DEATH OF HANLAN

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 19

DEATH OF HANLAN

A GREAT SCULLER GONE.

CIVIC FUNERAL TO^BE ACCORDED.

OTTAWA, January 5. | Obituary:, E. Hanlan, of Toronto, . eculler. _ X ' It has been decided to accord hini a civic funeral. The body lies in state in the City Hall". Hanlan's was a name to conjure with in ' rowing matters when he defeated Trickett on' the- Thames iin 1880. He went away from hi 6 opponent with such ridiculous ease that it was even alleged that he had j ooncealed in his boat some motor mechanisms ■ The secret was,' however, that h© had mastered" s the use .of the eliding seat, j "He., had previously beaten Mlivet on -the Tyne- and before That "all the best rowers I in his native Canada. -^ After beating 6uc-j oeesively Laycock from Putney to^Mortlake, 1 Boyd on the Tyne, Trickett; again on the | Thames, Laycock on the Nepean, he was at j last compelled to lower his colours to Beach on -the, Parramatta in 1884-. Beach then defeated' Clifford/; and' then again Hanlan in 1885. In ; 1887 he beat Hanlan oncej more on the -Nepean,- and then resigned the championship. In this way the names "of Hanlan an_d Beach axe indiseolubly con-, neoted -in the world's championship. Aus- j tralia went wild with delight when Beach won, so that the people of Wanganui have some precedent for the jubilation they | made when Webb. brought the championship- to New Zealand. Undoubtedly the great event in Hanlan's life was- the race ; -with Beach. It is still considered the greatest race ever rowed. The rivals trained well, and the day of the race found them fit to row for a kingdom.- " The race was to be on a Saturday, but two days before Hanlan and Beach met on the course. Hanlan rowed hard, Beach held his own; on they went I for some distance in real earnest, then they i «eased off. That evening a , dozen times Hanlan repeated, as if to satisfy himself: "Hanlan, you can beat" that big blacksmith; he don't" know how to row." There were great crowds to see the race, and all was excitement. Hanlan was excited, too, and he was at his request sponged down with spirits. The men ?ot away well, but Hanlan, was coon in front, and at a halfmile led fully two lengths. It was here the jcoastal steamer Tom'ki was, and she was moving slowly across the course. Hanlan saw her, and ugly visions off foul play filled his' mind.' He rowed -desperately hard, cleared easily, ,and gained about two more lengths; but he never could forgive that steamer, , nor did •it ■ deserve forgiveness, for it was not the place for her. Beach was cheered, v but- it was sympathetic cheers lie "got the - mo_re demonstrative kind a mile or more away. Hanlan was at almost any odds, and when he passed the mile point with what-appeared a comfortable lead; there were small -hopes of Beach winning. Still he held on," r'owing'like a lion, great powerful strokes, and no sign of tiring. They passed Putney (li miles), Hanlan leading. Across close past the gasworks, and Beach was still nearer. The excitement became greater, and reached a climax when Beach drew level— at about 1| miles from the start. Hanlan tried ' to bring' about a foul, and claimed one, but it was not allowed. Beach went o% at a steady pace, and Hanlan soon got into his swing again, but he was hopelessly beaten, and no one knew it better than" he did. Beach won easily in 2(hriin 28£ sec, but it took a deal of doing over the ' first half of the course. Siuch .a scene of unrestrained joy as 'followed has never . been seen since in Sydney, and probably nowhere else, after a boat race. Hanlan returned to his boathouse, close by the finish, and as he placed his racing boat on the rack© tears Tan down his. handsome face. "Hanlan, you "belong to'the exes now; you are beat; the championship has. gone-j what will they say at home-" This was. hie soliloquy, and those who heard it shook him by the hand, but none spoke. It was \a wild night m Sydney, *nd ' Beach, the . hero, was perhaps .the steadiest. It was quite an aftertiougbttQ,, account for Hanlan's defeat because of ttle-Tomki, but it gave his backers heart, and soon .Hanlan was a candidate for the championship.. So was Thomas Clifford, an old rival, of the new champion. - The Beach-Hanlan race was the greatest match ever rowed,., and the result caused, something approaching consternation in America and England, for there Hanlan was regarded as invincible. Every kind of excuse wae made for the ex-champion, and Beach -did not get any credit for some years afterwards. ' --„„,'' Hanlan-jseJa»**ed Home, nmed Gaudaur A

* * i Teemer, and others, and won easily every time. This pleased his supporters, and he, j made another voyage to Sydney. Here he lost no time, but made a match to row. Beach on the Nepean River for £1000 and the title. Beach was not in good trim as to "health, and Hanlan was very well. The race took place on November 26, 1887. Beach led, but he was ,hard pressed, and at 1 the finish was rowed clean out. Still, he won. Two days later he decided to retire, and as Peter Kemp had challenged him the title passed to the trainer. This seemed ,to make an opening for Hanlan, but he had to wait while "Clifford wa.s given the preference. ' 'Kemp beat "Clifford ,on February 11, 1888, on -the Parramatta- for £1000 6takea. On May 5 of the" same year Kemp beat Hanlan for- £1000 and the championship on the Parramatta; and a eecon-d race, rowed September "28, was also won by Kemp -from Hanlan, - the course being the same as before, and the stakes