Hailstones As Large As Tennis Balls

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26349, 2 January 1947, Page 5

Hailstones As Large As Tennis Balls

(Rec. 1 a.m.) SYDNEY, Jan. 1. Hundreds of people were injured and heavy property damage was done this afternoon in probably the worst hailstorm Sydney has ever known. People caught in the open by the storm, 'which broke with terrifying suddenness, were knocked unconscious or cut by hailstones ranging in size from a tennis ball to a pigeon’s egg. Many thousands of windows were broken and tiled roofs were damaged. The acting State meteorologist, Mr Newman, said the hail had fallen from a height of 15.000 feet. He described the occurrence as an ordinary local thunderstorm of extraordinary intensity. / A Tasman flying boat arrived from New Zealand during the height of the storm. The passengers and crew experienced an anxious 10 minutes. The flying boat was forced to gain height to prevent accident, and it circled the city until it was safe to land. After the storm passed the hospital casualty departments were crowded with injured people. Numbers were admitted to hospital, but the majority were able to go home after their wounds had been treated. Casualties were heavy r at crowded Sydney beaches, where hundreds were unable to reach shelter before "the storm broke. About 40 people were injured at the Sydney Sports Ground, where a Highland gathering was in progress. There were few casualties at Randwick racecourse as the big stands provided adequate shelter. The horses were moved rapidly to the stalls to save them from injury. The Sheffield Shield cricket match between New South Wales and Queensland had to be abandoned for the day, as the ground was covered with hailstones and soaked with rain