ARROW RIVER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 258, 9 January 1873, Page 7

ARROW RIVER.

(From a Correspondent.) December 30, 1872. At this festive season of the year there is not much of importance in mining matters to report, and I shall, therefore, confine myself solely to social subjects. Amongst these, we f have first and foremost the Christmas sports at Arrowtown, in aid of the Wakatip Hospital funds. As the get up of these sports present many novel features, and as the whole is worthy 'of imitation, I shall go a little more into detail, as otherwise would have been unwarrantable. These sports are got up by the miners of the district, by first canvassing for subscriptions. Every subscriber of £1 Is. is entitled to a hospital ticket. The fund thus collected forms the basis from which prizes are fixed for the several games. The sports' committee erect their own booth, at which they attend as barmen, and are ably assisted in dispensing refreshments by the ladies of the district, who preside at the tea tables. These arrangements have been put to the test for the second time/ at the sports just past and gone, and have resulted on both occasions in Bplendid and substantial result*. At the Christmas sports of last year, a balance of £106 was handed to the Treasurer of the Hospital, and this year £200, at least, will be the clear profits of the | exertions of those ladies and gentlemen who have conducted the affair. The large increase on last year may be attributed mainly to experience gained on the former occasion, in the various arrangements of the details of the business, and the sum would have been still larger, had not the Qneenstown bonifaces looked at the undertaking with greedy eyes. The old jealousy which has always distinguished the people on the other Bide of the Shotover, could not even be repressed on such an occasion as the present. They were not satisfied with providing amusements for their own residents, but entered into open competition for the support of 'the outside public, and thus marred to a certain extent their own holidays and those of their neighbours, to say nothing of detracting from the support of the district hospital. As to the sports themselves, it is to be mentioned that as the number of competitors was divided, they lacked much of the interest of the former gathering. Entries to all the games were numerous ; but the competitors were not sufficiently matched in strength and jagili+y- « .to j raise excitement to the proper pitch. . Horse racing was provided for the third day, and here everything was the reverse. A large concourse of people 'with a brilliant sprinkling of representatives of the lovely sex, varied by bearded miners mounted on horses of every conceivable size and description ; and all kinds of vehicles filled with happy faces, all joyous and merry, had met willing to amuse and be amused. The scene on the race course, and the view from a terrace at the north of it was grand and sublime. From the terrace a complete view of the race course can be had, which is composed of a heavy rich loam, sufficiently soaked by a gentle shower the night before to keep down the dust. Beyond the course, the eye sweeps over waving fields of corn many many miles in extent, interspersed by the the homesteads of the industrious farmers. Orchards variegate the picture, in the middle of which lies, in calm and placid repose, Lake Hayes, reflecting in its mirror-like surface the snow -clad peaks of the Remarkables, far below whose summits sail in silent majesty the summer cumuli. To the right flows the Shotover. whose water is the only evidence in the picture of other existing industries than those immediately before the eye. Right in front the Kawarau rolls along its deep blue waves, and from its southern bank, rises abrupt and bold the massy pile of the Remarkables, forming in their gigantic proportions, with the Double Cone Peak, a back-ground of surpassing grandeur. To .the left the Crown Mountains border the view with their rich terraces, covered with the choicest native grasses, and over their terrace like elevation tumble down numerous streams of limpid water. Turning again to the right, the landscape is bounded by the cathedral-like mountains, whose precipitous and rocky side form the borders of Lake Wakatip. On clear and bright days, such as the day in question was, you can see the spires of the Cathedral Mountain overtopped by the rugged and snow-capped peaks of the West Coast mountain range, resembling the crested waves of a wind-l%shed ocean, petrified by *ome Neraesj*. . But to return to mj rt! pubjeot. Horse racing leads seldom to a digression, and I must beg your pardon for the offence. If the games were tame, the ho?s| a racesone and all — -were the most exfciti^g that have ever been witnessed in the Wakatip district. Saoh an assertion may perhaps appear presumptuous and arrogant, but I can safely repeat it, and I have the largest number of witnesses which have assembled in the Wakatip district for the last seven or eight years, to call upon and confirm my statement. As the winning horses are district hacks, and unknown to fame on the turf, I beg to bo excused parHcnlarisnng. Suffice it to say that no leas than eight events came off, and that tfee entries •varied from 8 to liHiorseß for *ach race. There is one feature in this m'eefipg which strikes me as*original, viz., a race open only to district bred heroes, tor 'which 6 horses entered, *nd which was won by Mr. 3bhn O'Briori's colt. The owner nobly elected that the prize C£ts) should be given to the Hospital? Mr. O'Brien ie -landlord of the Morning Star -Hotel,

Arrowtown, and his generosity deserves to be chronicled, more so as the above net does by no means stand alone. If I mention that nearly £100 was spent in refreshments) you may perhaps be able to form a pretty correct estimate of our thirst, but if you applied the same test to our sobriety, your calculations would fall short of the trnth The general behaviour was excellent throughout, in spite of .all the liquor consumed, and at the entertainments provided at nights, such as concerts, balls, etc. . in no one instancft were the bounds of decorum and good«»behaviour overstepped. " Thiß remark applies equally to the meeting of last year, and I do not hesitate to conclude that this is owing to the fact that the thing being looked more in a social than in a business view, and also to the fact that the ladies* graced the scene by their presence in stronger numbers than would otherwise be the case. Their influence on snch an ""occasion cannot be overestimated. However, whatever tbe cause may be, the fact is an agreeable o»e to perceive and to note. I may also mention that the members composing the Rxecutive body of the Provincial Miners' I Association, attended at the bar of the booth on the three days during which' the festivities lasted. Having spun out my yarn to as — I am afraid a tiresome length, I conclude with the promise to finish my task in a business manner, as soon as opportunity offers.