EXHIBITION AMUSEMENTS. LIMITED.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 177, 26 July 1913, Page 8

EXHIBITION AMUSEMENTS. LIMITED.

AX" ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING. INTERESTING SPEECH BY CHAIRMAN". ! The statutory meeting of the Exhihij tion Amusements. Ltd., was held in the Chamber of Commerce. Svvans.m Street. 011 Thursday last, when Mr W. i". Haekett. in moving the a,'.option • f the I report, stated: — j In moving t he adoption of the report of the Exhibition Amusements. Ltd., I I think I am justified in congratulating the shareholders upon the fact that, thev I participate in what undoubtedly .-ems to be a very profitable venture. I The contract which Mr Bris Boyle obtained from the Exhibition Commi.--Isioners practically gives to tbe company j the exclusive privilege of providing enI tertainment for those patronising the j Exhibition. So excellent are the attrsic- ; lions which Mr Doyle's extensive knowledge of show business bar. enabled liiiu to secure that tbe Exhibition Commissioners have expressed their keen appreciation of the large scale upon which I the Wonderland section nf the Exhibition is going to be c.m.lu. led. The company was iloated wit Nut; Ihe issit ■ of a prospectus or the publication of ::ti advertiscnicnl. therefore upon youi directorate is imposed the .'V.isalioii '■; 'explaining to shareboldc'-s the exact j character and probable prospctis of your I nnuertiiking. Xo prospectus was i.-Mu-.l j fur the reason that the lignr..- arc o largo that instead of inspiring ounfidono • thev would probably have bad the r--Jvci'm. elbct. The concession obtained bv IMr Doyle embraces the following attractions, whicli have been apptovc.l bv tbe I commissioiicrs. and for vvbich space ha 'been provided:—Exhibit but of eincmai.I graph pictures, figure eight railway, j hippodrome or circus, jry vviie'-l. im- , proved merry-go-round, captive ha110,,11. picrrot shows, marionette shows, water chme. toboggan, belter skelter, kal/rnjammei- castle, laughing gallery, iniiii..iture railway, mimic rink, nigger dip, —a trips, cvclorama, "Scott's Dash to the P01.'." I Tho original syndicate decided upon ,tbc flotation of a small company owing j to the fortunate purchase by Mr Doyle. ■ for the comparatively small sum of i£:i3oo. of the whole ' of the Miramnr , plant, the erection of which plant at Miramar, 1 understands exhausted the j capital of a company lloatcl at £215.000. land wiiicli constitutes in itself the full j standard of tiie attractions shown al the I I lirii-tchurch Exhibition. lOOii. S-.ip.-r----iadd'cii to this. I have only 10 mention 'otic attraction in connection with vhie'r ■■the Exhibition Commissioners wore pu- | ticularly fas«Miiated, namely, ihe figure eight railway, as yet unknown t" New Zealanders. 'Well.'we have secure! this d.-vi.e ; ,t a cost of £1500. including transportation and duty, ami it is now 'in the Exhibition grounds, nlthough tbe original cost of the structure represent* £4IMIO. This attraction has no earning 'power of £10 per hour. Regarding the prospects of tiie present company, th" i faith of tbe promoters in its -ucce-s i-be-t illustrated by the fact that, alt" 1 ' providing the Exhibition CommNsionci - jwith a guarantee of £.-,000 for lie fubib ment of Mr Doyle's contract, they I p|'Cted to take shares insteail of cash. .(•wing to the unusual nature of this I venture, the promoters obtained tiie 1 in. st reliable figures from tin- most authentic source possible, namely, the li'llicial liquidator of the Miramar lonipa.iiy. Limited. These figures show ti 1 at during a stated period of a little over three months the Miramar alt ructions, which were situated in a moid ituu-c. -• jsible position, being some nine miles outside of the citv- of Wellington, were pal--1 ronised by 24.820 people. I lie gross takings amounted to £4 1!i;±. which, after deducting the entrance foe at the gale-. : shows that the earning power ot the Miramar plant averages 2/0 per bead. I Official figures further demonstrate that at ibe Christchurch Exhibition some l_.tHlfi.oou people passed through !,;•• turnstiles. It is only reasonable to a--|.some that included in the attendance of I _.Olio.not! were all the attendants and j workmen who daily passed through the 'turnstiles. As against this fact it must , be rcmemliercd that < hristchurch for , purjioses <,f pleasure and enjoyment is I under no circumstances to be compared I with the attractiveness of onr own city, ■ as is indicated by the admissions of all ' amusement caterers, such as theatrical 'companies and picture showmen. Moreover, visitors to the Southern Exhibition 1 bad not the facilities of travelling by live [Main Trunk railroad. Any comparison between tbe attendance at, the Christ Irhuri-li Exhibition and the furthcoming I Auckland Exhibition must necessarily ibe problematical, but onr feels s ;l f,-, j;* I saying that should Auckland in l'.M-l, with its larger population and increased I facilities for the travelling public, fail I to equal what was accomplished in ! Christchurch in 1000. it will certainly j have failed for the first time. On the ! assumption therefore that Auckland Ex'.hibition is going to lie only half as sue I ceasful as Christchurch in the matter nf I attendance, calculations can lie made ..upon the basis of r.n attendance of only 'j 1.000.000. Assuming that the spending power of the Auckland public will lie equal to that of the Wellington public which patronised Miramar. tbe takings on this conservative basis would amount . to £125.000. The Auckland Exhibition will cover a period of at least three months, although should events justify " the circumstance the Exhibition Commi--sioncrs are entitled to extend tbe l-'.x-hibition for a further three months, whilst, it is certain that the Exhibition 'shall remain open until after the Easier j carnival, which would be something oyer I four months. The ligures referred to here arc applied only to the Miramar plant at Wellington, whilst the company have other ! large attractions- of great earning power. I such as the figure eight, cvclorama. sea ■trips, moving pictures, pierrots. cud others. I Of tbe gross takings accruing under |Mr Doyle's contract, which is ui>w improperly of the company. 7.) per cent is reserved to the company. As wil! be seen from the report presented to the company, the fill 1 number of 10,0011 shares have not yet been offered to the public. This fact, arises from the circumstances that the. original pound shares were applied for so eagerly that as soon n~ your directors felt that tbe finance of the company was now upon a sound har-is they at once decided to issue it,l more shares except at a £1 premium, such offer being first made to the phare- ' • holders to the number of 1000 shares. I The-accounts of the company up to ihe I lime of tbe audit do not fully discl-iMi j the financial position as it n.,vv exists. and 1 am pleased to he able to report, I that the 1000 shares at the premium of . ii have been readily applied for. This I leaves almost. 3000 shares stiii unallotted,, and seeing they are now selling jut £2 with a strong demand, the value of such an asset prior U> the owening ot I the Exhibition is obvious. Your dircc;jtors are informed by experts that ii-,e plant consisting of ali the mechanical " I attractions and a most up-to-date elec- ' I trie lighting and power plant, which -j originally cost £fiooo. should secure to "the company, after the close of the Exhibition, every penny of the amount ii which ihe company has expended in pur-

