RIFLE SHOOTING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 226, 6 January 1911, Page 5

RIFLE SHOOTING

THE WAIHI ROOSTER. Competition was very keen at the Auckland Rifle Association's meeting yesterday in the Champion Teams Match, says Wednesday's Auckland Herald, as all the competing teams were anxious to become possessed of the "Waihi Rooster," a coveted trophy that goes to the winning company. The Taranaki Rifles team came to Auckland with tile expressed intention of taking the valued rooster away with them, and success attended their efforts. The ''Waihi Rooster" has quite a history attached to it. Some years ago there was keen rivalry between the Ohineinuri Rifles and the Victoria Rifles. In 1902 the Victorias paid a visit to Waihi to compete with the Ohineinuri Rifles. So confident of victory were the latter team that Sergeant James Parslow had a rooster fashioned out of tin and stuck on a flagpole. The visiting team, however, scored a victory, and Captain Skinner demanded the rooster as a trophy, but it was refused. However, the bird mysteriously disappeared during the night. It was shrewdly suspected that the popular skipper of the Vietorias had something to do with this, and it is said that during the following year several secret expeditions were made by the Ohinemuris to see if tliey could get back the rooster. Nothing, however, was seen of it for a whole year, when it suddenly appeared in the Victoria Rifles' orderly room. It was given a coat of paint and constituted n trophy to be competed for, and in that year Sergeant Parslow and his team had the satisfaction of beating the Vietorias and thus secured the rooster for the following year.