AXEMEN'S CARNIVAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 153, 27 December 1911, Page 3

AXEMEN'S CARNIVAL.

( ANOTHER GREAT SUCCESS. | FIRST DAY. This year's Axemen's Carnival, which opened at Eltham yesterday, is quite up to the high standard set by the New Zealand Axemen's Association. Even the weather, which so far this season has been very indifferent, rose to the occasion, and a wet, threatening morning was transformed into an ideal day. In fact the weather conditions could not have been better. There was a fiae warm sun, tempered by a mild breeze which quickly dried the ground. The attendance was very good, the gate takings being about £l5O, or within £lO of last year's. The fields were very good, and that keen interest is

still taken in this manly sport was evidenced by the zest evinced in tho various items by the audience. Some fast times were put up; in fact in the doublehanded sawing event a record was established, C. O'Rourke and Beban cutting through the 2ft. log in 22 2-Ssec., beating the record established by Volzke Bros, in 1000 by 3-ssec. Additional! interest was lent to the contest by the presence of C. O'Rourke. the southern champion. He is in great form, and in addition to winning the double-handed sawing has won his heat in the N.Z. Championship Chop, to be decided to-day. In the two feet world's champion chop, he struck a log which at once put him out of it. He won his heat in the IS-ineh underhand chop, hewing out the wood in a manner which compelled admiration. In the final he cut even better .still, but was giving away too much, and the verdict went to a 4(teec. man, named Riehardson. Spectators to-day can look forward to a battle of giants in the final of the championship chop. There still remain • in it D. Pretty, C. O'Rourke, S. Johnson, W. Weston, E. Pretty, G. McCauley and others, though the ' winner will probably be found amongst those mentioned. The world's championship chop, 2ft. standing chop, was a particularly fine | event. It was a pretty sight to see the fifteen competitors lined up at their blocks. At the head of the list was D. Pretty, who had annexed the event for the past three years. S. Johnson, a noted performer at Eltham, and C. O'Rourke, a Southern champion. Most interest was centred in this trio, as it was anticipated they would supply the, winner. Tho cinematograph machine 1 also got to work on them. It could,] however, be seen early that Pretty and O'Rourke had struck something tough, and that the only one of the trio who stood a chance was Johnson. He believes in taking out plenty of wood in his first scarf, and consequently was not round till about sixth. McCauley struck a nice log, and getting round first looked a sure winner. He, however, ran out of wood, and had to go round again. Still, : however, he was able to win by several i Bcconds. He is a very popular axeman. J and has attended the axemen's carnival r every year during the past six years. ; In 1800 he filled second position, being i beaten by two blows fey D. Pretty when the latter put up his record performance C of 3min. 30 3-ssec. He also occupied a ' similar position to Esau Pretty the fol- t lowing year. In 1908 lie was third to D : Pretty and S. Johnson. He is aged " 27, a resident of Taumarunui, and has s , been chopping six years. His first wis V was in Tauranga. His most successful J 1 win was at Dargaville, when he won six) J events, including two championships, a r. cup, a handicap, and two handicap sawing events, including the double-handed with Casey, off scratch. In this event he used a Collie King axe. and so secures 1 the special prize of £-30 presented by „ that firm. * 3 The underhand chop went to a limit £ man, G. E. Richardson, who nominated , for the special prize and secures the extra £25. °' The bicycle races were keenly con- J' tested, and honors were distributed. I „ The officials all worked well. Mr. A. i Hansen, starter, sent the fields away °] well to time. Mr. T. C. Stanners, sec- a ■retary, 'had faithfully attended to every i detail, whilst Mr. Jas. McLeod rendered tj yeoman service as secretary for the day. . Much regret was expressed by competi- fi tors and others at the death of the late « secretary, Mr. F. E. Hardy, who had t. done so much to give the society the Tl pre-eminent place it now occupies in the J chopping world, and a suggestion was a made that his name should be perpetu- u ated by naming one of the leading events ! after him. This will probably be V adopted. r; The 'Eltham Brass Band, under Conductor Beasley, was present, and its ?' smart programme much enlivened proceedings. The luncheon arrangements p were in the capable hands of Mrs. M. H. ' Brooking, Stratford. Mr. C. F. New-' ' ham, of the Dominion Film Company, c ' was present, and secured about 1000 ft. 01 of views of the carnival, which will be . exhibited throughout the world in due course. a The blocks were obtained from Doug- nl las. on the St: rat ford-To Wera railway a line, this season, and were a very even w lot. lynch better than those obtained w from iniiroa last year. Some, of course, 111 contained knots and other defects, but w such will always be the case until the a X-rays can be brought to play on them. Some axemen also complained about! their logs, but of course that will always r , occur. Two interesting trophies in the ' secretary's tent were the slab sawn off : in the record double-sawing event, which was sawn as clean as though planed, and Cl also the Collie King axe with which Mc- 11 Auley won his big event. a Results:— CHOPPING AND SAWING. Maiden Chop, of £7, 15in. standing block; first prize £5, second£l 103, third 10s.—A. McMahon 1, J. Dodd 2, C. Volzke " 3. Also started: C. Coleman, P. Dodun- '' ski. A. Ferguson, E. C. Irving, P. O'Connor, T. Willacey. A poor contest, and 0 ■unless considerable improvement is shown there arc no future champions amongst the bunch. The winner was 8 round first, and won rather easily. Sev- " cral did not finish their first scarf. Time, j' linin. 30 2-ssec. h Double-handed Sawing Championship w of Australasia, of £l2; first prize two gold medals valued .€4 each, second £3. third .Cl; "2ft. logs.—C. O'Rourke and * Beban 1, Sullivan and Matson 2, Pedder and Love 3. Also started: -J. Amos and * mate, Mather and mate, Volzke Bros,, J Parson Bros., E. Torry and mate, Wes- fi ton and mate. This was a marvellous '• performance, resulting in an easy win. f From the pistol O'Rourke and his mate ] were seen to lie cutting strongly, and looked as if they would put up fast 1 time. Cutting away as if their wood was 1 cheese, they downed their block in 22 t 2-ssec., against the previous record of 25 t sec., put up in 1907 by Johansen and 1 Johnson. The cut was beautifully clean, ■ and was put on exhibition afterwards. New Zealand Championship Chop, 12in, < standing block; first, second and third I I in each heat to qualify in final, which 1 will be chopped the second day.—First ' heat: S. Johnson 1, W. Weston 2, W. E. 1 Honey 3. Also started 1 : M. C. Andresen, 1 W. McCraith, M. Griffin. Weston was first round, and was quickly followed by > Johnson, who chopped very strongly and gained the verdict by a few blows. Time. : 39 Second heat: G. McCauley 1, ; D. Pretty 2, R. Joblin 3. Also started: W. T. Herrold, J. Newstroski, H. McCraith and G. Hirst. Pretty struck a low dummy, which handicapped him a little. McCauley was a atrong chopper,

