THE CORONATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 102, 1 May 1937, Page 10

THE CORONATION

CITY IS DRESSING

BRIGHT BY DAY AND NIGHT

STATE CEREMONY

The city has begun, to for the | Coronation. Over a fortnight-ago, ths Electricity Department made a start with the erection of wiring : and switches to. carry' festoons of cbloured lights" in various parts of the city, and since then the State and private'business firms have entered the field.with the object of decorating and iliuminating the city and its buildings and creating the appropriate atmosphere for the: suitable celebration of, the. important event." Already a good, deal has been done, but there, is much more still to be tackled: and completed before May 12. /The presence, however,; of large pictures of the: King and- Queen, lighting" equipment, and "other forms of decoration will create greater: interest among the public from now on, and next week there will probably "be much activity in, carrying out and completing 'decorative schemes. ' ■ ; ° ■ BUSINESS PREMISES." [■ .■'■' It is rather early yet to forecast:the extent of Wellington's decorations and illuminations. What the Government has in view and also the City Council is known, but' it is difficult at 'this stage to gauge accurately the extent to which business firms will be decorating' their premises. Nevertheless, there are encouraging sign's that the business, people will be entering fully into the scheme of general decorations, work of this kind already having been commenced on a number of buildings, I,which promises,to provide a very acceptable splash of colour and brightness for the, occasion.' .' ', Apart from festooning the streets with, coloured lights .the .Electricity Department has erected red, white, and blue flag transparencies at various points. These .consist of strips of coloured glass which rr" illuminated from behind by white lamps. Further decorations are being carried out with oval garlands of lights and horse-shoe: loops. These are fitted with .. special reflectors and they ■ produce a ' pretty ribbon effect and intensify the colour. The decoration and illumination; of the various State'! buildings is in the hands. of /the ■ Public Works: .Department and for .about two months considerable preparatory, work has .been carried out in the Department's workshops in Wellington. A start ..was made this week. with, the work of putting some of the lights, etc., in position and pretty well everything was in readiness for the men to go straight ahead with the job. Coloured flood lighting, similar to that carried out at Parliament Buildings on the occasion .of the late King George's, Silver Jubilee celebrations, i" to be used extensively on this occasion. Parliament Buildings, Government1 Buildings, the, State Fire building, Chief Post Office, "the Wellington East Post Office, and-the new railway station are to be treated in this way, in addition to which cut-outs of the King and Queen, streamers of flags, bunting,:and other, decorative effects are' to be;en>, ployed. -The gates,at the entrance/to': Government House 'grounds[-are...alsp^ to. be .suitably.-decorated and1 illumiri-; ated.--; v: ,'j ,'...!■■,. ■i, .-.-.. '•:'-. . .'; -..- .-..-..■>! ■'■ Floodlight -^standards have Jbeen, erected around the Chief Post ■:Office and white flag-poles on: the- : fence ■of Parliament grounds. A start was made yesterday, with the: work of /putting/ some of the electrical, equipment in position for the floodlighting of . Government: Buildings, and a preliminary test was Held on Thursday night. As further progress is made more tests or rehearsals will be carried out with the object of ascertaining the best and most effective' shades, of lighting to adopt for the actual occasion.- . NEW MATERIAL. To carry out the illumination and decoration of the State buildings here and in other parts of the Dominion a considerable quantity of new material, consisting in the main .of floodlighting equipment;1 flags, and bunting; was purchased overseas with an eye, of course, to its use not only for the Coronation but for- other important events. In addition to the electrical equipment, flags, and bunting, various decorative pieces have been made in the Public Works Department workshops. When everything is in readiness it is confidently anticipated that a very, fine show—something well in advance ■; of anything -attempted previously—will be presented that will, provide/a spectacle/which will leave an impression on young and old alike. . /■■•■■■ : ■■ - CEREMONY AND PARADE. ; There is to be a Government ceremony in■ the' grounds of .Parliament Buildings on the morning of Coronar tion Day. At 10.15 a.m. troops are to: parade at-the north end of Lambtbn Quay in front- of the War Memorial. All the Territorial units in Wellington will be taking part in the parade, and. apart from the general spectacle the parade should afford some illustration of the steps taken to mechanise various .sections of the military forces. The Anti-Aircraft Battery is to attend; one' section of the sth Battery will be lorry-borne with guns mounted on sixwheeler lorries, and another section will be tractor-drawn. The remainder/ of the troops will be on foot. Colonel Fenton is to be in charge, and the •staff officer-will ,~be Major Conway.' feturned soldiers and the Royal Naval olunteer Reserve are also'.to'parade, as well as the Air Force Band. It is understood that members of the New Zealand Air Force who, are ■ stationed in Wellington will also' be present. The troops are to assemble in Waterloo Quay and- then march to Lambton Quay, taking up positions in-front of Government Buildings, where they will be inspected by his Excellency the Governor-General, Lord Galway, on his arrival. '-....' '■ .■■ ■. '-f/;'- -,"■-■ . ■■":.•".'■■, ':■:- IN PARLIAMENT GROUNDS. His Excellency will then1 proceed/to the steps' of Parliament: Buildings for the ceremony. A special dais and seat, ing accommodation for several hundred guests are: to: be provided there. :The military parade will;' march" from Lambton Quay' up into Molesworth Street to be ready to march past his Excellency at the conclusion of the ceremony. A guard of honour, \vill De mounted in the grounds of Parliament Buildings, and althoughwhen inquiries were made details had, not been completed, it was thought the composition of the guard would be divided'between members of the regular military'forces and of the R.N.V.R. in equal numbers. The actual ceremony on the steps'-of Parliament Buildings i s to begin at 11 a.m., and is to be on the lines of the ceremony held there in connection with the Silver Jubilee, celebrations in May of 1935/ On thaj occasion a dignified and impressive , ceremony was held. r Proceedings commenced "with tie hymn "All People^That on Earth-Do Dwell," and , this ;w as followed- by > Scripture reading,;.a prayer," anotherScripture reading,', and a prayer and the Benediction. In .addition addresses. were given by his Excellency the: Acting Prime Minister, who at "that time was the Hon. E., a. 'Ransom1 and the Mayor of Wellington, Mr T C VA. His-' lop.'- ■ ■ /';,-■■ ' ::rA-::.: ; :'":.;xfT

The official ceretnony in Parliament Grounds on Coronation Day is expectr

Ed to conclude about midday: Loudspeakers are to be installed in the grounds to enable the public to follow and take part in the proceedings. Tliere will be alternative ■ arrangements to meet the eventuality of unfavourable weather. Apart from the decorations in the city, the various shipping companies have been written to asking that their ships in port be dressed, and it'is anticipated that there will be the customary good response from this quarter. The Wellington Harbour Board will be co-operating in the decorations on the waterfront. The coloured wharf lights . will remain on until midnight and bunting will be displayed. Wellington should be bright witfc colour by the end of next week.