WELLINGTON INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, 1884.

Press, Volume LXII, Issue 12378, 18 December 1905, Page 8

WELLINGTON INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION, 1884.

In making his financial statement to the House of Representatives in September, 1884, t!he late Sir Julius Vogel first outlined the project of a series of Lndiustiial exhibit-iane to be held under the auspices of the Government in the various centres of the colony, commoncing with the capital. In the statement he called attention to the singular beauty of the woollen fabrics made in tlhe colony at (prices which, iwould enable those goods to be profitably exported. He also urged that co-operative -woollen factories should be established. The mining industries of the colony were statecTas being one point to which special attention would be given in connection with the proposed exhibition. It was also proposed that the exhibitions should be held every two years, and tihat two gold medals should be awarded to those who did most to develop the industries of the colony by combining excellence with economy. In November, 1884, Mr Geo. OalHs was appointed oe secretary, and £1000 was voted as a preliminary contribution towards the cost. The exhibition was divided into five different departments, viz. (1) textile fabrics; (2) raw and manufactured products, forest pmoduots, furniture, fisheries, agricultural products, chemicals, leather, etc. ; (3) machinery tools, implements, agricultural imnlemente, machinery, paper-making machines, carriages, (harness, railway apparatus, telegraph apparatus, etc.; (4) alimentary products, farinaceous products, seeds, ■bread, potting substances, meat, and vegetables, condiments, fermented drinks, etc. j (6) min- | ing apparatus and methods, mining pro- ! ducts, metallurgical iworks, chemkaJ works in connection with mining, etc. _A site was secured on Lambton quay, including the buildings, St. George's Hall, Volunteer Drill Shed, and Zohitoh, Newman and Co.'s warehouses and offices. An executive committee was elected, of which the late Mr Geo. Fiehor, M.H.R., was chairman, and this included a, number of members of the House, amongst • them the late Mr D. Reese, M.H.R., and several prominent Wellington citizens. Sectional and local committees were eet up. The Canterbury committee including amongst others Messrs J. L. Scott (chairman), R. Allan, H. B. Kirk, A. G. Howhmd. C. M. Gray, G. T. Booth, W. Moor, M. Murphy, E. C. Ashbv, E. Dobson, and Dr. Symes, with Mr W. Jameson as eecretary. In addition to the usual exhibition sections there was a home industry branch, and medals were offered for public speaking, elocution, end Ringing contests. Gold and silver medals were also offered for essays on 'The present condition and future prospects of the industrial reeouroes of the colony, and the best means of fostering their development." The two equal gold medals in this were won by "Wessre Richard Winter (Blenheim) and W. R. HaseWon (now Judge Haselden), and Mr Geo. R. Hart, of the Christchurch "Press," won the silver medal. Tfiero were eighteen competitors. A military band contest wae organised, for wnich eight bands entered. The bands competing came from Oanmru, Invercargill, Cfortetcirurch, Auckland, Wanganiii, ■Wellington, Dunedin. and Nelson. The prizes were awarded by Mr C. D. Mackintosh, of Wellington, who was the sole judge, as follows:—First prize, £50, Garoaru Garrison Band, with 568 points; second prise, £50, Invercarsjill Garrison Band, with 565 points; tnird prize. £25, Auck'and Artillery Band end Christchuroh Garrison Band equal with 530 points each. Mr W. Dorn was bandmaster of the Christchurch Garrison Band, and Mr W. V. Siddall, now of the Woolston Band, bandmaster of the Invercargill Band. The test selections were as under:—Oamaru, "Lee

