Annual sports meeting, 22 June 1898

The Daily Telegraph, 23 June 1898 p 2:

The annual sports meeting in connection with the Sydney High School, which was postponed from last week owing to the rain, was held yesterday, but was only poorly attended, the weather being again unfavorable. The Sydney Cricket Ground, where the sports were held, was in splendid condition, the rain not having affected it to any extent. Many of the events were contested by large fields, and the finishes were close and exciting. There were no open events on the programme. The lads from the Sobraon supplied excellent music. 

Sydney Morning Herald, 23 June 1898, p 6 [with additional comments from Referee, 29 June 1898, p 7 and additional events from The Australian Star, 23 June 1898 p 2]:

There was not a large attendance, the bitterly cold wind and threatening rain (which fortunately held off) no doubt preventing many from being present. Although the entries for all the events were numerous the starters were few in number, a circumstance that is attributed to the fact that a large proportion of the boys were ill. The 100 yards championship of the school was won by L. C. Alford rather easily, and W. Shepherd secured the high-jump championship, negotiating 4ft. 11in. The 100 yards championship for boys under 15 fell to K. Bussell. The officials were:—Referee, Mr. J. Waterhouse; judges, Messrs. W. Crompton, T. B. Trebeck, C. R. Smith, G. C Saxby, and E. S. Marks; timekeeper, Mr. W. T. Kerr; judges for walking, Messrs. R. Coombes and L. Stephenson; starter, Mr R Coombes; clerks of course, Messrs. A. J. Studdy, and W. H. Horton. The following were the results:—

100 Yards Champion, under 16.—K. Burrell, 1; R. Attwill, 2; C. Parker, 3.

Siamese Race.—J. Shipton and R. Davenport, 1. The rest of the starters did not finish.

[100 yards] Champion of School.—L. C. Alford, 1; J. Ferguson, 2. The other starters were R. Platts and W. Shepherd. Won fairly easily in 12 seconds.

120 Yards Handicap, under 15.—R. Davenport, 2 yards, 1; R. Southward, 7 yards, 2. The other starters were J. Shipton, scratch, and A. Paull, 14 yards. A close finish. Time, 15 1/2 seconds.

880 Yards Handicap.—H. Farrington, 50 yards, 1; J. Shipton, 50 yards, 2. Other starters: L. C. Alford, 3 yards; C. Barker, 20; W. Shepherd, 25; J. Ferguson, 50; R. Platts, 3; R. Davenport, 80. Time, 2 minutes 24 seconds.

100 Yards Sack Race.—S. Bellemy, 1; R. Davenport, 2.

Throwing Cricket Ball.—C. Alford, with allowance of 6 yards, 100 yards, 1; R. Davenport, with allowance of 12 yards, 94 1/2 yards, 2. 

[Sobraon Boys (big): White, 1; A. Kerr, 2; W. Kerr, 3. Sobraon Boys (little): Skinner, 1; Thornton, 2.]

School Cup, 220 Yards Handicap.—W. Shepherd, 8 yards, 1; L. C. Alford, scratch, 2. Other starters: R. Platts, 8 yards; J. Ferguson, 8; W. Cole, 8. Time, 26 1/2 seconds.

Long Jump.—W. Shepherd, including allowance of 6in., 14ft. 8 1/2in. K. Bussell, scratch, 14ft. 5in., 2. [Six competed. There was no take-off board, and no pit, the arrangements being most primitive.]

Championship High Jump.—W. Shepherd, 4ft, 11in., 1; R. Ferguson and R. Attwill, equal, 2. [Won easily. Shepherd started with the bar too low, or could certainly have cleared over 5ft.]

One Mile Walk.—G. Berrie, 75 yards, 1; Bignell, 200 yards, 2; H. Farrington, 3. R. Davenport was the only other starter. Time, 8 minutes 40 seconds.

440 Yards Obstacle Race.—J. Ferguson, 5 yards, 1; W. Cole, 20 yards, and R. Southward tied for second place.

150 Yards Club Handicap.—L. C. Alford, scratch, 1; R. Attwell, 4 yards, 2. The other starters were:—C. Barker, 2 yards; J. Ferguson, 4 yards; and J. Shipton, 6 yards.

One Mile Bicycle Handicap.—Close, 200 yards, 1; W. Cole, 50 yards; G. F. Diamond, scratch, 3. Time, 2 Minutes 33 1/2 seconds.

440 Yards Club Handicap.—H. Farrington, 35 yards, 1; L. C. Alford, scratch, 2. Only two started. Time, 1 minute 4 seconds.

220 Yards Ex-Students’ Handicap.—W. H. Pratt (walk over), 1. [Although 41 names appeared on the programme, with Stanley Rowley (10yds behind scratch), Pratt was allowed a walk over, which speaks volumes for the enthusiasm of the “old boys.”]

Consolation Race, about 100 yards.—C. Barker, 1; W. Pike, 2. Time 12 seconds.

One Mile Open Handicap.— 

[W. H. Wiseman, Warringah Harriers. 115yds... 1

Jas. Fyfe, St. George Harriers, 120yds. …… 2

A. Wilkins, Forest Lodge Harriers, 75yds…… 3

A. J. Mather, Redfern Harriers, 50yds……… 4

Other starters: J. W. Collins scratch, N. L. Chapman 40yds, C. A. Oliffe 60yds, John Fyfe 60yds, J. M. Lusby 75yds, F. Randle 75yds, W. Williams 77yds. and A. C. Anderson 120yds. When the bell rang Wiseman held the lead, closely followed by Wilkins and Jas. Fyfe, and excepting that Fyfe passed Wilkins and got closer to Wiseman, positions were unaltered. Won by 5yds, ten yards between second and third. Time, 4min 48sec.]

[Consolation Race: Barker and Pike, dead heat.]