POLO WEEK

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 113, 3 August 1927, Page 4

POLO WEEK

THE SUN SYDNEY LETTER

CITY IN SHIRT SLEEVES (THE SUN’S Special Representative) SYDNEY, July 28. Polo Week is always a gay* one in Sydney, when many country people come to the city*. Despite the cold winds which sweep Kensington racecourse there has been a good attendance at the games, a large proportion of the fair sex occupying the seats provided for each car-load of patrons. An innovation this year is a Polo Pony Show. This was inaugurated yesterday in the presence of Lord Stonehaven, Governor-General and Lady Stovehaven and Lord Somers. Governor of Victoria and Lady* Somers. The champion pony of the show was a Sands of the Orient mare Pebbles, owned by Mr. T. F. Ross of Harden, a member of the team from that town which holds the championship at present. The Ross Brothers of Harden provide three members of the team, and are always very hard to beat. SHIPPING BLOWN OFF SHORE All shipping bound for Sydney from overseas has had a rough time this week, with the notable exception of the Maheno which made a very smart : passage from Wellington, the variable | winds of the cyclonic disturbance hap- j pening to be favorable for her. ! Westerly, south-westerly and southerlygales have been blowing and still pre- \ vail, with snow on the higher lands. The Marama was 24 hours late in ar- j riving from Auckland and the steamer • Baron Minto, also from Auckland, is ! many days late, though this vessel is ; having better luck than the barque j Chilacothe now 98 days out from Ore- i gon, and reported a few days ago by a i steamer 400 miles off Sydney. Until : the off-shore gales cease, she will have j little hope of reaching port unless a tug , lends her hand. Meteorologists j declare that the land masses of ; New Zealand, set in the Southern Ocean are the innocent cause of the cyclonic storms which wreak such havoc in winter on the Tasman. But if New Zealand were not there the Roaring Forties would extend further north, so things are better as they are. SYDNEY IN HER SHIRT SLEEVES If ever a city* was in its shirt sleeves this city* is, rebuilding and developing its limbs and arteries, and altering its features to meet the demands of Modern beauty and utility. For the city railway, immense excavations are being dug in which stations will be built, after which the rock and earth will be replaced and the parks above them restored. The tunnels extend for miles under the city and now that Mr. Lang has decided to push on with the eastern suburbs loop, even greater activity will be observed. Above the ferry buildings at the Quay, a massive concrete overhead bridge will shortly be built to carry the trains which dive underground or emerge on either side of the Quay across the thoroughfare. Then there is the great harbour bridge, now assuming impressive proportions on each shore. The electrification of the North Shore line and the widening of arterial roads leading from the bridge will occupy many men for some years, as both rail and road have to be widened and extra tracks laid. On top of all this State and municipal bustle the private building of homes, offices and factories is prodigious. PILLAGE OF THE BEACHES

For the preservation of existing roads the beaches are pillaged of thousands of tons of sand which is used when top-dressing the streets with tar. But in the City Council alderman took strong exception to this practice which they claimed injured goods in shops and irritated residents when the wind blew the sand. , , , , The truth would seem to be that too much sand is used, much more in fact than can be absorbed by the tar. In some areas the surplus sand was swept off the streets and there no complaints were made. The use of sand for the greasy wood-blocks in wet weather is one of the humanitarian practices of Sydney, for it enables horses to keep their feet. The sand cart, moving slowly along with one man driving and another skilfully scattering shovelfuls of sand is one of the institutions of the city. Pedestrians give it room. TRANS-PACIFIC ROMANCES People are beginning to regard the trans-pacific services of the Union Steam Ship Company as fields where romance flourishes, for within the past year three of the mail boat captains have been married, while other officers of the ships have followed suit. It was once a saying that these were the “widowers’ runs” of the company. Captains Crawford, Showman and Mawson. being widowers. The only married man was Captain Aldwell of the Tahiti. Captain Showman was married on Tuesday night to Miss Buchanan of Auckland, the wedding being very quiet. One newspaper called it a secret one, but since the officers of the Niagara made a presentation to the Captain and a reception at the Ambassadors was held, that was hardly the case. PREMIERS IN SYDNEY Last week this city was the rendezvous of Premiers, including Mr. Bruce, In addition to the conference of State Premiers, the Federal Cabinet made Sydney its meeting place to deal with certain urgent matters. It is remarkable how the politicians avoid Canberra in the winter. It seems as though the early fears of Melbourne, that Sydney would be the favoured spot for the capital, will be realised unofficially, and that except when Parliament is in session at Canberra, this attractive metropolis will become the meeting place of politicians. Such places as the Ambassadors, Palais Royal, and Wentworth are not unknown to the leaders of the nation and the state, for the Australian likes to mingle pleasure with business. WILL LAWSON