I chase, freight, aud construction, as inquiries by those who contemplate a per- ■ inanent Wonderland in or around the 'suburbs of Auckland, have already been j instituted in connection with this posIsiblc purchase. The erection of Wonderjiand is now being proceeded with under 'the supervision of Mr Henry E. White, lend the whole of the plant is on the I Exhibition grounds. 1 am, moreover, iu th,- position to inform you that the company has .secured ibe services as permanent secretary of Mr (.'. S. Mitchell. i who after a period of over 1 I years with jMr "A". .1. Xapier. solicitor, has resigned I his position lo associate with the com- ! pany. Mr Mitchell is a substantial ; shareholder, and has been associated with the venture from its inception, ami i- thus fauiilinr with all its phases. In 1 .-.inclusion. I >vould simply say if you 1 wish to determine tbe value nf the t-oiii-l':;i:,'- undertaking v.m i".-.-, pevhaus I Is-si' do so by reflecting "n the following . ,'iv-l inns:— '■ I. Is the inhibition -_,-in._ to be a I 2. Is the Aib kla nil ami visiting amuse- ! rr.cni loving p.l.iic '.'dug to patronise a urge and brilliantly lighted urea of j ground containing novelties never prei \ion .y exhibited in Auckland? • j Notwithstanding ilie alleged ,-tn'ngonov ; lot' money we ser- record totalisator re- I : cord patron a;;? in kindred amusements, jls out- venture g.dng io be the exception'.' 1 'ihe .■<•,..„■ ~.,„ duly adopted, and j 1 Messrs IJcnrv ('. ili-.-.cc. William Ft. 1 l!..'kett. Percy -spencer. Michael ,J. Lynch, and Mauri.,. (I'l'oiub .- were. . .1 | j1 he motion •; Mr r- v •* -.->.- Moire, so,- J I r,,:d" I l.y Mr Albeit -pen..:, elected io I I the dire.lot.iic. :