Bowling Notes

Evening Star, Issue 23681, 14 September 1940, Page 8 (Supplement)

Bowling Notes

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Club secretaries or those in charge of the social activities of their clubs are invited to send along condensed notices in reference to any club events.

Inquiries relating to the laws of the game will be welcomed. Correspondence addressed to “ Draw ” must, roach this office not later than noon on Tuesday of each week.

Questions and Answers. “ Kaikorai.”—Thanks for invitation. “Scotty.”—You appear to have the wrong conception of the working of the law, and in view of the circumstances I have written you direct explaining the matter from the correct viewpoint. Thanks for good wishes. Pavilion Pars. 10-night the Kaikorai Club will hold a function to celebrate the winning of the Hcnagban Banner competition (intcrclub billiards) for 1940. A son of Air A. E. Hamel has been appointed to tbo charge of the Balmaceweu Club’s green. It is proposed to open, the North-east Valley Club’s new green on Saturday, October 5. It is in fine order, and will be an acquisition to the centre. The Dunedin Club’s main green, which underwent a special operation to allow of the introduction of cotula weed, is showing improvement every week, and by the middle of next month it is hoped that it will be ready for play. The weed has established itself, and "a little patience this season should be well rewarded.

D. J. O’Neill, who lias played bowls in many parts of the Dominon and who recently arrived here from AA’elliugton, has joined the St. Kilda Club. “ Deny ” Vaughan has returned to Dunedin. Prior to his departure for Auckland he was a member of the Caledonian Club, but now that he is residing in the North-east Valley has joined that club.

The St. Kilda Club proposes entering 21 rinks (seven sections) for the interdub matches for the incoming season. This club has quite an array of players to choose from, and many of them are in the top flight as competition players. The Centre Executive will meet next Saturday evening, when preparations for carrying out the incoming season’* programme will be put in hand.

A Famous Green Under Fire. Thousands of bowlers in New Zealand and Australia must have heard the Daventry broadcast of the German air attack on Southampton some few weeks ago, when one bomb fell in the corner of a bowling green. There are nine howling greens in Southampton, belonging to seven clubs, so it might have been any of these. A bomb uprooted a tree, which was flung to the roof of tho pavilion. “ Jack Thrower ” suggests in the August issue of Melbourne 1 Bowls ’ that the details identify the green as the famous Southampton green, the oldest in the world, which was constructed before 12SJ, and has been played on ever since. He refers his readers to a photograph of this green which appeared in the programme of tho Victorian centon: ial bowling tournament of 1934. Sure enough, the evidence seems fairly conclusive, for the photograph shows two trees at the other side of the green and one at the corner close to the pavilion, with four funnels and the foremast of a huge liner in the background, apparently less than 100yds away.

Centre Records. “It must be understood that records recalled are for clubs, not the centre,” says “ Driver,” in the 1 AVeekly News.’ “ Tho Dunedin Centre holds a record which will take a lot of beating, having won all three Dominion titles on two occasions. The first was in 1918, when Ponsoaby players were runners-up. AA’altor Foster (Caledonian) won the singles, AV. M. Hogg and Ernie Harraway (Dunedin) won the pairs, and the rinks went to AV. Robson, J. Spinks, E. Falconer, and C. Russell Smith (Otago). Eight years later Foster again won the singles, AA 7 . R. Todd and E. Tamblyn (St. Kilda) won the pairs, and J. D. Best, H. G. Siedeberg, F. M'Cullough, and E. Harraway (Dunedin) .won the rinks.

“ On each occasion these players won in their own city, but a different record was created last January, when for the first time players from a visiting centre won all throe events. That record is to the credit of Auckland, the singles and rinks being won by Carlton and Onehunga, as mentioned above, and the pairs by L. G. Donaldson and W. Bremner (West End). “ This record is likely to be equalled at any time, but it is extremely unlikely that another Auckland Centre record will be even approached. That record was in the Empire Games of 1938, when W. Whittaker (then Carlton, now Onehunga), H. A. Robertson (Onehunga), E. Jury (Ponsonby), and W. Bremner (West End) won the rinks, L. L. Macey (Remuera) and Walter Denison (Balmoral) won the pairs, and Frank Livingstone (Onehunga) was runner-up to Horace Harvey (South Africa) in the singles, after easily defeating him in his 1 successful journey to the singles championship of Australia. Club Successes Last Season. Mention has been made by writers in the north of the fine performance of the Dunedin Club during last season, but the Onehunga Club also had a record season. The outstanding wins were the Dominion rinks championship to W. Whittaker. J. W. T. Macklow, H A. Robertson, and F. Livingstone, the centre's singles champion of champions to Livingstone, the Rotorua pairs to Robertson and Livi.igstoue, and the Rotorua rinks to E. V. Sutherland. W. M. Kerns, J. Kerr, and J. W. Mingius, who defeated in the quarterfinals another Onehunga rink, comprising J. W. T, .Macklow, A. R. Gatland, F. Livingstone, and H. A. Robertson.

It has been suggested that the successes to the credit of Carlton during the past season are also a club record. The club’s chief wins were the Dominion singles to G. A. Deare, the centre’s open singles to J. S. Martin, who won the Christchurch champion of champions for Sumner in 1931 and 1934, and the Tauranga rinks to J. Proud, A. M. Elliot, 11. L. Brighting and E. E. (Roberts, 42 rinks competing, representing five different centres. This was surpassed, however, in the 1929-30 season, when G. L. Gladding and H. Jen kin won the Dominion pairs and the centre pairs, H. C. Clarke won the champion of champions, the centre’s Easter executive fours went to W. Bates, G. L. Gladding. J. S. Kilgonr, and W. K. Arey, and the first-year fours to W. Taylor, A. E. Shields, R. Brown, aiul A. Brown, while A. M. Elliot and T. AVetherilt were runners-up in the centre pairs, and the same position was gained by S. T. Wickstead. A. M. Elliott, T. J. Bucktou, and

George Wrightson in the Easter open fours. In point of numbers the past season has been a record for Balmoral, for the Easter open fours went to C. F. Robertson, \V. A. Hill, J. F. Benson, and Walter Franks, while the intermediate fours event, open to leads and seconds onlv, was won by V. N, Meredith, F. G. Weeks, W. Peterson, and N. Orange and Benson was runner-up in the champion of champions to Livingstone. Strange to say, only once before had Balmoral won a centre event. That was in the Christmas fours of 1935, when Franks defeated Robertson in the final. Naturally the three finals of the past season are overshadowed by the previous .season's victories, when Franks won the Dominion singles, and also the rinks, supported by C. F. Robertson, H. Franks, and J F. 'Benson. A peculiar record to the credit of Ponsonby, in being runners-up in all three events in the Dominion tournament of 1918, is recalled by the death last week of Mr J. A. M'Leod, who led for Arthur Parsons in the pairs, and played second for him in the rinks, the other two being Maurice Casey and his son, Vic. Maxwell Walker was runner-up in the singles, the only time that one club has reached all three finals. To Readers. With the last issue to-night of the ‘ Sports Special ’ for 1940, bowling notes will now be published in the ‘ Evening Star.’ “ Draw ” would appreciate receiving from secretaries dates arranged for club openings.