NOISY REVELS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22616, 2 January 1937, Page 11

NOISY REVELS

NEW YEAR WELCOMED GAY crowds in city ■FIREWORKS AND TRUMPETS SCENE IN QUEEN STREET With the' assistance of a noisy serenade from exploding fireworks, toy trumpets, blaring motor-car horns, and the booming of ships' sirens. Auckland celebrated the passing of the old year and gave a cheerful welcome to the new on Thursday night. Many people stayed in the citv to watch the hands of the clock in the Ferry Buildings marking the last moments of tho dying year, and the birth of IM7 was suitably recognised in hundreds of homes. It was perhaps the happiest and noisiest New Year's Eve that Auckland lias celebrated for several rears. The crowds in the city weie larger than they have ever been, and a carnival spirit prevailed among both young and old. The more exuberant revellers were mostly youthful, bur among the thousands who walked up and down Queen Street before midnight there were many •older people wearing carnival hats and celebrating as joyfully as their juniors. Noisy Celebration Noisiness was tho principal feature fif the lust moments of 1936 in the citv. Fireworks were more plentiful than in previous years, and for more than an hour' before midnight crackers ■of all si7.es v\ere bursting in the streets. 3,'oy trumpets, squeakers, and racuous klaxon horns added to the Sdin, and ono enthusiastic youth paraded Bp and down Queen Street swinging a ihand bell vigorously. Among his rivals -vere a girl who hammered a pot lid ijirith a stick, and a small group of young men who sang happily to the jnusic of a mandolin. Further evidence of New Year revelry jiras the wearing <nf carnival hats, jnasks, grotesque spectacles, and (false jjoses, by dozens of people. Brightlycoloured streamers and paper hats of all shapes added to the gaiety of the streets. whi|e many cars that passed down Queen Street were decorated with streamers on the radiators, and their passengers were blowing toy trumpets or squeakers. Crowd in Quay Street Quay Street is Auckland's traditional place of assembly for New Year's Eve celebrations, and long before 11.30 p.m. the crowds that had been moving up and down Queen Street began to surge toward the Ferry Buildings. Soon there was a dense mass of people jn Quay Street and the lower end of Queen Street. Motorists parked their cars in side streets and joined the moving crowds, while every tram that came down Queen Street brought more revellers. While the crowds watched the hands of the clock in the Ferry Buildings creep slowly toward midnight the most crowded part of Quay Street took on the appearance of a miniature battle-ground. There was the roar of cannon crackers and tho machine-gun rattle of small fireworks, while tho smell of gunpowder and light clouds of blue smoke rising in tho air added to the illusion. Police constables kept a watchful eye on the activities of the fireworks enthusiasts to see that they did not degenerate into larrikin ism, but their task was light, and only one youth was warned. The din reached its height five mintites before 12 o'clock, and then as the clock began to strike the hour of midnight for the last time in 1936 there iras a furious crescendo of mingled sokes. Few people heard tho clock chimes, for they were drowned by the cheers of thousands, the blarin;; of motor-car horns, and—high above all other noises—the bull-throated roar of ships' sirens. Dense Traffic The minute hand of the clock jumped slightly, and /1937 had begun. People cheered, some joined hands and sang f Auld Lang Syne," and others expressed their feelings by blowing loud fanfares on whatever musical instrument they had ,at hand. Then the crowds began to drift slowiy away, and motor-car engines sprang to sudden life. Cars had difficulty in passing through tho dense traffic, and jams were frequent, but by «*)? o'clock there was comparative quiet in the, city. New Year's Eve was celebrated all over Auckland in many different ways. Entertainment was provided at hotels and cabarets, and there was dancing until early morning, while in many cases the celebrations were continued at private parties. For those who did not care to join the crowds in the city there was ,a broadcast of tho celebrations by eye-witnesses in the Ferry •Buildings.