SYDNEY'S HEAT WAVE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20508, 8 March 1930, Page 13

SYDNEY'S HEAT WAVE.

HOT, STIFLING £ LAST*

FIFTY PEOPLE COLLAPSE*.

RUSH FOR THE BEACHES.

[from our own correspondent.] SYDNEY. Feb. 27. It is impossible for New Zealanders who have never experienced a heat wave to realise how Sydney suffered last Sat" urday when the thermometer soared to 106deg. in the shade. The Dominion, with its usually fine, bracing climate, never approaches conditions even resembling Sydney at its worst—and Sydney was at its worst on this memorable) day.

A shock awaited Sydney people as soon as they went outside for the first time after getting out of bed on Saturday, morning. They were met with a blast of air that might have passed through a heated oven. A hot, drying wind ib was, even then,' with the sun still low in the heavens. It was a wind that had come from the arid interior—a withering breeze that was stifling. It was difficult to breathe. One's lungs seemed clogged. At that early hour it was but 92deg. Even before the sun rose ifi was 90deg. Once they had got a taste of this wind the hardened Sydeneyites knew what to expect, but few bargained for a rapid rise to 106deg.—in the shade.-

The official weather report said the temperature was 106. That was at th® bureau, on the harbour side, in" the centre of a- park. Those who could read the barometers in the city saw that they; registered, not 106, but 110 and up to 112deg. . No wonder that those people who had to go to the city as usual were limp and gaunt as they made their way; along the sun-soaked city streets. .There was no escaping from a heat like this, and the marvel is not that 50 people collapsed, but that hundreds did not collapse.

There was not a cool spot to be had anywhere. Those who decided early to go to the beaches in the hope of securing relief were sorry almost as soon as they arrived at their favourite resort. The sands blistered the feet. There was no place where one could sit in comfort* And the vast crowds made matters so much worse, for there were scrambles for bus and tram. And what could be worse than a scramble during a' heat wave ?

There were so many people in the water—at least 15,000 bathed at Coogee during the afternoon—that it was impossible to move about in comfort. Then, to save one's shoulders from blistering it was necessary to remain under the water practically the whole of the time.! It is estimated that there were 120,000 people at Coogee during the afternoon, the great crowd being attracted by the fact that there is a shark-proof fence theie. Sharks prefer to come close in shore when the weather is hot, and'tha surf bathers were not taking any risks.That is not to say that the other beaches were not patronised. Far from it. They, had their thousands, too. Every beach was overcrowded. And what ill-natured crowds they were. But they were to be excused for that. Nobody could keep calm and collected in such circumstances* It was a day Sydney will never forget.