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Chapter Six
Sporting and Other Activities

There were never many dull moments while we were in the Taom River area. Morale was kept on a high level by nightly picture screenings at the road-house, athletic meetings, swimming sports, inter-unit rugby, soccer, hockey and cricket competitions, and racing. The 14th Brigade carried off the honours at a divisional athletic meeting at Moindah, and the preliminary rounds of the inter-unit rugby football competition for the Barrowclough Cup was creating much interest.

The four days of marching which was mentioned previously were so arranged that all units concentrated in the Taom area on completion of marches and a gala weekend, 12-13 June, had been organised by brigade. The divisional band came up from Moindah and on Saturday, 12 June, a tattoo was staged on the sports ground, during which every unit put on a display. The 37th Battalion had chosen a massed physical drill display as its item, under the able leadership of Lieutenant Brown. The squad doubled on to the ground to form the word Kiwi, in which formation the exercises were done. The table of exercises was one designed to give every muscle in the body its share of work. It was noted that right from the start, the exercises went through in rhythmical progression without a break. At the conclusion, the squad formed the motto of the NZEF, Onward, followed by a question mark to represent a not unnatural and reasonable desire to know our future disposition. All unit items were interesting and well executed, and the afternoon closed with the battalion pipers playing ceremonial retreat. In the evening the battalion concert party entertained at the road-house open-air theatre with a review appropriately named 'Footsore Follies'. The members of the ballet were even more exquisitely undressed than usual and their performance produced hoots of pleasure from our American friends who were present. The absence was felt of Maurice Tansley, who page 55had left us to join the divisional concert party. His place as principal soloist was ably taken by George Bridges, who was assisted by Sergeants Costello and Bartlett. That inimitable humorist, Graham Nash, had the audience with him in a very few minutes, and the show went over with a swing. Sunday opened with a brigade church service. This was followed by a ceremonial parade of all units in the Taom area. The arms drill, and march past of units in phalanx was most impressive. Unfortunately, the GOC was unable to be present, so the parade was reviewed by Brigadier Potter and commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Sugden. During the afternoon, the dedication of the Taom road-house chapel took place, Padre Harford assisting in the service.

A feature in the life at Taom was the manner in which all units cooperated for the common good, due in no small measure to the tact and efficiency of the staff captain, Garry Sandston. The greatest sporting achievement carried through by the 14th Brigade was the formation of the Northern Racing Club and the holding of two very successful meetings. The idea originated with the 30th Battalion, which was camped near a disused racecourse. Scrubs from natives were obtained and a series of Saturday afternoon meetings organised. This put ideas into the brigadier's head, and he ruled that we should have bigger and better race meetings. He called a conference of commanding officers on 14 June, outlined his plan and stated that the first meeting would take place on 26 June, and he did not mean maybe! This gave us 12 days in which to produce a one mile fenced track, grandstand to seat 1000, totalisator building, stewards' stand, stables, saddling paddock, jockeys' room, officials' offices and a car park. Each unit was allotted a definite task—37th Battalion the grandstand, 35th Battalion the stewards' stand, 30th Battalion the totalisator—and artillery, engineer, MT, medical and ASC units were allotted the remaining tasks. Horses were obtained from Colonel Dix, manager of the meat works at Ouaco, who bred his own stock from good Australian sires. Professional jockeys were gathered in from units and with 'Darky' Lewis, the brigadier's batman, as head lad, training got under way. Horses were allocated to units, whose responsibility it was to design and make the jockeys' outfits. Our unit patch was red and yellow and the design selected was a red jacket with yellow sleeves and a red and yellow quartered cap.

