LYALL BAY GALA.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1700, 17 March 1913, Page 6

LYALL BAY GALA.

o —: "CAPTAIN COOK'S" LANDING. A GEEAT CEOWD. The first function in connection with Iho Citizens' Easter Carnival, lor tho purpose of raising funds for beautifying tho city reserves, tooK place on tne Kyuil Bay beach on Saturday aiternoon, in tue presence or somo tiiousands oi spectators. Tne unsettled wearner which prevailed (luring last week ended.in a heavy uownpour of ruin on buturduy. lnornnig, and at the. commencement of the gma tno weather was none too bright, but as tne aiternoon wore oil bright sunshine prevailed, and large uumuers of peopie niuue tne journey to the Kay. Throughout the aiternoon a strong and, enttflisiastie band of young ladies ill wnito ifocKs patrolled the beach armed with collection-boxes. ' Their efforts were not in vain, lor they met with really response lioni almost everyljouy. Uiuer juung ladies made their presence lea, soiling aiternoon tea tickets, liome-inaue sweets, and programmes, which met with reauy sale. It was rather a pity thiit the Man-agement-Committee aid not acquire a larger tea-rooiu, for there must have been scores of peopie who could not gain admittance to the room. , . ■

Never before had there been such an array of motor-cars, taxis, motor-cycles, and cabs lined up on tne Parade, i,uckiiy, it was low tide when the atfair commenced, and the officials had. ample room to carry out the function successfully. Among those present were: Tho Mayor (sVlr. 'i). M'Laren) and the Hon. A. L. Kerdtnan, M.P.

The Tramway Band provided excellent musical items throughout the afternoon.

Tno gala commenced with a grand parade of.all competitors, a majority of whom were in fancy costume, and then his Worship the Mayor '(Mr. David M'Laren) oihcially declured the function open. An exhibition of life-saving, land drill by members of the ■ jlaranui. and Lyall Kay Surf 'Clubs followed, and later on a display of reel rescue work Was given.

.Owing to the light . breeze, "Captain Cook's'' vessel, which was timedto arrive from Port Nicholson at 3 p..ni. did not arrive until some lorty minutes . later. Tlie yacht Matangi, owned by Mr'.;White, was used as the Endeavour, arid she proved to be an ideal vessel;for the purpose. When the great navigator, Captain Cook, first landed in New Zealand he did not have so great ,a. reception as the Captain Cook who landed at Lyall . llay on Saturday .afternoon.* The weather was simply perfect, .with hardly h breath of wind, but there was a big ground svelj, -which roared as it stfuek the long stretch of beach. Everybody was anxiously awaiting, the arrival of "Captain Cook and his brave sailors," not forgetting the "pig." A. .score or more of "Maoris/, i'n : their Native dress amused the crowd by racing up and down tho beach, "and shouting and waving their arihs about as they watched tho. big white yacht coming iiito the bay. Presently "Captain Cook and his sailors" could be seen entering t'lio yacht's tendors, and'it was not long before the two small boats conveying the party were making for the shore. Tho huge breakers which thundered oil to the beaeji gave everybody a fairly good idea of what would happen to "Capbiin Cook and his party," when they' attempted to effect a landing. Their expectations were fully realissd. As the boats drew near the beach there was much exciteiAcnt amongst the crowd. At times the little boats could hardly be seen, so J>'g were the rollers. Then, all of a sudden the expected happened, and the spectators fairly roared with laugTitar. A huge roller ihounted high up above'the boats, and ill curliiig' completely obliterated them and their crewsl for the timo being. As the roller continued,

"Captain Cook and party" could be seen struggling in the water, and endeavouring to save the boats.' "Captain Cook," in his naval uniform of tbe olden days, and his "brave sailors," who were garbed in various liighly-colourcd Costumes, wore drenched to the skin. But the unfortunate "porker" fared tha worst; He was;unfortunately very big, and the tailors experienced considerable difficulty in getting him ashore. However, quite undaunted by- tho rather humorous, accident, "Captain Cook and his sailors" marched along the beach, and wore welcomed by a very natural liaka by the "Maoris.* The "Maoris" then made a present of a large fish to the "Captain," in return for the porker. Following, upon this, "Captain Cook" delivered an speech, and the burlesque on tlie landing of Captain Cook in New Zealand concluded, amidst applause from the onlookers. Another amusing event was the "horse" race, which provided opportunities for plenty of laughter. . The swimmers got into costumes representing horses,- and raced along the • beach, and a couple of "bookmakers" were kept fairly busy. One or two other races were held. ' ■ The tea-rooms were in charge of Mesdames A. Levy, R. G. Grange, J. E. Henrys, E. . Healy, J. F. Atkins,' and assistants, who worked very hard under rather trying circumstances. Tho stall of sweets, fruit, and aerated, waters was in charge of Mesdames H. .T. Levy, H. C. TV. Blick, D. K. Blair, W. B. L. Gibbes, A. A. N. -.Sommerville, anil 'assistants. , ' the officials deserve credit for the way in which-tliey forked in making the gala so successful.