OTAGO.

Press, Volume VI, Issue 673, 26 December 1864, Page 2

OTAGO.

NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION. The whole of the space within the building which can be made available for exhibits, has been allotted by the Commissioners to the different provinces, colonies and countries from which contributions have been promised ; but, as yet, not many eases have been received. This is to be regretted, as there is reason to believe that many intended exhibitors, especially in Otago, are holding back their goods, simply because there are some which cannot be received until nearly the last moment. The result will be unnecessary forcing, on the part of those who represent the exhibitors, and especially of the employees of the Commissioners upon whom the general supervision devolves ; and it cannot be too strongly urged upon all who have had space allotted to them, that not another hour's delay should now occur in sending their exhibits. For the purpose of indicating how the space has been allotted, it will be well to imagine the floor area divided into four equal portions. Each of those four portions may be sub-divided into central hall space. The first sub-division will include a large detached block, and also an arrangement of counters and stands, placed close against the line of the pillars supporting the gallery. The width of the two great towers, (the depth of which is 25 feet, or the same as that of the gallery), will make the lines of the main avenue, from the chief entrance in Great King street or to the doorway on the opposite side, which opens on the corridor, connecting the building and the annexe.for the machinery in motion. In this avenue there are at present being erected two exhibits—the beautifully finished apparatus for :the Cape Saunders lighthouse; and a cast iron fountain which is constructed by Messrs. Park and Curie. The fountain will be 10 feet high, and there will be three basins, the water rising through & gracefully decorated jet at the top. In the lower basin, four swans will be grouped around the stem; herons and foliage being clustered at the two other heights. There is space for some other central objects in this avenue. Taking the quarter of the building to the left on entering from Great King street, the whole of it, we find, has been allotted to Otago. Under the gallery here, we noticed, yesterday, a case intended for the goods contributed by Messrs. Rose and Glendihmng, the front of which will be filled with a plate of sheet glass 11 feet by 6 fee.t, which was the largest procurable in the southern hemisphere. There are various packages scattered in different directions; but the only point within Otago's boundaries at which work is really being done, is in the King street limb of the angle of the gallery, where the exhibits got together by Dr. Hector, from the Geological Museum of. the. province, and other sources, are being arranged in cases, under Dr. Hector's supervision, and where there are two or three cases already filled with stuffed specimens of 2few Zealand birds. One of the staircases is included in the Otago quarter; but this is by no; means a disadvantage, as there will be. a good deal of hanging space available in each of the three flights The second quarter on the left side of the entrance is allotted to Great Britain; and within it will appropriately come the beautiful collection of natural and artificial products contributed by the Government, from the Indian Museum, London, which will be displayed in the gallery. The fine organ sent by Mr. Louis, its builder, from Wellington, is being erected in the line of the cross avenue which separates these and the other divisions, and is being placed close home to the line of the pillars. Taking the half of the building to the right of the. entrance, we learn that the two central blocks of space have been reserved by the Commissioners for the exhibition of specially attractive articles that can advantageously be placed there instead of being kept J strictly within the assigned geographical limits. The . under-gallery space to tie right of the entrance, up [to the line of the gallery on the northerly end of the building, is appropriated to N elson.; and Auckland gets the corresponding space on the other side of the building. Canterbury will bare''the angular space within the gallery line bounding Kelson, and also, half the under-gallery space j and the corresponding portion on the other side will be divided amongst the other provinces of the colony. Half the gallery space, as before stated, will be occupied by the exhibits of Otago and Great Britain ; or, in fact, more than the half will be so occupied, as the province and the home country each gets the area enclosed by the tower walls. In the other hal£ the part that was assigned by the Commissioners "to the Fine Arts, will be kept for provincial exhibite that cannot be included in the limits proper before mentioned; for the Fine Arts CommittM har« «hn«m :

