To the Editor of the "Norra-Cuua Datty News."
Sir,—About a year ago someone in your esteemed columns called for information about the ice skating club which used to exist here, and I had intended at the time to write a reply giving the necessary information.
It is many years ago and to help fix the period I will say that I was living in a house at the extreme end of Carter Road, belonging to Mr. Corner, right on the Soochow Creek. I used to notice woodcock and snipe pass over the howse crossing the creek, and take a sampan and go after them in the carly morning. It was all fields on the other side of the creek then, which were flooded in order to fill the icehouses, and the ice used to bear me easily when T walked across these ponds, so I broke some of it to.see how thick it w with only one night's freezing, and was astonished. Now as these ponds were all broken up and the ice pounded into the ice houses ery day, if occurred to me that if only one or two of these fields could be protected, the ice of two nights' frost would support any number of skaters J mentioned the idea to Mr. Browett and other friends and suggested that we should try to rent a field and put some one in charge to look after it. There was.ot much difficulty about it, and members at $1 per head enrolled pretty freely, Sir Nicolas and Lady Hannen being amongst—the enthusiasts and regularly on the ground.
The ground was lit by dock flares and we had the bend once or twice during my time here, but what happened after I was transferred to other ports I do not kno The subscription was so trifling that it was hardly necessry to Let the club lapse. Anyway, if a Roller Skating Club were combined with it, the two together ought to be able to keep a healthy sport going all the winter.
We built a little wicker and mud hut for the caretaker who used to warm our tea for us, and he used also to give me. a supply of hot water and kettle to go round and fill up all cracks. This was done every night the last thing.
The fields we skated on must. be built over now,-but I expect Mr. Browett could locate them.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.