ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3763, 18 March 1891, Page 2

ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

St Patrick's Day was celebrated with the usual festivity in this district yesterday. The weather, although threatening in the morning, was all that could be desired. The principal attractions for the day were the Opaki races, the Catholie sports, and the Temperance gathering.Special trains were run between Wellington and Eketahuna, which were well patronised, many city folk laking advantage of the opportunity of visiting the bush district. As a matter of course the colour predominant throughout the day was green, and on every hand could be seen floating in the breeze this significant emblem. Altogether it may fairly be assumed that a most enjoyable day was spent by all classes of the community. Mastertou-Opalu Jockey Club. Autumn Meeting. Officers, President, Mr Alexander Walker ; Hon, Treasurer, Mr A. A. Elkins; Secretary, Mr E. H. Waddington ; Judge, Mr A. W. Cave ; Starter, Mr T. H. Hill; Handicapper, Mr A. Maciarlane; Stewards, Messrs T. Brown, B. Cave, E. E. Chamberlain. C. Cowper, A Henderson, W. J. Hirschberg, J lorns, James Macara, and C. F, Vallance ; Clerk of the Scales, Mr E. B. Hare; Clerk of the Course, Mr William lorns; Timekeeper, Mr James Muir.

Although the weather had been I anything but promising, yesterday turned oat delightfully fine and warm, with hardly a breath of wind stirring. The attendance, although fairly large, did not reach the expectations of the executive, and the total absence of any music was extremely noticeable, The racing taken all through was excellent, the finishes being close and exciting. Probably owing to the somewhat heavy state of the course (which told severely on th 6 weight carriers) surprises were frequent, and those who backed the favorites all through had a good deal the worst of it. At the commencement of the day several little hitches occurred by which the various events were thrown considerably behind time, and it was a good deal after six o'clock before the last race was run. In the hurdles two horses came to grief and their riders bit the dust, | but except for a very severe shaking which a Maori lad who was riding Mr Tutu Brown's "Too Slow" received the results were not serious.

Towards the close of the day a good deal of amusement was caused by a quarrel between two native women, who, but for the timely interference of the police would have severely mauled each other, the gallant officers receiving sundry scratches in their effort to part these amazons, who would not relinquish their hold upon each other's hair until two or three somersaults on

the ground had been turned. The two principal events of the day> St. Patrick's Handicap and the Flying, were won by Mr H. Catt's Mahara and Mr Macara's Brookfield respectively, although Brookfield very nearly took the credit of winning both races by making a wonderfully close finish with Mahara. The detailed results are as follows Handicap Hurdles of 40sovs. Distance l£miles; over 5 flights of

hurdles. W. Pringle's br g Roger lOst 61b 1 C. Bidwill's b g Timothy Jas.tro flielos lOst 41q 8 rcfr Buick's Joker and three others also started. The first hurdle was

loiocked over by The Joker, who came down shortly alter. Too Slow also fell, his rider being so severely shaken as to necessitate his removal from the field. Roger got away with a lead which he maintained to the finish, Timothy and Melos finishing close behind. Dividend £2 ss. No official time was taken.

Maiden Race, 25 sovs, One mile. J. Skeet's Dromedary, syrs, BsUaib 1 J. Freeth'a ch g Revolution, 3yrs, Bst 31b 2 A. Walker's g m Dolly, Byrs Bst 81b, 8

Six others faced the starter, an d

the lot were got away without much trouble. Revolution soon drew ou,e and maintained q lejid till the horns turn, when Dromedary showed hie mettle, and coming up with a gran d rush, won by a length, paying the respectable dividend of £9 lis. Time, lmin 58S6QS. Scurry Race, of 10 sovs. f mile. Mr T Ray's b pa Ida 1 Mr 0 F Vallance's b m Desdemona

Mr G Townsend's br m Tutaki 8 Twelve others startad. Ida, who was favourite, want to the front after a quarter of a mile had been traversed, and won easily by three lengths. Time, lmin 29secs, Dividend £2 16s.

