THE NORTH SHORE SPORTS.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 443, 5 February 1890, Page 4

THE NORTH SHORE SPORTS.

SWIMMING - CARNIVAL. i. THE NATIVE DANCES. ~ AN IMMENSE ATTENDANCE. The interest evinced in the second day’s festivities in connection with, the celebra-. tion of the colony’s Jubilee in Auckland was yesterday greater, if anything* than on the previous day, Anniversary Day. Many thousands of people were out sight-seeing, , all anxious to witness as much as possible of the holiday sports and pastimes. 'The

Intercolonial Cricket Match on the Domain Oval attracted several hundreds of Auck- ■ landers and!, country visitors. The Auckland Racing Club’s Meeting at Ellerslie was attended by i great of habitues of race meetings, and other pleasureseekers, but by far the greater mass of people congregated at the.’ North Shore. This locality t was the scene of the Swimming Carnival, under’ the auspices of the Auckland Swimming Club, and the Maori canoe races, with a native war-dance on the Takapuna Racecourse, and also Rarotongan dances and singing. The novelty of the Maori events was no doubt the magnet which was the means of attracting the great concourse of holidaymakers in the afternoon. Comparatively few assembled specially to see the swimming exhibition compared, with the immense throngs who crowded over from town in the ferry-boats to witness what promised to be very interesting sights in the waka contests and the tu-ngarahu and haka or native dances. ' , • From about eleven o’clock in the forenoon up to four or five o’clock last evening' the Devonport Ferry Company’s steamers running across from town to the Calliope Dock were closely packed with swarms of neople, all anxious to see what was to be seen at the Shore during the afternoon. Some of the boats were very crowded, the weight of the masses of people on board forcing the steamers’ lower decks almost to a level with the water. . This was more especially thecaseon thereturn journeys in the evening. The Company could hardly ‘despatch their boats fast enough to keep pace with the crowds waiting to be transferred from the city across the harbour, although a steamer left every few minutes through the day for the trip to the Calliope Dock, where the passengers were landed safely at the narrow wharf near the dock gate. It is estimated that quite twenty thou-, sand spectators were assembled at the dock and along the North Shore harbour frontage, during the afternoon. Even before the conclusion of the swimming events the whole of the foreshore right along from the big dock to the North Shore Wharf, was black with dense crowds of people, all apparently anxious to obtain a glimpse of the canoe races, which were advertised to take place during the afternoon off the beach: \ . ” In the near vicinity of the dock every available inch of space was occupied by the crowds of onlookers, and even the large stone steps of the interior of the big basin down to the water’s edge- were covered thickly with men, women and children, aTHE MAORI CANOE RACES. 1 Immediately on the conclusion of the swimming events, the great crowd moved slowly away from the dock along the foreshore'of the harbour, to witness the Maori canoe races. The harbour in the vicinity of the beach was thick with anchored yachts, cutters, and small sailing boats, and it was an extremely difficult task to obtain a space dear enough to enable a race to be contested. The war canoe race did not eventuate, as only one waka taua has arrived for the Regatta, the large Ngatiwhatua canoe from Paora Tuhaere’s settlement at Orakei. Mr Porter, who i 3 in charge of the Waikato Maoris, used his best endeavours to provide an afternoon’s sport exclusive of the war-canoe event. A small kopapa race was started. The kopapas . were small kahikatea canoes manned by two paddlers each. These are the canoes which are to enter for the hurdle' races this afternoon. Three of them started, all belonging to the Waikato, named respectively the WuruPuroka, Weka, and Mapere. The course was from the North Shore Wharf out to a mark-boat in the harbour and back' again. On starting the little craft had a fine race of it, thecoupleof brawny,half-nakedwielders of the hoe in each canoe straining every nerve for victory. The little Wuru Puroka came in first, with the Weka next. The winning canoe hails from Kohekohe, on the Waikato River, her “skipper” being Makawera.

The next race, for larger canoes, or wakatiwai, excited great interest. Four canoes, each about thirty or forty feet in longth, came to the starting post at the North Shore Wharf. Each tiwai was manned by t wen ty or thirty paddlers, men and women, all decorated in real barbaric style, feathers in hair and scanty garb. The canoes were the Momoni, from Huntly; the Pupurikaana, also from Huntly, in the Waikato ; the Tarai Puruku, from Rangiriri; and the Reihi Hoihi manned by some members of the Ngatiwhatua tribe, from the Kaipara. The race was a very interesting and exciting one. Each ivaka had a bugleman in the bows in the contest, waving in frantic time a taiaha or a Maori toki, with the paddlers keeping time to his beat in a passionate chant or mjeri. The event was splendidly contested, but through some misapprehension the Tarai Puruku and the Kaipara canoe mistook the course, and went away as far as the dock, thus making two races of it. A very close and exciting finish took place between the Momonf and the Pupurikaana, the former winning by half a length amidst great excitement. The first prize for this race was £2O and the second £lO. During the afternoon the large Orakei ivaka taua with feathered decorated stern post and stem, and manned by some fifty stalwart native paddlers, was about the foreshore of the harbour and excited great attention, and also was inspected by hundreds of people afterwards when she lay drawn up on the beach at the Naval Reserve: >■ ■’ ' Those of the people who remained at the Shore till seven p.m. were partially repaid for their disappointment by witnessing an impromptu native dance, a haka or Kani J kani, performed by some seventy Maori men and women in war-dance costume. The natives went through the interesting dance in the Naval Reserve, near the wharf in fine style, led by Te Rawhiti, a Ngatiwhatua chief, nephew of Paul Tuhaere. It was quite half-past eight or nine o’clock before the last of the people were landed atthe Auckland Wharf. ' The only accident, or what was very nearly a serious accident, took place on the passage across on one of the boats. 1 A boy got his foot entrangled in the deck-chain of the steering-gear, and would have had his foot smashed, but for the exertions of two men, who got him clear. The‘Sole of his boot was taken clean off. On coming alongside the Queen-street Wharf, the p.s. Eagle, which had over a thousand people on board, very nearly had a very serious‘accident. The great crowd of people all shifted across to the wharf side of the steamer,'which heeled over very greatly* but she bumped against the wharf and righted herself. f - ' ; THE NATIVE 1 DANCES.

