“MISS CANTERBURY”

Evening Star, Issue 19382, 16 October 1926, Page 5

“MISS CANTERBURY”

Miss Mavis Pycroft Chosen Enthusiastic Scenes [Special to the ‘ Star.’] CHRISTCHURCH, October 16. Alternating between smiles and .tears, the result of intense excitement, Miss Mavis Cleanor Pycroft stood last night in a motor ear while enthusiastic crowds hailed her election as ‘‘Miss Canterbury.” Tho scene was one of the most remarkable the streets of Christchurch have witnessed. The pressure of crowds brought the ear to a standstill, and Mavis, flushed with victory and bewildered by the sudden jump to fame, was lifted up by friends for people to see. The great

crowd gave itself up entirely to hero-worship till finally Mavis’s pentup feelings found relief in tears. Street scenes followed the remarkable demonstrations in the theatre, where the girls 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 second place was received with equal enthusiasm, and a storm of applause and cheering kept up while the girls were loaded with gifts and floral tributes. When they endeavored to leave the theatre the girls found a solid phalanx of humanity packed from stage door to street, and for a long time it was impossible (or them to leave. All the finalists were given rousing cheers, and the difficulty of egress was solved by the friends, who hoisted their candidates on their shoulders and carried them in triumph to 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 loft this morning with Miss Mann to take part in the Beauty Pageant in the southern city. Miss Mann is eighteen. Miss Pycroft is fair, and shingled. Miss Mann is dark, and not shingled. The railway station was crowded when the girls left with the Entertainers Company, and camera men spent a busy time. The carriage was decorated with Canterbury colors, as also was the locomotive, and the train drew out to the, accompaniment of repeated cheers.