BEER, BEER...

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLVII, Issue 21529, 16 December 1939, Page 8

BEER, BEER...

And Not A Drop To Drink Tragedy In Timaru Beer, beer everywhere, and not a drop to drink. . . . Forty dozen bottles of it. but all strewn across Stafford Street, Timaru. about 7.30 o'clock last night to leave a scene of desolation that attracted the sorrowing attention of hundreds of thirsty people. In the .pinion of many it was the saddest accident in years, and news of the war paled into insignificance beside the magnitude of this tragedy. How did it happen?—A lorry laden heavily arrived from the north with supplies for the racecourse booth to-day and made to turn from Stafford Street into Sefton Street. As the first movement of the turn was made by the vehicle, the weight of the load swung against the holding rope which snapped, the beer broke through the covering tarpaulin and crate after crate of bottles cascaded to the hard b'tun.en surface where the bottles smashed to smithereens and sent a river of beer flowing towards the gutter on the seaward side of the street. The crash was heard over a wide area and curious people gathered for a sight which they have little hope of seeing again. Staggered on Their Way Broken bottles were strewn over more than half the road surface in thick profusion, and traffic was disorganised for some time. Soon after the accident brooms had swept J ' .2 wreckage into a heap, but by then traffic was hampered by the crowd which, eager to see the’ sight, took little notice of the constable and the traffic officer who made efforts to clear the way. Cars stopped while drivers gaped in amazement. Dogs were said to h.tve taken a few sips and staggerei on tb'ir way. By the remarks of the spectators there were many humans who might have bee., temptea to do the same had it been darker. Actually the losses were not confined to beer, for cordials and spirits ere included in an accident which many thought was a type of sabotage of the nation’s resources. Some of the bottles which crashed to the ground were retrieved unbroken, but most those that fell were beyond recovery. The final touch to delight the o d was the lorry which drew up to take away the debris. It wr an old milk lorry and in large letters on the side this fact was blazened to the public. Many were the envious eyes that ”a J . hed the sad remains being mov-d away. For weeks the owners of those eyes had been worrying about how they could afford a substantial supply for Christmas. One twentieth of the number smashed would have been rmple. and they gazed wistfully at the ’ asted beverage. But it was no use crying over spilt beer.