GERALDINE PUBLIC SPORTS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1867, 19 March 1889, Page 3

GERALDINE PUBLIC SPORTS.

President;—R. H. Pearpoint. Vice-Presi-dent—J. Cunningham. Stewards— N. Dunlop, J. Turner, R. Taylor, T. Markham, G. Ward, J. W. Pyp, M. Spillane, J, Mundell, A. White, W. R. D. Lawson, if. Wilson Smith, D. Macdonald, C, E, Sherratt, W. Shiers, and B. R. Macdonald. Hon, Treasurer, J. Cunningham. Secretary, A. Fisher. Judges—Running and walking, R. H, Pearpoint; jumping, J. Cunningham ; wrestling, tossing the caber, and throwing the hammer, M. Connolly and N. Dunlop ; dancing, "' A Spillane and K. Brophy ; Handicapper, T. McAuliffe ; starter, W. R. D, Lawson. ' The third annual gathering under the auspices of the Geraldine Public Sports Committee, took piece in tbo Geraldine Domain yesterday, and like its predecessors was an unqualified success. This committee have always been favoured with Queen’s weather for their fixture, and yesterday was, if anything, finer than that of the two previous years, being just about perfect. The grounds are admirably suited for such a purpose, being covered with a fine green sward, and being quite restored from the public road the dust nuisance, which is usually so unpleasant at similar meetings, was conspicuous by its absence. The course, though a (rifle hard, owing to the dry weather prevailing, was in grand order. From year to year this very important item in the day’s programme, has, under the fostering care of the committee, been considerably improved until now it is second to very few in Canterbury. The distance round is about nine yards short of the quarter of a mile. A. The straight is a good one, being about 100 yards long, and it was roped offon both aide?. Also alongside of this straight is miffiked off a splendid 100 yards course for the race of that distance. This is an excellent piece of running ground, and being if anything slightly on the decline, allows of excellent time being made for this event. In the centre of the ground a space for the wrestling and jumping was roped off. This was a great improvement, as last year the wrestling ring was rushed and the competitors had to go elsewhere and another ring be formed. The stage for dancing was also erected in the centre of the ground on posts about five feet high. This allowed of the competitors being seen to advantage. The attendance at the ground was excellent, nearly 1000 people being present. Mr Jas. Riordan again had the refreshment booth, and the day being rather warm he appeared to do a good trade. The Geraldine brass band, under the leadership of Bandmaster T. Sherratt, helped to enliven the day’s proceedings with their excellent music. Throughout the day the committee used their utmost endeavours to carry out the fixture without a hitch, and their efforts proved eminently successful. Our thanks are due to the secretary. Mr A. Fisher, lor the assistance he rendered our representative. The committee are to be heartily congratulated upon the success of their third annual gathering. . The success achieved by them in the past has caused the fixture to be looked forward to with considerable expectancy during the year. The sports throughout were of a first-rate order. E. 3. Smith, from .scratch, sucCiteded in winning the Hurdles, beating The 100 Yards Handicap was run in heats, and was won by Radford, another scratch man, after a capital race. J. Tangney pulled off the 150 Yards Race (for boys under 14). The 880 Yards fell to the lot of W. G. Holmes, from scratch. This race was a wellcontested one, a couple of feet seoarating the first and second. The Obstacle Race, as usual, was a source of great amusement, and was won by F. Macdonald. In this race the competitors bad to start outside the wire fence, get through the fence, then through bags pegged tightly to the ground, through the wire fence again, then through suspended barrels, under ropes pegged down, over loose rope ladder, then up rails inclined against a •cross-beam and down through suspended barrels, then through the wire fence again and borne. Six started for the Three Milo Bicycle Race (for amateurs), and it was won by W. Duncan, with 200yds start. The 440 Yards Flat was pulled off by E. S. Smith. The 200 Yards Handicap was won by J. W. Radford, beating three other competitors. The Wrestling contest resulted in W. Angland securing first, and D. Angland second, rather easily. The Mile Bicycle Race fell to C. McDonald.