St. Patrick's Handicap, 65 sovs; Distance miles. B. Catts' gg Mahara, Sat 61bs 1

J. Macara's b g Brookfield, 9st, 2 K. McKenzie's c h Hibernian, 9st 81bs, 8

This race brought out a field of twelve. Some delay was experienced in obtaining a start, but at length the lot were got away in a bunch. Forester, who started with thirteen stone, soon showed to the front r and for about half distance held his own. At the mile Mahara and Brookfield were leading neok and neck and this position was maintained to the finish. Great excitement prevailed as the horses passed qtwd both under the whip and until the junges decision had been given it tfas impossible to tell which ha 3 the advantage. The result waa given in favor of the grey gelding, j Dividend, £4 ss. Time, 2min 27sec. Welter Handicap, 85sovs, distance! 1 mile.

Wi Hutanas's Tauanui Bst 101b 1 W. Buick's ch g Joker lOst 41b 2 J. Freeth's Revolution 9st 61b 3 The Joker started a warm favorite, Revolution also comiDg in for a fair share of support. Owing to this race being started -with very little loss of time several investors were prevented putting their money on by the starting bell's warning notes, and consequently the dividend was not so large as it probably would have been, although not to be despised, 4>7 3s was the amount. Handicap, 40 sovs, f mile. fl "- " - «»nokfield 9s 81b 1 J. Macaia's bl g ■ • «ik 2 W. B. Buick's Coquette 7st K. M'Kenzie's "Hibernian 9st 51b 3 Eleven horses faced the starter, Right Bower and Wee Jim being much fancied. Difficulty was again experienced in starting. Finally the horses were sent off in two lots, Brookfield winning by a length, dividend £5 lis, Time, lmin 24sec, Selling Race, 35 sovs. The winner to be sold for 10 sovs, surplus to Club and second horse. M McKenzie'a ch g Ahi i yrs

Bst 111b 1 W B Buick's w g Carrier aged Bst 121b 2 J Jones' b g Fabrication aged Bst 121b 3 Carrier was favorite, but Ah proved the be'ter horse winning by a length. Dividend £l2 3s. Abi was put up to auction by Mr J. lorns after the race and was bought by Mr R. J. Baker for £29. Forced Handicap. Tauanui ... 1 Cock-o'the Walk ... ... 2 j Catholic Picnic. The picnic held iu the public park yesterday in connection witli the Catholic CLurch was a success beyond all anticipations. The threatening aspect of the weather in the early morn militated somewhat against the attendance, but the appearance of " old Sol" about noon induced a large number to don their holiday attire and pay a visit to the park. The programme of sports for the day was lengthy and varied, and the utmost amusement was afforded both young and old. Besides the games usual to such occasions—drop the handkerchief, " Jolly Miller," rounders, etc —the programme included boys and girls races, a sack race, a skipping match, a football match, and an Hibernim Handicap, for which substantial prizes were given. The hurling match, obstacle race, and tug of war were in themselves a source of great amusement, whilst, perhaps, the most interesting part of the whole proceedings was the maypole dance, which was cleverly undertaken by a number of well trained and prettily dressed children. The arrangements for the day were carried out under the able supervision of Fathers J and T. McKenna, assisted hy an energetic Committee. A refreshment booth was erected on the ground, which was well patronised,

