SCULLING.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 June 1921, Page 11

SCULLING.

ARNST’S RECORD. OTHER ATHLETIC SUCCESSES. Richard Arnst, who beat Hannan on Saturday, and who is well known as a crack cyclist and a former world’s sculling ctampion, was bom at Tai Tapu, 12 miles from Christchurcn, in 1883. He obtained places on several occasions In the, Christchurcli-Tlmaru cyclo road races. His most noteworthy performances, however, were on the track when he won the New Zealand Wheel Race and the Sydney Thousand. Turning to sculling Arnst made phenomenal progress, hts splendid physique giving him great power In a boat. At Sydney in January, 1908, he rowed second to 8. Pearce in a race, and later won the Rush Handicap. Good performances at Corokl and Ulmarfa put him on scratch, and he had to concede (Starts to Towns and Fogwell. He defeated H. Pearce, and later challenged Webb for the world's championship. The race was rowed on the Wanganui River on December 15, 1908, Arnst winning. Arnst again defeated Webb in the following year, and held the title till 1912 when Barry beat him on the Thames. "Barry lost the title to Felton, and regained it on tte Parramatta last year. He decided, however, he would not row again, and Arhst having challenged, the title went to him.

FORMER CHAMPIONS. The following are the holders of the championship since 1880, the second name in each ease being that of the loser;— m a 1880— -Banian winner, Trickett loser, Thames 26 12 1881— Hanlan, Laycock, Thames .. 25 40 1882— Banian, Boyd, Tyne .. 21 25 1882—Banian, Trickett, Thames ..28 0 1884—Banian, Laycock, Nepean .. 22 45 1884— Beach, Banian, Parramatta .. 20 28% 1885— Beach, Matterson, Parramatta 24 11% 1885—Beach, Clifford, Parramatta ..26 0 1885— Beach, Banian, Parramatta 22 51 1886— Beach, Gaudaur, Thames »« 22 29 1886— -Beach, Ross, Thames ...•—23 5 1887— Beach, Hanlan, Nepean .... 18 55 1887— Kemp, Clifford, Parramatta •• 23 47 1888— Kemp, Hanlan, Parramatta .. 21 36 1888—-Kemp, Hanlan, Parramatta .. 21 25 1888— Searle, Kemp, Parramatta .. 22 44% 1889— Searle, O'Connor, Thames .. 22 42 1890— Kemp, Matterson, Parramatta 21 13% 1890—Kemp, McLean, Parramatta 21 45% 1890— 'McLean, Kemp, Parramatta 22 13 1891— Stanbury, McLean, Parramatta 18 25 1891— Stanbury, McLean, Parramatta 22 15% 1892 Stanbury, Sullivan, Parramatta 18 27 1898—Stanbury, Harding, Thames 21 51 1896 Gaudaur, Stanbury, Thames . 23 1 1897 Gaudaur, Johnstone, Vanc'v’r 1901—Towns, Gaudaur, Canada 20 30 1904 Towns, Tressider, Parramatta 21 48 4-5 1905 Stanbury, Towns, Parramatta 19 47 1906 Towns, Btanbury. Parramatta 1? 53 1-5 1907 Towns, Durnan, Nepean .... 22 27 1907 Webb, Towns, Parramatta .. 20 45 1908— Webb, Tressider, Wanganui .. 20 28 1908— Arnst, Webb, Wanganui »••• 19 25 1909 Arnst, Webb, Wanganui »••• 18 15 1910— Arnst, Whelch, Akaroa .«•• 21 50 3-3 1910— Arnst. Barry, Zambesi •«.• 20 14 3-5 1911— Arnst, Pearce, Parramatta 19 46 1912 -Barry, Arnst, Thames •••«•« 23 8 1912 Barry. Nurnan, Thames 22 31 1913 -Barry, Pearce, Thames •«»• 24 9 1914 Barry, Paddon, Thames .... 21 28 1919 Felton, Barry, Thames 25 40 1920 Barry, Felton, Parramatta .. 24 32 1921 Arnst, Hanan, Walrau .... 22 33

