BOWLING BY NIGHT.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4630, 26 November 1923, Page 3

BOWLING BY NIGHT.

paeboa club. SWITCHING-ON CEREMONY. On Saturday evening last an epochmarking event for the Paeroa Bowling .Club was registered and another page added tp the annals of progress i n Paeroa, when the local greens we-e formally opened for night play, which has been made possible by the installation of nine 600-candle power -electric lights* . A large gathering assembled to take part in ■ the auspicious ceremony of turning on the lights. Visitors present included the Mayor of Waihi (Mr W. M. Wall- ' nutt), Cr. S. Walmsley, the town - clerk (Mr J. J. Ritchie), and bowlers from Waihi, Waikino, Te Aroha, and .Hikutaia clubs. At 8 p.m. the president of the club, Mr W. T. Ppwer, addressed the. gathering from the pavilion, and on behalf of the club extended a hearty welcome to all who had attended the . opening of the green for night play. He said that that evening would mark a very important event in the history of the club" and he felt sure that Snany Happy hours would be spent on the rinks by .bowlers during the evenings under the electric lights. On behalf of .the club he expressed thanks to the Mayor and Council for the prompt, and sportsmanlike manner in which they had taken the installation of electricity up, and for the assistance they ..had rendered to the club. It was. only a few weeks since the proposal had been put before the Council, and by its ready response the opening for play had been made possible that evening. After wishing the bowlers an enjoyable evening he called on-;His Worship the Mayor (Mr WMarshall) to formally : switch on the lights. (Applause.) The Mayor said that before he performed that important ceremony he ® would like to say how pleased he was to ,see : so many present, and on behalf of the council and residents of Paeroa he extended a warm welcome to the visitors. That evening was,, no doubt, a red-letter day in the history of the Paeroa Bowling Club, and also another step along the path of progress in Paeroa. He believed in the future of Paeroa, and congratulated the bowlers on their unbounded enthusiasm. Bowling was becoming an increasingly popular sport in Paeroa, and he predicted that in the future the footballers woiuld.have to look to their laurels if they wished to retain their premier position as the national game of New Zealand. The Bowling Club', by its enterprise, would now be in a position to get nearly twice the amount of play with the facilities it possessed. His Worship said that the club appeared to ’have "backed a double,” and he wished it joy in collecting its dividends ijn full measure. Bowling was a sport of indicativeness, that made for progress, on which the z- future of the town so greatly depended. It was a good, clean, healthy sport,' and when taken up with such -—enthusiasm must make the town a 'better and brighter place to live in, and would go a long way towards checking the drift of people from the small • places to the. cities, which was not good, especially in a district where primary production was paramount. His Worship said that it was particularly gratifyingvto his council the way the bowler,s had come forward with a guarantee to the amount of the cost of installation of the lights, thus enabling the whole of the work to be done without having to spend the ratepayers’ money. He thanked ■the club the honour it had conferred on the Mayoress and himself, . and he trusted, that many enjoyable hours would be spent on the rinks and that the club would w nd up With the most successful season vet 'experienced. The Mayor then switched on the lights from the pavilion, and the Mayoress, accompanied by the president, proceeded to'the rinks and roll- *" cd the first jack amidst applause. Teams were then arranged, and eight rinks took part in.the evening’s play. The lights over the ’ green were found to be quite satisfactory, and the picture of the brilliant lights thrown down on the pale green of the l inks’ dotted with eager players, combined with the large number of people sitting on-the banks on seats, placed about among the shrubs, was as pretty as it was unique, while in the pavilion a large gramophone gave fo’th topical music, adding a carnival spirit to the proceedings. ; Play was continued up till 10 1 p.m, "atfer which a delicious supper was handed’round by the local bowlers’ wives and friends. Many complimentary references wtere exchanged during the evening, and the irresistible “freemasonry” of bowling permeated the whole of the proceedings.