Vaughan Road Academy - Acta Studentium Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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Page 46 ACTA STUDENTIUM MONG the many new and exciting experiences on board ship, the most memorable was the initiation ceremony. It was to say the least, impressive. Old King Neptune, arrayed in all his regal grandeur was our judge and found us guilty, very guilty of disturbing the peace of the ship. We were sentenced to sit beside the swimming pool. After being forced to submit to an noneftoof -gentle lathering by Neptune's personal barber we were tipped into the pool. Mermaids, with rather more strength than we had supposed the ordinary mermaid to possess, kept us under water for some time. When we finally got out we were accepted as the true and loyal subjects of the great King of the Deep. That evening, Neptune, perhaps dis' satisfied with our vows of fealty sent a Flying Fish to visit us. Imagine our amazement when, as we we ware quietly sitting in our cabins one of these creatures hit the floor. It had flown in through the portfholeg the sea is filled with these small fish which fly close to the water like a flock of birds. Eight days after leaving San Francisco we stopped at Tahiti: I had always been fascinated by stories of the South Sea Islands and the reality at first was disappointing for the town of Papeeti was dull and uninteresting. However, the country fulfilled our best hopes. Tahiti is a French colony and our Vaughan Road French stood us in good stead. Wheii we tried to explain to a native that we wanted a bunch of bananas he got an axe and chopped down the tree. For this service he charged us the sum of fifteen cents and seemed most excited at neceiving so much money. But some of our boys got into real language difficulties and because they misunderstood the terms under which a car was rented them for a trip around the island finally landed in the police station. Their explanation to the police resulted in their release but the boat had to wait for them for five minutes. Our visit to Raratonga was one of the highlights of our trip. Here, through the kindness of the British Commission we visited a native school, went in for a swim, tried out the native canoes fvery awkward and slow but safer than our ownj and to crown all, enjoyed the meals served in native fashion. On a table cloth of wide leaves, were placed vegef tables, fruits, fowl and fish. The native believe in the old adage L'Fingers were made before forksi' and the only assist' ance we had in eating the meal was a spoon made of cocoa-nut shell. Races in the afternoon in which the natives to their surprise discovered that whites could beat them, a drive around the islands and an entertainment by native singers completed a most inter' esting day. I had rather an unfortunate experif ence when, on reaching New Zealand, we crossed the date line thereby losing a day. The last day happened to be my fbirthday. However, on Sunday we celebrated with a big party and all was well! In Melbourne the free and easy life we had been enjoying was changed to

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A 1' T A S '1'l'Dlf1N T I I' M Page 45 llHll1DllMllllE5llR 9ilIllll5llR1DAlIlD ' l f . ' Ef g gf.-'+f 3B ,,, 5 'LZ 3, A -M' :S - .. . Qi. ws 3 P. K-4- 3 A champion is a successful com' petitor against all rivals. jim Homer is a champion of champions. During his five year membership in the happy family of Vaughan Road pupils he developed and left with the School a spirit which should inspire future memf bers of the family for all time to come, He did not let disappointment conquer him as is well illustrated by an occurr- ence which materially affected him as an athlete. After two years of diligent practice Jim won the Interscholastic championship of Ontario in the Shot Put event. The following summer he inf jured his shoulder playing softball and thus ruined his chance of retaining his title. Undaunted, however, Jim turned his attention to sprinting. After many practice periods he showed that he pos' sessed the qualities of a better than average sprinter. Thus, putting aside his hopes and ambition in an event which he was admirably suited to, he supplant' ed his disappointment with a desire for conquest in another event in which his injury would not handicap him. About this time information was received that a team of twelve schoolboys was to be sent from Canada to Australia to take part in the lnterfEmpire Centennial Celebration. It was a place on this Canadian team upon which Jim focussed his attention and this gave him an extra incentive to work. For some reason or other Jim was entered in two events at the trials in which the Canadian team was chosen, instead of the one he was most suited for, and this necessitated his running in six races at the trials, and that against a head wind. This is a little too much work for one afternoon even for a chamf pion and as a result his performance was affected. However, jim was select' ed as a memeber of the relay team on the Schoolboy Team. This was the culminaf tion of a program of hard conscientious work, selffdenial and courage for our beloved friend. As the time arrived for the Schoolboy Team to make its long journey to Australia ievents happened with such rapidity that .lim found himself aboard a steamship in the Pacific Ocean before he could recount for you his experiences. jim has made it possible, by contri- buting to our magazine the following account of his trip, for us to share with him some very exciting and interesting experiences. For this we are indeed grateful and we sincerely hope Jim's good luck will stay with him for the test of his days. T.E.I.

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ACTA STUDENTIIIM Page 47 I l , 4 l S i 1 La... a life of hard training. For ninteen days we worked hard to get back into shape once more. The track there is of grass and circular, quite different from our cinder tracks. The other teams were the New Zealand team of nine boys and the Australian team of fourteen boys, all from Melbourne schools. In the meet we were successful in winning eight out of the eleven events and in gaining the championship. During our stay there each boy lived in the home of one of the Melbourne schoolfboys. Our visit was most interesting for the Australian people were hospitable and entertain' ing. After spending a few more days visiting interesting Australian towns we sailed for New Zealand. The Welling' ton schoolfboys interested us for they wore uniforms of short pants, flannel shirt and small skull cap. In this city also we took part in a track meet and were quite successful. From Wellington we went to Rotorura, a Maori town, the Maori people made our visit pleasant by entertaining us with native dances, war-cries and songs. The town is the centre of the thermal region. Everywhere we saw pools of boiling water. A nearby village is built amidst geysers, boiling pools and mud. No fires are needeclg the cooking is done in an oven placed in the sand: and the clothes are washed in these pools of hot water. At Rotorura and again at Auckland we took part in track meets. Out of fortyffive events which we had entered since leaving home we had won thirtyfsix and were well pleased. Our trip home was made more in' teresting by a stop at the Fijii Islands and Honolulu. We spent Christmas on board ship and arrived at Vancouver having covered a distance of twenty five thousand miles. jim Homer L., ,neva A. c-.