BIG CROWD ON ROUTE

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27055, 2 June 1953, Page 8

BIG CROWD ON ROUTE

MANY WAIT TWO HOURS

ALL VANTAGE POINTS OCCUPIED

Christchurch citizens made Cathedral square their centre for watching the armed forces parade yesterday. Hundreds lined the footpaths or watched from high windows, while the sturdy climbed to the balconies of the Cathedral spire and the brave climbed the big trees south of the Cathedral. It was a happy crowd which generally complained little about the delay in the parade's arrival. This interval seemed small compared with the long wait which most people endured to ensure a good place for the occasion. Some had taken up their stands soon after 1 p.m. By 2 p.m. the footpaths in the Square and the safety zones through the middle were packed five or six deep. For an hour after that cars, buses, and trams had some trouble getting through because the crowds continually surged forward in spite of restraint by police. Cameras of all sorts seemed to be everywhere. Many women wore red, white, or blue, children had streamers, medallions, and flags but probably the most patriotic utility was a pair of red, white and blue periscopes.

Mechanised Vehicles The mechanised section of the parade moved off at 3.5 p.m. from Harper avenue, but very few saw the vehicles leave. Only about 20 persons waited at the Carlton Mill bridge corner but from the clock tower people then lined the street solidly in two or three ranks until the river, where spectators clung to every available vantage point. Outside the Salvation Army Citadel the lines of spectators thickened, probably attracted by the Salvation Army band there, and hordes of small children stood out in the street almost touching the vehicles and. marching men.

At 3.27 p.m., when the armoured column entered Colombo street, the ranks of spectators stood 20 deep and only a narrow lane was left for the vehicles to pass. In Cathedral square itself the crowds were thickest, the cheering loudest, the flags most numerous, and the excitement at its highest. People stood 20 deep beside the parade route, and hung; stood, or sat on every available vantage point. The crowds were still thick through •the Bank of New Zealand corner and along Colombo street to Cashel street corner where they were even deeper. From there the masses thinned out until the streets were clear again past the Tuam street crossing. Buses and trams ran to schedule until a short time before the parade route was closed to through traffic. The City Council’s traffic department encountered no unusual difficulties, and the traffic officers commented favourably on the conduct of motorists and of the crowds.