MEMORABLE RACE MEETING

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 118, 12 February 1919, Page 7

MEMORABLE RACE MEETING

MARRED BY' AN, EARTHQUAKE/ ''But Trentham is such a' long way. " outl" ■■:.. ' ; - ! ■•■• ■ : The remark was made in the presence ■■■•'. of Mr.- James. Ames, the City Valuer, 'during' an. inconsequential talk about the races. .■•";■/'■-"-.:r.S.'-'o i'-'-'i-J-',',' " ' ! ' ; "ltJß : curious, you know,".'said.Mr/ ■■'■ Ames, "but Wellington has always.ijeen under, disabilities' as', regards racing, but whether that is a bleesing or other- ;, wise I leave other people, to say. But you can get to Trentham easier and as quickly as you could to- the races in Wellington sixty-four years ago.". ■ Then Mr. Ames '.became reminiscent . about the most.remarkable race meeting probably, ever held or likely to-be 'held in Wellington.- That was the-two-days' meeting held on the Burnhani Water course in January, 1855—"the year of the great earthquake." : "The course was near a small lake called Burnhani Water, which' lay a little to the south of the Miramar golf links," said Mr. Ames. "Indeed," he ,• added, "I believe the golf links cover ' a part'at least of the'old'course. OF course,' in those, days there were no Toads'over the links, arid no vehicle's ■ of any kind- to travel in. ,'With' most of us it' was a -case of having' to leg-it from town over the : Constable Street hill, and across "the sands" to the course. Some of. the lucky ones had drays, and starting out early in the morning'were able, with some difficulty, to make the course by the time the ■ races; started. It was comical to see the dray-loads winding in and out among the sand-hills, and sometimes getting stuck in a : drift. _ Imperial troops were stationed in Wellington in those days, and all the men used to tramp out to the course .to sco their . officers'ride in the raceSi"lt was on the second day of the races that the big 'quake occurred. It was a shake such aawe have never since experienced.. Its most alarming effect was to create a great wave, which swept across the sands as far as Burnham Water and rushed up ij to the gullies of the hills. beyond. In town the waters. of the harbour were thrown across Lambton Quay, and flooded! all the shops along the waterfront, causing everyone to seek safety on the higher levels. One most curious effect was the masses of fish thrown up on the beach, between-.town ,;,and; Terawhiti. They were, carried' up by the great wave and left stranded therp above the high-water mark, and the late Mr. John M'Menamin, of Terawhit'i station, used to tell us of hie rido along this bank' of fish,-his.horse floundering and slipping among them as he galloped, homeward after the 'quake. ' "That', was the last of Burnham Water as a racecourse. After that they commenced to race round the stumps at the Hutt. Wellington lost its best chance of securing a fine race- .' course when the Seddon Government ■turned down the Special Enabling Bill to allow the city to purchase the whole of Miramar. I could have bought n racecourse there then for £4000, and peoplo could have /left town; seen the Cup run, and. be back at business within the hour." ,