South Pacific Bowls

Tournament In Suva

FIJI was well to the fore, in spite of formidable opposition from Australia and New Zealand, in the finals of the South Pacific bowls tournament, held at Suva.

Mr. Gordon Roberts, popular man ager of the ANZ Bank in Suva, who shortly leaves for a new appointment in Adelaide, ensured that his name would live in the annals of bowls in Fiji by skipping the winning rink.

Roberts also skipped the winning ring in the 1956 tournament. With J. Manktelow, T. Mackey and R. E Gordon in his team he made no race of the final to score a 28-15 win over a Tailevu rink compris ing R. Harness, L. Hunt F. Storck and K. Speight (s).

The other Fiji winner was Max Bay, an Education Officer, who had an easy win in the final over fellow Suva club mate, R. N. Cald well. Bay won 31-6.

Bay was in top form after several hard battles in the early rounds.

The pairs went to a New Zealand team, L. Polden, Remuera, and C.

McGechie. This was the closest battle of the tournament, and the

scores were even at the penultimate end.

Here in a closely packed head, the NZ pair notched a point to take out the title by 21-20. The runners-up were K. J. Bentley and G. W.

Kemp, of the Suva Club.

r M. Alfred Poroi, the very popula: mayor of Papeete, Tahiti, was on» of the Colonial guests of the Frencl Metropolitan government at thi, year’s Bastille Day celebrations ii Paris. Mayor Tixier, of Uturoa Raitea also was one of the guests