Work proceeded at a feverish pace, and it was grand to note the page 56enthusiasm and energy which unit working parties were putting into their tasks. Lieutenant McKenzie was in charge of the grandstand construction, which was being built by the pioneer section. On one occasion when the CO went over to see progress, Mac seemed a bit worried. On being questioned, he said that he was not satisfied with the foundations as he hadn't had sufficient time to select the right type of tree. The GO thought the timber looked good and sound and would do the job. Mac said that it was all right up to a point, but he did not think the portion in the ground would last for more than 10 or 12 years! The day, 26 June, dawned bright and sunny. Troops who had not had any part in the building scheme were dumbfounded when they saw the racecourse area.' me, I can't … well believe it!' It was indeed a grand sight! A miracle had been performed and we had a racecourse which many of the smaller clubs in New Zealand would have been proud to own. Unit flags fluttered proudly above the various buildings, the railings were a glittering white, and the stewards' stand, which had been built in native style, was a poem in green and brown, as the rushes, coconut fronds and niaouli bark which were used in its construction had not yet faded.

The 14th Brigade was 'At Home' Convoys had come up from the south with troops from Div HQ, base, the 15th and 8th Brigades. These were billeted with our units. There were also present New Zealand nursing sisters, American officers, nurses, WAACs and VADs from as far afield as Nouméa. The divisional band helped to complete the air of festival. The carded programme included six races with seven horses in each race and the distances varied between four furlongs and one mile. Jockeys were pooled and drew for horses prior to each race, and the tote paid out on the first horse only. Tickets were one dollar each. The battalion representatives were named Sambeto, Nandele, First Wave and Confident, the latter running in the ownership of the CO. We had a bad day until the last race when Confident led the way home in the mile race, turning the tables on Fearless and Indomitable, who had beaten him in a six furlong sprint earlier in the day. It was a great day which will live long in the memories of those who were present, and it was a splendid example of what can be done by people who are required to rely on their own resources for entertainment, A second meeting was held on 24 July and this was equally successful.

The battalion was not recognised as being strong in the field of page 57rugby football. A few matches had been played in Fiji and New Zealand and we lost more games than we won. Jack Rankin and Ron Ward, two All Blacks, were in the earlier teams. The former was badly injured while playing in Fiji and the latter was lost to us when he remained in New Zealand to attend an OCTU course. With these defections we had no player with any sort of football reputation in New Zealand. Soon after arriving in Necal, a fillip was given to football when the GOC announced that he would present a cup, to be known as the Barrowclough Cup, for competition among units in the division. This set us thinking, and it was realised that to have any sort of a show we must build a team from the ground floor. To this end it was planned to see as many people in action as possible. As soon as a ground was ready at Nessakouja, an inter-platoon competition was started. This involved 20 teams and was organised on a knock-out basis. After moving to Taom we had an inter-company competition, followed by a series of inter-provincial matches for a 'Ranfurly Shield' made by Sergeant Clifford. This series produced intense enthusiasm, which reached fever pitch when Otago and Southland reached the final. This match, however, was never played. Finally, Possible v Probable games were played. All matches were watched by that astute judge of football form, Captain Smith, and he chose 26 players to train for the battalion team.

Our first Barrowclough Cup game was against the 30th Battalion who fielded a team which had an excellent record of victories and which was tipped by most people as the eventual winners of the cup. However, with the excellent form shown during trials, our hopes were high. The match was played on 19 June on a very heavy ground and ended in a draw, three all, Beban scoring for us after good chain passing and determined running by the backs. The game showed that our pack was more than a match for the opposing forwards and suggested that on a dry ground our backs would be dangerous. Richards played an excellent game at first five, setting his back line on the way in good style after receiving good service from Johnston at half. The forwards played with plenty of spirit, McClelland and Long playing very good games. Barnes did a lot of useful work but looked as though he required the game to bring him to peak condition. Richards was injured near the end of the game, Forsey replacing him. The injury to Richards necessitated a long page 58sojourn in hospital and we were without his services for the remaining games.