Ir v """"j".- nlpft* as the best for the exhibition of pic- \ portion of the south gallery is - tn Australia and, the four colonies will each *i__repre9o-tcd. Adjoining this, there is a block al fnvace; and the remainder of the space up to »* ____-'lme will be all needed for wools and ths roW»r »—•" •_" i_ selected by the Fine Arts Committee is * ____c 3 from the corridor, and is between the reffSment department and the annexed. The Com_S_«hftTe yet to decide the very important questhis room, which is 27ft by 47ft shall be *^& d or colored. The refreshment department, a large bar and a restaurant, will be iSiedas the lessee, Mr. James Johnston, may de"Stßiere is also in connection with the corridor, yL* retiring room for ladies, and a room for the ___g( the Commissioners. It is to be hoped that I Acre wnl be a good collection of flowering plants obm 2-sfld through the agency of the Otago Local Com*__M>. fbr the corridor, assigned for their exhibition suitable place for the purpose. ' *jn the easterly tower, on and above the level of the _tf£ there have been placed and are being fitted, 4 !__fctiron tanks of 400 gallons each, for the purpose j s»iTing supply to the fountain (or fountains), sluic- j or anything else requiring water power, j j? ffifrine which will give motion to the machinery J will be made to pump water into the !__j~ from wells sunk in connection with the erection rft_ebu_ding. ___,_, . . She engine to be used for these purposes is that -__eh wfll do dnty on board the dredge ordered by A« Government for harbor work. It is a 30-horse | __de lever engine, and will be fitted centrally in the ___texe. Two of the dredge'B boilers, each weighing i * _0 cwt- will be erected on the northerly side of the! agosxe; and the steam pipe is already partially laid to the site of the engine. A portion of the shafting •> gg} pulleys is also in its place, and there is a fair * m -* c matter °f the delivery of machinery. Sfr.Q_eve is superintending in this department, under tbe-section of Mr. Balfour, the Provincial Marine Jusßser. ' < "~ j_ -gi-B-Med" iron fence has been erected on the Motherly aide of the building, so as, with the walls of I - u-i corridor, to enclose a huge yard, which will he kreDed and gravelled, and used for the exhibition of pfjmiM of wire fencing, railing, kc Mr. Horsman \ KM been appointed hy the Commissioners to the .7 office of Superintendent of the Exhibition; and we a» sore that they and he, and all concerned, now most * fcfitily desire the speediest possible delivery and peeing of aE intended exhibits.— Daily Times, 16th C-WSX-US Houdays.—Great preparations are being made up the country to celebrate the Christ_whaihonys by a variety of sports. At Cromwell there wfll be races on Thursday and Friday, the 29th _ «nd SOtfc instant. At Fran-ton, the Jockey Club noes wiE be held on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the sth, 6th, and 7th January ; and at Arthur's Point there will be races on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of December. Other less imposing projects are advertised, ud.it is evident the mining population is bent om having a merry Christmas. — Daily Times, 21st instant. __c following Is extracted from the Dunstan Times, of the 16th instant: —" We inspected yesterday, in the shop of Messrs. Goodwin and Barlow, Sunderland sheet, a very handsome assortment of jewelry, • ■ auaajfcetured by those gentlemen expressly for the Hew ?f-l»-ri Exhibition; consisting of brooches, hesst-pins, rings, 4c-, all made from gold the produce <£ this district. The workmanship is unique, and we have little doubt hut that our Dunedin friends w3l allow that the articles manufactured by Messrs. Goodwin and Barlow, for quality of material and beauty of workmanship, can scarcely he surpassed. We were also shown some very minute horse shoes, a_de by Mr. Ed. Lindsey for the same purpose. They jymw-t those that would be worn either by a heavy draught or race horse, and are of so inilnitesimally ■Ball and delicate manufacture, that without we had MtU-UJ seen them wrought on. an anvil, we could not _aye believed such to have been the case. M. Theodore Banft, a miner, is now constructing a model of __ «kim l situated on the Molyneux. It promises to -1",. he a very ingeniously constructed piece of work, and '»iD, when completed, show the whole workings of -"■>-- As ftU™ with great minuteness. The river bank is tent placed in a conspicuous position. '-":''-' Below this is the stripping with the various strata >■'''■ shown with great exactness. The appearance and dip V- : of the reef, the river below, and several miniature ~i wnit-a are also reproduced with great nicety. s'* JUt-ough the process of construction is a tedious one, | yet Mr. Banft expects to complete his model in a few ~; - dtp., He intends to send it to the Exhibition, where i -__ form not one of the least interesting exhibits V; tftom this district.