PRINCE OF WALES’ BIRTHDAY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3002, 9 November 1882, Page 2

PRINCE OF WALES’ BIRTHDAY.

The Prince of Wales’ Birthday, on this occasion, opened in Timaru very gloomily. The night had been inclement, and a raw cold air prevailed in the early part of the day, making the prospects of holiday makers anything but pleasant ; while the gathering clouds continued until noon to threaten a downpour. In consequence the number of pleasure seekers leaving town was limited ; cabs and expresses did a fair share of business, however, but the streets were by no means crowded. From a few buildings flags were flying, but there wore no other demonstrations of loyalty, nor did the the town wear anything of festive appearance. Close holiday was observed, however, and was very generally welcomed. Towards noon the weather brightened somewhat and a number of people made their way out of to wn. V . The Wesleyan Sunday School children, with their, teachers, mustered in strong force at the schoolroom a little before 9 o’clock and a. procession being formed, they marched down to the Railway Station, whence.they were conveyed by special train to Normahby, where they enjoyed themselves, in spite of the unfavorable state of the ground. The most attractive item of the day’s amusements was the 1

TIMARU ATHLETIC CLUB S SPORTS.

President—Mr T. R. Jones ; VicePresident Mr W. McGill ; Committee—Messrs D, M. Ross, J. Shears, W. Gunn, T. Peacock, J, Howey, W. Kid well, W. McGill, E. Mitchell, J. Lukey, and T. J. Kennedy. Judges for all Events—Messrs T. E, Jones and W. McGill ; Handicappers—- . Messrs P. Bradley, T. R. Jones, and J. Lukey ; Timekeeper Mr ‘ W* Pearce ; Starter—Mr J. Lukey. The unfavorable state of the weather in the early part of the day militated greatly against the attendance at the sports. Every preparation had been however, made on the S. C. Amateur Athletic Society’s grounds which in a kindly spirit had been placed at the Club's disposal for the -occasion ; sand about half-past ten a number of competitors, the . Committee, and others headed by the Artillery Band, and a small number of the general public made their way out to the sports ground. The grounds presented a lively ap-‘ pearance, although up to half-past eleven but few persons had come out. By that time the expresses had begun to do.a lively business, and a stream of pedestrians were making, their way out. The ground was in, magnificent order, the course being literally as smooth as a bowling green. The attendance'bynoon had reached something like 303, but as the weather improved in the" afternoon the attendance considerably increased. The Grand Stand .was fairly patronised, but the Band being statibhed there,the noise was rather discomforting The Band, however,'was : a 'pleasing feature of the scene. The indefatigable honorary secretary^. 1 Mr W. Collins,was apparently übiquitous and did; everything in his power to promote the harmony of the meeting. * Precisely at half-past eleven the first event came off : Handicap Banning, 150 yards. First prize, £2 ; second, £l. .■* J. Murphy (scratch) ... 1 M. Hobbs (syds) , 2 A. J. Kenny (scratch) ... 3 F. Bailey (scratch), D. Darey - (scratch), and T. McAuliffe (scratch), also ran. This was a capital race. Some difficulty was experienced in getting them off, two false starts being made, but the' running was good throughout and the finish was close. ~ . .. Handicap Walking, one mile. First pi-iza £3 j-second, £l. J. M. O'Comior, (scratch) ... 1 .. T. Clark, (lOOyds);.. . ... 2 J. Lawrie, (100yds) T. Newton (140yds), T. Mewis, (150yds) also started. . v ' '• The race, considered as an exhibition of walking,, was uninteresting, the splendid qualities of O’jDonnor rendering his victory an assured one. The efforts of Thomas Mewis excited the chief interest, they were strenuous-, though not successful. O’Connor gained steadily and came in fresh, and. Clark followed him with almost equal persistence. Time —7min. lOsec. A number of boys’ races for which the prizes were trinkets and toys were now held, in..order to get the youngsters to enter into the spirit of the affair. These created no end of delight among the little folks. Handicap Running, half-mile. First prize, £3 ; second, £1 10s. T. Pergusaon (35yds) ... 1 T. Organ (25yde) ... ... 2 T. Mulchay (50yds), and J, Lawrie (50yds) also ran. This was an inferior race ; there was some confusion at starting, and the pace was poor. Fergusson’s pace was steady and sustained, and from the first ho had his own way. ' Time—2min 20secs. Handicap (for boys underl4) First prize 15s, second 10s ; 150 yards. Williams ... ... ... i Hay... ... ... ... 2 Four others competed. It was agood race. Running Handicap, 1 mile. First prize £7, second, £3. T, Ferguson (100yds) ... 1 J. O’Connor (scratch) ... 2 J. Saddler (70yds), and J. Parish (70yds) also competed. This was

the ■ most exciting event of the daj 7 , there being quite a furore at. the finish. Fergusson’a performance was universally admired and a good race was won by him by some 3 yards.

Time—4min, 45spc. There.was any amount of betting and 2 to 1 WBB freely given on O'Connor. Handicap Running, 220yds. First prize, £2; second, £l. J, Murphy (scratch) ... 1 A. J. Kenny (scratch) ... 2 D. Davey (scratch) N. Austin (3yds) and M. Hobbs (syds) also ran. This was a thoroughly good race, almost a dead heat.

Time—26|sec. Walking Handicap, 2 miles. First prize, £5 ; second, £2. J. M. O’Connor (scratch) ... 1 T. Clark (220yds) 2 , T. Mewis (300yds), J. Laurie (240yds), T. Newton (320yds), also competed. . A good start was effected. During the first lap O’Connor and Clark, both held themselves together while the other competitors put forth strong efforts, keeping their pace well up until the fourth lap, in the middle of which Newton fell out. O’Connor and Clark at the beginning of the sth lap began steadily to overhaul the others and maintained a steady gaining pace to the end. O’Connor’s length of limb and fine condition enabled him to hold the first place, but his performance was very closely imitated by Clark, though at the finish he was evidently somewhat distressed. The persistency ot T. Mewis afforded considerable amusement to the spectators. The event was well contested, there being only about 25 yards between the first and second. The result was not surprising, as all thought O’Connor would win. Time—l4min 55sec.

[The other events were not run off when we went to’ press.]