STORIES OF OLD DAYS. 1 u - A BACKER’S EXPERIENCES. One of the most familiar figures at any sculling race of importance is John Spencer, one of Sydney’s first dentists. With h!a brother, the late Tom Spencer, he was prominent In the backing of sucks world's champions as Ned Trickett and Hatty Searle. To a newspaper representative, Mr. Spencer yarned interestingly on his connection with sculling. "My first interest in a championship race, so far as putting anything In the stake was concerned,” he said, "was when Ned Trickett went to England in 1976 to row James Sadler; but I played only a very smatt part in that performance. They rowed for the championship of the world, and Ned won. Tills was the first occasion on *whlch tte world’s championship was contested. When Trickett returned, his title was challenged in turn by Mick Rush and Elias Laycock, but without success. I was at the back of Trickett on each occasion. I also staked hiun against Hanlan on the Thames in 1880; but this time my luck was out, and I lost a pocketful of money. Still, Trickett wasn’t satisfied that he had met his Waterloo. I backed him again a couple of years later, again on the Thames, and he. was again beaten. "Ajfter Bill Beach, who since won the title from Hanlan, had in 1885 again defeated that sculler, I put up a stake for Nell Matteraon against Beach, but Bill was too good. MATTERSON’S TALE. "Matterson came to me one day with a tale of a wonderful youth up on the Clarence, who was doing things In a boat thatastonished the natives, and suggested that I should take a chance on him. The youth's name was Harry Searle, and 1 may say here that to my mind he was the greatest sculler tte world ever produced. We brought him to Sydney, and George Fern took him In hand, with Neil Matterson as sparring-partner. “I gave Searle his flrat race against Julius 'Woolf on the Parramatta. It was really no race, as Searle could have won by half the course. SEARLE v. STANBURY. "Stanbury was next on Searle’s list with me, and Searle won after a gruelling race in very fast time. ’ "Then our lad beat Neilson, and I thought it was time to fly high, so we aimed at the world’s championship, which was at this time held by Peter Kemp, who had secured It from Beach on forfeit. Bill having tired of the game. The making of this match caused something of a sensation. "Kemp beat Hanlan a second time for the championship (Hanlan was very persistent you'll note) on Saturday, September 28, 1888, and that night, at the paying over of the stakes, after the usual nice things had been said, I announced that I would like to back Harry Searle against Peter Kemp for the championship and £5OO a-side. Aft this, Mr. Smart, Kemp's biggfest backer, was quickly on bjs feet, and shouted: '£soo? We’ll row you for £ 5000 1’ " Tery well/ I said, 'we’ll row you for £5OOO, and here’s my deposit of £5OO to bind the match.’ "The roam was soon in an uproar, and for a while It was hard to make out what anyone was saying. But it presently appeared that Smart's friends were trying to persuade him not to venture such a large amount, while Searle's followers were imploring them not to be spoil-sports. In fact, so heated was the discussion that my brother Tom and Bill Beach came to blows. However, calmer consideration eventually prevailed, and rhe match' was fixed for £5OO a-side and the championship. Searle won easily. Peter couldn’t even extend him. BEST OF ALL. "Of Searle’s visit to England to row W. J. O’Connor, and its sad ending, I cannot, even at this distance of time, speak without feeling. How Searle won In sensational style, after giving O’Connor an advantage at the start, and then died at the Williamstown Hospital, on his way home, with his honors still fresh, is a matter of history. He died on December 10, 1889, and with his passing the' world lost a fine man and its greatest sculler. "A most important factor in the success or otherwise of a sculler is the rig of his boat,” continued Mr. Spencer. "By rig I mean his seat on the stretcher In regard to the position of the rowlocks, with a view to getting the maximum power into the stroke. What may suit one man may be death to another. Ned Triokett, one of the most experienced riggers I ever met, once changed his rig with

disastrous results. "When he rowed Hanlan the flrat time on the Thames for the world’s championship he used the r.'g In which he had won all his races in Nbw South Wales. Hanlan won, but Ned wasn’t satisfied. He Said that Hanlan was better rigged. "So te adopted Banian’s style. Now, Hanlan’s boat was rigged with his work straight away, which exactly suited him, as he was a small man with a short reach. But it was entirely unsuitable for a big fellow like Trickett, who should have fitted his rowlocks slightly in front of his seat, so that his reach would be shortened. "The result of the change on Trickett was that when he reached forward the blades of his sculls came back almost to the sides of the boat. Consequently for the first three or four feet of his sweep he was actually pulling against himself. So In bis second race against Hanlan he did worse tian before. DISAPPOINTED BACKERS. "After Trickett’s return to Australia there was a trophy rowed for on the Parramatta in which Beach, Laycock, Trickett, Rush, and Donald McDonald competed. Beach won .with Trickett an inglorious last. Indeed, so bad was his display on this occasion that my brother and I, who had been his cons'stent backers right through his career, were convinced that it was no use’ persevering with him, so we presented hrtm with a purse of fifty sovereigns and suggested that he could very well retire on his past laurels. ‘A couple of months after this, Bill Beach said to me: 'My word, Johnny, you should see old Ned; he's rowing better than ever.’ 'No you don't Bill,' I said. ‘You can’t get me on to another match. Ned’s done.’ "A few days later Trickett called at my surgery. 'lf you want to talk sculling,' I said, 'I might as well say right away that it’s no use. You’ve done your dash.’ ‘I don’t want you to back me in a race, Mr. Spencer,’ he said. Tve just come along to tell you something. I’m a better man now than I ever was. If you’ll come down to the red buoy to-morrow morning and time me, .I'll convince you.’ '‘Accordingly, next morning, I went along and timed him over the usual trial course—once round the two islands (Goat Island and Pinchgut)—and he broke his best record by 45sec. To say that I was astonished would be to put it very mildly. It was only when I had examined his boat that I divined he had gone back to Hs old rig. "Ned was afterwards beaten twlpe out of three times by Beach, but I am certain had he been matched against anyone else he would have' won.”