Sprots Review

Confucius Raised

Some Eyebrows

A FEW eyebrows went up in New Guinea recently over the name chosen for a horse race by Rabaul Amateur Turf Club.

The occasion was the club’s special Chinese Day Race Meeting which was strongly supported by the Rabaul Chinese Community, and in which each race was named after some Chinese national figure.

The race in question was the main event of the day, which was named the Confucius Cup.

A few people were quick to point out that Confucius was, after all, not only a religious leader but the very founder of the Confucian re ligion.

In view of this, they said, it seemed hardly apt to use the name of Confucius as the handle for a horse race.

Said one man: “I don’t want to be funny or blasphemous in suggest ing this, but how would we feel if we went to parts of the world where Confucism still holds sway, and saw a local horse race called the Good Lord Stakes?”

More Tours Needed

Between East & West

By a Staff Writer THE recent visit of a represent ative Fijian cricket team to NSW whetted the appetites of New Guinea cricketers, who badly wanted to see their fellow Islanders.

While the Fijians were still in Australia the Port Moresby Cricket Association asked if it were possible for them to go up to play a few

games in Port Moresby. The invita tion aroused a great deal of interest among Territory cricketers, who had high hopes, but they were dis appointed.

The Fijians said that it was “im practicable” to alter the itinerary at that time, but a Territory tour would be kept in mind “if a tour of wider scope were considered in the future.”

The Territorians accepted that, but they are hoping the words were not merely a matter of form and that something will, in fact, come out of it.

Territorians, like Fijians and in fact all Islanders, are hospitable people and there should be more inter-t erritory tours between Eastern and Western Pacific.

The Polynesian areas visit each other. Fiji and Tonga occasionally get together, and a New Zealand Rugby team in May will make a tour of Western Samoa and Tonga.

What a welcome Tonga or Samoa would get in New Guinea or the BSIP! The Territorians would go mad to see them, and the visitors would not be short of a good game,

Mosese Makes

FIJIAN South Seas heavyweight champ., Mosese Verasikete, finally made New Zealand. He arrived there in February from Fiji after almost twelve months of trouble with authorities over a per mit to enter the Dominion (PIM, October, 1959).

After a shake-down in NZ, he went to Wellington by train (the first he had ever been on) for a fight with NZ heavyweight champ.

Sonny Pehi, which Mosese was favoured to win.

The result: The Fijian was knocked out in the sixth round.