Canoe Racing Commences at Port Moresby

(From Our Port Moresby Correspondent)

CANOE racing is one of the chief sports of the younger men in Port Moresby, and the season is now about to open.

The harbour, while extremely beauti ful, with hills sloping gradually to the waters’ edge, has the advantage of being almost completely land-locked

white men supply the sails and rigging, which become the property of the nat ives at the end of the season.

A silver cup was presented to the club by Lord Forster on his visit to Potr Moresby, in 1925, and there are other trophies, all hotly competed for.

It is a beautiful sight to watch the

and is addition ally protected by a coral reef lying approximately three miles from the mainland.

The racing sea son begins early in May each year and continues un til September, when the south east trade winds begin to die down. Native can oes and crews are used, with native - made European sails, one or more white men taking charge to captain and control the crew.

As many as fifteen canoes have been known to start, under varying handi caps, and there is a great deal of excitement and betting among both Europeans and natives. The course varies from time to time, around har bour buoys and local islands, and it is amazing to watch the skill of the natives when swinging round in the sudden gusts which sweep through gaps in the hills at various points on the course.

Formerly, the canoes and sails were owned by small syndicates and the ex penses of the outfit and crew were pooled at the end of the year. This was found to be too unsatisfactory and expensive, for the Papuan, like most natives, is an inveterate swindler, and exploited the white man for untold extras until, in desperation, he rebelled.

The canoes are now native-owned and the native captain and crew are paid a fixed sum per race for services and for the use of the canoe. The

races from the hill-side, on a brilliant south-east day—to see the spray dash ing over the canoes as they swing and swirl through the vivid blue waters inside the reef, and to follow with wonder the dexterity of the natives as they handle their outfits, amid much noise, excitement and loud hilarity.

A Canoe Race at Port Moresby.