SYDNEY’S A.R.P.

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 December 1940, Page 5

SYDNEY’S A.R.P.

FULL DRESS REHEARSAL [by CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.] SYDNEY, December 9. The first try-out of Sydney’s airraid precaution measures was staged to-day. It took place in the presence of a crowd of five thousand interested citizens in Martin Place. There were men in gasmasks, taking part, also bandaged and splinted boy scouts, as well as ambulances and firemen. The use of ladders, smoke, spluttering thermite and noisy sirens imparted a touch of realism, when a formation of bombing planes swept to and fro at a great height over the scene. The scene sprang to one of. immediate activity as the ’planes came over, thus capturing the imagination of the onlookers and also of crowds who were on the rooftops of tall city buildings. The demonstration was carried out by the National Emergency Services, led by Colonel Bruxner, who delivered a speech, in which he" commended the work of the A.R.P. members. Colonel Bruxner urged his hearers to take more seriously the dangers which are threatening this country.