FASCINATING SPECTACLE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26708, 1 March 1948, Page 6

FASCINATING SPECTACLE

The thought that the Census Department must have substantially underestimated the population of Dunedin passed through the minds of spectators who sat in the sandhills at St. Kilda and watched the thousands pouring into Hancock Park. To many, the sight of so huge a crowd was as fascinating even as the fireworks, and they found themselves taking advantage of brilliant flashes of light from the display to gain unforgettable glimpses of the huge concourse of people, even if this meant sacrificing their view of some glorious spectacle in the sky. An extraordinary feature of the flow of people to the park was that it continued undiminished in volume long after the display had been started and continued—in the opposite directionsome time before it ended. Those who left at this stage were, no doubt, people who brd to catch trams or trains or who. forseeing the rush for transport which would follow the display, sought places in the first trams to leave. So great was the crush when the crowd surged out of the ground that perambulators were in danger of being crushed. Some people resorted to carrying these small carriages—containing' the baby—high above their heads until they reached some less congested spot.