AN EMPIRE PAGEANT.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 307, 28 December 1922, Page 6

AN EMPIRE PAGEANT.

A FRUITERER LORD MAYOR,

NEW ZEALAND'S FINE TABLEAU

.Trom Our Special Correspondent.)

LONDON, November 2

London and the Weather Clerk smiled to-day on the Lord Mayor's show, a hardy annual indeed that is now in its seventh century of almost unbroken celebration. Other shows have boasted of the Dominions, but they were in warlike guise. ThL 5 year's show wa.s devoted to the interest's of peace and its products drawn from all parts of the British Commonwealth of the nation?. There were no two opinion* about i*. the New Zealand car was th* triumph or the procession—the only trouble was that in spite of its being well labelled New Zealand on every part there were lazy thinkers and onlooker, who described it as Australian.

This wa.s because the back of the NewZealand oar was given up to a tableau of a red shirted boundary rider —he was hailed with a. volley of "Beavers" all along the route for hie particular brand of noble spreading red beard by all the rules of that wide spread flame counts grand slam —gasper in mouth, all his long length lounging on bales of wool. By him sat a dainty milk maid on a stool, in dress of Dresden China variety, hardly. I think, to be seen in the bush. But they made a jolly picture, which after all was the thing to attract settler? to the lands overseas.

Their success was only equalled by the big Maori whose head of hair and fierce look made the lookers-on recall his cannibal forbears. The Maori woman too, attracted much attention, but she was feeling the cold and cowered beneath her blanket, although a .November day In London was doing its best for her in sun and a mild temperature. Both were formally playing in Chu Chin Chow.

For the rest the car wae piled up with Xew Zealand produce, huge cheeses, cases of butter crowned by tins of glaxo. At the four corners were bundles of wheat, below phormium fibre hung, ■while on either side of the driver there were splendid stags' heads, from Captain Donne's collection.

What was a clever reminder of what New Zealand is in these days was the label on the car:—

-Products of New Zealand and Posses sinns in the Pacific.' ,

On one side was Kia-ora. on the other Haere-Mti.

The Knglish are really being educated in thp fundamental facts of \'ew Zealand's productivity.

The Australian car had a large map 01 the Commonwealth with inset in its Central Desert a map of the British Islands on the same scale. This had Australian products arranged round it, and Kangaroos gazing pensively through their taxidermatised eyes. It seems unfortunate that Canada should have chosen as its central feature n large size rising eun. Seen from the distance over rhe heads of the people, one at once recalled the badge of the A.l.r. and concluded that it was the Australian exhibit.

The various city companies were represented—fan makers, patternmaker*, etc. But the last of the pageant ears wae that of the Fruiterers' Company, of Z ,018 T '' Ord Ma - vor ™* *!«»« in 1918. It carried a fine display of fcmpire grown fruit. The bannerol of the company shows Adam and Eve standing in front of an apple tree on which a huge serpent has wound himself Na.tlon«l service Mac the onh- intruding note on this ppaetf,,, pa?eant 4 cont.ngent of the men i n khaki rode in pairs one man in each pair holding a banneret with the name of ono of the norn „ one . the other the flag of that Dominion.

There w a , « ?rPat d , , of h Polv*t^h > '°" th 7 b0 - V 5 aml r,s th. preceded by a oar of silver "pot." won W the -Polj- champion, in e p ort ihe most modern note of all was KmnM by . Daimler car fitted with T' V, r e u Mt " 0,,t of !t Ma or broadeaM.n, it .. t he procession