When it,was found that no more was to be seen in the way, of canoe, races, the,-great crowd along, the. harbour, frontage started, to move, and most of the people shaped, a course for the Takapuna; Racecourse, wrhere the Maori war dance was ad vertised to be held. The majority . wended jtheir. jway, right .out to the course, but a couple of ..thousand;,or more climbed the Flagstaff Hill,’ and seated themselves in positions,, overlooking the racecqurse,where , a (li g'qpd .yiew; of the ground;was..obtainable: .im i* The jVlaoris, .numbering,jsqme,, two • hundredand.. fifty/' : ';\Va)k'ato i Mand > Nggtiwhatua ■ natives,;'; in, allassembled about four o’clock at the Naval Reserve,

shed at the Wharf, and marched out in full war-dance costume through the streets to ; the racecourse, ffieaded by the Rarotonga, native band,' and followed by a dense concourse of people. ,'. s . The natives included old men and women, middle-aged people and a large number of youths and girls* a large number of the men being : excited, half-naked, and waving paddles, sticks, and a few of them with old native weapons in the shape of J taihas, patu-paraoas and other relics of old times. On reaching the racecourse they were formed into line in the centre of the field. There were over six thousand people on the ground and in the grand-stand, and here the trouble commenced, the affair eventually ending in a fiasco. There had been no provi Sion by the Regatta Committee ior keeping back the crowd in the way of ropes or barriers. Consequently the immense crowd could not be kept back, qnd;they “rushed” the Maoris in a most senseless manner, utterly preventing the Sossibility of any dances being given. or; a ; long time the .natives endeavoured to obtain room :, in the field sufficient to. start a dance, bub the great crowd pressed in on them shamefully, and at last the Maoris were compelled to abandon the idea of giving the war dance. A number of the native women and girls, in all about fifty, then came out in order to perform a haka kotero , and started their dance land song. The haka was very, interesting, but it lasted only a very short time, for the women were compelled to [ give up and retire owing to the immense crush of people thronging in on them. The press of people was extraordinary, and one of the Maoris confidentially expressed his opinion that- the pakehas were far more 1 savage than the Maoris, from the way they crushed in upon them. When it was seen that it was impossible to hold the dances, the crowd gradually dispersed, and the natives wore formed into line and returned to their quarters at the Naval Reserve. ’■ VICE-REGAL VISIT. : His Excellency Lora Onslow had been specially invited to witness the war-dance i at Takapuna. He was out at the Ellerslie • races during the first part of the day, ! and. leaving there he was conveyed ! across to the Shore about four p. m. in Mr Featherstone’s steam - yacht Nautilus, - which was in waiting. He was accomi panied by Admiral Lord Scott, Sir John and ) Lady Thurston, Mr Upton (Mayor), Mrs i Upton, and the members of the Reception [ Committee., The party were driven out to the Racecourse, and escorted tb seats on the stand. They ivere very much disappointed that the war dance did not come off. They * were, however, able to see a pretty dance which was given by the Rarotongan natives ' on a space just below the stand. Mr A. 1 E. Devore introduced the native chiefs i Major Te Wheoro and Paora Tahaere to tho Governor, and also Mr Porter, of ’ Mercer, who is in charge of the Maoris. * The vice-regal party returned to the ' Nautilus after a short stay and were con- ’ veyed back to town. J AN IMMENSE CONCOURSE. : The crowds of people who visited the j North Shore vastly exceeded in numbers ' any congregation of visitors ever witnessed f there before. The racecourse was black , with people, the Flagstaff Hill had crowds [ of people everywhere, and every point . of vantage was occupied fay people anxious j to witness the w;ar-dance. In returning to the North Shore wharf to embark on the j ferry boats for town, the crush was some- ' thing terrible. For over two hours the , wharf was as densely packed with people as ' it could possibly be, from the Flagstaff Hotel right down to the end of the tee, j tired, hot, dusty, and disappointed, ■ the majority of the assemblage were in no ' very amiable frame of mind. Those who t had the misfortune to be in the midst of , .the great crowd were in a very unenviable . position, and for a long time there was no ' appreciable diminution in the number of ’ the throng. The ferry steamers took . .the . people away for town as fast . as they possibly could, and many { of the boats were, crowded exceedingly, j lb is indeed remarkable that no accident oc- , purred. In the crowd on the wharf quite a [ number of women fainted, and no wonder. One man had a fit, and it was some time j before he was brought to. The light- } fingered gentry were also at work, '■ for more than one man and woman . complained of having had their pockets [ picked of money and valuables. An acci- [ dent happened to the wharf which might t .have been much more serious. A pile at one side of the tee gave way, and sank 5 bodilyseveralfeetde’eperintothewater. The L crash was heard by the people, and all near 5 rushed like sheep to the side of the wharf 5 to see what it was. It is wonderful that , no casualties occurred on the bee.