Huguenots"; Invercargill, ""William Tell'; Christchurch, "Reminiscences of Verdi"; Auckland, "Honoria." The Exhibition was opened on August let, IBeo, by his Excellency tho Governor, and on tiie 22nd August, a further special section of the Exhibition —the Home Industries branch—was opened by the Governor. In his speech Jiis Excellency said: "Before concluding these" observations 1 must not fail to mention one item to which I wish distinctly to draw your undivided attention; this is the divided ekirt. of which there are admirable specimens. You may depend uncn it, there is a greet deal of sense in the divided skirt. The day v> not far distant j fancy when we shall have woman suffrage, and we shall find that the first thing brought before the Parliament for debate will be divided ekirt.' . In one part of his address, at any rate—that referring to the near advent of woman suffrage—his Excellency was prophetic. A cantata. specially written for the occasion by Mr C. J. Thomas, was performed. The total number of exhibitors in the general and art branch was as follows : — "Wellington general 113, art 72; Otago, 57 and 16; Canterbury. 5G and 15: Auckland, 47 and 16; Nelson, 32 and 14 ; "Wanganui. 14 and 8; Hawk"'s Bay, lfi and 4 ; Southland. 14 and 5; Thames, 14 and 1; West-kind, 9 and 2; Marlborough, 8 and 1; Taranaki, 6 and 1 ; Gisborne, 5 and 1: Timaru, 3; Oamaru, 1 and 1; Norfolk Island, 1. Total general branch. 396; art section, Io8; grand total, oo\. In the Home Industry branch the numbers wore as follows:— Wellington 231, Auckland 74, Canterbury 70 Ota t> 64. Thames 63. HawKos Bay 42, Oamaru 29, Neleon 24, Taranaki 14 Timaru 11, Gisborne 9, Marlborough 9. Wanganni 8, Southland 4, Westland 3;' total. 655. The entertainments were varied in their character, including two lectures by tho late Mr U. A. Sala. Mr E. W. Soagor gave a number of most successful entertainments to children and Maoris. An organ recital was also given by Mr H. Wells. With regard to the buildings, it may be mentioned that they covered an area of 82,425 superficial feet. Tho total amount of timber used was 260,001) superficial feet; galvanised iron, 40 tons; railway iron, 16 tons; glass, 12.200 superficial feet. The Exhibition was'closed on the 31st October, 1885, by the Governor. The total admissions were:—Adults 75,380, children 17,604, miscellaneous (including season tickets) 39,797, or a, grand total of 132,787 visitors. It is noticeable how closely the total admissions for tho two first months approximated. For August the number was 45,651, and lor September 46,483. Coming to the financial results of tho Exhibition, the total receipts amounted to £6856 11s 9d. The items of expenditure were:—Buildings, fittings, decorations, etc., £7753 7s 6d; current expenditure, £7756 8s 3d; awards, £711 Is sd; making a total of £16,220 17s 2d, leaving a deficit of £9364 5s sd. Tho following Canterbury exhibitors were awarded first prizes:—Austin, Kirk and po., pottery ware and sanitary sippliances; Bowron Bros., fancy leathers; Lightband, Allan and Co., boot leather, basils, black bag leather, glue; Andrews and Beaven, chaffoutters, horse geara; P. and D. Duncan, corn crushers, Keed sower, ploughs, combined horse hoe; Booth, Macdonald and Co., Carlyle iron windmill; T. Crompton, mangles and washing machines; Hale, Throp and Co., rope, etc.; W. H. Price, double jacting hand fire pump; W. Nicholls, boots and shoes; A. J. White, drawing-room suite, overmantel and sideboard; Whitcombe and Tombs, letterpress printing; T. R. Proctor, optical goods; Boon and Stevens, double buggy; W. Langdown and Co., carriage material; W. Moor and Co., phaton; Hale, Throp and Co., manina rope, lines of various kinds; W. Mitchell, carpets; Lightband, Allan and Co., factory-made boots and shoes; New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, general exhibit of cereals: J. and T. Danks, gas burners, hydraulic rams; Scott Bros., ranges, steam engine, steam pump, ornamental castings, etc.; A. J. White, furniture: T. H. Green, hams and bacon; New Zealand Pickle .and Preserving Company, miiishroom ketchup; Maclean Picklo and Preserving Company, pickles. Other Canterbury exhibitors in the various sections were:—Ford and Ogden, J. "B. Mansfield, Belfast chemical works, Andrews and Beaven, Mason, Struthers end Co., T. C. Dow, A. J. White (organ and furniture), Lonsdale Bros., C. Effey, W. Hooker, ,A. G. Howland, Elms-ley and Curlett, H. L. Welch, Halo, Throp and Co., Kaiapoi Woollen Company, G. King, M. Sandstein, W. Cuddon and Co., Duncan and Son, New Zealand Farmers' Co-openativo Association, R. Wilkin and Co., Aulsebrook and Co., Ashburton Cheese and Butter Factory Company, Salvatore Lezza, R. Tait, 8. Manning and Co., and Vincent and Co. In tho art section the principal attraction was the magnificent series of Maori' pictures (life-size) ' painted by Herr Lindauer, an Austrian artist, to the order of Dr. Buller, by whom they were exhibited. Among the Christchurch exhibitors in this section were Captain E. F. Temple, Messrs A. A. Cambridge, A. Chapman, W. M. Gibb, J. Gibb, the late James Peele, J. F. McCardell (illuminated history of Canterbury). In the home industry branch there were several Canterbury exhibitors.