Smoke Balloon Parachutist Of 42 Years Ago

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 16, Issue 16, 6 November 1950, Page 5

Smoke Balloon Parachutist Of 42 Years Ago

It was about 42 years ago that a very large crowd gathered in Hagley Park, Christchurch, to r see what was probably the first triple parachute descent from a smoke balloon in New Zealand. There was an air .of suppressed excitement and all eyes were focussed on the huge unwieldy mass of the half-inflated balloon, which, held by many ropes, was being slowly filled with smoke from a big straw fire, burning in a pit in the ground. The parachutist, who was also the balloonist, was a jaunty figure in coloured tights. He was quite unconcernedly chatting with the crowd and inspecting the three coloured parachutes before they were placed on his shoulders, in the harness that held them in position. As the balloon filled, the excitement became greater, and at last the great globe was ready for flight. There was no basket attached, only a trapeze bar. The jaunty figure stepped forward, gave a last wave to the crowd, seated himself on the bar, gave a signal for the ropes to be loosened, and up he went, doing various hair-raising stunts on the trapeze as the balloon ascended. The big crowd held its breath as the balloon swiftly climbed to about 3000 feet. It appeared very small at that height. The parachutist dived off the bar, and after a brief fall the first parachute, a red one, opened, to the relief of the crowd. Letting one go, the action was repeated with a white and then a blue one, with which he descended safetly to the ground not far from the crowd. On being relieved of the weight of the parachutist the balloon turned upside down, and a great volume of smoke poured out of it, before it, too, reached the ground.