CRICKET MATCH AND PICNIC AT TUHIKARAMEA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 2728, 7 January 1890, Page 3

CRICKET MATCH AND PICNIC AT TUHIKARAMEA.

Among the old English customs which are carried but in the summer season, none •eeui to last bo well, or to be so generally popular among young and old, as tha outdoor picnic, and nowhere is the custom more regularly observed than in Tuhikaramen, where the annual district-picnic has become an establishedjihstitution. In response to a kind invitation, your Whatawhata correspondent found himself (and family), on Thursday afternooon last, speeding along the soft and level roads of Tuihikaramea, up the main County road, uast Day's and Norman's, then leaving McMicken's to the left, we fccedirect for the west, until near the Waipa, when the farins of : Messrs • Dickey, Finlayson, and Haraaht, may be seen on the weßt bank of the liver, then tho road runs parallel with the river,* and we pass the residence of the veteran cricketer, F. W. Lang, who, I need scarcely say, is " not at home" on this occasion, but whose 'orchard, trees, showing above the high thorn hedge, seem to invite the inspection of marauding boys ; the road runs straight on past the school, _ whose glory, so far as .a good attendance is concerned, has completely departed, and it is now being run as a half time school, but there is no doubt, that had the bachelors of Ttihikarunea (this is between ourselves) dona their duty by the colony, there would have been one, if not two, teachers fully employed ; but we hasten on, across a deep, but safely bridged gully, whun we reach the fine farm of Mr VV. Raid, in whose paddock close to the road, the numerous vehicles, and the tent tops , showing: above' the hedge, proclaim the fact that the picnic of 1800 is being held there. Wo arrive (like the' Governor), after ttio first events have been run, in other words, after tho time-honoured cricket match, ladies v. gentlemen has taken place, in which the latter, armed with sticks instead of bat', have had their first tunings, and are all out tor 74 runs. After refreshments, which are provided by the laiiie.s of the district and which bore splendid testimony to the cooking capabilities of theTuhikaramea matrons, the young ladies handled the willow, and right well they played ; they meant to win and they did so. The gentlemen could only use the left hand, but it was tho opinion of those present that under any circumstances the ladies must have won, and the reader will share this opinion ; tho ladies always do win, whatever the game is, and let us hope they always will. These Tuhikaramea picnics, whose attractiveness is such, that on Thursday visitors from Hamilton, Ohaupo, and-many, other places, found their way there, are worthy of being imitated by other districts, they cost nothing, except to the kind ladies, who ivork hard for the pleasure of others, and they bring together in friendly intercourse, many, who, though living near each •ther, are practically strangers. Among the early pioneers of the colony, who were present at the' gathering on Thursday, I noticed Mr Samuel Vickers, of Auckland, who has been, through his sons, so long connected with the Waipa, looking hale and hearty, in spite of his eighty odd years. Tho day's festivities ended for the younger people, in a dance at the school room, but the representative of so steady a paper as Tim Waikato Ti.mks, of c-mrsp, turned homeward at an early hour. To those who may desire an afternoon's enjoyment, and a glimpse of the pleasant tide of country life, I would suggest the procuring an invitation from the hospitable Tuhikaramea settlers, to their annual picnic. The following are the scores of the cricket match Ladies.—Miss F. Reid, 11; Miss G. ' McMicken, 1; Miss M. Reid, 8; Miss Mary Reid, 5; Mrs H. Davys, 0; Mis Drabble, 2; Miss Gerinann, 0; Miss G. Macky, 18; Miss B. Scott, 1 ; Miss B. Hodgson,!; Miss R. Macky, 14; Miss I. Ryburn, 4; Miss Scott, 0 ; Miss Hall, 0 ; Miss L. Chester, 21; Miss Nabbs, 2 ; Miss M. Hodgson, 2; Miss L. Ryburn, 10; Miss McLaren, 1 ; extras, 13; total. 114. GUNTi.KiIUN., —C. Drabble, U ; J. Lane, 0; S. Reid, 7; Jas. McMicken, G; W. Goble, 10; Daley, 3; J. McMicken, 1; S. McMicken, 2; Marsden, 8; W. Livingston, 3; W. Reid, 2; A. Livingston, 2 ; W. Davys, 5; E. Ryburn, 10 ; H. Davys, 0; Lang, 2 ; extras, 7 : total, 74.