CROWD OUT OF HAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18706, 12 May 1924, Page 8

CROWD OUT OF HAND.

GREAT RUSH TO SEE HOOD. WHARF GATES FORCED OPEN. MOUNTED POLICE SUMMONED SCENES AT THE , GANGWAY. FAINTING AND HYSTERIA. Remarkable scenes "were witnessed at Prince's Wharf yesterday owing to ~ tho impatience of the great crowd anxious to be admitted to the first public view of the Hood. The stout timber barrier was almost carried away by the press of people which finally, forced open the gates. Further [serious crowding occurred at. tho ship's gangway. The gates were finally held by mounted police hastily summoned while a score of constables reduced the pressure at the gangway. // ' , ; Casualties during the height of the confusion were many, but few were serious. "Many .women fainted and , others with children were crushed. Fortunately a number of St. John Ambulance members were present and they were kept busy for three hours in giving first aid. Nine cases were serious enough to necessitate removal to the ambulance depot on the wharf, mostly being bad fainting, attacks. There' were two'cases of violent hysteria, one being- removed to hospital. These two latter cases concerned Mrs. and Miss King, believed to *be visitors from Taranaki. Mrs* King collapsed in the crowd and was in danger of being trampled. Miss King, in attempting to protect her mother, was badly crushed by the crowd. Both were the victims .of acute hysteria and Miss King / had to be removed to the hospital in an ambulance. She was discharged in a normal condition last evening. ' ', , ■:.-.- v /..-'; / '/' Situation Develops Rapidly. The situation at ■ the wharf -■■ developed rapidly. At 1.30 the gates were opened and by 2 p.m.: the whole "quay between sheds and sea up to the gangway.' was packed. That meant approximately that every inch of 27,000 square feet was occupied or an avenue 30ft. ' wide by 300 yards long.// The gates were shut behind this mass .; of packed humanity. Gradually they filed aboard the Hood and the great vessel. absorbed them without any undue crowding. .>; >: . . : * .; Meanwhile the gates were acting as/a dam to the human tide which flowed toward Prince's Wharf. The water police estimated there were 35,000 in the crowd on the waterfront and the Hood was the mighty magnet. A queue four-deep had formed from the gates away round to the Ferry Buildings by 2.30, but these people were patient optimists. : The ; triangular reclamation' was the assembly ground for the vast majority who cared not for queues.' " ' ~;.--• ' i /-...;. ' : ■ This mass began to surge like a sea against the barrier. , A couple of constables and a few Harbour Board officials waved frantically to the' crowd to hold back. / They were as ineffective as Canute in stemming T the 'tide. 'Appeals that people in front were being crushed were drowned b" the noise. -y. Even the sight • of women in faints or the cries of,-.fright-ened children' did" not stop the movement. The stout barrier began to /yield,/ frightened youngsters were able ?to • scramble over it and escape into the- calm /inside. The crowd cheered and heaved again.-; Human Tide Surges Through. , It was then that the gates were forced. : It was the best thing that could have happened at the moment. The spearhead of the crowd was hurled ;. through the breach and past/the tiny garrison. Now from ' all sides - the pressure was ! concentrated on this inlet, and /people in the centre ; were caught !as in / a mill race "■ and , shot ; at a half-run;- into the calm of the quay beyond. The flow could not ~be stemmed until mounted police y spurred through the crowd and stood, guard at the gates. This was effective- although the people, still . hungry for / sight-seeing, were still very numerous an hour later. Pressure, from the outskirts was reduced by ' the Ponsonby Boys' Brass Band, which started a y musical ' programme on ;■-./the reclamation. > But those who had successfully : stormed the gates; and' they numbered ; several thousands, had still- to be dealt with. Their objective • was the gangway, ,; and there the second battle of the Hood took place. The ship, was promptly closed i to visitors, and two constables,, marines /arid sailors held the gangway, /; " Y ' > " Tears anil Laughter! '/ "' /: Meanwhile the * populace / began to pack up tighter and tighter in the ; 30ft. of quay between sea and shed. The crushing episodes were acted "all over again.' Crying V children were ;; lifted,from the y ruck to sturdy" shoulders, strong arms' tried to protect frail women, there were cries and cheers i and laughter,-.the latter being uproarious when .once, or twice flimsy frocks were torn and feminine/blushes provoked. >. ;: y"/.-/'/'//: '/':';./;/ . But still the crowd would push, despite all warning, and the risk of a dozen or so being / spilled at a time into the water. When not : pinched •in a surge,/ everyone was good-humoured. The ; Hood was cheerily hooted and '' counted out" a dozen times. A naval.officer who was so honoured laughed at the crowd, and they all laughed .back at him. vßut no one got aboard. ,•' ' •"' ' , /. Viewed from the shed balcony above, the / quay j presented a strange y spectacle.; ; Nothing of its floor could 1 be seen, only/a pile 'carpet •' of swaying -felt-hats variegated . by- gay ; millinery. Somewhere a push would start, and it would surge and eddy and screw and ebb again. It seemed as if one of these screws must precipitate a dozen or so ever the side, but the coun- ; ter-pressure of alarm time and agein saved the situation. Appeals from the gangway guards were//vain ,except when a tall constable every little while pointed to //the spot where someone was going down. , / The ■ crowd -always responded, a thin" /that / did them much credit.'*' - ' ".- . - ' ' Gigantic Football Scrum. Slowly the head of the crowd was moved by sheer weight past its objective. //It pressed back in a body time and again, giving the effect of a gigantic football scrum. The crushing at the gangway at these moments was most severe. An hour passed with little alleviation at the centre, although /.both ends of the column slowly /dwindled.; : ; A/score of police arrived) and their authority added; to -the slow-born conviction that the Hood; was closed began/ to make a real impression. y By 4 p.m. the crowd 'was manageable and ■ gradually melted away. / The whole incident cannot be /classed as a; riot. The crowd .simply got out of hand - and its own; weight was the • cause of trouble to some of its units. Except when pinched, the people remained good-humoured, and any case ; of distress had as much consideration as was possible.