W. D. A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

Western Star, Issue 965, 18 July 1885, Page 2

W. D. A. AND P. ASSOCIATION.

ANNUAL PLOUGHING MATCH,

This popular annual cvoufc took place yesterday in Mr J. B. McLean’s paddock, Flint s Bush, under very favorable auspices. The weather was all that could be desired, being free from rain and frost, thus enabling a punctual start to be mado at tho advertised hour—9.3o a.m., and a corresponding early finish was made, thereby allowing the judges to get to work and complete their awards. Tho ground-was a choice bit for such a contest, and a better selection could not possibly have been made, being conveniently situated, with an even and regular surface, and easily approached by a good road. As a consequence the attendance was numerous, and as tho day advanced a fair sprinkling of the fair sex put in an appearance. The number of entries, however, was the same as that of last year—viz., 12 senior double furrow, 5 junior ditto, and 2 swing plough. This may bo accounted for,'in some measure by the. fact that this year tho entries closed throe days before the match. ■ Tho experiment •proved a success,—as it enabled tho exact number of lots to bo pegged off and all other necessary arrangements to be made beforehand, which greatly assisted in tho smooth carrying out of the match. Doubtless succeeding years will show a marked improvement, in tho number of entries Hvhen probable contestants become bettor acquainted with the rule making it necessary to enter three days beforehand. However, the entries were efficiently to induce keen competition and allow comparison to bo. made between the various kinds of work. The area set apart for each ploughman * was two-thirds of .an acre in. double furrow class, and half that quantity for swing ploughs, the time allowed being at- the rate of 14 hours to the ocm, with half an hour for lunch. Tho judges’' were' Mr T Fleming. (Rakahouka), W. Ronald (Waianiwa), and r Wr..,Mcllwrick;(Waiki\yi). The ground is a favorite one for-a. ploughing match, as this is tho third occasion that it has boon utilised for such a purpose. It was lea 'land, with a .■.'capital sole, but very full of grub, which made it annoyingly brittle and prevented a display of pretty ..work. The. judges.for special prizes, were Messrs ,L. Fraser (Waidniwa) and R. Baird (Limestone Plains). Mr R. 8. McWiL Hams, of the Carriers Arms' Motel, Riverton, had a booth and luncheon tent on the ground, the catering in both departments giving the greatest satisfaction. There was a fruit, stall and a shooting gallery, the latter providing amusement to those who were satiated with a < superficial glance at the ploughing. The whole of llie arrangements were carried out, as usual with the business of the Association, ;with the greatest smoothness, a result attributable to the active and energetic personal supervision of the President (M. Instone, Esq.), Vice-President (Mr W. Hopcrofl), tho Secretary (Mr Q-. Featherstnae) and the other officers of the Association. As tho various lots drew towards completion the greatest interest was manifested in the contest by partisans of the competitors, aud such exclamations as “Haud aff a wee bit there, noo,” “ It’s catching a wee bit there —tak’ a little aff,” “ Right, Jamie, save it from that up, noo,” and many similar expressions wore frequent. John Hamilton Was tho first competitor to finish a very creditable lot for a youngster compering in (he Senior class, Iris time being, taken ns 2 o’clock, fully threequarters of an hour before the limit. Others quickly followed, until the lust furrow was ploughed. One or two competitors tors were allowed extra, lime on account of having a greater quantity of ground to cover but all were, finished shortly afaer three o’clock. The following is the "PRIZE LIST: Double Fubeows (open to all comers). Ist prize, £5 ; 2nd, £4 ; 3rd, £3; 4th, £2 ; oth, £L; DU), 10s. t,-

Ploughman. Owner'. Maker. I David Clark Thos. Clark Reid and Gray .2 ffm. Lindsay John Lindsay do. 3 Robt. Paterson Self Anderson and Pindlay 4 Thos. Stroud Self Reid and Gray SW. Hamilton W. McKenzie do. 6 Robert Deacon John Deacon Fowler John Hamilton J. W. Hamilton do. John Brown Brown & Walker do Jno. Allison, jr. Jno, Allison, sr. Redd and Gray Allan Jones' Self Fowler 11. Irvine '• iJ. Irvine ' • .Reid and Gray W. Fraser D. Fraser do Double Furrows (Junior Class, under 18 j years of age). Ist prize, £5 ; 2nd, £4 j

3rd, £3 ; 4th, £2 £1 ; 6th, 10s

Ploughman. Owner. Maker, / i Don. Halloway Win. Halloway Booth and McDonald

J R Turnbull, jr. JR Turnbull, sr. Fowler Single Furrows (open to all eomsrs). Ist prize, £5 ; 2nd, £4 ; ■ 3rd, £3 ; 4th, £3 ; j stli, £1; 6th, 10s.

Ploughman. Owner. Maker. 1 Andrew Hall, jr. Self Ponton 2 A. McLean W. Hamilton do 3 Thos. Hannah self Grey,Lddingstone Peter Turnbull „ Self Ponton John Wilson Self do.

Boat Break Double Furrow—Box of soup, value 15s, by McLeod Bros. —J. Allison. Best Break Junior Double Furrow —100 trees, by 11. Birvoll—Di Holloway. Best Break Single Furrow—Box of lea, by Mitchell, McNeil & Co,—T Hannah.

Best Ploughed Big on Field —2 oak butter firkins, by Cowpor and Wilson. —A I Full. Best Finish Double Furrow—loo trees, by R. Cleave. —W. Lindsay. Best Finish Junior Double Furrow —10s fid, by Moir, Johnson & Co.— P. Turnbull. Best Finish Single Furrow —100 trcis, by Cooper & Co. —A. Hall. Best Kept Harness in Daily Use—loa fid, by Association. —W. Fraser. * Best Team of 3 Horses—Pl, by Association. —-W. McKenzie.

