Due to the initiative of the Railway Department in providing special “Snow Trains,” hundreds of New Zealanders who had never indulged in snow sport are beginning to find new life in the thrills of winter sport at Mt. Cook and the Tongariro National Park. The initiative, too, of the Government Tourist and Publicity Department in securing professional coaches to show New Zealanders how to ski is helping to improve the standard of those who could ski—after a fashion—and has taught hundreds of city dwellers the thrills of racing down a snowy bank at 60 miles per hour. Incidentally, it is not generally known that skis were first used in New Zealand in 1893—and then for the first time in the world! In an editorial in the “Australian and New Zealand Ski Year Book” there is this paragraph:

“We hope that readers will not miss the significance of Mr. Mannering's article in this issue on the use of ski on Mount Cook in the ‘nineties. This was a most extraordinary feat—in its conception no less than its execution, for it must be remembered that this was contemporaneous with the very first use of ski for Alpine purposes anywhere else in the world, a development of which Mr. Mannering and his companions were completely unaware. That they should have used ski on as formidable a virgin climb as Mount Cook then was, shows courage, enterprise and prevision unexcelled in the history of the sport, and New Zealand ski-mountaineers may well be proud to trace their origins back so far and to such a feat.”

The article mentioned was written by Mr. G. E. Mannering, who was accompanied by the late Mr. Marmaduke Dixon on alpine expeditions. Mr. Mannering wrote:

“… . My old mountaineering mate, the late Marmaduke Dixon, and I had experienced several narrow escapes from disaster in this connection, especially on one occasion near the head of Linda Glacier, when crossing a snow bridge. I had crawled over safely and was well situated above the ‘schrund’ with a good hold. Dixon, unfortunately, walked over, instead of crawling, and went through the bridge up to his armpits. I held on for dear life, while the snow broke away in front of Dixon till he arrived at the edge of the ice, where he ultimately got out with the aid of his ice-axe and the pull on the rope.

“This incident was a very close call for both of us, and set us thinking upon some plan to lessen the dangers. We had both been reading Nansen's ‘First Crossing of Greenland,’ and from his descriptions of ‘Skilöbning’ concluded that ‘ski’ would provide a great measure of safety in crossing covered crevasses and questionable snow bridges, as well as lessening the intolerable labour of plunging through soft snow—one of the great bugbears of climbing.

“Dixon, with his customary ingenuity, conceived the idea of utilising the ‘fans’ off a reaper and binder, which are shaped very much like ski and turn up at either end. The blades of these ‘fans’ were above six feet long, but rather narrower than the present-day average ski. I think their width was about three inches. I fancy they were made of hickory. We copied as closely as possible the fastenings given in Nansen's book, but there was a good deal of ‘adaptability’ about Dixon (I have known him to use a pair of white flannel trousers for a chimney in one of our camps in bad weather!)

“We first put them (and ourselves) to the test in November, 1893, after carrying them up to Glacier Dome at some 7,500 feet on the Mount Cook route. On that occasion T. C. Fyfe was with us, and to put him on more even terms with us, Dixon had spent half the night knocking up a third pair of ski from old packing cases at the Ball Hut. We found them an enormous advantage in crossing the Great Plateau and on the lower part of the Linda Glacier. They saved hours of ‘sounding’ for covered crevasses and almost banished the constant anxiety which accompanies such work… .”

Association Football.

The decision of the New Zealand Association Football authorities to send a New Zealand Secondary Schools' representative team on a short tour of Australia is to be commended. With the sport gradually gaining an entry into most of New Zealand's colleges, the authorities are paving the way to the firm establishment of the round ball code in the Dominion. For many years Soccer existed only because of the regular influx of people from the Old Land, but with the abolition of the Immigration policy this supply dwindled and Soccer felt the pinch. But, the sport has continued to progress despite this handicap and, to-day, there are several thousand players who were born and bred in the Dominion. Until the sport finds a place in the Secondary Schools, however, it cannot be said to be on a sound basis. From these schools come most of our good athletes for track and field, and with a gap from the Primary Schools to the search for employment after leaving Secondary Schools there is a tendency for the young fellow to forget all about Soccer. This gap is gradually being closed—and all for the good of the world's most universal field game.

A Travelling Cricket Enthusiast.

On the evening prior to the date set for the opening of the Third Test between M.C.C. and Australia, I travelled by train from Wellington to Auckland and had the pleasure of listening to the Parliamentary debates. A fellow traveller had a portable wireless set and, above the roar of the train, came through the voices of the Parliamentarians. This traveller was page 62 to return to Wellington two nights later and he told me that he would not miss the broadcast of the cricket match—even when travelling on the train—so had brought his set with him! Unfortunately, rain prevented the match from starting and he travelled back without listening to Bradman, Hammond and Co. However, the idea was good, and no doubt more and more travellers will be taking their portable sets with them in future.

Champion Wrestlers Arrive.

At the time of writing, New Zealand is privileged to have two former world wrestling champions—Dean Detton and Vincent Lopez—in the Dominion. Lopez is a big game hunter and an enthusiast with the movie camera. Already he has “shot” several hundred feet of New Zealand scenery. He was particularly pleased with the pictures he secured at the Wellington Racing Club's winter meeting, his “shot” of the steeplechasing being most effective. Lopez is also taking scenic films, which he intends to sell to American film companies. During his travels in various lands, Lopez has secured many interesting and unusual “shots,” and more than one of his travelogues have been shewn in New Zealand. A crack pistol shot, he is hoping to have some challenge matches while in New Zealand.

Dean Detton, the first American wrestler to visit New Zealand for the third time, is also a movie camera enthusiast, but his films are not for sale. He is building up a film library and, in that manner, is certain to retain happy memories of the countries he visits.

New Zealand Rugby League Team.

The New Zealand Rugby League's team concluded a most successful tour of Australia last month and did much to establish the code's standing as a winter sport in New Zealand. Until recently, League football has not been strong outside Auckland, but recent weeks have seen an improvement in Wellington, new teams in Canterbury and a rapid increase in the number of teams on the West Coast of the South Island. A strong hand has been taken to keep the sport clean and whereas, in the past, discontented Rugby Union players have found an avenue to change to when things have not gone their way, the League people have made it clear that they prefer young players who can be taught the fundamentals of League. The sport is progressing.

The New Zealand team suffered in comparison with the Australian forwards—and the interpretations of several rules had them all at sea—but the back division proved itself equal to anything met in Australia. Jack Hemi, the Maori full-back, who played in seven of the nine games, scored 67 points out of the 182 scored by New Zealand. J. Smith was the only player to take the field in all of the nine matches; he scored 25 points. Of the nine games played, five were won, three lost and one drawn.