"SWEET SIXTEEN."

Auckland Star, Volume 246, Issue 246, 16 October 1926, Page 10

"SWEET SIXTEEN."

"MISS CANTERBURY" CHOSEN. "BEWILDERED BY VICTORY." WONDERFUL SCENES IN SOUTH. DEMONSTRATIONS IN THEATRE AND STREETS. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") CHRISTCHURCH, this day. Alternating between smiles and tears, the result of intense excitement, Miss Mavis Eleanor Pycroft, stood last night in a motor car, while enthusiastic crowds hailed her election as "Miss Canterbury." The scene was one of the most remarkable the streets of Christchurch have witnessed. The pressure of the crowds brought the car to a standstill, and Mavis, flushed with victory and bewildered by her sudden jump to fame, was lifted up by friends, for people to see. ' The multitude gave itself up entirely to hero-worship till finally Mavis' pent up feelings, found relief in tears. These street scenes followed remarkable demonstrations in the theatre were the giris made their final appearance, and the winner was announced. Cheers from all parts of the crowded house followed the announcement, and hundreds of paper streamers thrown from the gallery, circle and stalls, made a maze across the theatre to the stage. The announcement that Phyllis Mann had gained?, siieond place, was received with equal enthusiasm, and the storm of applause and cheering kept up while the girls were loaded with gifts and floral tributes. , When they' endeavoured to leave the theatre, the girls found a solid phalanx of;humanity packed from the stage door to the street, and for a long, time it was impossible for them to leave. ' All the finalists were given rousing cheers and the difficulty of egress was solved by friends of some, who hoisted their candidates on their shoulders and carried them in triumph to the waiting cars. Miss Pycroft is a sweet, unspoiled girl, whose naturalness gained her many votes. She Will be sixteen next Friday, and her birthday will be spent in Dunedin whither she left this morning with Miss Mann, to take part in the Beauty Pageant in the southern city. Miss Mann Is aged eighteen. Miss Pycroft is fair and shingled; Miss Mann, dark and not shingled. The railway station was crowded when the girls left with the New Zealand Entertainers Vaudeville Company, and camera men spent a busy time. The carriage was decorated with Canterbury colours as also was the locomotive. The train drew out to the accompaniment of repeated cheers.