and divided his log first. Time, 38 3-5 sec. Third heat: C. O'Rourke 1, E. Pretty 2, D. Maker 3. Also started: B. Newstroski and .T. 10. Richardson. The Southern champion won easily. A close go ensued between Pretty and .Maher for second place. Time, 40see. WORLD'S CHAMPiOXSIiJP CHOP, of £45, 2ft. standing block; first prize £ls (and an additional £2O presented by the Collie King Axe Co. if winner used a Collie King axe), second prize £6, third £3, fourth £}.

G. 'McCauley i S. Johnson 2 W. E. Honey 3 J. Richardson 4 Also started: D. Pretty, C. O'Rourke, E. Pretty, M. C. Andresen, W. T. Herold, J. Newstroski, B. Newstroski, D. Mather, W. McCraith, G. Hirst and W. Weston. It was an interesting go, most interest centreing in the doings of D. Pretty, S. Johnson and C. O'Rourke. They all started well, hut it was soon evident that Pretty and O'Rourke had struck tough propositions in the shape of < faulty logs. McCauley, who had a nice piece of timber, got round first, closely followed by Honey and McCraith. Then came Esau Pretty and D. Pretty. Johnson was round about eighth, having taken out a very deep scarf. McCauley continued to chop well, and looked an easy winner, when he ran out of wood and pinclied, having to return to his first scarf, which delayed him SQsec. ' He chipped his axe on entering, and this was noticeable right through the first cut. His block was over about ssec. ahead of Johnson, who beat Honey by the same time, Richardson being very little Jator, closely followed by Hirst. The win was a popular one. Time, smin. 0 3-ssec.

. I Underhand Handicap Chop, of £SO; J first prize £ 115 and special of £25 (if I special acceptance fees are paid), second J £6, third £3, fourth £]; first three in 1 heat to qualify.—First heat: C. ! O'Rourke, scr, 1; J. Newstroski, 25sec, 2; G. Hirst, 30sec, 3; D. Leahv, 37sec, 4. Also started: E. Pretty 17sec, W. McCraith 32s ec, P. Dodunski 37sec, and P. 0 Connor 40sec. W. McCraith was first to turn, but C. O'Rourke, who had a nice log, except for a tough piece in the centre, cut very powerfully and won easily. Only the placed men finished. Time, lmin. 28 3-ssec. Second heat: B. Newstroski, 40sec, 1; D. Pretty, scr 2,S. Morris, 32sec, 3; W. E. Honey, 40sec', 4. Also started: V. J. Amos and W. T. Herrold 32s ec, J. Dodd 35sec. B. New- < stroski just finished ahead of Honey, J Pretty a few seconds away third, Morris : fourth. The official result, however, placed Pretty and Morris second and third, and gave no place to Honey. How-, ever, in, order not to do an injustice to the latter, he was placed fourth and allowed to start in the final, as were also the fourth men in the other heats. Third heat: E. H. Home, 40sec, 1* 8 Johnson, I2sec, 2; D. Mather, 32sec, 3; J.' E Richardson, 40sec, 4. Also started: M. C. Andreson. 32sec, Beban 35sec, A. Salmon 4Dsec. Won rather easily, the first two men being out on their own j Time, 2min. 1 2-ssec. Final: W. E. Rich--1 ardson, 40sec, 1; S. Morris, 32sec, 2; G. Hirst, 30sec, 3; C. o,'Rourke, scr, 4. All qualified started. The limit men had almost got round before O'Rourke started operations, which he did with vigor. He. however, was conceding too much, and though he got through ,in lmin 20 ' sec, 8 3-sscc. faster than in the heat he won, it was not fast enough, as Richardson, who was round first, kept the lead and finished well ahead of Morris Hirst just.beat O'Rourke by a How. Time, lmin. 51sec.

Single-handed Sawing Handicap, of 5-} 0, lo S s ; firs t £7, second £'-, third £1. —W. Weston, 12sec, 1A. iE. Sullivan, scr, 2; V. J. Amos, 18sec. 3; C. Volzke, 20sec, 4. Also started]; J. Poynton 12sec,E. Pretty, Kindberg and' lE. Terry 20sec. This provided another clean exhibition of sawing. Sullivan set out to beat his New Zealand record of 1008. He succeeded in doing so, but had to take second place' in this event to Weston, who cut his log off a few seconds ahead of him. Amos was very little away third. Time, lmin. 15sec. CYCLING.' Half-mile Handicap: first £4; second' £2 10s, third 10s.—'First Heat: P. Griffin (25yds) 1, E. J. Jones (00yds) 2. Also started: A. Parkes (scr). Griffin was leading when the hell rang, with' Jones close up, and the position'was unaltered. Time, lmin 11 l-ssec. Second' heat: W. F. Kerr (60yds) 1, W. Roebuck '(2oy,ds) 2. Also started': A. G. McDonald (scr), Chapman (10yds), J. Clarke (30yds), W..F. Mason (50yds). The fastest heat in the handicap, Kerr never being headed, and winning in lmin Ssec. ' , , !

