Dancing of unusual merit

Otago Daily Times

03-06-2025

Norma Douglas, of Oamaru, winner of sword dance, Irish jig and Austin memorial cup at the Dunedin piping and dancing competitions. — Otago Witness, 7.7.1925
What I said . . .
The championship competitions of the Otago Centre of the Piping and Dancing Association of New Zealand were continued yesterday morning and afternoon. At both sessions the audience was treated to good displays of these picturesque Highland dances. Dancing of unusual merit was witnessed and successful competitors were treated to hearty applause .
To the editor: Sir, In a local in this morning's Otago Daily Times in reference to additional Sunday trains, I am reported to have said that the Port Chalmers railway workmen did not like the proposed additional Sunday work. What I did say was of a more general nature "that the New Zealand working men generally did not like the additional Sunday labour." — I am, etc, J.M. Simpson
Scrum feed tweaked
London, April 21: The small committee of experts set up by the Rugby Union to endeavour to devise some means of improving the method of getting the ball into the scrummage has quickly got to work. Two matches — between Birkenhead Park and Leicester, and Bristol and Bath — were made the subject of an interesting experiment last Saturday. The halfbacks in these games were instructed to put the ball in the scrummages with a double hand movement, so that it fell just outside the entrance and bounded in. The result was that when the experiment was properly executed the ball bounded over the out-stretched legs of the two nearest forwards. Under the old system the tendency is for the ball to strike their legs and to rebound to the halfback. Result: another attempt — sometimes half a dozen other attempts and general exasperation. The somewhat unaccustomed propelling, rather than throwing, movement baffled the halfbacks at the Birkenhead Park match on several occasions, but in the opinion of experts practice will soon remedy that failing. There was one spell when the halfbacks could not master the new throw, so Mr Freethy, the international referee, had a try. He, too, failed. After the match, Mr Freethy was invited to express his opinion on the experiment. He replied that he considered it had been a decided success. If persevered with, he thought it would go a long way towards removing a great source of trouble. "I believe it will show forwards that the only way to get the ball in future will be by honest shoving." he added. "In that sense there will be a return to the days when genuine scrummaging was a decided asset." "What effect will that have upon the modern winging forward?" Mr Freethy was asked. "His days are numbered," was the reply.
Passengers on the line
Exceptionally heavy traffic was responsible for the through express from Invercargill arriving at Dunedin nearly an hour later than schedule time yesterday. The train left Invercargill six minutes late, and so heavy was the traffic that additional carriages had to be added at several stations on the run north. Time was lost all along the line, and the express was 25min late in arriving at Balclutha. Milton was left at 11.5am, and the train, consisting of 17 well-filled coaches and two vans, made the run to Dunedin in 58min. This included a stop of about seven minutes at Wingatui, where over 350 passengers (southern race visitors) alighted. When the express arrived at the Dunedin platform at 12.3pm about 350 passengers were distributed among the 17 carriages. A large number of travellers joined the train here and the northward journey was resumed shortly before 12.30 — over an hour late.
Wild West in the Catlins
During the course of her address at the annual meeting of the Otago and Southland Auxiliary of the New Zealand Baptist Union last night, Mrs Ford, who carries on the work of the Baptist Church at Tahakopa, said she was sorry to say that drinking and gambling were rife in that district. She stated that whisky was sold almost as openly as cordials, and £1 per bottle was being paid for it. As far as gambling was concerned she admitted that her district was not alone in that respect. The behaviour of the people was much different to what it was when she first went down, and no larrikinism was now evident. She concluded by saying they would have to keep their eyes open and bring to justice those who violated the laws. — ODT, 4.6.1925
Compiled by Peter Dowden