HEAT WAVE

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20385, 23 October 1940, Page 2

HEAT WAVE

DEATH IN SYDNEY DROUGHT UNBROKEN SYDNEY, Oct. 19. Sydney had its hottest October day for four years on Wednesday. The maximum temperature recorded at 12.30 p.m. was 95. G degrees. One man died from the heat. He was Mr. Alfred George Ewers, aged 68, who collapsed near his home in Marrickville. Despite the petrol rationing, great numbers of motorists sought the open air on the coastal roads. At the Bondi Baths in the evening there were about 1500 to 1600 people in the water, and a crowd estimated at between 10,000 and 12,000 people on the promenade. Many hundreds of people swam in the Coogee Aquarium, and there was a large crowd on the beach. At Manly there was the biggest night crowd so far this season. All the ocean baths were well patronised, and there were about 1000 people in the harbour poob It was estimated that 1500 people were at the Olympic Pool at Milson’s Point. The pastoral lands of Australia are still largely in the grip of drought. Unless further rain falls soon, the position in many districts may become desperate.