Third heat: E. Wall (20yds) 1, 8. Parker (GOyds) 2. Also started: Jones (syds), Lane (40yds). The placed men entered on the last lap in the above order. Tune, lmin 13s«c. Final: Kerr 1. Griffin 2, Roebuck .3. All who qualified started, and there was a finish equally gratifying to the public and the handicapper, the judges having a very fine point to decide as.'to the winner. Griffin led, to the straight where Kerr came very fast afid just managed to gain the verdict as the line was crossed, Roebuck being a length away. Time, lmin lOsee.

Carnival Wheel Race, two miles'. — First prize £l3; second £4. third Si.

First Heat: J. ClaTke (120 yds) lj A. 0. Donald (sor) 2, A. Parkes (scr) 3. Also started: P. Hill (40yds), W. Roebuck (60yds), S. Parker (240 yds). 'ln a couple of laps Clarke went to the front and was over the length of the straight ahead at the finish. Donald and Parkes were close together for the other places. Time,'smin 25sec.

Second Heat: P. Griffin (150 yds) 1, A. White (240 yds) 2, E. Wall (45yds) 3. Also started: R. J. Jones (20yds), Chapman (75yds), W. F. KeTr (100 yds). The backmarkers could not get up to the first two, who won by nearly the length of the straight. Time, smin 10 2-ssec. Final: Griffin 1, Clarke 2, White 3. Donald, Parkes and Wall were u*able to get up to the placed men, who were together until the bell rang, when Griffin jumped away and established a dozen lengths lead, Clarke [being about the samo distance ahead of White crossing the line. Time, smin 9 2-ssec.

One Mile Handicap.—First prize, £5; second, £2; third, £l. First Heat: E. Wall (20yds) 1, A. Donald (scr) 2, W. F. Kerr (26yds) 3. Also started: S. J. Jones (25yds), Chapman (25yds). The field were well together until the last lap, when Wall went out and won comfortably. Time, 2min 43sec.

Second Heat: W. Roebuck (20yds) 1, A. Parkes (scr) 2, J. Clarke (25yds) 3. Also started: R. J. Jones (10yds), P. Hill (18yds). A race similar to the first heat, Roebuck repeating the previous winner's tactics in breaking away. Parkes heat Clarke, in the straight. Time, 2nrin 35 4-ssec.

Final: Wall 1, Kerr 2, Parkes 3. All qualified started. This was a very fine finish. When the field struck out for home, Wall had a three lengths lead, with Roebuck second, but the latter was beaten out of a place, 'being first passed by Parkes and then by Kerr, who came very fast and got second place by half a wheel. Time, 2min 26sec.

Five Mile Handicap.—First prize £10; second, £4; third, £l.—Chapman (SOO yds) 1, R. J. Jones (40yds) 2, P. Griffin (100 yds) 3. Also started: A. Donald (scr), A, Parkes (scr), P. Hill (80yds), E. Wall (40yds), J. Clarke (100 yds), W. Roebuck (220 yds), Dine (350 yds), W. F. Kerr (350 yds), E. Jones (400 yds), W.

F. Mason (400 yds), A. White (420y<k). There were a couple of spills during the ra: c, but fortunately no serious accident occurred. Kerr and Mason came to grief first, and a. few laps later Clarke and Wail tumbled together. As to the race itself, there was nothing in it but Chapman, who was away out on his own for I the latter half of the raep, and eventually won by the length of the straight. I The field was reduced to four towards | the end, Parkas fighting it out with th» I other two placed men. Jones came with I a bustle and beat Griffin by several j lengths. Youths' Mile Handicap.—Dine 1, Forbes 2, Falkett 3. One of the starters was young Pat Harrison, for whose plucky riding in finishing the journey a round of applause was given.