Reflections On . . . Plunket Medal

When he outlined Mr. Fraser's "chief features," our memory went back to his bald pate, his nose, and his spectacles, all part of Frank Curtin's characterisation of Mr. Fraser in past Extravs. Still, it was ironical that previous efforts had failed—his Simon Bolivar was far better—and this should win. It was a well deserved win from the point of view of hard work at coming back to the contest year after year, when judges complimented Frank on his gift for oratory, but had marked him down for other faults.

Denny Garrett's speech was a gem—a little gem in a contest for large and showy pieces, of jewellery. At last year's [unclear: Plunket] Medal the Moral Rearmament people were there in force; this year their leader, Dr. Buchman, got torn (most delicately) into small pieces. The judges fell over themselves apologising for not giving first place to this speech, which they termed perfect of its kind.

Probably Denny could win if he attempted a grander scale, but we doubt if it would be like the marvellous effort this year because the class of speech he delivered is his forte, and one cannot create such masterpieces just to fit in with the rules of an oratory contest, and still retain their perfection.

Bryce Harland's Marx was overwhelming, if hardly convincing. Doubtless with maturity he will follow Frank Curtin at a later attempt, by which time his appreciation of the subtleties of Marx (at least as great of those of Dr. Buchman, should be more apparent. Perhaps his ability as a speaker accentuated defects in his treatment of Marx, for anyone who gained second equal with Denny Garrett can claim to be a good speaker.

When Jim Mutch began on Charles I, we were ready to hear just how the blue blood spurted at the block, for a lot of the evening had been filled in with harrowing descriptions of the deaths of each hero. The description of Mr. Fraser's funeral was impressive, apt, and probably the medal winning part of the speech. At any moment we expected a 2ZB style commercial to intervene:

"For your funeral, make sure you specify a Blogg's coffin—all the beat people are buried by Bloggs!"

Luckily, Jim Mutch concentrated on other things, and earned fourth place.

Among the other speakers we could not fail to note Dave Walsh's beard, even if we found his lecture on James Joyce a little annoying. Last year's Parnell (with Kitty O'Shea as a dessert) was far more skilful, and if more light-heartedly delivered would have earned a placing.

Both the Te Rauparaha of Bill McLeod and the Charles Darwin of George Sullivan were competently set out, but not quite oratory. They were sound enough, and the speakers were not disgraced, nevertheless they just filled up the evening without leaving any great impression.

Melda O'Reilly was unfortunate in her choice of character the bold T. E. Lawrence. This competitor had talent which was previously noticeable in her portrayal of Mrs. Rosa in Extrav. A second attempt with a less robust character—perhaps an artist or musician—would be worthwhile next year.