Sound: fun and games at the VJ Day parade

Hear live broadcasts from the streets of Dunedin.

Transcripts

Part one: Parade

[drunken mumbling]

Radio announcer (RA): Hello everyone, here we are situated in Prince's Street, just in front of the City Hotel and around me are thousands of people milling around, all down Prince's Street. And here now up come the varsity band just passing, the St Kilda band has just gone past, and a procession of girls – there are thousands of people ranging right down from the Post Office right up Prince's Street and as far as the eye can see down George Street. And here now is the varsity band who are playing their number.

[very drunken-sounding band music]

We have now the leader of the varsity band, how are you? Are you enjoying the celebrations?

Student: Very much. [laughter]

RA: Right, can you give us a tune?

Student: [unintelligible]

RA: Well, we had that before – can we have something else? Is that the only tune you can play?

Student: 'To the shores of Tripoli'.

RA: Good-oh - let it go boys.

Student: 'To the shores of Tripoli', 'To the shores of Tripoli', one! two! [very off-key playing and some random whistle blowing]

RA: Thank you boys, that was grand ...

You can't see a vacant space in Prince's Street here; the crowd are absolutely jamming right across the road and right into the verandahs. They're right across the footpath; it's a terrific crowd here today for these victory celebrations on August the 15th 1945.

Part two: Nuclear float

And here comes a car up the street gaily decorated with girls on it. I don't know exactly what it is, but there's some great big device on it, and we'll see it when it comes a bit nearer ...

[Someone in the crowd] How's it going Peter?

RA: Very good, and how's yourself ? I'm not Peter though. Never mind, it doesn't matter very much – everybody calls everybody else different names today.

And this car is coming up with these girls – it looks like one of the factories to me. We're going right along the street with the microphone, right down the centre of Prince's Street. We're in front of the Strand Theatre now, and this car's held up with the traffic. Girls are on the front of it; there's a chap decorated as a nigger with a red cardigan on and black-striped pants. Another chap in a Pero's [?] uniform and about 15–20 girls on the truck. And they have a huge great atomic bomb! That's what it is, an atomic bomb on the truck. And they're going to blow up Hirohito. They're in the right mood for it here today too in this Prince's Street, Dunedin. We're away down ... Prince's Street now; we have a long lead of cable, and here they come ringing their bells and bashing their plates, and they recognise the microphone.

RA: Hello girls, where are you from?

Girls: The DSA!

RA: The DSA. And they've got their red, white and blue on and their mouth organs, and they have this huge atomic bomb on the back, it's a beauty!

They're just going past me and throwing streamers over the top of me, and this atomic bomb has on it the pin-up girls of the [?] Supply, Dunedin. I'm getting strangled with this cable as they pull me back. It's got from something to Hitler on it, and Hirohito, but I can't see just what it is – and oh! The cable got caught round a hook on a motorcar, and I nearly got dragged along Prince's Street!