THE WARSHIP.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1726, 17 April 1913, Page 5

THE WARSHIP.

CITIZENS & THE SAILORS.

LUNCHEON & FETE. SPORTS AT NEWTOWN PARK. Yesterday was crowded with naval events tor the public, and the inan-o'-warsinen of 11.M.5. New Zealand. All day, until about. 5 p.m., school children from town and country swarmed on board the cruiser-battleship and spent a happy -limo exploring tho ship. The city and suburban schools were represented by the scholars from Newtown, Terrace, Wadestown, and Mount Cook Boys' and Girls' ■Schools, while from Palinerston North and Wanganui two special trains conveyed big contingents down tho West Coast lino en von to to the battleship-cruiser, which they visited after lunch, returning homo by special trains at tho cad of their day. To-day's embarkation arrangements for school excursions aro as follow:— 9.30 a.m.—Kilbirnic, Island Bay, Mitchelltown. 10.30 ii.ni.—South Wellington, Northland, Muritai, and I'encarrow. 2 p.m.—Brooklyn, Normal School, Karon, Worse 1 -!' Bay, mid Makara. Attention is drawn to certain alterations in the above list of times of embarkation' as compared with tho list published yesterday.

CITIZENS' LUNCHEON. JACK TABS AT THE TOWN HALL. A big crowd assembled on Jcrrois Quay near tho Ferry Wharf to witness the landing and march of the 350 man-o'-warsinen, who were to be tho guests of the city at tho Town Hall luncheon yesterday, "and tho route of the inarch to the Town Hall was dotted with groups of spectators who cheered tho party as, with the band playing the "Ecu, White, and Blue," the men swung along, trailing their two field guns. On arrival at the Town Hall it became apparent that there had been a hitch somewhere. Owing to the fact that the hull had to be restored to its proper order after tho ball of the night before, tables arranged, and various, details attended 1 to, the entertainers were'not readv for their guests, and an unfortunate wait occurred while /lying scouts from tho commissariat hastened to make good the palpablo deficiency in the viands. However, it was not very long before Everything was working smoothly, and the city's guests enjoying themselves. The Mayor (Mr. D. M'Larcn) presided, and there were also present: Captain Blount and Gunner Willis, of the Rival Naval Artillery (H.M.S. New Zealand), the Veil. Archdeacon Harner, Sir. 11. Fletcher (chairman of the Harbour Board), and -members of tho Wellington City Council and Harbour Board. . The Mayor (Mr. It'Larcn), in a brief address, extended a hearty welcome to Captain Blount and.his party, and said that many of these in New Zealand had been reared in the Motherland, and appreciated Jack Tar. The ties that bound tile Empire were the ties of blood and freedom, and the visit of 11.M.5. New Zealand was a sign of the growing unity of the British peonies the world over. The younger sons of tho Motherland were determined, he said, to live tip to the standard their forefathers had sot up for them. (Applause.) Concluding, the Mayor expressed the hope that the British Dominions would long live in unison, nnd uphold the traditions which the British standard stood for. . Proposing the toast of "The Navy." Mr. Fletcher (chairman of the Harbour Board) hoped that the men of' the New Zealaild would appreciate, in the spirit in which it was extended, the .hospitality with which theV'tfere 'greeted 'ifi New Zealand. (Cheers.) He wished them a safe Teturn to the Old Country, and hoped that perhaps in later years they would como out to New Zealand and help to carry on the work which had been begun. Captain BJount. responding to the toast, expressed his acknowledgments of the kindness and hospitality that had been extended to them in New Zealand. They had all felt honoured in beim* selected for service in,such a magnificent ship, (Apnlfiuse.) Ho proposed the toast of "The Mayor and Councillors of tho City of Wellington," w.hich .was honoured in true naval fashion, with rousing cheers. During the proceedings Mr. jftaughan Barnctt played several , selections and patriotic songs oil tho grand organ.

