THE CITY STREETS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 145, 17 December 1934, Page 13

THE CITY STREETS

CROWDS IN HOLIDAY MOOD

Seldom havq the city streets piescntcd scenes of such eolouiful animation ab they did today. With the s>un shining down'from. a cloudless sky and tempered by only'the lightest of breezes, the stage could not have been more brilliantly set. With the Duke of Gloucester travelling through the streets to attend th,e various' official engagements arianged for today, and the band of his Majesty's Grenadier Guards inarching in full regalia, there was much to draw Wellington out-of-doors, and a, big percentage of the population responded.

- From early in the morning numerous inquiries were received at tho "Evening Post" as to the route the Duke was to travel from Government House to the site of the new-railway station, and his subsequent movements, while many also wanted to know when the Grenadier 'Guards were to arrive and whero Ihoy would be on view. The result was that wherever tho Duke travelled his car made its way between enthusiastic citizens who took every opportunity to see him at close quarters. The march of the Guards Band and the attending Wellington banda to the Town Hall was responsible for scenes 'of unusual enthusiasm. Homes, counters, and desks were forsaken as the time for their arrival drew neax, and great crowds waited in Lambton Quay and Willis Street. It was only, with difficulty that the police were able to clear; a way through the cheering crowds, arid no sooner had the bandsmen passed than the crowd formed up behind-them and' swarmed to the Town Hall. The, bearskins and red coats .of j the bandsmen created a ,most impressive spectacle, their playing, as they, marched added to the lavish display of enthusiasm that greeted tho visitors.;