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By Sydneysider

Sydneysiders had a real-life thriller—so far without the trick ending —in October-November, when gaol-breaks from Long Bay were chief news.

The newspapers had most fun from the fact that two girls fol lowed the example of notorious Simmonds and Newcombe and shot through one night. The girls were recaptured in a day or two, and so was Newcombe, after being loose for a couple of weeks; Simmonds, up to No vember 10, was still at large.

The army-sized police-hunt that followed the escape of S & N must have allowed a lot of pixi lated citizens to work off grudges against our cops. Thousands of clues and alarms, supplied by the public, had the whole Force boil ing like an ant-heap and comb ing city and near-bush areas in some of the foulest Spring weather this century.

By November 6, when the police reckoned they had Simmonds “trapped” 60 miles north of Syd

ney, good old Australian senti ment was switched towards Simmonds, who was giving “the cops” such a run for their money.

Final indignity was when after a night of torrential rain at end of October, portion of Long Bay’s outer wall collapsed. As a lot of people were quick to point out—it didn’t seem to have been doing much good, anyhow. * * *

Distinguished Visitor;

Airman Jan Moll, now 60, en route to festivities in Albury, NSW, where on October 24, 1934. he made history by landing his KLM Royal Dutch Airlines plane Uiver on the local racecourse.

The plane was competing in the London-Melbourne air-race (it was Melbourne’s centenary year) and lost bearings in a storm.

There were few navigational aids in those days but when Albury folk heard a plane circling over head in the night, a local genius thought of flashing the town’s lights to dot-and-dash out "Albury”. Citizens then rushed to the racecourse in their cars to provide a primitive flare-path with headlights. Moll and his companion, Parmentier, landed the plane safely—it carried mail

and four passengers—and Albuu helped them get it into the ai next morning to win the hand) cap section of the race. * * *

The Last Hi-Ho; There W/

real sorrow at the death (fror cancer) on October 14 of 49-yeas old Jack Davey, Australia’s bee loved and brightest radio-T star. This New Zealander, wv arrived in Sydney in 1934 with j to his name, and had to crash! 2GB radio audition to get a j; as a crooner, was earning somr thing like £28,000 p.a. at the ee —and not from crooning. * * *

Now For The Recors

History was not given the chan to record the verdict when NS Premier Cahill died suddenly 1 a heart attack, after a reco: term of office, on October 2\i even those who had opposed hi in life discovered at the 0 that he was “a great Premie His successor is R. J. Heffn 69, who plans to “carry on whr Mr. Cahill left off.” Whether will display the same genius; keeping the boys together s? ficiently for his Government : rule with a majority of ab<( four, remains to be seen.