Santa Claus and his loyal fans were the source of havoc in the Civic Centre on this day in 1958, as hundreds of children flocked to him while he passed through the city on a brightly-coloured "sleigh".
Santa had been doing circuits of the shopping block, while his "sleigh" was being pulled by a car out in front of it.
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The eager children managed to halt the progress of the car several times as it attempted to continue pulling Santa Claus around the centre.
It was not just traffic disruptions the rampant children caused as they surrounded Santa - once a trailer-load of balloons was distributed, the children snatched them up quickly, leaving others without.
A representative of a city store was in the process of bringing Santa a new supply, but did not reach his final destination, as he was mobbed by children on the way, and his balloons were taken off him.
Some children were too excited for their own good, getting separated from their parents in their frantic attempts to secure a balloon. The police were on site, helping control the children at each stop made by Santa. This action proved to be necessary, as many of the balloon chasers who were separated from their parents were unable to make their way back to them.
Several worried parents called the Canberra Police Station to collect their children, who were safe, and did not seem to care that they were lost as they had managed to secure a balloon.
