TUESDAY'S BLACKOUT

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 6, Issue 13, 9 October 1942, Page 5

TUESDAY'S BLACKOUT

VERY FEW OFFENDERS

NEAV TOUCH OF REALISM

Wardens in tin hats, lent a greater touch of realism to Tuesday evening's 'blackout' test which after a gap of several months since the last tryout, was pronounced by the controlling officials as extremely satisfactory from a practical point of view. The alarm, ( which went threequarters of an hour before actual schedule caught most people 011 the hop and even those supposedly "in the know*' were this time at least, in exactly the same position ol' the average householder who was forced to drop everything and adjourn with his protesting family to the lightproof room, winch of course we dqgH? doubt, but that respectable Whakatane home now possesses Banshees on Wheels There was no excuse for anyone not liearing the alarm, for after the dismal rise and fall of the fire siren the two cars which circled the distant. sections of the Borough immediately after, with mounted police sirens were veritable banshees on wheels and like* that self . same spirit to the Irish bogs sent "ffiost people scurrying in fear either to bed, or to the closer confines of light, cupboard. The signal was given from E.P.S. headquarters from Auckland so that the element of surprise locally was complete.. For three-quarters of an 'hour the supposed raid was on, and •during that tima once again the E.P.S. personnel was immediately 011 the job, all men being at their stations within a matter of minutes from the sound of the first alarm. ' Traffic was held up in all the darkcned streets the main line converging at Domain Road-Commerce -Street corner. The only traffic 011 '■the streets at all consisted of the !boy messengers on their bicycles rushing off messages to headquart-' ers and the official cars making the round. Whakatane, save for a few unguarded chinks of light from offending windows, might for all the world, have been a city of the dead. Dealing With Offenders As we have said here were a few delinquents, the mo::t brazen being situated at the extreme end of Landing Road where little or no attempt had been made to check the outflow of light and the Home •Guard office, which presented the only lighted shop front in town. One or two others offended to a lesser degree but after so many warnings and repeated requests few will blame the prosecutions which are being instituted. Apparently it is essential to institute proceedings before a certain type of person can Jae persuaded to do their •duty.