Parachuting Santa crashes in Auckland Domain

George Sellars narrowly escaped serious injury when he was able to swing his parachute away from the glass roof of the Winter Gardens during the Farmers’ Christmas parade.

The plan was for Sellars to land on the outer Domain disguised as Father Christmas and distribute toys to the waiting children. The plane he parachuted from was flying just 300 m above the Domain – low enough for the spectators below to see him standing on the wing waiting to jump.

According to a report on the incident, Sellars was only a few seconds from smashing into the Gardens’ roof when he was at last able to swing the parachute away. He fell heavily into a garden patch between two hothouses, almost hitting two gardeners who were bedding plants at the time.

As he watched Sellars being blown towards the Gardens by a strong southerly wind, the manager of Farmers’ Trading Company, Robert Laidlaw, thought: ‘I’m going to be the first man to kill Santa Claus’.

Fortunately, Sellars managed to limp to a shelter and adjust his beard before bravely returning to assist with the distribution of gifts.