Best Team of 2 Horses—JSl, by Association —A. McLean.

Best Groomed Team on Field —Family parcel, by D. Strang and Co.—J. Allison. Man with Largest Family -Pair long leggings, by Kingsland & Co. —T. Stroud. Youngest Ploughman—Tin of lollies, by Kingsland A Son.—D. Halloway. Oldest Ploughman—Pair of chains, by Manson & Co.—T. Stroud.

First Prizetakor off the Field —Bag of flour by Fleming and Gilkinson. —R. Deacon. Best ploughed lot by ploughman under 21 years of age.—Silver modal, value 30s, by G. Lumsden. —D. Clark.

Straightesl ploughing in field—los fid by Association.—J. Allison.

The judges’ announcement:) woro in ado at •1.30, and as eacli separate award was road out it was followed by ringing cheers. The work as a whole was considered a splendid average; there being none of prominent excellence, hut at the same time there was not a bad lot on the field. Clark’s award is a popular one. Ho is only a young man, and when the fact is

1 taken into consideration that ho had many veteran prize-takers to compete against, the credit attached to the performance is enhanced. The judging as a whole gave great satisfaction, at any rate no dissent was' heard. THE DINNER Took place in Foster’s Hall, Thomhury, in the evening, when between thirty and forty gentlemen sat down to a repast sumptuous iu

quantity and quality, which it is almost unnecessary to add was partaken of with keen relish after tho arduous duties of the day. M. Tnstone, Esq., President, performed the duties of Chairman with his usual tact and ability, and his efforts were ably seconded by Mr W. Hopcroft, Vice-President, who acted m<s croupier. The tables having been relieved of their more solid contents, a most social two hours’ enjoyment followed, during which toast and «ong followed each other in rapid succession. The Queen and the Royal Family having boon duly honored, Mr Wm. Ronald gave “The Western District A. and P. Association,” which was responded to by the Chairman, who said that although tho district was situated in an extreme corner of Now Zealand, still the Association would bear favorable comparison with many others, bike many others the Association some time ago got into debt, but ho was happy to say that tho members put their shoulder to tho wheel and had recently wiped out arrears, so that the Association now stood clear of all liabilities. He expressed his pleasure at the success of tho meeting that day, and chai’actorised it as the most successful gathering of tho kind ever hold under tho auspices of tho Association; and concluded by referring to tho satisfaction which the judging had given. “ Tho Successful Competitors” was given by the Vice-Chairman, who considered the work done that day deserved tho greatest credit, and hoped that those who failed to obtain a prize would bo more successful on another occasion, when ho trusted to see a greater number of entries. A. Hall and D. Clark responded,. after which the President presented to the latter the silver medal won by him, and given by Mr G. Lumsdcn, for the host work done by a ploughman under 21 years of age. Tho President expressed a wish that tho reoip'ent would live long to wear it, and that Clark would bo successful in winning others to keep it company. Not only was the work done by Clark tho best amongst the competitors under 21 years of ago, but the best in his class.

Mi- John Walker gave “ The Unsuccessful Competitors,” to which Mr J. Brown responded. “The Judges” was next given by Mr J. W; - Hamilton, ■ who said- he believed the judging that day had given more satisfaction than that in connection with any match ever held in the district., iOf course it was impossible to please everyone, but there were numbers of people on the ground that day who wore quite capable of estimating the quality of work done, and they were thoroughly satisfied. Matches might bo got up, but unless they got qualified judges who could be trusted to give an honest award, they would never be a success.

Mr Ronald, in replying, said tho-judges had an agreeable duty to perform, and that they had been unanimous in their decision, with exception of the relative position of first and second prize-taker in senior double furrow class, which proved the only difficulty. Mr Mcllwrick followed, expressing the pleasure he felt at the satisfaction which the judging had given. He considered it an honor to have been selected as a judge, as he looked upon the Western District match as one of the most important in Southland, and was excelled only by the Champion match. They would bo more than ordinary judges if no complaints were made at their awards, but at anyrato lie could assort that the judging was honestly done. “The Field Committee” was acknowledged by Messrs Hoperoft and JVliindsay. Mr J. Wohlers gave “The Agricultural and Pastoral Interest.” —W. A . Lyon, with whose name the toast was coupled, said he supposed he had been selected as a typo of a struggling settlor. These in'crests combined kept all others going, and although they were languishing at the present time lie had no doubt but that they would ultimately flourish. “The Visitors,” by Mr Baird, was responded to by Mr Holloway in a humorous manner. Mr J. W. Hamilton, in proposing " The Commercial Interest.” referred to the deprsssion that that interest in common with all others was suffering from, and acknowledged the assistance always readily given by business people towards the support of the Association. Mr T. Hudson replied. “ The Mining Interest,” by Mr Hoperoft, was responded to by Mr Burns, who referred to the mineral wealth of the district, expressing the opinion that that interest, as it became developed, would attain proportions that would place it in the front rank, and would be the means of ultimately greatly adding to the prosperity of the district. Mr Hamilton, ; in proposing “ The Secretary,” referred, in complimentary terms to that gentleman’s exertions on behalf of the Association. V...,- • .

Mr F.eathorstpnC replied, saying that the success of the match was not due to any one person, but to the harmonious working of the committee as a whole. The remaining toasts were “Mr:McLean ” (who gave the paddock), “The Ladies,” “ The Press,” “ The Host and Hostess.” The proceedings were brought to a close at 10 p. m. by the company singing “Auld Lang Syne.” Songs were glvoti at intervals by. Messrs W. Hamilton, J. W. Hamilton, J. Lindsay, R. Instone, Mcllwrick, Ronald, T. Hannah, and Hcpcroft. :