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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 4 (July 1, 1936)

Interest in Cycling and Boxing

Interest in Cycling and Boxing.

Tours of New Zealand by visiting sports teams do a vast amount of good to the game by giving an impetus to public interest. One sport to receive a fillip of late is cycling. A team of Australian pedallers—F. Thomas, P. Veitch and two New Zealanders who had been residing in Australia, H. Turtill and A. Ralston—competed at two meetings in the King Country, and at Otorohanga attracted an attendance of 14,000. Unfortunately these pedallers came over under contract to the Te Kuiti and Otorohanga clubs and were unable to compete at other meetings during their stay in New Zealand, although they took the opportunity while in the South Island to give demonstrations on the “rollers,” those whirring wheels which assist cyclists to train indoors.

Another sport to get a helping hand as the result of a visit by overseas competitors is boxing. When Cyril Pluto and Reg Hickcy, taking their courage in both hands, decided to make a hurried trip across from Australia to Auckland they little dreamed that their action would be the means of starting a mild boom in the N.Z. fistic world. The Auckland Boxing Association staged a bout with Pluto as one of the principals and, although there was a big wrestling match to follow a night or two later, they managed to draw a house in excess of £230. Since then the boxing game has had a definite revival in the North and with the advent of the negro boxer, Roy De Gans, in Invercargill, there have been record houses down South. The result of all this is that many prominent boxers are casting envious eyes on the prospects in New Zealand and before long the halcyon days of Clabby, Uren, Bell, Purdy, Murray and Heeney will be here again. All that was wanted was a little enthusiasm at the right time and it fell to a son of a veteran Australian boxer in the person of Cyril Pluto to set that enthusiasm alight at the psychological moment. New Zealand has produced some great boxers in Billy Murphy, the only man from N.Z. to hold a world's professional title, Dan Creedon, Tom Heeney, the Griffen Bros., and Bob Fitzsimmons—he came to New Zealand when only three years of age and learned his fistic trade at Timaru. The latter town by the way, is where Phar Lap, mighty champion of the turf, was bred and also where Jack Lovelock, hero of many a famous mile race, attended secondary schpol. Not a bad record for one town? And to cap it all, Pat Boot of the N.Z. Olympic team for the Olympic Games this year, also comes from Timaru.

The Games commence on August 1st, and by the time the next issue of the “Railways Magazine” is on sale New Zealand's representatives will be ready to carry the flag into the Olympic Stadium.

page 63

Captain Evan A. Hunter, Secretary of the British Olympic Association, in a personal letter to the writer, mentions that “we (the British Olympic Association) are glad to have the New Zealand team housed with us. I do hope they will do well and I can assure you that Porritt and Lovelock will look after them excellently and do everything to encourage them and help them.” Captain Hunter was in New Zealand with the British and Finnish athletic team in 1935 and it is partly due to his work that the New Zealanders are attached to the British party.