At this time of the year (September) the Australian billiard season is at its height. Being on the other side of Mother Earth, our seasons are opposite from yours, and when players are casing their cues in Old England, Brother Knights of the Ash are working up form for coming events in Australia and New Zealand.
The season is about half-way through here now, and although we have not had the pleasure of a visit from any overseas players, it gives every promise of being one of the best on record. That is from a social point of view. New rooms are being opened almost weekly, both clubs and public saloons, while more tournaments are in progress than in any season that! can remember. A Big Tournament.
The biggest tournament in Australia takes place at the Commercial Travellers' Club, Melbourne, which registers a nomination of over two hundred players annually. This tournament is now in its closing stages, and promises to be as successful as most of its predecessors. The prize list carries trophies in value of over £200. All the players must be amateurs and members of the organization, which has a membership roll of over 5,000.
The same organization in Sydney finished their tournament on Friday. It is not quite on the same big scale as Melbourne, the membership roll not exceeding 4,000. The winner was Mr. C. O. Thompson, advertising manager of one of Sydney's evening newspapers. The runner-up, Mr. Alf. Benjamin, is President of the N.S.W. Amateur Billiard Association, and, of course, quite a number of the members of his Association carried him along, but he was rather badly defeated by Mr. Thompson, who had the honour of being scratch player in the tournament, and has entered for the amateur championships. Just before his departure for the war, Thompson won the Metropolitan Amateur Championship of Queensland, so is a player above the average.
Both the big betting clubs of Melbourne and Sydney run tournaments yearly, at which much money might be won. The Victorian Club, Melbourne, finished its tournament last week, when the previous runner-up, Mr. Eccles (50 behind scratch), managed to win by 16 points in 250 up. In one of these tournaments some years back £10,000 was collected by the winner's party.
Sydney Tattersall's tournament is now in its third round. Much interest is taken in this event, the present favourite being Mr. Longworth, who represented Australia in the Olympic Swimming Games at Stockholm, and more recently held a commission in France, where he also won several swimming races. Mr. Longworth is an attractive cueist who is competing in the Amateur Championship this year. During one of his visits to Sydney, the late John Roberts (having finished his exhibition session in a hall close by quite early) dropped into Tattersall's Club to see one of these heats played.
As he entered the door, John heard a player shout "100 to 1 against the non-striker. He pricked up his ears, and, after looking at the board, said: "I'll take that."
These are false odds for a game of billiards and he had the satisfaction of seeing his 100 to 1 chance become a 10 to 1 on favourite before he lost the heat by 2 points. Meantime, John had hedged, and won £40 as a result of his original outlay.
Owing to the difficulty in securing rooms, the Australian Amateur Championships, in both Melbourne and Sydney, have been somewhat delayed this year. Down at Melbourne, Alcock & Company have completed a new billiard hall at South Melbourne, just over Prince's Bridge, which is quite an advance on anything of its kind that we have had out here. This room was opened last week by a City Councillor and the President of the Victorian Amateur Billiard Association, when many nice things were said of the old firm's enterprise in catering for the billiard-loving public. It was the uncertainty of the date on which this room would be finished that held back play in the Victorian Amateur Championships, and those in Sydney. The latter city has at present no public hall, and had to be satisfied with the bounty of a room keeper, who has given them a portion of his building, in which he will take down several tables to allow Heiron & Smith to erect a match table and put up the seating accommodation. This year the Australian Championship has to be played in Sydney. It takes place at the conclusion of the State Billiard, Metropolitan, and Snooker Championships, and, as the room lent cannot be detained too long, the championships had to be delayed to fit the time when the Victorian Championships would be concluded, so that the latter's champion could come over and battle tor the title.
Nominations for the N.S.W. State Championships closed last week, when seven players entered. These include Messrs. G. B. Shailer (world's amateur record break holder), A. G. Fay, C. O. Thompson, and five others more or less known to amateur fame. It is anticipated ' that the fight will be between Shailer and Fay, as it was last year in the semi-final heat. There are said to be one or two dark horses in the event. Personally, I think Shailer will win, as he frequently makes 400 and 500 runs off the red ball.
The Australian Amateur Championship is to take place on October 10, and in the absence of Mr. Hooper it looks a fairly good thing for Shailer (presuming he wins the State Championship), unless Mr. Arthur Triggs or Major L. L. Beauchamp, the Victorian amateurs, emerge from their retirement. Either of them might win, even though Shailer defeated Beauchamp at Brisbane in 1913.
Mr. J. H. Hooper's trip abroad was a godsend from a health standpoint. He came back to Sydney looking quite a new man. The jaded look and glassy eye had disappeared. Instead, the ruddy-complexioned, bright, alert Hooper of years ago was reproduced. He has not gone back on his word about retiring from the amateur championships, so that rising talent should have an opportunity of getting there. But although Hooper has retired from the championships, he has not given up the game. Shortly after his return he played Amateur A. A. Fay at the Royal Automobile Club, and, although Fay ran up a break of nearly 150, Hooper came at the right end and won by a small margin. But his great performance was in defeating the Australian professional champion, Fred Lindrum, at Tattersall's Club, almost pointless. Lindrum conceded 250 points in 750 up. But the professional had only reached 180 when game was called.