THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1039, 25 May 1883, Page 2

THE QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY.

THE SPORTS-

- Handicappers : ■ ’ ’ ’• ‘ Lieut Kitching ( Vel W. J. Noil ‘ ‘ - Starter : Yol W. J. Neil Judges: Captain S. Taplin | Lieut J, Kitching Lieut H. E, P. Adams These sports which took place yesterday may be considered very successful bearing in mind the many adverse circumstances the Sports .Coiuimllcc bod to contend with., in the shape of the. unpropitious state of (he weather on Wednesday,, which, combined with its threatening appearance early yesterday , morningl.no doubt kept many away . who' otherwise would have attended. However, shortly after eight the sky cleared and: the' day promised to be fine, which it was, except for an unexpected shower in the afternoon which put a stop to everything going on on the ground while it lasted. The programme provided was -an' excellent one. Although there was a ■father long space between the various events this was agreeably filled by the .Band which, gave numerous selections very creditably l ' during (lie afternoon and contributed in no small measure to the .general^enjoyment of; the day.' .The result of every one of the events proved that the handicapper (Mr Neil) did his duty conscientiously and well, and it is worthy of remark that in no single instance was exception taken to the manner in which the men were placed. Although there were numerous false starts the competitors in every case got away well together. Ouly one protest was lodged during the daj T , and..(hat was allowed. ..On.one part of the ground a - number of the disciples of Terpsichore wore “tripping the light fantastic ” to the music of The hand,rand amidst the general enjoyment the amusement of the little ones was hot forgotten, a largo ’quantify of toys being- provided for them. . The bayonet competition, which ‘was the principal feature of the day, was declared by.the umpires, Captain Kells and Mr Cowern, in favour of No. 2 Captain Kells highly complimented Captain Taplin* on the soldier-like appearance and efficiency of the men under his charge, arid said , that every young man in the colony capable of bearing arms should do so, as no power in the world dare to. attack a country where a universal system of volunteering prevailed. It was in-a’great measure to this that England owed her, strength. Count Von Moltke was once asked if he had worked out any problem to successfully land in England, and he replied that he had worked out no less than sixty-five for landing, but not one for getting away again. An enemy might land in any country by stratagem ; but, if a universal system of volunteering was the rule, they would never get away again. Therefore he (Capt. Kells) would again repeat,that every young.man * able, to do/ .so sliould,-Become‘..a -volunteerThe Maori team which should have been present to compete in the tug-of-war with the volunteers, did not appear, but their place was supplied by a team picked on the ground, and which was entitled “ The World.” The volunteers, however, were much too strdng for their antagonists, and easily carried off the palm. Mr Odgersi who had the liquor booth, was doing a thriving trade, and Mr Donnelly’s fruit stall was very fairly patronised. It is a pity that the -running course -’-was not roped in, as children were-continually crossing it, and it is a great wonder no serious accident occurred. We must express our thanks to Sergt. Kearney, the Hon. Secretary of the committee, who most courteously supplied us with every information. 100 yds Handicap—First prize, £2 ; second, £l. (There were ten acceptances, and the race was run in heats.) FIRST HEAT. Pearce, 2yds ... ... - ... 1 Kitching; 6yds . .......... 2 SECOND HEAT. ■ . i Tnrurapgi, syds .. ... 1 -•# , Patterson, 6yds . ... . ... 2 “ FINAL HEAT; /‘ ' Pearce.'..’/ ' T / ’ " ’ Thrurarigi, //'/,,. ‘ ... ',2 , r ‘ A protest against Tururangi, on./the ground of pushing, was. entered by Kitching,' and allowed. Patterson and Kitching ran again for second place, and tli® latter came off the winner. Time, 12secs. Running High : Jump—First . prize, £1 ; second,los. . L Bunting, Sin ... 4ft 9in ... 1 Sargent, scr ... 4ft llin ... 2 Broughton,,2in i4ft9in ; ... 3 Six accepted for this* event, and it .was exceedingly well contested. ..The men started at 4ft Sin.440 yds Handicap—First?prize, £3; se-i cond,| Patterson, 18yds - ... ... 1 / Gibson, 4yds ... . ... ; •••.: 2 ' Stretch, scr ... '... ! ‘ ..: 3 / Patterson, who had ‘the lead, kept it all : the way round,, coming in winner by ; a short distance. Time, lmin. ; > - Bayonet Competition, prize £2TOs. . No. 2 squad (Lieut Kitching), ••• 1 No. 1 squad (Capt. Taplin), ••• 2 No. 3 squad (Lieut Adams), ... ; 3 The umpires in this event were Capt. Kells and Mr Cowern... No 2 squad were declared the winners, they showing more uniformity. The other squads were also very good, and- the uinpircs.congrafulated

VOLUNTEER PARAUE- - . At the parade yesterday morning'there was a good muster, the whole of the Company with the exception of about three members being present under charge of Captain Taplin. After firing a feu de joie there was a march past, and then the men headed by the Band proceeded to the sports ground where they were dismissed.

the commanding officer on their fine appearance, and requested that’the whole company., should be put through the bayonet exercise which was done, 200 yds Handicap ; (Volunteersonly), i- : Ist prize £2 ; 2nd, £l. Vol. W. Kitcliing, 2 yds .i., /' ... 1 Lieut. J. Kitching, Byds ... ... 2 Vol. I. Baxter, Byds ... ... 3 This was a short race, and the men ran so quickly that it was difficult to see precisely how they got along. A perambulator, containing a baby happening to get ill the way, impeded the progress of some of the runners. After a few false starts, they at last got away to the sound of the gulf, ’ and caihe in as above." Time—27 secs ;.8 competed.880 yds Handicap ; Ist prize, £3 ; • 2nd, £1 G, V. Pearce, scr ... 1 G. H. Gibson, 10yds ... 2 Bunting also accepted for this race, but on the last round fell out. Won easily. 200 yds Handicap—First prize, £2 ; uocond, £l. W.-Kitching,.l2yds ... 1 I Baxteiv-15yds • 2 ' G> H. Gibson, ,6yds ... ... 3 , ' Baxter, jiavingthe, advantage ; of the handicap, led (ill half way round the course, when Gibson suddenly caught Tipi on him ; but the second man soon got into place again. Coming up the straight ,Hatching proved too fast for both of them, and won by about a yard; Baxter and the others close behind7’ Nine started for this race. Time—26secs, Maiden Handicap - Hurdles;- 220 yd—s prize, £2 ; second, £l. J Patterson, 12yards.;.: ... 1 Turnrangi, Byda. „■ ... ... 2 J Sliealian, Byds " ... 3 ‘ : ' This face was an exceptionally- goodone, and tested the leaping abilities of the runners, though;a .little-difficulty was experienced in starting-them. No sooner bad they got away than the Maori jumped into second place, and about three-quarters of the way round,, led; until Patterson, getting up steam, caught him'and won’ remarkably easy, Sheahan a very fair third. Time—27i-secs, Eight-started for this event. Consolation Handicap, first - prize, 30s-; second, 10s. Gibson , ... v . ... l. T . : O’Shaugbnessy , ... ‘ ... 2 ' I. Baxter ... ... ... 3 ,Tire men,-got away .well together, but Gibbon soon, took-the lead, which he main.-, tained until the finish. A splendid race ensued between O’Shaughnessy and Baxter towards the end, and the latter man would have come in second, had not some juveniles inadvertently been in,his way. Indeed many thought he was second. Time, 26 : [secs. Six ran.