OUR HEAT—AND THEIRS

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 17, 21 January 1938, Page 8

OUR HEAT—AND THEIRS

Wellington people this year have had an opportunity to complain of the heat; —but they should consider the lot of the people of Sydney. "Nearly a month's hot.weather" had been recorded there by January 13; result—"efficiency lowered and tempers frayed." Under such a test, Wellington growlers could hardly expect to survive at all. And yet, notwithstanding lowered efficiency, Sydney men respond little to dress reform. A reporter recorded on January 12: -

A tour of the city seemed to show that, though Nature's lesson is a sharp one, it is not being learned. Hot pies, bacon and eggs, steaks, and hot meals generally seemed much more popular than light foods in city restaurants. The majority of women wore light clothing, but in a whole afternoon only five men could be found wearing light suits. Retail stores seemed at their busiest in the hot hours of the middle of the day. All city theatres reported that they had big attendances. The tour also showed that, in this weather at least, shops and theatres with airconditioning are highly popular.

A New Zealandcr who expects to see in Sydney a male population in raiment white and light will' be entirely disappointed; a street-full of men in Sydney is far more like what one sees in Auckland or in Wellington than in India or Ceylon. It is stated in Sydney that all the best cafes in New York are air-conditioned. The opinion is held that air-conditioning of cafes and shops and big buildings in Sydney will adapt the climate to the people long before the people will decide to adapt their habits to the climate.