NOTES ON A TRIPTO VICTORIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, 24 January 1881, Page 2

NOTES ON A TRIPTO VICTORIA.

2s 7 0. V. Melboitbne on Cttp Day. It is long since the Melbourne Cup raoa became an eveDfc of Anstralnsian concern. Twenty years* nearly, can do much to mould the tastes and inclinations of a people in a new country, and it Las unquestionably served to stamp tbe annual gatherings at Fiemingtoa with an emphasis which borders upon* delirium. Year by year, interest in the race intensifies, and with the progress of railway exterision and cheapened facilities for inter* communication tbe assemblies grow till numbers almost fail to conrey an adequate idea of their magnitude. Arriving in the city at 10 a.m. we were in time to witness the great spectacle of Melbourne goiDg to the races, and it is one not easily to be for* gotten, Cup Day, it is hardly necessary to say, is a public holiday ; not a mere sham holiday of working behind shutters, but a genuine " off day." for all classes of the population, and it is only on such an occasion that a stranger can gather an idea of the vast forces which lie buried in a great city. This morning, a hundred thousand people had gathered in Melbourne and were drifting away to one "common destination. The Spencer stroet ! railway station, was the centre of a seething mass of humanity, which every de* parting train of one thousand persons, as well as 3,000 omnibuses and cabs seemed for a time to fail to diminish. However, by 12 o'clock the worst of the onfward rush was over, and then commenced the Stream of private carriages which con* tinued for an hour or two later, A good deal has been written regarding the splendour of the private vehicles seen on such occasions, but the casual observer, would hardly distinguish in them much differnca from the ordinary run of wheeled furniture. The most fashionable turn-out for a small party is a wretched'y plain box affair, exactly similar to the common street cab, not quite so weather-worn in appearance perhaps, but still undistinguisliable from the ordinary threes pjnny fare waggODetts which ply through the streets of the city. They are identical with our familiar express waggous, saving that they are lighter in con* struction, and have more ehstic springs. Ordinary baggies and gigs follow next in the order of numerical strength, and after them may be ranked the very much more luxurious family carriages, but eren these do not seem to be strikingly in advance of the family carriages of the rest of the world. Asa matter of fact they are ex<« aclly the same But lastly we do come to something unique in the wheeled trans-

ports of the opulent producers of wool, tallow and hides. ' Drags • they are called, and it is easy to understand that they are so, especially in seasons of de* pression. They accommodate about twenty persons, the majority of f horn, both ladies and gentlemen, are seated on top'and round the sides of tbe vehicle, the Pickwicks of the parly being stowed inside with the hampers, tbe male and female Bob. Sawyers taking the outside. Drawn by four or six showy-looking ! horses, they are sumptuous looking affairs | and as they ratlle through the streets I with their shining trappings and their gay j and festive occupants aloft, one is led to t reflect how the boss will ever solve that problem abont the eye of tbe needle. Tbe proportion of people who drive to Fl^m* ington is after all very small, the railway, the omnibus, and cabs, doing- nearly the whole of the business.. Strangers who visit Flemington, not unnaturally go there with some fixed idea as to tbe sight in store for them. A diligent perusal of the reports in the Victorian papers, has led them to espect much, and they not in» frequently expect too much, but the ordinary observer, in so far as bis opportu* TSlies will"^enaßTe"' Sfin* I6"*jo3ge,"~wift' hardly detect any material difference be* tween the congregation at Flemington on Cup Day, and that of any other metropo* titan race course, or any other day. In point of cumbers it is without doubt an* approachable, and this appears to be | about tbe biggest evil about it. Twelve thousand people purchase tickets for a 1 grand stand, capable of seating only half I that number, and if tbe disappointed ones fail to see wbere the luxury of numbers I comes in, they can hardly be blamed. I The same remark holds good as to the i Hill. There, just before the race 40,000 | persons endeavor to crowd, on to a space not large enough to afford standing room for so many walking sticks, and one has ; therefore to choose between being fi.it* tened up like a sardine, or missing all sight of the race. Numbers could hardly be appreciated under such circumstances as these. 2be solid fact is the attendance is fast outgrowing the capabilities of (be situation and tbe accommodation pro* vided, or rather has already done so, and it seems as though people were beginning to realise this. Viewed as a whole, we do not know that the spectacle is at all different from what might be seen in any assembly of twenty or tiiirty thousand people, for a few thousands one way or the other makes'no noticeable difference. Evidences of superflous wealth, even of superflous extravagance, are, of course, not wanting on all sides, but ** the lawn " is put- excellence the centra of the vast whirlpool of ostentatious wealth, and here fashionable woman struts her brief hour upon the stage in competitive fully and magnificence. It is a curious " institu« cion" tiiis "lawn display," which has grown up side by side wilh the popular* lty of the Cup race, but there it is, and tbe honors of tbe Victorian turf would appear to be in a fair way to be divided between owning fashionable horses and fashionable wives. (To be Continued.)