IN AUSTRALIA.

Taranaki Daily News, 19 November 1921, Page 7

IN AUSTRALIA.

TARANAKI BOY’S OBSERVATIONS. FOOTBALL AND RACING. Mr. L. G. Beamish, secretary of the Hawera Football Club, and a member of the management committee of the laranaki Rugby Union, who is at present on a trip to Australia, in the course of a letter to a friend in Taranaki, remarks:— “We had a fairly good trip across to Sydney from Wellington, though one day was very rough. I was only in Sydney about 12 hours, and of course did not see very much of it, though I was taken in hand by a friend of mine, a Sydney resident, and saw as much as it was possible to see in the time. I intend to stay there on the return trip. “I was not struck favorably with the manner in which the traffic was regulated. In the heart of the city I saw motor cars going round corners at from 15 to 20 miles an hour. It is a wonder to me that there are not more accidents.

“The train journey to Melbourne was an enjoyable one compared with the New Zealand railways. Of course the gnage of the lines is greater. In N.S.W. it is 4 feet, and in Victoria 4ft Sin, compared with 3ft bin in New Zealand. The carriages are very comfortable, and the stoppages on the express very infrequent. For one stretch we travelled 100 miles without a stop. For the trip through the average speed is a little over 40 miles an hour. Imagine going from New Plymouh to Wellington in about 6 hours, and you have an idea of the speed. “The first Saturday I was here I went to see the final of the Association (Victorian game) football championship. The Association is similar to our B grade. The A grade competition is called the League, the final of which was played the Saturday before I arrived. There was an attendance of 40,000, which at times got very unruly, and fights took place between the rival supporters in several portions of the ground. This was evidently anticipated, as mounted policemen were stationed at short intervals right round the ground inside the enclosure. The umpire (referee) gets a bad reception when his decisions do not please the spectators, and I saw a boy walk on the field and hand him a book of rules. The game I saw was played at Fitzroy between Footscray and Williamstown, and was won by the latter by 12 points, the score being something like 48—36. “It was the first game under Victorian rules that I had witnesseed, and was naturally there to criticise and draw a comparison between the game and Rugby. While admitting that the game is very fast and the play open, I prefer the game I have been used to. Here, if a man is knocked out, the game goes on. and the injured player is allowto lie where he falls. Ambulance men rush on and render first aid, and if he is fit to continue he does so; if not, he is taken off. The game was very rough, and I saw a number of blows delivered when out of the umpire’s sight. Most of the players were splendid kicks. The drop-kicking and place-kicking of practically every player was an eye-opener. One or two of them would be worth their places in a Rugby team for their kicking alone. Goals from 50 yards Out are common. Dr. Parke, who was in the running for a position in the Australian cricket team which recently toured England, was playing for Footscray, and kicked 3 goals. One could not help but admire the superb condi- | tion of the players. The way they saw the fast game out struck me forcibly. “I went to the Cup on Tuesday. It was a wonderful sight, but the crush made it very uncomfortable. It is estimated that 125.000 witnessed it, but there must have been thousands present who did not get even a glimpse of any part of the race. I secured a lovely position, from which I saw the race from start to finish through a pair of powerful glasses. I was on the upper stand whence the view was uninterrupted. To look down on the lawn at the densely-packed mass of humanity and then on to a similar scene on the flat in the centre of the course, and again on the hill which overlooks the lawn stand, was indeed a marvellous sight, and well worth the inconvenience experienced to witness. The race itself was a splendid one, but was marred , by interferences experienced by several well-fancied horses, notably Eurythmic and Furious. Either of these might have won but for the attention paid to them, intentionally or otherwise, by other horses or riders. Eurythmic got badly cut about, his off-fore leg being in a bad state when he returned to scale., and it will be some time before he races again. The manner in which he settled the opposition in the Melbourne Stakes on the first dav of the meeting convinced me that he is all they claim him to be. Furious is a great filly, and she won the Derby and Oaks, on the bit, both in record times for the races. She is probably the best mare in Australasia to-day up to 1% miles. What I would like to see would be a meeting . over 1J miles at weight-for-age between > Eurythmic, Furious, Gloaming and Amythas. My vote would go for Gloaming.