500 Metre

1,000 Metre

1,500 Metre

3,000 Metre

160 Metre (Straight)

Men's 500 Metre

Men's 1,500 Metre

Men's 5,000 Metre

Men's 10,000 Metre

Men's 160 Metre Straight

Men's Ice Speed Marathon, Instituted 1964, 26 miles 385 yards

Women's Marathon

Rosemary Clark-Hall Cup

H. T. Richards Memorial Cup

Elfrida Richards Cup

Herbert Barker Waltzing Trophy

Ice Skating Association Cup

Keith Butters Cup

Although ice skating has been a popular pastime in European countries for many centuries, it was not introduced into New Zealand until the mid-1920s. Because of the relatively mild New Zealand winters, the skating season is short and often uncertain. Conditions are best in inland Canterbury and Otago where there are numerous natural rinks. At first only speed skating was practised but dancing, figure skating, and ice hockey were introduced in the 1930s.

In June 1937, following the first Erewhon Cup final, the New Zealand Ice Skating Association was formed at Opawa Station, Canterbury. It exercises a general supervision over all aspects of the sport and arranges the various national championship meetings. There are also three district associations – Canterbury, South Canterbury, and Otago – which run provincial championships. The N.Z.I.S.A. Championships are usually held in three divisions, generally at different meetings. These are the New Zealand National Ice Skating Championships, the New Zealand Ice Speed Skating Championships, and the New Zealand Short Track Speed Championships. The National Ice Skating Championships – covering figure skating, pairs skating, dancing and waltzing -and the Ice Speed Skating Championships have been held annually since 1946. Until 1959 the latter events were held over English linear distances, but in 1960 the N.Z.I.S.A. reorganised its speed championships to bring them in line with international standards. Since 1961 the various events, over metric distances, have been competed for on the standard 400–metre, two-lane oval track. It has thus been possible to record times on a basis comparable with similar recordings overseas. In 1963 an ice marathon (26 miles 385 yards), open to men and women competitors, was instituted. Although the short track speed championships on indoor or small outdoor rinks have been held for many years, it was not until 1964 that official times have been kept for these events.

In 1964 the N.Z.I.S.A. became affiliated to the International Skating Union in Switzerland. As a result, New Zealand skaters will be eligible to compete in the World Championships and at the Winter Olympics.

Since 1947, the N.Z.I.S.A. has published annually an official organ, Ice Tracings.

Skate (Raja australis), or whai of the Maoris, is easily distinguishable from other rays by its comparative thinness, long pointed snout, two dorsal fins on the tail, and the absence of the long bony tail spine. It is light brown, mottled, and spotted with dark brown. It is usually from 20 in. to 3 ft in length and is considered a good food fish. It is especially common in the waters of Hawke's Bay and Eastern Otago.

by Arthur William Baden Powell, Assistant Director, Auckland Institute and Museum.

(c. 1796–1861).

Colonial Secretary and naturalist.

A new biography of Sinclair, Andrew appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Andrew Sinclair was born about 1796 at Paisley, Scotland, of a middle-class family. From 1814 to 1816 he studied medicine at Glasgow University College and, in the following year, took a surgical course at L'Hôpital de la Charité in Paris. For the next two years he attended Edinburgh University where he gained his M.D. In 1822 he joined the Royal Navy as an assistant surgeon. From 1823 to 1833 he served at the Cape of Good Hope and in the Mediterranean. During this period Sinclair spent much of his spare time on botanical work and sent many specimens to the British Museum. In 1835 he joined HMS Sulphur and accompanied Beechey on his voyage to survey the Pacific coasts of North and South America. He continued his interest in botany and sent home specimens from Mexico, California, and other parts of central America, which established his reputation as a collector.

Towards the end of 1839, when his health broke down, Sinclair returned to England. He went to Australia in 1841 and visited the Bay of Islands, New Zealand, when Ross's Antarctic Expedition was there. At this time Sinclair accompanied Sir J. D. Hooker and Colenso on their botanical excursions. Later in the year he returned to Scotland where he published a paper concerning the opportunities for investment in Sydney. About this time Sinclair presented such a fine collection of shells and insects to the British Museum that Dr J. E. Grey was encouraged to begin his first systematic catalogue.

In September 1843 Sinclair came to Tasmania as Surgeon-Superintendent on the convict ship Asiatic. As this voyage marked the end of his normal term of service, he took his discharge in Sydney. He then offered to accompany Governor FitzRoy to New Zealand, free of charge, either in a medical capacity or to explore the natural resources of that country.

Shortly after his arrival in New Zealand, FitzRoy was faced with the problem of choosing a new Colonial Secretary to replace Willoughby Shortland; and, because he believed it would be extremely unwise to appoint anyone connected with local political factions, he pressed Sinclair to accept the position. At first Sinclair declined, pleading his lack of administrative experience as an excuse; however, he accepted finally in order to relieve the Governor's embarrassment. On 6 January 1844 he was appointed Colonial Secretary and, shortly afterwards, was given wide discretionary powers. He held office under Grey, Wynyard, and Gore Browne, until the granting of responsible Government in May 1856. Sinclair did not show particular ability as Colonial Secretary, but he acquired a reputation for being “honest, upright, scrupulous, and laborious”. He had to choose and train his subordinates. When he vacated office he left behind him the nucleus of an efficient Civil Service, with men like G. S. Cooper and William Gisborne holding the key positions.

