Page image
Page image

55

H.—22

country (from Kiwitea to Wellington, and from Wellington to Upper Hutt) that we hunt entails very great expense, and without special donations of funds from members and others it will become difficult to " make both ends meet." By the Deputation. —We hunt from the Hutt right along the coast from Otaki, Levin, Waikanae, and as far up as Cheltenham and as far out as Himitangi. It is an expensive district to work. Since we lost the permit we have kept our meetings going. We have been successful, but we are under heavy financial liabilities. We have been greatly convenfenced by working in conjunction with the Manawatu Racing Club. This is a good centre to which people come from all round the country. So far we have made a success of the club. We arc as high in membership as any club about. Lately we have gone to the expense of purchasing a property, where we have established our kennels in order to keep the hounds together. It cost us about £1,000, which four of us have guaranteed to the bank. Previous to this we had to depend on different people taking the hounds, which was very detrimental to them. We expect now to have a better pack. That is the reason of our straitened funds. Since the abolition of the bookmakers we have lived on donations. We have, as it were, a branch at Wellington with a secretary and sub-committee. Waikanae is a part of our club. We have eight couples of hounds. Our subscription is £1 Is. for active members. Our pack hunts at Waikanae. They have not a separate pack there; they are simply members of this hunt, but they have had a point-to-point steeplechase. In addition to the stakes shown in the balance-sheet yve presented trophies of nearly the same value as the stakes. Waikanae Hunt Club. The headquarters of the club are at Waikanae. The club was formed in September, 1904, and is registered by the New Zealand Racing Conference. Our last meeting was held on the Ist January, 1914. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the last balance-sheet have been forwarded. The course is 8 furlongs in circumference, and the tenure is leasehold. The accommodation consists of an up-to-date refreshment-booth, secretary's and jockeys' rooms, saddling-paddock and lawn, all securely fenced in. The course proper is fenced on the outside, and the straight is railed on the inside. The nearest club using the totalizator is at Otaki, eleven miles distant. We consider the Waikanae Hunt Club (late Waikanae Hack Racing Club) has a special claim for consideration for the following reasons: (a,.) The course our club races on is one of the most picturesque in the Dominion and its environs are charming, hence it attracts all settlers and country-folk along the coast to attend an annual gathering which influences a community of interests as well as affording a good day's outing, (b.) When this club began its .existence bookmakers were allowed to wager on racecourses, and in consequence the club reaped a good revenue from them in fees. Since the bookmakers have been wiped out, not only have we lost their fees, but the number of entries received for the various events (races) has lessened each year, and the attendance of the public has likewise been affected. These, losses have seriously hit the club's finances—indeed, so much so that our only salvation is a totalizator permit, which would place our club on a sound financial footing. If we do not receive the consideration which the club claims it is justly entitled to we would be deprived of the one and only annual outdoor function held in Waikanae to which so many of the farmers and residents of this district look forward. By the Deputation. —We have had a hack, racing club for about ten years, and since the abolition of the bookmakers we have been, carrying on our racing at the expense of the public. We have had fair support, but not sufficient to make the meetings pay, so the members have had to contribute towards the upkeep of the club in order to have a good day's sport. We thought the best thing to do was to form a hunt club, as then we would breed a good stamp of horse instead of racers and gallopers. We have a hunt meeting every fortnight throughout the season as a branch of the Manawatu Club. A great number of the residents here are members of the Manawatu Hunt, which comes down and hunts here. It is our intention to start a pack ourselves and have our kennels here. We have never had a totalizator permit, Our course, is leased for eleven years, with a right of renewal for another ten years should we require it. The land is owned by Mr. Parata. The course proper is not, fenced on the outside—we were in error in saying so in our application. We have spent £124 on the saddling-paddock. We are a good distance from any other club. The Manawatu Hunt is the nearest, fifty miles away. Braokenpield Hunt Club. The headquarters of the club are at Culverden. The club was formed about the year 1882 with kennels at Brackenfield, two miles from Amberley, to hunt hare two days a week from April to August, which has been done right up to the present time. In 1913 the kennels were moved to Pahau pastures, four miles from Culverden. The country hunted over extends from the Waiau River to Oxford, on the Ashley River. The club is registered. The club has never held a race meeting, but has generally run a point-to-point steeplechase at the close of each hunting season. A list of the present members of the club and a copy of the. club's last balance-sheet have been forwarded. The club has no racecourse, but in the event of obtaining a license it would get the use of the course of the Amberley Steeplecase Club. This course is situated near Amberley, and is thoroughly up to date with stand and enclosures. The course is fenced on the inside. The nearest club using the totalizator is the Amberlev Steeplechase Club, which holds one meeting in the year at Amberlev, which is about the centre of the country hunted by the Brackenfield Hunt, There are several small racing clubs without, a totalizator license which hold meetings in this district, but their meetings are held chiefly in the summer and do not provide hunters' races. We are an old-established club, and are a bona fide hunt club which has carried on the

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert