A WEEK OF SPORT

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 268, 2 February 1928, Page 12

A WEEK OF SPORT

THE SUN'S SYDNEY LETTER

CAPTAIN MOODY’S FLIGHT PERMISSION DOUBTFUL SYDNEY’S TRANSFORMATION (Special to TIIE BUN.) SYDNEY, January 27. This may be called a week of sport in Sydney, for the French tennis champions have arrived, the Anniversary Regatta has been held, and the cricket is good in the Victoria-New South Wales match. The arrival of Borotra and his fellow-stars from New Zealand by the Marama was a cordial occasion, and as usual the volatile Frenchman was the centre of things. His news, shouted from the ship’s rail, that he had to go to Melbourne immediately, dismayed the reception committee for a time, till they had time to recall that Melbourne is just “over the way” and he would be back for the big match to-morrow. All three men were very outspoken in regard to New Zealand and the hospitality they enjoyed in the Dominion, and they were not joking when they declared their intention of paying another visit in the near future. The Regatta Luncheon The luncheon held on the regatta flagship—yesterday she was the P. j»nd O. liner Narkunda.—is always one “f th© best held in Sydney during the year. The guests are not only repre-

sentative men, but as a rule some of the most eloquent speakers are present, and brilliant speeches are made. Such was the case yesterday, when the Governor-General and State Governor were the leading guests of a wonderful gathering. The shadow cast by the death on the day before, of Mr. A. G. Milson, head of the regatta committee for years, was never quite dispelled, though the spirits of all present were not unduly depressed. There is always something very fascinating in sitting at lunch, and seeing the tall, white sails of yachts sweep grandly past the open port, which is too high for the hulls to be seen, and to listen to the stories of the old hands, of regattas of past years which carries the imagination back to the days when one was part of an 18-footer’s crew, hanging out to windward, with the spray dashing over. Like Auckland, Sydney can boast much in the acquatic side of life, and the regatta luncheon seems to epitomise it all. Trans-Tasman Flight There is still much talk of airmen flying across tho Tasman, though whether Captain Moody and his companion will be allowed to go is becoming very doubtful. Officialdom has set its face against any plane being permitted to sail without floats and two or three engines. At the same time, many people hold that if a man wants to go to probable death he has a right to do so, as long as there is a sporting chance of getting through. A wise suggestion was made, in this matter, by a sea captain. He said that the airmen should start when the Wellington-Sydney steamers are about 36 hours out from each portthat would give two unmistakable beacons to steer for, first the Welling-

ton-bound steamer would be overtaken, and th© course checked, then the one coming towards Sydney would be picked up and another check made. From her it would be an easy flight to land. In addition to checking the course, the steamers would be handy in case of trouble. When Moncrieff and Hood flew, they passed the incoming steamer 12 miles at sea, and the Ulimaroa had reached Wellington soon after they started. But the flight should start at 10 p.m. Slow Railway Construction

The great success of all of -Australia’s trunk railway systems and their importance in the development of the country, would lead one to supose that the construction of other such lines would be of paramount importance. Yet the great North-South and EastWest trans-continental lines which have been authorised, creep snail-like towards completion. Last month work ceased on the building of the line from Catherine River to Daly Waters, in the Northern Territory, because, it is said, the loan money has been exhausted. Contracts have been repudiated and 500 men thrown idle, who were busy making something which Australia needs more than all her Parliaments and commissions and other things which are eating up money every minute. Th© Sydney-Broken Hill line took many years to build, now it is found to be indispensable, opening up as it does hundreds of miles of land as the crow flies, and thousands of acres around. Nothing can bring success to the empty spaces but population, and only the railways can place th© population there. Yet

the cities hurry about their local affairs heedlessly. Silent Workers

There has been no great outburst of noise in connection with the taking - aver of the civic government by the commissioners, and the three men concerned appear anxious to carry on with as little undue publicity as possible, though giving all information required by press or public. It is a marvellous charge to feel that the city’s ffairs are being carried on in this way, without the endless bargaining and wrangling which prevailed of yore. For some weeks now there has not. been any stoppage of works in any of the enterprises affecting the city. The great bridge grows, the railway tunnels are pushing under the city, to the accompaniment of dull, shuddering sounds of blasting. If ever a city was in process of transformation. Sydney is today. Every second street block has its barricades and derricks, while the shrill whistle of the “dogman” who rides to the sky and back every few minutes on a load of stone, makes it seem sometimes that the hustle and rush of the street is really a football scrum, with the referee looking on. —WILL LAWSON