FUN AT THE PARK. SPORTS GRAVE,AND GAY. Jack ashore is generally credited with tho capacity for making fun, and tho sailors from file warship proved to be no exception when they undertook to entertain tho citizens of Wellington at Newtown Park yesterday afternoon. Aftei the luncheon at the Town Hall, tho man o'-warsmen marched through the streets, trailing their field guns, tho admired of all observers, and of these there were many. Every street en routo was lined with spectators who greeted the Jack Tars.with cheers. As for the sailors it was easy to see that they were out for tho diiy. Discipline was judiciously relaxed. The men smoked, chatted easily in tho ranks, exchanged nods and smiles with tho crowd, and with sprigs of fern in their caps, ridiculously large button holes, presented a gay and festivo appearance. On their arrival at th'e park they were greeted with a Ivomate, komate, kaural Kaura! from a party of Maoris appropriately costumed for tho occasion, and later in the afternoon some of the Jack Tars showed thoir ■ appreciation of the rousing haka by getting the words off by heart, and rehearsing it amongst themselves. Tho public did not fail to support the fete, for during the afternoon the crowd on tho banks reached quite 10,000. Without any loss of time iho sports were commenced, and tho spectators settled down to a good afternoon's fun. Tho warship's band was stationed in the centre of tho oval, courses were set out for tho various ovenls, and the whole tiling went oil' with a swing. There, wero sports grave and gay, from a serious and quito desperate attempt to lower the 1(10 yards amateui' record for Australasia to a mad race by tho bandsmen, who wero compelled by tho rules of the event to discourse sweet music as they ran. They discoursed, certainly, but—shades of Mendelssohn and Chopin!—it was not music. Tho trombone made a brave race of it, emitting lioarso and spasmodic grunts, while the clarionets squeaked hysterically in their exciting attempt to breast the tape first. What the raco really was didnot dawn on tho public until the competitors were well on their way, but when at last the humour of tho event burst upon tlio crowd a mighty shout of laughter went up from the banks. Fortunately for tho musicians, tho race was short—loo yards. Then there was a barrel raco, in which the competitors, blindfolded, rolled their barrels to every point of tho compass. One of tho erratic barrels almost upset a kinematographcr, who escaped just in time to savo his camera and miss the finish of the race. Great amusement was afforded by the Spar and Bolster event—a pillow fijht, in tho language of the dormitory—where pairs of competitors, straddled on a log, sought, by fearsome whacks witJi bolsters, to dislodgo each other. It was a "headachy'' spcct&cle, for there was no sparing of wuscle, and some of the whacks were tremendous. There was also, amongst the burlesque items, an obstaclo race, where (ho men were ob'iged to crawl under nets and through ladders and barrels, spin up ropes, grope along canvas ventilators, and endure other discomfiting (rials before finally breasting tho tape. One of tho most entertaining events of tho afternoon was the field gun display by Iho riiii squads. The men were put through various marching evolutions and gun drill, finishing up with four rounds of blank, and a march past, which was something to witness. Most of (ho evolutions wero carried out to music, and were very pretty to watch. Added to ! these events were Sailors' hornpipes, Scotch reels by a local party of dancing cjrls in costume, and a display of physical drill by a squad from the Wellington Y.JI.C.A. company of Senior Ca- i dels, The sports were concluded shortlv . altm; 1 o'clock, by which time tho gusty i northerly began to blow chilly and in- i

hospitably, driving many of tha eightiters oil' along the homeward truck. The Citizens' Carnival Sports Committee assisted in the carrying out of Hie programme, which worked with smoothness and celerity from start to finish. During tho afternoon the Primo Minister visited the park mid remained for some time an interested spectator of the sports. Sports Results. , The results of the various events wero as follow. (For most of tho events tho prizes were 10s., 55., and 2s. "(id., for first, second, and third respeclively; in tho Obstacle Race the prizes wero 15s„ 10s., and 55.; in the Relay Pace. for teams, ,C 2 and .£1; ami for tho Tue-o'-war, .£2 55.).:— 100 yds. Hat—Thornton, A.8., 1; Chambers, 2; Barry, A .15., 3. li ol'l bpvi-cm- Race — Leading-seaman nlaimu'il and Bugler Howard, 1; Harris and Sloeombe, 2; Bombardier Harding and Sergeant Wells, I). Bandsmen's llaco-Maloncv, 1; Chambers, 2Beadle, .1. 1 ("pder IS)—Bugler Howard, p i■n Smith, 2; Atkinson, hack Race—Bombardier Milne, I: Friel 2; .Stoker Ball, 3. 220 yds. Flat—Barry, A.8., lj Thornton, A.8., 2; C.P.O. Chambers, 3. Three-legged Puce-Barry and King, 1; lhornton and Stanford, 2; Ball ami Bucknell, Veterans' Paco (over 15 years'service)— P.O. Harrington, 1; P.O. Pike, 2; Kcase, Barrel liace--King, A.8., 1; "Boy" Ai ; V Stanford, 3. Obstacle Race—Bombardier Milne. 1Barry, A.8., 2; King, A.8.. 3. I lllow Fight.—Payne, A.8., 1; Lending Seaman iiirncr, 2; Won, A.8., and i> o, \ lllS01 '» (a dead heat). n* f ° r l Di am ? ? f four 111011 (8803 (Is.).—Buny, Stanford, Thornton, and Junj;, ]; MIIIIO, Harding, Hanvood. aiul htoclf, 2. fug-o -war (for soamen, engine-room meji. ami marines).-Won !>y the Rovul Mamies team. .ft 1 R«op--Barr.v, A.8., 1; Timmins, A.8., 2; Wrightson, 3.

