ANIMATED SCENE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26748, 17 April 1948, Page 6

ANIMATED SCENE

DUNEDIN WOOL SALE EAGER BUYERS IN ACTION DISCORDANT COMBINATION OF VOICES There is nothing new about a wool sale. Dozens are held in every part of the country each year and there is little variation in the procedure. Nevertheless a wool sale to the uniniated is an experience not to be soon forgotten, and the many city dwellers who drifted casually into the Burns Hall yesterday to watch the bidding which will lead to hundreds of thousands of pounds changing hands, found themselves quickly caught up in the atmosphere of the proceedings and watched with obvious interest.

Bidding was animated throughout—and when bidding is animated at a wool sale the most casual observer cannot ignore the tension in the atmosphere and the enthusiasm of the buyers. There was a full muster of buyers, representing British, Continental and Dominion firms, and. incidentally, covering an extremely large cross-section of the species. Fat buyers, thin buyers, young, old, dapper, dowdy, bald, be-spectacled, and possessed of voices ranging from the most thundering basso to shrill falsetto—all were represented and all were intent on the business of getting their quotas of wool, cheaply if possible, but getting it by all means. When choice lots were offered the blue cigarette haze which filled the hall was pierced with an almost incredible cacaphony of human noises rising to a raucous crescendo and emphasised by gesticulations calculated to catch the eye of the auctioneer. British reserve and Gallic urbanity temporarily disappeared in the all-important task of making sure of the lot offered. Nor was Teuton stolidity apparent in this lively scene of competition at its peak.

The majority of the buyers gave the impression of being “ happy in their work ” and good-natured imprecations and broad smiles greeted the success or failure of rivals for various lines. In spite of the great speed and keen competition there was still time for a little by-play, and one Puck-like individual appeared to derive the most mischievous amusement from running the price up a point or two before drawing out of the contest. ' A tribute to the generosity of the buyers, or perhaps to the ability of the manv saleswomen in the streets, was the fact that each buyer on the high tiers of benches was wearing a red poppy yesterday afternoon. Even in this respect, however, the international flavour of the auction could be detected in the manner in which the poppies were worn. Some protruded carelessly from a breast pocket, some were thrust haphazardly into button-holes, some were worn flamboyantly and rakishly, and one was even pinned carefully to the wearer's tie. To the casual onlookers the sale was a fascinating experience, to the farmers it was an indication of, perhaps, a new car when available, to the auctioneers it was another highly successful sale, but to the buyers it was just another day’s work. There is nothing new about a wool sale.