Catholic ConcertThe seating accommodation of the Theatre Royal was taxed to its very utmost last evening when a grand vocal and instrumental concert in connection with the Catliolio Church was given by Miss M'Lean (of Wellington) and her pupils, assisted by MrMcDuff Boydand anumberof local amateurs. Before the commencemetn al the programme the Rev. J. McKenna appeared on the stage and craved the indulgence ofthe audience on behalf of Miss Marguerite Cimino, who had met with an accident during the day and could not perform. He also apologised for the inadequacy of the seating accommodation, which was keenly felt by a large number who had purchased tickets and were unable to secure seats. The programme was opened by Mr Bray, who sang in his usual first class style a favorite song, entitled "Silver and Gold," for which he. was loudly applauded. Misses M'Lean and Fisher followed with a duet, " Sweet is the Dream," at once establishing themselves as favorites with the audience. In response to an encore these lady visitors appeared before the curtain and bowed their acknowledgment of the compliment. Mr McDuff Boyd, a Wellington violinist of considerable reputation, then rendered in an exquisitely charming manner a number of Scotch and Irish airs, the audience being kept fairly spell-bound throughout. Miss McLean's song " Non 6 Ver" was rendered in capital style, and was loudly encored, in response to which " Home Sweet Home" proved equally effective. Mr R. R. Coleman, who form aan ff Aloft.'' and in response to a vociierous encore favored the audience with what is considered to be his masterpiece, "True, True till" death." Miss Fisher, who followed, fairly captivated the audience with her charming rendition of the song, " She Wore a Wreath of Roses," her fine expression and the clear modulation of Her voice gaining for her the highest encomiums of all. In response to an enthusiastic encore Miss Fisher sang " Take me to Thy Heart Again. • A violin sqlq by Mr M'Duff Boyd, in which the strings were manipulated in an exceedingly clever manner, brought the first part of the entertainment to a close. The second part was opened by Mr Coleman, who was loudly applauded for his appropriate "E wring Song." Miss McLean then rendered with intense feeling and the deepest pathos that favorite song "Killarney," for which she was called before ths Qqrtain, The gem of the evening was, however, ociqaidered hy many to be Miss Fisher's song entitled "Dublin Bay," which fairly brought down the house. In response to a vooiferous encore Mjss Fisher repeated the last verse. Mr M'Duff Boyd's viohn solo was also encored, a number of favorite Scotch airs being given-i n response to the re -demand. Miss M'Lean favored the audience with that beautiful ballad, "The Last Rose of Summer," fop which she was loudly cheered. But the piece do resistance of the evening was undoubtedly Mr Hunn's laughing song, which kept the audience in roars of laughter from beginning to end. Mr Hunn, who is a resident of Greytown, made a decided hit, and at once established himself as a favorite amongst the "gods," He was, as a matter of course, vociterously encored. The Misses M'Lean and Fisher followed with a very pretty duet entitled "Friendship." The entertainment was brought to a close by a comic song by Mr Duff, embracing a number of local "hits," which sent the audience home in the best of humor, and thoroughly delighted with the pleasing entertainment they had witnessed. The accompaniments were played by the Misses Cimino and Geddes Cay, and Mr Blackburn. Efcetafcuna sports-

The weather cleared up at midnight on the 16 th, and St Patrick's Day was all that could be desiied tor outdoor sports. The sports turned out to be a great success, fully 800 persons being present. The ground, after the heavy rains of the last few days was rather soft. The horse jump was quite a failure, the horses not being able to hold their feet. One man only fell over the jump, but fortunately received no injury. The Masterton private band enlivened the proceedings during the day with some i excellent music. Mr T. Parsons did a good business with his publican's booth, as did also the rest of the privilege holders. The following are the reßults: St Da 7 Handicap. Gray J Thompson ... ••• ~ . Francis and Day tied for third place. Ruvdle Sace-440 yards. Thompson (lp yds) .. r 1 Gray (15 yds) .... 3 Four started. Mile Race. Ure, 90 yds, ... I yds, ... 2 Seven enhpSi

H 1£ Mile Walking Race. B. Lund, 30 yds, ... 1 Waterson, scr, ... 2 Seven entries. Maiden Race. G. Francis ... ... 1 Tauria 2 Elton ... ... ... 3 Eight entries. Boy's Race. Morris ... ... 1 Thompson ... ... 2 Parsons 8 Five entries. Light Weight Wrestling, Cumberland style. Donovan ... ... 1 Carrol ... ... 2 Three entrips. Boy's Race, under ,12 years. Thompson ... ... 1 Parsons ... ...» 2 Six entries. Hop, step, and Jump Jeremiah, 39h 6iu ... 1 Tauria ... ... 2 Four entries. Running High Jump, Waterson ... ... 1 Jeremiah ... ... 2 High Jump, standing. Thompson, sft, ... 1 Hau Hawera ... 2 Wrestling, Cumberland style. Phillips ... ... 1 LarseD ... ... 2 Three entries. The horso jumping contest w a won by Mr T. Thompson. The tug of war finished the day's amusements,

In the evening ut grand ball was held in the Town Hall. A large number of visitors attended. The floor was in good order, good music was provided,and everyone thoroughly rjyed themselves. Darning was kep up till the small hours of the morning.