With several changes in the team, the return match was played under excellent conditions on the 30th Battalion ground on 21 July. This time the result was never in doubt. Given great service by the forwards, our backs swung into action, making penetrating runs deep into the opposing territory. The 30th backs attempted to go on their own too much and this was fatal against the steady defence. McDonald and Cleave scored tries, while A. Long converted one try and kicked a penalty goal. The 30th scored just on time and, converting, made the final score 11-5 in our favour. McDonald and Cleave were prominent in a pack that played really well, while Stewart at first five was the outstanding player on the field. Eccleton played sound football, while Collins showed up splendidly in defence. Changes in the team resulted in Hay and Walker replacing Montgomery and Hudson in the forwards. In the backs, Stewart moved up to first five, Collins played second, and P. Long replaced Charlton at full back.

This win took us to the semi-final in which we were drawn against the redoubtable 29th Battalion, a team which had an unbeaten record. However, we had slain one giant and were prepared to repeat the performance. The match was played on 31 July on the 35 th Battalion ground at Nepoui, and included in the large number of spectators were Lieutenant-General Puttick, GOC New Zealand Forces, and the Hon W. Perry. Thare were no changes from the previous team and a splendid exhibition of open rugby was witnessed. The result was in doubt until the final whistle, as two very even teams battled for supremacy. A great duel ensued between the hookers, Burke (29th) having a slight edge on his opponent, but our rucking from the loose offset this. Our pack ably assisted the backs in defensive work, and this probably swung the game in our favour. Long and McClelland gave the opposing inside backs no peace and page 59consequently the play of Barber and Jordan (29th) deteriorated at a critical stage. Johnston, Stewart and Eccleton gave yeoman service against a strong back line, while Barnes, Long and McClelland led the pack in grand style. Jordan and Thurston were outstanding for the 29th. Barnes and Cleave each scored a try, McClelland converting one try and kicking a penalty. The 2.9th scored one try and kicked a penalty, making the final score II-6.

The only change in the team for the final match, against the 29th Light Anti-aircraft Regiment, was that Collins moved to centre and Eccleton played second five. The game was played at Moindah on 9 August. Conditions were perfect and the result of the game was never in doubt. We ran out the winners by 19-6. The gunners made several good loose rushes with their forwards but were otherwise ineffective as a scoring force. Our back line functioned smoothly. Johnston, as usual, played rugby of a high standard, while Stewart was brilliant. Collins and P. Long gave their best displays of the season while the wingers, Beban and Stringer, 'gave it a go' on every possible occasion. The pack again played well, McClelland, Barnes and Cleave getting through a lot of useful work. At the conclusion of the game, the Barrowclough Cup was presented to the captain, A. Long, by Mrs. Barrowclough, and in the evening both teams were entertained at a dinner at the Moindah road-house.

The success of the team was unquestionably due to the painstaking way in which it was built up. Reputations were discarded and a player had actually to produce the goods before gaining a place in the team. An excellent team spirit was engendered by the team captain and the selector and coach, Captain Smith. The practices were a revelation of keenness which was reflected in all games played. Only orthodox football was played, but played well and, with the defence well catered for, we were a hard team to score against. Our forwards played first-class football, working as a unit together with a clearly defined aim. They were fast and rugged, revelling in hard going, securing possession at all costs and then combining in support of the backs. Walker and Hay were the most improved players in the pack, benefiting from the experience of proven players like McClelland, Long and Barnes. McDonald was a good hooker while Cleave played well above his weight. Storer's ruggedness stood him in good stead when the going was hard. The back line improved with every game. Johnston never played a bad page 60game, while Freddie Stewart was always dangerous, having the uncanny knack of being in the right place at the right time. Eccleton was unobtrusive but sound. He did not receive from spectators the recognition his play deserved. Collins was more at home at centre than at second five-eighth. His defence was always sound and in the final game he showed up as a fine attacking back. Stringer and Beban lacked the pace for first-class wingers but their hearts were big and they were triers all the time. P. Long was sound at full back, while his brother, A. Long, was a captain who earned the confidence of the whole team. All the players were South Islanders, their home towns being spread from Kaikoura to Invercargill. Good games against good teams, good times among good players made the series of matches a pleasant memory, but a memory tinged with sadness for a gallant player and soldier, who later gave his life on Nissan Island—Pat Beban.