Following is a detailed account of the j ©vents] Tossing the Caber. First prize, £1; 1 second, 10s. T. H, Dalton, 36ft din I W. Angland, 34ft Gin ... ... 2 Throwing the Hammer. First prize, £1; second, 10b. I J. McKinnon, 83ft lin ... ... 1 ' T. H. Dalton, 82ft lOin 2 440 Yards Hurdle Handicap. First prize, £3 ; second, £1 ; third, 10s. r E. S. Smith, scratch ... ... 1 J, Austin, 18yds ... ... ... 2 R. J. Lavery, 12yds ... ... 3 The men got away to a grand start. At the second hurdle Holmes fell, and at the fourth hurdle Bain, who was second, tripped, and came on to his hands. Austin :ran a good race throughout, but Smith, who ran a very game race, caught him as be entered the straight, and won by about ;a yard, Lavery a poor third. •Taulting with th|! Pole. First prize, £1 ICs ; second, Iss. J. H. Hoskins, Oft Biu ... ... 1 T. McAuliffe, Oft 7in 2 F. McDonald, A. McKay, W. Stevens, and W. Dow also competed. 100 Yards Handicap (in heats), _ 10a to winner of each heal. First prize, £2; V second £l. First Heat. J, W. Radford, scratch ... ... 1 W. Hcmderson, 4yds ... ... 2 J, Brett, 3yda ... ... ... 3 J. Scott, scratch, and H. H. Heatley, 3yds, also ran This was a capital spin. All the men got away together, and Radford, who ran wel 1 throughout, won by about a foot, Brett a good third. Second Heat. J. Collins, scratch ... ... ... 1 A. McKay, scratch ... ... 2 D. E. Lewis, scratch ... ... 3 J. Bain, 3yds, H. Edgeworth, 4yds, and W. Sugrue, 4yds ; also ran, I Final Heat. W. Radford, scratch ... 1 J, Collins, scratch.,. ... ... 2 \V. Henderson, 4yds ... ... 3 A. McKay, scratch, also ran.

This was another good race, all the men jumping off their marks at the Bound of the pistol. Radford won, after a hard run, by about two feet, Collin# and Henderson almost tied for second place.

Running Lons Jump. First prize, £1; second, 10s. J. Collins, 19ft 7in ... 1

A, McKay, 19ft 6in ... ... 2 W. Angland, T. McAuliffe, and F. McDonald also competed. 150 Yards Handicap Race (for boys under 14). First prize, 15s ; second, 7s 6d. J. Tangney, 10yds ... ... 1 T. Tindall, 12yds 2 880 Yards Handicap, First prize, £3; second, £1 ; third, 10s. W. G. Holmes, scratch ... ... 1 J, Scott, 15yds ... ... ... 2 J. Bain, 20yds ... ... ... 3 D. E. Lewis, scratch, W. Davey, 12yds, aud R. J. Luvery, 15yds, also ran. This proved a very interesting event. From the start Davey forced the pace, hut was unable to last. Scott then went to the front, closely followed by Lewis. At the back of the course the second round Lewis nude his effort, but had to give place to Holmes, who was steadily creeping on Scott, who so far maintained his lead well. Corning on to the straight, however, Holmes closed up, and a capital race up the straight resulted, as above, Holmes just managing to secure first place by a couple of feet. Running High Jump. First prize, £lloa ; second, 15s. J. Collins, 6ft 2ia 1 A. McKay, s£t lin 2 Obstacle Race (once round track). First prize, £llos ; second, 10s. F. Macdonald 1 H. H. Heatley 2 W. Fiefield 3 W. Brown also ran, Macdonald won this race rather easily, but as one of the barrels had been tampered with so that Heatley could not gat through it, and bad to be lifted out again, a meeting of the committee was held to decide whether the race should be run over again. It was decided not to do so. Maiden Wrestling (Border style). First prize, £1; second, 10s. D. Dunn 1

