SCULLING

Taranaki Daily News, 6 January 1922, Page 3

SCULLING

SOME EARLY CHAMPIONS. PAST ENGLISH AND 'COLONIAL SCULLING CHALLENGERS. FROLICS IN WORLD CONTEST. Wanganui, Jan. 3. It was away back in the ’fifties that the laurels of professional sculling came into existence. The first holder of the title ■ of champion of England was J. Messenger, who secured the honor in ‘1854, by defeating T. Cole on the' Thames. Three years later Messenger had to lower his colors to Henry Kelley, yvho for more than twenty years was the , finest oarsman in England, and whose prowess was primarily the cause of giving the title of champion of England the value it possessed. Two years after his defeat of Messenger Kelley succumbed to another very fine sculler, Robert Chambers, who held the title for four years. Kelley won it back, and twice beat Hamill, the American, on succeeding days pn the Tyne. He went under to Renforth on the Thames. Sadler assumed the championship, and defended it against several challengers. ENGLAND’S FIRST DEFEAT. In '1876 England had first to reconcile herself to defeat in the professional sculling championship. Until that time the title of sculling champion of the world had little meaning, since the honor had never been held outside England. The first overseasoarsmen to challenge the holder of the English championship was R. A. W. Green, of Australia, who assailed the honor in 1863 ■_ The holder was Robert Chambers, of Newcastle-on-Tyne. Walter Brown, champion of America, came across to row Sadler on the Thames, but the climate was against him, and he was unfit to Sadler rowed the course alorib. Sadler was on the decline of his powers when, in 187'6, New Trickett went home to England from Australia to meet him. Sadler was 37 years of age, having rowed his first race fifteen years before. The. London Times was not impressed by the Australian, who was six feet ■four inches in height. Sadler was piloted by his younger brother from the bows of an eight-car cutter, w.hile his old opponent performed the same office for the challenger. Trickett’s strokes had greater power and he won. BIRTH OF WORLD’S TITLE. Trickett’s victory converted the championship of England into the championship of the world. Returning to Australia with his honor. Trickett defended it on the Parramatta against Mick Rush and Laycock. Irf 1880, Edward Hanlan, of Canada, who has been known as the prettiest sculler of all time, and at that time champion .of Canada, United States, and England, challenged Trickett, and a match was arranged to be rowed on the Thames. Trickett was twenty-nine years of age, and weighed 12st 51b, while Hanlan was four years his junior, and weighed 211 b less. The race was the easiest of wins for Hanlan, who provided much amusemeik for the spectators. Having got a good lead on Trickett, he lay down flat on hii back im his boat. When Trickett drew level, Hanlan sculled away again, amid general laughter ashore and afloat, and when he had regained a lead of three lengths, he pulled first one scull and then another alternately, a water frolic that \in many cases would have led to a capsize. The race was a farce. Hanlan beat Trickett again over the same course in 1882, and he twice beat Laycock, once on the Thames and once on the Nepean“in 1884. BEQUEATHED HIS LAURELS. Within a few months, Hanlan met his fate at the hands of Bill Beach, who held the title for three years, beating Clifford and Matterson, and Haman again on the Parramatta in ln the following year he went to England to meet Jacob Gaudartr, the Canadian. This match, fought on the Thames, was perhaps the hardest struggle for the championship on record. At one stage both men were exhausted, and desired to stop. Beach struggled on, and won as he wished. He again defeated Hanlan in Australia, this time on the Nepean. Shortly after Beach retired, and bequeathed the championship to Peter Kemp. Hanlan was still ill in Australia, and did not give up hope of regaining the laurels, but Kemp beat him twice on the Parramatta. BRILLIANT BUT ILL-FATED. Before the end of 1888 a new and brilliant star had appeared on the sculling horizon. Harry Searle had belonged to the Clarence river, and had not been seriously regarded as a challenger. In his race with Kemp, before the boats had gone one hundred and fifty. yards, Searle had left a length’s advantage on his opponent, and had no difficulty in beating him. Searle went home to England to meet the Canadian champion, W. O’Connor, defeated him, and returned to Australia, but died as the vessel was entering Sydney Heads. A broken column was erected to his memory at the finishing point of the championship course on the Parramatta river. On Searle’s death, Kemp agp.’i assumed the title. This was the beginning of a pause in the history of the championship, which was the subject of much adverse comment at Home and in Australia. By an agreement amongst several Australian scullers, rt was arranged that, when anyone sought a match with Kemp, and was considered dangerous, he was referred to Stajibury, already tlie strongest oarsman irt Australia.' After being unable to get a 'match -for a long time, John McLean, of the Richmond river, defeated Kemp; then Stanbury beat him twice. STANBURY’S REMARKABLE CAREER.' Tn 1892. the year that he secured the championship for himself, Stanbury was challenged by a New Zealander, Torn Sullivan, whom he defeated on the Parramatta river. It was not till 18'96 that he was seriously challenged. Sullivan offered to match Stanbury against C. B. Harding, the English champion. Harding weighed fist 81b and Stanbury ' 13st. The Australian won easily, in the I fastest time ever put up on the. Thames i course. Two months later Jim StanI bury met his Waterloo at the hands of ' Gaudaur, who was then thirty-eight years of age, Stanbury being ten years younger. After a number of false starts, a barge nearly collided with the boats, and the scullers were forced to start themselves. There was a foul during the race, and Stanbury stopped rowing, and held up his hand. Gaudaur won, and Stanbury’s protest was disallowed. The Canadian held the championship for five years, his title being secured to a great extent by his claim that challengers should meet him j in Canadian waters. George Towns . challenged him in 'l9Ol, and rowed him ‘ near his own back door, and brought the -title back to the laud of the wallaby

and wattle. His first challenger was Dick Tressider, whom he defeated, but in the following year Towns succumbed to Stanbury in a race rowed in record time. Towns defeated his old rival in July of the next year. Then another Canadian, Edward Durnan, nephew of Hanlan, and a finished sculler, came into the “field.” but Towns defeated him on the Nt*pean in 1907. Then he handed the championship over to his brother Charlie, who lost it to William Webb on the Parramatta the same year. Webb already defeated James Stanbury on the Wanganui, when the latter called across the water, “I am beaten, Web)); take your own time.” On the historic New Zealand course Webb lowered Tressider’s'colors early in 1908. NEW ZEALAND CHAMPIONS. ' New Zealanders are already fully conversant with the details of the career of Richard Arnst. the late world's champion. When, after winning the Sydney Thousand, he retired from cycling to take up rowing. Arnst had a record of 72 firsts and 50 seconds. ~jHe snet Webb for the first tizae at the

end of 1908, and vyon by nine lengths m a deluge of rain in Ifimin. 52sec Six months after lie beat Webb again, rowing two stone heavier, on the Wanganui. The time, 18min. 14 3-ssec., was a world’s record, but wind and river were with the scullers. Arnst beat Barry on the Zambesi, Whelch at Akaroa,' and 1 earee on the Parramatta, and then lost) the title to Barry on the Thames. Barry beat in succession Eddie Durnan. Pearce and James Paddon, and Felton, the Australian wrested the title from him on the Thames after the Armistice. Bary regained the title of world’s champion irom Felton on the Parramatta, hut did not respond to Arnst’s challenge, and the New Zealander’s claim to the title was officially accepted. He defended it against Patrick Hannan on the Wairau in June last. There are three challengers—-Hannan, Paddon and Ripley—waiting fur the pleasure of the wixuwx of coXL*-*' -