NON-COMS. FRATERNISE. ; A social gathering was held at the Old avals boatshed, .Tervois Quay, last evening, when the Wellington Garrison N on-Commissioned Officers' Club entertamed warrant, petty, and non-commis-sioned officers from the New Zealand. Warrant-ORiccr M Cornish (Bandmaster of the I'iith \\ellington Regiment) presided and there was a large gathering of hosts ana guests., the evening was devoted to musical items and toast .speeches. Tho chairman proposed the toast of "Our Guests, whom, ho said, camo amongst Uiem not as strangers, but as brothers anil as brothers ho welcomed them. Chief L'lijjine-rooiii Artificer Morrison lespoaded on behalf of-tho visitors. ilio toast of "The Navy and Army" was proposed by Quartermaster-Sergeant K- Pol 1 nJ'r aud to t;5 1 clty-Officcr Olliver, wliilo ColourBouM proposed the toast of ll.iu.b, New Zealand." Tlio evening was a very successful one, and thoroughly enjoyed by all present. bj-.ii On the departure of tho New Zealand ironi Portsmouth, a presentation of a bull(•°n (typical of tho "bulldog''breed")'was made by a party of leading New Zealand-: ere as a mascot" for tho ship. He was christened "Pelorus, Jack," and was decoraied with a collar duly inscribed. While the New Zealand was at Cape Town a party of New Zealanders admired tho (log, and made him a presentation of n collar, winch lie now wears, together with liis first one, when in full dress uniform. Jlr. Lovo (chief of the Ngatiawa' tribe) and his people no\y proposo to present- the mascot with a silver, collar inscribed with tho Maori name of "Pelorus Jack," namely, "Kai-lcai-a-waro.":' ' ' ' Members of the Native race bavo'takeo a. prominent part in the functions organ's™ ill connection with the visit of tlio battlc-cruisw New Zealand, and in recognition of tho entertainment they have provided a general invitation has been I extended to them to visit tho battleship to-day at 1.30 p.m. a well-attended meeting held at Godber s rooms last evening, Miv- J. Lewis presiding, arrangements wero made" for the cintortniimient of tile Liverpool sailoi-3 on board tho H.M.S. New Zealand. It was decided that a deputation, consisting of the'chairman and the secretary, Mr. A. 0. Richardson, be asked to wait on the Arms Officer and submit next Wednesday evening for -this carrying out _of tho function. A final meeting of tho committee is to be held, _ when tho dato for tho entertainment is finally decided... Arrangements' for the programme were left in the hands of Messrs. Lewis tvnd Richardson. It was stated that: an excellent programmo will bo arranged. This morning a party of sailors will be taken by. train over the Rimutakas to I-'eatlicrston, where they will be tho Quests of the Government. Captain Halsey has invited tho Wellington Pipe Band to be his guests on board Iho warship on Sunday aijterngon. nest." The band will play through the streets on Saturday evening. ; ; " The contemplated excursion to Otaki has been abandoned owing to the shortness of time. The boys in navy.bluo on H.M.S. Now Zealand are all to witness "Tho Bluo Bird" during tho approaching season of the Williamson Dramatic Company at tho Opera House. Tlio officers liavo been invited to attend on Monday evening next, and tlio members of tlio.'crew aro 'to .bo accommodated, at tlio invitation of 'the management, in batches • on Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday next.. The committeo of tho Wellington Orphans Club are sanguine in regard to their entertainment to the officers of tho H.M.S. New Zealand on Saturday evening next, and a programme worthy of .the occasion is assured. A feature of'tho evening will be tho liaka to bo performed by 30 members of the Maori Taco 'in cliarac- 1 leristic costume. Tlmt tho function will bo well patronisod is evidenced by tho great demand for ladies' tickets, and it lias been found necessary to placo a small supply at tho Dresden Piano Company, as well as at tho Wellington Piano Company. ,