SOME SIDELIGHTS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 36, 11 August 1930, Page 11

SOME SIDELIGHTS

CROWD AT THE PARK

A WONDERFUL SIGHT

What .a wonderful picture;!:. The thought or one similar to it must have struck hundreds as they gazed, at the huge crowd at Athletic Park. Thousands upon thousands of faces, and from the stand those on the western bank looked just one blurred mass, with. specks of colour here and there, reds and blues and greens, giving the spectacle a touch to please the eye. Those thousands who packed the ground did make a wonderful picture. For many it was the biggest crowd they had ever seen assembled at any one time anywhere. It certainly was a record attendance, for a football match in New Zealand, and the dense crowd provided a picture never to be forgotten.

As was only natural, there was no lack of fun—and hundreds would have been disappointed had there not been. The wags were there, and the terse remarks and comments besides many other little incidents, kept the crowd in high humour. The western "bankers" had an "actor" who provided sheer farce, the while he gambolled on the ground in the open in front of them. He made his appearance during one of the cur-tain-raisers, and his turn-was at its best when an aeroplane swooped low over the ground. This clown delighted hundreds. Many made a real day of the big.fixture, leaving him for the park at an early hour in the morning. Hundreds, too, camo well prepared for tho^ worst weather possible, having with' them rugs, waterproof sheets, and other gear. There were lunch baskets galore, and some had taken the precaution of bringing their own benzine boxes with them. Once in the dense crowd on the western bank, or for that matter anywhere round the ground, one had to stay—-that is, if one wanted Ms seat again. Among the spectators there were hundreds of women, as keen almost as the men,' and quite a number, perhaps, much keener, with a few of the kind it is problematical whether one should contradict. Everyone was in good humouiy and a strict code of honour was observed. Jumping of places was not permitted, as some found out. They had arrived late, and endeavoured to scramble over a wall and squeeze up those who had waited for hours, but they were lifted bodily and hurled back. • ■ ■:.

Taking everything into consideration, tlio crowd was most orderly.' . Applecores, orange skins, and other refuse were thrown about certainly, but that was part, of the fun. When the National Anthem was played on the arrival of the Governor-General and party, the crowd all round stood, and as they rose, not simultaneously, but in sections, so that the scene was like that of a big wave as it rises before thundering on tho beach, the spectacle was most impressive. At first the crowd did not join in the strains of the National Anthem, played by the band, but'gradually the people found their' voices, and within a short time the deep tones of the anthem wore reverberating round the ground. And when the crowd left! The bank was covered with a litter of paper, orange skins, and other refuse, and it would be interesting to know how long it takes the custodian of the park (Mr. C. Collyer) and his assistants to clean up, and how many sacks they will .fill. :; . .

The übiquitous- small boy—only there were a number of them—had a field day with "dead marines." Quite a few apparently expected a harvest, and a harvest they got. One or two filled a couple of sacks each, and there is one thing that seems fairly certain —few bottles will be picked up in the cleaning-up process at tho park.

It was not only those inside who saw the match. There must have been several thousands who had a view from' the roofs of nearby houses and on the hillside to the north-west of the Park there was almost a "full house." ' Some of those who watched the match from the roofs of houses .eenied to be on precarious perches, but somehow they managed to stick on, and saw no doubt a fair amount of the play.

The huge crowd thoroughly tested the efficiency of tho City Cquncil traffic department, but the organisation by .the council officials, apart altogether from the assistance of the Police Force; was excellent. Thousands of motor-cars lined the by-streets near the Park. One estimate of the number of motor 'vehicles of all kinds was over 6000. But they wero all directed in an expert manner and expeditiously to tho various parking places. Acting-Traffic Inspector M'Courtic was in charge of the arrangements, and he had under him seventeen permanent officers and about eight temporary assistants. An official of the traffic department informed a "Post" representative this morning that the traffic after the match was cleared in 35 minutes—quicker, he said, than the traffic after a big club match, with an attendance of seven or eight thousand spectators. So far as is known everything went off without a hitch, and thero were no accidents. The tramway department benefited considerably. A good service was provided, and good loads were carried to and from the Park in quick time. Altogether the traffic arrangements reflected credit oil those responsible. ■