Official reconstructed replay · Friday, January 12, 1900
Hamilton finds the finish.
C&D game used: ASN Swimming · custom ASN game
Ten seconds behind with one recorded segment remaining. First at the finish by 10.8 seconds. Hamilton turns the half-mile on its head.
Hamilton wins in 13:04.5*
Half-mile Australasian Championship · Farmer’s Baths · Domain (transcribed report)
Hamilton won the reconstructed Sydney half-mile in 13:04.5, defeating T. Maynard by 10.8 seconds. Dick Cavill, already the ASN mile and quarter-mile winner at this meeting, finished third in 13:32.4.
Maynard had led at six successive checkpoints, from 220 through 770 yards. At the last of those, his advantage over Hamilton was exactly ten seconds. Hamilton covered the final recorded 110-yard segment in 1:19.2 to Maynard’s 1:40.0—a 20.8-second swing that settled the championship.
Cavill led after the first 110 yards before Maynard took over. Hamilton moved into second at 330 yards and remained there through the penultimate checkpoint, then took first on the final split. Bond finished fourth and H. Lennon fifth.
The account follows the saved model checkpoints. It does not establish the exact point of an overtake within a segment. *Replay times are experimental model outputs, not verified historical times.
Final result
| Place | Swimmer | Affiliation | Entry | Replay time* | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton | Not recovered | Documented | 13:04.5 | — |
| 2 | T. Maynard | Geelong West | Estimated | 13:15.3 | +10.8s |
| 3 | Dick Cavill | Otter | Documented | 13:32.4 | +27.9s |
| 4 | Bond | Not recovered | Documented | 13:43.8 | +39.3s |
| 5 | H. Lennon | City | Documented | 13:58.3 | +53.8s |
Common start · Five-swimmer reconstructed direct final · Estimated participation is labelled. Hamilton’s and Bond’s full identities and affiliations remain unresolved.
How the lead changed
Eight recorded checkpoints across 880 yards. Times are cumulative model race times; the checkpoint distances do not establish the historical bath length or lap count.
| Split | Distance | Leader | Cumulative time* | Hamilton’s gap / final margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 110 yd | Dick Cavill | 1:30.8 | Hamilton +19.2s |
| 2 | 220 yd | T. Maynard | 3:11.5 | Hamilton +10.0s |
| 3 | 330 yd | T. Maynard | 4:36.1 | Hamilton +26.2s |
| 4 | 440 yd | T. Maynard | 6:20.7 | Hamilton +17.7s |
| 5 | 550 yd | T. Maynard | 8:03.0 | Hamilton +13.1s |
| 6 | 660 yd | T. Maynard | 9:53.0 | Hamilton +14.6s |
| 7 | 770 yd | T. Maynard | 11:35.3 | Hamilton +10.0s |
| 8 | 880 yd | Hamilton | 13:04.5 | Hamilton wins by 10.8s |
Five Sydney results in the book
The half-mile adds one completed championship to the four earlier Sydney results: the sprint, plunge, mile and quarter-mile. Those earlier results and their recorded contests remain unchanged.
The Sydney archive now covers five events, twelve contests and 43 starts, grouped into 34 event-scoped entries. The 220-yard championship remains on January 13, future and locked while the Universal date is January 12. The wider meeting is still open.
Reconstruction and source coverage
Date evidence: Working date; January 12 dispatch, later-study conflict
- This is an owner-approved historical reconstruction. The complete historical starter list is unavailable; estimated event participation is labelled and is not a verified historical appearance.
- All ability inputs are neutral estimates. Replay times are experimental model outputs, not verified historical times, calibrated predictions or all-time records.
- January 12 is the qualified working date from a contemporary dispatch. A later scholarly chronology conflicts; the exact historical date is not treated as settled.
- Hamilton and Bond remain unresolved surname entries. Records stay event-scoped, with no namesake or cross-meeting career merge.
- The January 13 220-yard championship remains unplayed and locked while the Universal date is January 12. The wider Sydney meeting is not complete.
The accepted result was derived from the owner-declared official candidate after all twelve saved contests and 91 recorded rounds verified against the frozen preparation. Only this half-mile is a new result; all four earlier Sydney results remain unchanged.
Historical sources
- Swimming Queensland, Tim Barrett research Part 1; January 1900 clippings · Indexed transcriptions of abbreviated contemporary reports; original scans not visually checked
- Rachel Winterton, For Duty and Pleasure, 2005, pp.25–26 · Later scholarly chronology; half-mile dating conflicts with contemporary dispatch
- Wanganui Herald, 13 January 1900, Swimming · Contemporary January 12 dispatch