THE SCULLING CHAMPIONSHIP

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 53

THE SCULLING CHAMPIONSHIP

A SPLENDID RACB. WEBB VICTORIOUS. , TRESIDDER BEATEN BY THREE LENGTHS. (From Our Special Correspondent.) WANGANUI, February 25. The great event is over. The New Zealander has come home victorious, and as I write the cheers of the enthusiastic crowds are still ringing in my ears. The weather, which had been fine for so long, " broke on the eve of the race, and when morning dawned rain was steadily falling. The rain continued throughout the day, and to a large extent spoilt the juting for thousands of people, many of whom had come weary miles, bearing the discomforts of overcrowded railway travel and overcrowded and noisy hotels. Nevertheless, though there was a good "deal of grumbling, the people, as a whole, took the discomforts in the best spirit, and now that their idol Vas proved the victor' they are indined, especialx after such a splendid race, as it was, to forget them altogether. A HISTORIC RIVER- <" From jan early hour- in the morning the steamers were conveying their loads- of human freight up the riverj and ' the. first cheap-fare boats, the rain ' notwithstanding, were crowded. • The umpire's boat, by j which the fare was £2 per head, was one of the last to leave. We left the river steamer wharf at 20 minutes past 2, and steamed in the rain under murky skies on a flowing tide up the historic river. On the opposite bank near where we embarked was the deep pool at the foot of Tauma-r-aaute, where in olden days lived the voracious taniwha Tutaeporoporo, who was * wont to rush at the canoes passing down the . river and swallow them, with all on board. Then he would spit out tthe i canoe end dive down to the- bottom of the deep pool, where, in the words of Shakespeare, he would "let good digestion wait on appetite." Naturally Tutaeporoporo must have snoilt many a good boat race on the river in the olden time, but to-day there was no taniwha and no wind "to spoil the first world's championship to be rowed in New Zealand. The conditions were perfect, and the race was to be rowed far above the tragic rool, and, besides, was not the taniwha slain by the galla-nt rangi who, floating down in- a box, allowed himself purposely to be swallowed, and then with a knife that he had concealed on. his person hacked at the entrails of the monster till he rushed ashore and died! , We must go -a long way back for any . parallel to the scenes of excitement that w«!fe witnessed on the' river to-day, but it must not be forgotten that more determined - and more bloojdy battles thai* that between Tresidder and Webb- have been decided- on ihe broad waters of the Wanganui. These ■wer.e in, the Hays of the old tribal wars, when i Ihe cracking of skulls of a different kind to those in evidence to-day was- a not uncommon occurrence; and later, in the early ■ sixties,, when there -were battles in which the pakeha and the friendly natives ranged themselves against the fanatio Hauhaus, or days when Major Brassey. outwitted his dusky enemies by sending., down the- river •in a corked bottle his historic?" message, written in. Latin: " Umnia sunt recti ; mitte res belli statim," to indicate to - head- ' quarters that all was well, but that he was _in urgent need of ammunition. I _ Kawhaiki, where the race started, was . in those days a. place of some importance, j and the Maoris then, as they are to-day, were fviendlv towards the^ pakeha who had ' taken up" his abode in their land. A VIEW OF THE COURSE. We were packed like sardines in the front of the umpire's boat. And here it may be remarked parenthetically .that ( although $bere was an umpire's boat there i was no umpire. The modem " referee" j has taken the place of "the old-time "urn--j pire," and to-day his serviced luckily were : not require^. We were a curiously silent and stolid crowd as we steamed up the first seven miles of the river. As we neared the winning post, however, we- began to ) liven uj> and take an interest in things. Here there was a flotilla of all- kinds of; email craft, arid the banks and commanding hills held their little crowds of people. Some Maori 'women in a canoe gave us a strange greeting with the. grotesque old-time gestures as with churning paddle wheels we turned^ the leaden waters to foam and passed on up the willow-fringed stream with its background of yellow low hills. From the winning post the course stretches up river in a reach for nearly- two miles, and then it takes an easy bend, and for another mile- and a-half' there is a. second magnificent reach of perfect water ; but half a mile from the start there k> another easy bend. We passed Webb's ■ camp on the way up, and just beyond It j was a cavalcade of horsemen trotting down the bank to take up a good point of vantage. On the hilltop. 500 ft above the river, a knot of ardent sightseers were fcilhouetted against the- skyline. THE START. By the time we' had reached the starting point the rain had ceased, but - the sky retained its sombre hue. Presently there was a cry of " Here they come," and 'Webb appeared around the bent, sculling very leisurely. As he came near the freiprht-laden steamers the crowd cheered lustily. tHe looked in splendid -"-condition, his clear, pink skin and the rippling muscles of his arms and legs proclaiming him as fit as man could be for a homerio struggle such as everyone knew to be in front of ' him. As he approached nearer,, one noted his premature grey hair, which .gave him. the look of a much older man, and his brow unusually puckered with wrinkles, which gave him ratjjer an anxious look. In a few minutes Tresidder, in bis -boat, rowing with a little more spirit, hove in eight, and he too was cheered. He -was browner and swarthier than Webb, of sturdier build, and .vith not such neat limbs, but he. too, 'looked the very picture of condition. What impressed one" most about him was a suggestion of bulldog tenacity and determination. The set of* his head and shoulders reminded one of H/eotor Macdonald, the great Scottish soldier. While Webb paddled in the vicinity of the umpire's boat very quietly, Tresidder employed the spare time in making several ■ starting dashes. At this stage the* people on the boats were shocked with some disgusting -language from one* of the challenger* camp followers, who* was on the

