ENDURANCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20432, 12 June 1928, Page 13

ENDURANCE.

’ SOME FREAK TESTS. AN AUSTRALIAN EPIDEMIC. (Fbom Oub Own Cobbespondent.) SYDNEY, June X. . Australia just now is passing through a queer epidemic, numerous young men seeking notoriety by way of accomplishing feats of endurance. Queer as the epidemic is it lias led to stranger de- • velopments, and to at least one police court case in which the principals were charged with imposition. At Bathurst, a young man from Coogee set out to break the record for continuous dancing. The police were suspicious of him and allege that when a constable visited the casino the dancer and his at- . tendant were asleep. Both were arrested and the would-be record breaker danced his way to the police station, and danced before' the sergeant as he was being charged and searched, and danced his wav to the cells, and danced while he was , locked up in the cells. He maintainedthat he was perfectly genuine, and he was not going to allow a little thing like an arrest to interfere with his record. It has not been stated whether he succeeded in his object, but his dancing had - ceased when he appeared before the - magistrate. He pleaded not guilty, and . his case was dismissed on a technicality. The case for the prosecution was that a constable visited the hall at 2 a_m., and found the place in darkness. He located a man in an anteroom, who said the dancer was in another room dancing in the darkness because the light had affected his eyes. The constable returned . at 5 o’clock with a civilian and then found that the dancer was asleep on a couch. The man that was supposed to • be keeping watch was also asleep. The same afternoon the police sergeant purchased tickets to see the test, and the charge arose out of the sale of tickets to the sergeant. Although the dancer had admitted going to sleep the prosecution failed on the ground that the sergeant, when ho purchased the tickets, knew that the whole thing was a fake. Therefore, it conld not be said that the sergeant’s money was secured by means of a false pretence. In another town a young man had discovered that there was each a thing as a ball-punching record, and he thought it would be a good thing to try and break it. About live years ago a man at Rockhampton punched a ball for three or four days without stopping, and that record remains. The latest aspirant for the " honour ” punched for nearly three days until he became temporarily blinded, and then retired. Next, Eric Sunderland, champion long distance walker in Victoria, announced that he would dance _from Melbourne to ■ Geelong, a distance of 47 miles. He succeeded, and he claims to have established' a record. Nobody is disputing that. Ue had relays of partners who accompanied him in motor cars, and a gramophone ftt one of the cars provided the neccMutrr music. He arrived in Melbourne at -iron as paint and continued his dancing iat a quarter of an. hour.