INTERESTING DAY IN OTAKI

Chronicle (Levin), 4 August 1947, Page 2

INTERESTING DAY IN OTAKI

WATERLOO SCHOOL'S VISIT Mr. W. R. Adams, headmaster of the Waterloo School brought a party Of pupils to Otaki on Thursday to visit places of historic interest, and to engage the Otaki State School In a series of friendly games! ' These inter-school sports are keenly looked forward to by the pupils of both schools, and the headmasters are to be congratulated upon fostering such a splendid friendship among the pupils. The Otaki School entertained the visitors well, and in return the Waterloo children expressed the wish that they be given the opportunity io return the kindness lacer in the year. . On arrival the visitmg party, under the direction of Mr. Sullivan and Miss Lawson, of the Waterloo staff, were met by the prefects of the Otaki School and welcomed. The party was then taken to the Rahui Factory, where they were shown over the plant by the manager and staff, The' children were extremely interested and -the management and staff were thanked for their courtesy and lucid explanation of the factory. In the afternoon Rev. P. Temuera pointed out the historic lafidmarks of Otaki, and at the Maori Church dealt with the history of Rangiatea. " In an extremely interesting manner, Mr. Temuera gave the children a practical insight into some, of New Zealand's early history, especially as it affected the adoption of Christianity by the Maoris. Mr. Adams, ou behalf of the boys and girls thanked his friend, Mr. Temuera, for his kindness in telling the stor-y of Rangiatea In such an interesting manner. The children had derived great benefit from the visit to the church and Mr. Adams felt sure that they would retain their knowledge of such a unique place, and in years to come would .feel privileged that the Rev.' Mr. Temuera had been so kind as to tell them the story. While' at the church, MajorGeneral R. Young, Deputy-Mayor of O.aki, welcomed the Waterloo children and introduced Mr. Cruickshank, winner of 'the-. Otaki Scholarship, to those present. At the conclusion of the visit to the church tfre senior children entertained the visitors at the school, v/here an excellent afternoon tea had ,been prepared. A small Maori party provided some musical items ;ivhich were greatly eujoyed. . "Y . Mr.' J. E. James, headmafetet1 'of' the Otaki School, said it had been a pleasure to qntertain the children from Waterloo and hoped that the annual visits- would continue. The games had been thoroughly enjoyed by all the children, and Otaki would be pleased to travel to Waterloo later, preferably in the summer when the Otaki pupils would be able to make use of the baths. Mr. James thanked Mr. Adams, Mr. Sullivan and Miss Lawson for coming and the children for their wonderful behaviour. Mr. Adams thanked Mr. James, his staff and pupils for the hospitality . that had been accorded to Waterloo pupils. The friendliness that had sprung up between the two schools was worth fostering. Personally speaking, he always looked forward to Otaki, where the teachers and children were so friendly. He asked the children to ex^end his best wishes to their parents. Finally, Mr. Adams mentioned how much they had enjoyed the Maori items, and asked Mr. James to include a concert party when the Otaki school visitea Waterloo. Cheers and countercheers ended a most successful day. Football A very exciting game of football was played on the Otaki Domain. During the first spell the Waterloo team were dangerous on many occasions. Their forwards played magmficently qnd their spoiling tactics inconvenienced Otaki greatly. Territorially Waterloo had much the better of the first half, and only bad luck prevcnted them from scoring more points. P. Skelton scored two very good Iries and time after time drove back the Otaki team with magnificent kicking. It was a pleasure to' wateh a school boy find the line so accurately. A. Dudley, at halfback, played a grand game throughout, and, although diminutive, stood up to the hard work and fast-break-ing Otaki forwards without flinching. G. Potts was another Waterloo boy who played well. The half-time score was 6 — 3 in favour of Waterloo and it looked as if they would retain that advantage throughout the game. The Otaki team seemed to be' rather disorganised. However, • during the secohd half the- Otaki team livened up somewhat. The backs were fed and M. Taipua and S. Snowdon cut the defence .to ribbons. Whenever the ball got to these two players they always looked dangerous. The reaso.n for the better play in he second half was that J. Web-

ster, who took over the position of halfback after the interval, -kept feeding the fast and strong-run-ning Otaki backs. Inspired by the backs' combination, the forwards packed more solidly and gave the halfback a feast of the ball, both from the loose and the tight.' The outstanding players in the Otaki team were S. Snowdon and M. Taipua in the backs and H. Harvey, D. Annan, B> Jensen and L. Fox in the forwards. S. Snowdon*' scored 'five tries ad M. Taipua three tries, while S. Snowdon converted one. A very good game ended in Otaki winning 26 — 6. Mr. W. H. Townrow controlled the game efficiently. Basketball The Otaki girls, who were much taller than Waterloo, outplayed the visitors and won an excellent game by 11 — 6. The game was played in a wonderful spirit of friendliness, which also characterised the game of football. s Miss Lawson ably refereed the basketball. ,