I bank, and apparently furious that bette% provision had not been made for him an 2 nis mates to. get on board the umpire's boat. The language used in. the presence of todies, tco, was so disgusting that the police -should really have taken some action regarding it. However, the men got on board, the boat, and the unpleasant incident was passed, though not forgotten. The etaart in professional sculling nowa* days' is by mutual consent, but if the cop> testants cannot get away within a certain, time of their own accord' the services or the startefr are called into requisition. Webb and Tresidder, however, lined up and were quickly off the mark, their long, narrow skiffs shooting forth like arrows from a bow. 'THE RACE. Tresidder got slightly the better start, dashing off at about 31 strokes to* the minute, while Webb was content with a longer stroke of from 26 to 27 to the minute. Tresidder, however, did not Jong retain the slight advantage he had obtained, for JWebb , almoef at once" drew level with him, and then began to forge slowly but surely ahead. Tresidder was in good form, and not to be . easily shaken off, though even in the early . stages of the race one could not help thinking that Webb's beautifully clean style must more than counterbalance the ' stamina and , determination of the older man. I All 'was now excitement. The soulters soon left the steamers 'with theii sightseers ; some ■ considerable distance behtnd, but • once the latter were fairly under full steam • they began to gakr, and their passengers had an excellent view of the race. As Webb began to forge ahe«ct the cTowd» 1 yelled- and cheered, and the cavalcades of ; horsemen oh' the left bank urged \ their, '■ steeds frantically .over the undulating road*. • Webb was on the inside, close to the left- • hand b*nk, and by the time three-quarters i of a mile had been covered he was in a good position. At the mile post he )mdi 1 etill further increased his lead,_ and appeared) 1 to J>e going well within himself with a L long, graceful, swinging stroke. He was 1 also steering excellently, but a little further on near the bend he seemed to hug tha 1 willows dangerously, witb Tresidder pressing close upon him, a length or more be- '< hind. Indeed, so close did 'he get that many, 1 on the umpire's boat waved their hata to 1 the right' as <an indication to the rowers - to 'keep further out. Presumably, however. , Webb knew^what he wae doing, and was | only {aking every advantage of cutting the 1 curve' with the * least . possible margin to spare, so as not to lose in the distance. Tresidder, meantime", was making a harcf. fight to keep up, and Webb had certainly no time for looking at the scenery. i The champion had settled down to * steady stroke of about 26 to the minute, and now,' seeming fb put a .little more vigour into his work, he drew forth from the crowd great bursts of cheering as he . further increased 'his lead to three or four ' lengths.. It was now evident that Webb must win ; unless it were that his challenger had some- . 1 thing up his sleeve and was reserving himself for a final spurt. All Tresidder's most determined efforts, t " however, were' of , no avail. The pace was too much for him. and he now appeared tobe ' labouring slightly. Webb got clean* ■ahead, and then, rowed out from the left bank into the centre, of of the stream, so' that Tresidder had tostrugglewri iis wash., Webb's tactics in shifting his 'course caused' some •■ surprise on the part lof -the un- ' initiated, but" he probably.- "knew- that by^ this time the tide had turned, and he was manoeuvring to get all the benefit possible* from the set of the current at this part oP the river. As we approached the dense I crowd on the hill on «fte right bank and* it was . seen that Webb was apparently already a victor, a mighty cheer went up from a thousand throats, and spread like the roar of a breaking wave along the banks towards the finishing post. Webb. \^ho was well 5 in the van, and "who was watching his opponent, eeemed to have the race easily in hand, but • Tresidder was not yet quite done with. He struggled! gamely on. and reduced the gap betweeni the two skiffs perceptibly for a time. Now Webb seemed to be making hard work of it, and to the onlookers it appeared as if he were really tiring. He certainly was not rowing as strongly as Tresidder at this stage, but it is possible that, knowing he had the race safely in hand, he did not desire to spurt unnecessarily. He was now well over towards the right bank — th« onposite one from which he started, — whiU" Tresidder was on his left. In other worde, the two had reversed positions. In' a few seconds' the signal gun announced that. th« race Avas over arid that , Webb had jwon. Tnesidder struggled gamely to tKe end/Then there were" such cheers as surely never before • were heard on the broad river, while sirens hooted and whistjei screeched as numberless boats got out front the willow banks and dotted the stream. n" Now Wanganui will go mad," said on« zna.ii, and certainly even thus. early it seemed as if pandemonium had been let - loose. - ' N Tresidder's supporters, who the night before were calmly confident of victory, .were not slow to admit that Tresidder had met a better man. Bain, the trainer, came down into the cabin, and said, " Well, blokes, we have got beaten, but not disgraced, and here's luck to Webb." They had brought the wherewithal To honour the toast. x A few minutes after the race Webb' climbed into one of the little river steamers and lifted his boat in after him. Tresidde* sculled all the way back to Wanaranui— - *~ seven miles and a-half, — which, after the gruelling race of three miles and a-quarfcer, showed the stuff of which he is made. So to an accompaniment of cheering w^ steamed back to the river town, an« Wanganui is now celebrating the event. '