H. Mappison 2 A. Smith and W. Brown also competed. Bicycle Handicap Race, 3 miles, for amateurs. First prize, trophy or cup (value £3) ,* second, trophy or cup (value £1 10s) j third, trophy or cup (value 10s). W. Duncan, Timarn, 200yda ..* ... 1 A. Jones, Ashburton, 230yds.„ ... 2 J. McDonald, Timaru, 120yda 3 T. Wall, 180yds, G. McDonald, scratch, and M. McLeod, 400yds, also started. This proved a most interesting race. W. Duncan went to the front almost nt once, and was never again troubled. A grand race far second honors took place between A, Jones and 0. McDonald, the former lending by about a yard for several rounds. Passing the winning post for the last lap, C. McDonald made a desperate effort to pass his man, and had come up level with him, when a rise in the ground caused him to come over bis handles, thus putting him out of the race. 1 Mils Walking Handicap. First prize, £3 ; second, £1; third, 10s. H. H. Heatley, 85 yards ... ... 1 I. J. Blissett, 35yds ... ... 2 A. Bowman, 100yds ... ... 3 J. Austin, scratch, W. Stewart, 90yds, C. Glliver, 100 yd s, also started. Heatloy rushed to the front at a grett pace, and had the race in his own hands from start to finish. The pace at which he travelled seemed to completely demoralise his opponents, as before the last lap was reached only Blissett and Bowman were left to saunter round, the others giving up. Heatley finished a long time before the other two, who walked slowly home. 440 Yards Handicap. _ First prize, £3 ; second, £1; third,-10s. E. S. Smith, scratch ... ... 1 B. J. Lavery, 10yds ... ... 3 J. Scott, scratch ... ... ... 3 F. McDonald, 15yds, also started. Smith ran to the front at the start, and was never again caught. Lavery finished a good second. 220 Yards Handicap fob Youths (trader 16). First prize, £1; second, 10?. W. O. Weaver, scratch ... ... 1 A. Kelman, syds ... ... ... 2 H. Payne, scratch ... ... 3 J. Tangney, syds, also ran. Hop, Step, and Jump. First prize, £1; second, 10s. J. Collins, 40ft lOin ... ... 1 \A. McKay, 38£t sin 2 F. McDonald also competed. Collins’s performance was a good one. 200 Yards Handicap. First prize, £2 ; second, £1 10s.

First Heat. IJ. W. Radford, scratch ... ... 1 J. Bain, 7yds ... ... ... 2 J. Scott, scratch ... ... ... 3 R. J. Lavery also rau. This was a grand race, Radford iust managing to put it off by a foot, the others well up. Second Heat. W. Henderson, 10yds ... ... .1 R. Edgeworth, 10yds ... ... 2 J. Collins, scratch... ... ... 3 A. McKay, scratch, and J. Brett also started. Henderson won all the way, the others close op.

Final Heat. J. W. Radford, scratch ... ... 1 W. Henderson, 10yds ... ... 2 R. Edgeworth, 10yds ... ... 3 Radford won easily by several yards, the same distance separating the second and third men. Wrestling (Border style). First prize. £110s; second, 15s. W. Angland 1 D. Angland 2 H. Mappison and D. Dunn also competed. u. This proved an easy thing for the two brolhers, 1 Mile Bicycle Race. C. McDonald, scratch 1 W. Duncan, 40yds 2 J. McDonald, 40yds 3 C. Hall, 7®yds, also ran. This was an additional item to those appearing on the programme. Duncan was passed by McDonald in the last lap, and the latter won by a yard or two. 1 Mile Handicap. First prize, £3; second, £1; third, 10s. W. Q. Holmes, scratch 1 D. E. Lewis, 20yds 2 W. Davie, 25yds 3 J. acott, 25yds, and J. Bain, 35yds, also ran.

This was an excellent race. Davie was treated with ihe load for some distance, but the contest was really between Lewis and Holmes. The latter, however, was not to be denied, and won by three or four yards. The time made was excellent, being 4min. 43aeo,