from his friends he got under way again, and rowed homo at a fairly solid pace an easy winner, amidst the deafening "Hurrahs" of the thousands on the hillBides and the " cock-a-doodling" of the steamers. ■ ■*•■•• It was a most exciting race', with a most sensational — not to say dramatic — ending Dramatic it was to see a man of such giant stature and with such * great record lying so hoplessly beatoa within sight of home after putting up a splendid race — in which he had brought all the tactics he had learned in a score of years of experience to bear against a young and practically untried — until yesterday — rival, whose pluck, skill, and youth had combined to give him the victory. , THE SCENE AT THE FINISH. The crowd lining -tlie bills nc-ar -fclie £wiftli had waited very patiently until the time of starting arrived, and as 2.30 approached all glasses were turned up-river. Soon a cloud of smoke appeared drifting down the long elbow made by tho first mile, and at once there wae a buzz of excitement. At the same time a- perfect swarm of horsemen was seen galloping down the opposite bank, raising quite a big dust, and all this but added to the eagerness with which the first sight of the contestants was awaited. "Here they are !"

shouted some-one, but it was only tl.c break from one of the steamers' bowa as she swept into the long straight, down which tile men had rowed nearly half a mile before they were seen, so close to the bank were they. As they ewept into view the picture was a very striking one, the two specks struggling together near the willows, forming a great ' contrast to tht following steamers in mid-stream. Th. latter were cutting it out at a great rate,, smoke pouring in dense volumes from thei fuiyieJs, while their foaming bows showed how hot was the pace. Stanbury was seer to be about two lengths ahead, and the couifio which Webb at times steered caused hi 9 supporters' hearts to sink. As they came nearer encouraging «houte rose tc Webb to "kick it in," which were redouble as the men took the last bend Then louder shouts arose fjpenn the horsemen on th.c opposite bank, which were at ence taken up by the peoole on the hillsides as Webb wae seen to oe making hiteffort, and the spectators at the finishing ' pest, taking tip the cue, added to the roar of cheering. Webb came at .Stanbury like a bulldog, and the onlooker^ became fairly frantic with excitement a.3 the daylight between the two boats lessened. Thei. Webb overlapped his doughty opponeni and it was seen that bar accidents, he wat to be the winner of the hard fought contest. Going like a otpamer he shot up with every stroke, and then the unexpected happened. With almost half a canvas still tr tho good, Stanbury suddenly stopped, rowed out, leaving Webb to finish alone. Of course everyone was disappointed at bcinjf robbed of the sig-ht of a close finish but that did not leeson the enthusiasm felt at the local man's victory, and wher he got the gun, the storm of cheering that followed was something- to be remembered. A general rush was at once made for the finishing post, and everybody seemed ben 1 on shouting himself hoarse with the light blue wearers name. The latter, however, turned hie boat round, and rowed quietly up stream, stopping only to shake handtwith Stanbury, who was also given a good rousin? cheer. Then everyone ,made for the homeward bound boats, and thouglmany had t*3 wait a Ion? time for thcii return to pick ur> a second cargo, all felt that the splendid struggle, ending in Webb's well-earned victory, was worth going double the distance to see. A FAST RACE. The time recorded — 18.0C — for the three mikd shows how fast the pace was, anri gives tho he direct, to the few who wert inclined to think thai Stanbury might have, sold lite lace. The fact hzs to be borne in mindf that Stanbury is now at an agt where men begin to go back. Two yearfc ago many declared him a "has been.' Tnis was before his first race with George Towns, but Jim demonstrated that he wai, too good for the chamr.ion then, though ho had to reduce himself from 18 stone t( 12.7 — an almost incredible task — to get well. In the interval between that race ar.d the last one, Stanbury kept himsel in fairly good condition, by practice, but still he" had to fetch off a lot of weight for the second struggle, alter which he put on fles'i again, and when he landed hero seven weeks ago he must have beeii considerably over 15 stone. By a hard course of training Jie got down to 12.10, buttHe^effort had probably told a tale, a 6 the continued reducing of his weight with hid increasing age must have had a weakening effect. " At all events, it is probable he would have been better with another couple of Weeks' training, though at the came time, he expressed himselt as being very well, and was confident of winning. In reward to the times registered yesterday, it might be mentioned that Chris Ncilsojj, who never was a, champion, once rowje9jjapjtaKJie,oii 'the Parramatta iu-Sniiris 26secs, o'ut'th'en he had everything in his favour, wind, tide, etc. When Geo. Towns defe-ated Tresidder the first mile was covered in 6.13. Searle i % owed the first mile in his memorable race with Stanbury in 5 mins 25fecsKj-which. was recognised as the record *lvr we distance. As for the three miles, there does not appear to have been any reHlble records keft. Writing from memory, 1 fancy that Charlie Towns took 19.20 to row that distance in his recent race with Ben Thoroughgood ; in any case the timo was a lot slower than that recorded, by Webb yesterday. In this connection I might mention now that the race is all over that Webb had in his trials rowed a mile in 5.45 and three miles in 18.42, so that taking the times for what they were, worth his chief supporteis had good reason to be satisfied with his prospects. That Stanbury was very much distressed when he stopped is certain, and that he did his best as long as his condition lasted is equally certain. After eseing- up, he vomited freely, and was almost un-able to speak when accosted by someone in an oil launch, a3 he was simply gasping fox breath, whilst the perspiration was rolling off him. Webb, on the other hand, finished fairly strong, and pulled back up stream in good style after having had a bit of p, breather.

WHAT THE UMPIRE THINKS. Mr J. R. Orford (tho umpire) expressed the opinion ajtcr the race that lie thought the long stroke had beaten tho short one, and that age had to be taken into consideration. He stated that Stanbury had taken a risk in getting into Webb's water so quickly after getting ahead. Though Mr Oxford did not expect to see Stanbury stop, he says he noticed that the Australian was railing a quarter of a mile before he threw up the sponge. He never got far enough away to allow him to take things a bit easy, but was kept hard at it right through. STANBURY INTERVIEWED. Interviewed after the race, Stanbury expressed the opinion that he was beaten by a better man on the day. He admitted that Webb had surprised him, as he did not think he could stay out the distance at such a pace. "Age must bow to youth," said Jim. "I wae fairly worn out, and could not have rowed another stroke." FLOYD'S VIEWS. Harry Floyd ~6aid he thought Stanbury waa going to win easily, and at* the half distanceohe wa#^well^satisfied*; in fact had. just previously wagered a new" hat on the result with a prominent Webbite. He admitted that the difference in age had told its tale. Though he was now inclined to think that Stanbury had gone back as a rowe% Ap f«ja£e Webb>every credit for row-, ing a gstjne.'and surprisingly? good race. "He is" I *'' -better man than we thought hini,""3SfW'lfarry. WEBB'S IMPRESSIONS. Webb candidly admitted that he was doing? his best during the first mile and a half of the race. I took a look at Stanbury," said Webb, "at about the half distance, and by the way he was rowing I thought I would have my work cut out to win if he could keep going at the same pace. When I got nearly up to him I wondered whether I would be called upon» to answer another of Stanbury's sprints. but just then Stanbury etopped rowin?. Webb then paid a tribute to the sportsmanlike manner in which his opponent had initiated lijm int.-> various matters connected with starting 1 by mutual consent. With regard to the race he acknowledged that Stanbury has acted quite' fairly. lie had done nothing but what he (Webb) would have done if he had been given an opportunity. "If all the scullers I may meet treat me as Stanbury has done," said Webb, "I shall have no cause to complain."