During his term of office Sinclair devoted his leisure to botany and collected specimens in all parts of the North Island. He sent large collections to Kew Gardens where they provided Sir J. D. Hooker with much of the material for his volume on New Zealand flora. Sinclair maintained his connection with the British Museum, corresponded with the Rev. Richard Taylor, and in 1851 contributed some notes on the native vegetation of Auckland to Hooker's Journal of Botany. After his retirement he devoted his time to scientific exploration. He visited Scotland and Europe, where his name was already widely known among botanists. While in England he discussed scientific matters with Darwin and Thomas Huxley. Late in 1858 Sinclair returned to New Zealand to collect further material for Hooker. In the following year he was elected fellow of the Linnean Society. At this time, as his journals show, he was collecting in most districts. In February 1861 he joined von Haast at Mesopotamia Station, where the latter was surveying the Rangitata River system for the Canterbury Provincial Government. On 25 March 1861 Sinclair was returning to the homestead of Samuel Butler when he was drowned in the Rangitata River. His grave may still be seen on the flat, about a quarter of a mile from the river, in front of the Mesopotamia homestead.

Shortly after his death the Southern Cross summed up Sinclair's public career in the following words: “As a public character, Dr Sinclair had few opportunities of distinguishing himself. Ministers in his day were clerks, but we believe that his natural tastes would never have led him to a political career”.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• Sinclair Papers (MSS.), General Assembly Library
• Samuel Butler of Mesopotamia, Maling P. B. (1960)
• Manual of New Zealand Flora, Cheeseman, T. (1906)
• Lyttelton Times, 3 Apr 1861 (Obit)
• Southern Cross, 3 May 1861 (Obit)
• Crown Colony Government in New Zealand, McLintock, A. H. (1958).

Silver pine (Dacrydium colensoi) is one of the smaller native pine trees belonging to Podocarpaceae. It has brownish-grey bark which scales off in large flakes. The leaves are typical of this class of pine. There is distinction between the leaves of a long persistent juvenile form and those of mature trees. The adult leaves are very small, about 2 mm, and closely appressed to the stem. The flowers are dioecious, and both male and female cones are at tips of branches. Male cones are about 4 mm, but female cones are a few ovules found on more or less open scale-leaves. The fruit is a shining black nut 2 to 3 mm long.

by Alec Lindsay Poole, M.SC., B.FOR.SC., F.R.S.N.Z., Director-General of Forests, Wellington.

Also known as wax-eye or white-eye, Zosterops lateralis belongs to the widespread family Zosteropidae. New Zealand possesses one species which is a relatively recent arrival in this country from Australia. Permanent invasion occurred in or before 1856, the birds obviously being carried in flocks across the Tasman Sea by one or more of the weather systems which, in these latitudes, travel in a predominantly east-west direction. By 1861 the species had established a permanent footing in the Chatham Islands. Now it has a wide distribution throughout the country and has even reached as far north as the Kermadecs and as far south as Campbell Island. It may be found in a variety of habitats from sea level to above the tree line but it is not abundant in deep forest. Flocks form in late autumn and winter and in some years these become very common in the lowlands.

Slightly smaller than the introduced house sparrow, the silvereye is olive-green above, pale chestnut below, and there is the characteristic, almost complete, ring of white feathers around the eye. Males are slightly brighter in plumage than females.

The song is a pleasant rapid warbling which has some resemblance to that of the skylark, though it is less powerful and sustained and not given while soaring. At other times a quiet twittering may be heard.

Food may be insects, nectar, or fruit. After their arrival in New Zealand in 1856, silvereyes soon became popular because of their attack on the orchard pest woolly aphis. This earned them an alternative name of “blight bird”. But they also destroy orchard fruits and buds. When feeding on nectar they pollinate many useful trees and shrubs.

Breeding occurs mainly between September and December and at least two broods may be raised during this time. The nest is a delicate cup-shaped structure made of grass, moss, and hair, and is slung like a hammock between branches at no great height from the ground. The eggs are pale blue and the average clutch size is three.

by Gordon Roy Williams, B.SC.(HONS.)(SYDNEY), Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

(1844–1905).

Social reformer and feminist.

A new biography of Sievwright, Margaret Home appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Margaret Home Sievwright was born at Pentcaithland, North Berwick, Scotland, on 19 March 1844, the daughter of Jane Law Richardson (née Home), and John, an estate factor. Attracted at an early age to social work she taught in a school for poor children in Edinburgh, trained as a nurse under Florence Nightingale, and joined the campaign of Josephine Butler for the repeal of the Criminal Diseases Act. Emigrating to New Zealand in 1870 she married, eight years later, Stout's barrister partner, William Sievwright, with whom she lived in Gisborne till her death. Margaret Sievwright joined the Women's Christian Temperance Union from its foundation, holding local and Dominion office, and was one of the first women to be elected to a licensing board. A firm advocate of women's rights, she campaigned for women's suffrage, and formed a women's political association in Gisborne in 1893. Three years later she was instrumental in calling together delegates of women's societies to form the National Council of Women, with whose radical programme she was closely associated. She was President of the Council at the time of her death at Whataupoko, Poverty Bay, on 9 March 1905.

Though shy and sensitive by nature, Margaret Sievwright was so aroused by injustice that she undertook social work of all kinds, and her influence spread to feminist groups abroad, where she was an admired figure.

by Patricia Ann Grimshaw, M.A., Auckland.

• Poverty Bay Herald, 9 Mar 1905 (Obit).