RODEO SENSATIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21279, 5 September 1932, Page 9

RODEO SENSATIONS

ADELAIDE CARNIVAL BUCK-JUMPERS IN CROWD MANY MINOR CASUALTIES "CATTLE KING" HONOURED By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright (Received September i, 5.5 p.m.) ADELAIDE, Sept. 4 Various sensations occurred at a rodeo carnival in the Jubileo Oval, Adelaide, held yesterday in honour of the "cattle king," Sir Sidney Kidman, who was 75 years old last May. Forty-five .thousand spectators were present and hundreds were unable to gain admission. Scores of people fainted before the performance began. Many climbed on to roofs and one man fell through _a skylight 30 feet high and his skull was fractured. The police were powerless to control the surging crowd. Several fright-maddened buck-jumpers from the cattle country plunged among the spectators, and there were more than 100 minor casualties, thirty of which were caused by flying hoofs. Sir Sidney Kidman was 75 on May 9 last. His is a picturesque history. As a lad of 13, he went from his homo to seek his livelihood in the bush. He was a cowboy on a run near the site of the present Broken Hill Proprietary Company's mine. He drove bullocks as a lad, and, with his brother George, made a success of horse and cattle dealing. Finally, he became the owner of many cattle stations, by which ho made a large fortune, although in times of drought he has had colossal losses. During the war ho and Lady Kidman spent large sums for patriotic purposes, and later they gave a fine country home to the South Australian Government for a high school.