HUMID AND OPPRESSIVE

Evening Star, Issue 26011, 28 January 1947, Page 4

HUMID AND OPPRESSIVE

SUMMER'S HOTTEST DAY CROWDS FLOCKED TO BEACHES Considering Dunedin’s position near the bottom of the list of the year’s sunshine figures for the Dominion and general conditions recently, yesterday’s weather came as a surprise. Certainly the week-end had been fine, and a large section of the community bore ruddy complexions after Sunday’s sunbathing, but the thermometer soared to the record figure of 86deg in the shade yesterday, and those people who were free to do so flocked to the beaches and picnic resorts to enjoy the brief visitation

Even those who were reluctantly held indoors on such a day were able to find some relief from the sultry conditions during the lunch and morning and afternoon tea breaks, and the Queen’s Gardens and other areas were well patronised by the city’s working section. The sun continued to shine until late in the evening, attracting crowds of office and factory employees to the beaches. Shortly after 5 o’clock the city’s transport services to St. Kilda and St. Clair were crowded with beachgoers, and as late as 9 o’clock there were still large numbers in swimming. The new road running along the top of the sandhills at St. Kilda was crammed with cars, and there was no parking space left on the St. Clair Esplanade shortly after 6 p.m. The city itself was quiet, parents haviiig availed themselves of the opportunity to take their children for a final outing before the schools reopen. The butchers’, picnic at Evansdale proved a popular attraction. The tropical sun which beat from the sky, particularly fiercely after 2 p.m., proved la source of suffering to unwary sunbatbers, and despite the application of popular brands of sunburn lotion, there were many people with raw bodies who spent the night wriggling uncomfortably between sheets. Blankets were cast aside last night, for the temperature remained high even past midnight.