Auckland Cup winner (January) – Nelson (Australian owned)
Auckland Cup winner (December) – Lochiel
Wellington Cup winner – Beresford
Lawn bowls
National Champions
Singles – G. White (Milton)
Fours – R. Churton, L. Oughton, W. Carswell and D. Mackie (skip) (Taieri)
Note: As the New Zealand Bowling Association at this time consists largely of South Island clubs, the first truly "national" championships are not deemed to have begun until 1914.
Polo
The first polo club in New Zealand is formed in Auckland.[2]
National Championships are held for the first time. They are held at separate venues; the single sculls in Wellington, the coxed fours in Wanganui. From the following year the Championships will be held at a single venue.
^"Deaths". Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette. 6 December 1888. p. 5. Retrieved 23 July 2018. William Meluish, late of Dunedin, New Zealand, and formerly of Bath, aged 65, dearly beloved and deeply regretted