Bug#34738: postgresql: Crash! (fwd)

I have the following report from an Alpha user of the Debian postgresql
package.

This is the backend log:
================================================================
binding ShmemCreate(key=52e2c1, size=909848)
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: ServerLoop: handling reading 4
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: ServerLoop: handling reading 4
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: ServerLoop: handling writing 4
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: BackendStartup: environ dump:
-----------------------------------------
PWD=/etc/postgresql
PAGER=less
HOSTNAME=erwin
CLASSPATH=.:/usr/local/jdk117/classes.zip:/usr/local/swing/swing.jar
LESS=-i
USER=postgres
MACHTYPE=alpha-unknown-linux-gnu
EDITOR=/usr/bin/joe
SWING_HOME=/usr/local/swing
JAVA_HOME=/usr/local/jdk117
LOGNAME=postgres
SHLVL=3
MINICOM=-l -c on
MPAGE=-bLetter
SHELL=/bin/sh
PGLIB=/usr/lib/postgresql
HOSTTYPE=alpha
OSTYPE=linux-gnu
TERM=screen
HOME=/var/postgres
PGDATA=/var/postgres/data
PATH=/usr/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/us
r/X11R6/bin
POSTPORT=5432
POSTID=2147483647
PG_USER=postgres
IPC_KEY=5432000
-----------------------------------------
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: BackendStartup: pid 13494 user postgres db
template1 socket 4
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster child[13494]: starting with
(/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postgres, -p, -d99, -P4, -v131072, template1, )
FindExec: found "/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postgres" using argv[0]
debug info:
User = postgres
RemoteHost = localhost
RemotePort = 0
DatabaseName = template1
Verbose = 99
Noversion = f
timings = f
dates = Normal
bufsize = 64
sortmem = 512
query echo = f
InitPostgres
FATAL 1: palloc failure: memory exhausted
proc_exit(0) [#0]
shmem_exit(0) [#0]
exit(0)
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: reaping dead processes...
/usr/lib/postgresql/bin/postmaster: CleanupProc: pid 13494 exited with status 0
pmdie 15
proc_exit(0) [#0]
shmem_exit(0) [#0]
exit(0)
================================================================

Does any Alpha user know of a possible reason for this?

------- Forwarded Message

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 1999 18:15:12 -0600
From: John Goerzen <jgoerzen(at)complete(dot)org>
To: submit(at)bugs(dot)debian(dot)org
Subject: Bug#34738: postgresql: Crash!

Package: postgresql
Version: 6.4.2-1

erwin ~$ createuser jgoerzen
Connection to database 'template1' failed.
FATAL 1: palloc failure: memory exhausted

createuser: database access failed.

- -- System Information
Debian Release: potato
Kernel Version: Linux erwin 2.2.3 #1 Mon Mar 15 20:33:52 CST 1999 alpha unknown

Versions of the packages postgresql depends on:
ii libc6.1 2.0.7.19981211 GNU C Library: shared libraries
ii libncurses4 4.2-3 Shared libraries for terminal handling
ii libreadlineg2 2.1-13 GNU readline and history libraries, run-time
ii libpgsql2 6.4.2-1 Shared library libpq.so.2 for PostgreSQL
ii debianutils 1.11 Miscellaneous utilities specific to Debian.

------- End of Forwarded Message

--
Oliver Elphick Oliver(dot)Elphick(at)lfix(dot)co(dot)uk
Isle of Wight http://www.lfix.co.uk/oliver
PGP key from public servers; key ID 32B8FAA1
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