OUR OWN MAKE

Evening Post, Volume CIV, Issue 143, 14 December 1922, Page 9

OUR OWN MAKE

GREAT RANGE OF GOODS

THE CHRISTCHURCH EXHIBITION

In the turmoil of the elections little notice has probably been taken in the North Island of the national display of New Zealand manufactured goods made at the New Zealand Industrial Exhibition in Christchurch. The exhibition was opened by Her Excelkncy Lady Jeilicoe on the 18th November, and it is the intention of the executive to keep it open until the first week in January, 1923. ■ ■ ._ Reports received show that from the point of view of public support the exhibition has been a decided success. Approximately 66,000 people have al- | ready attended, and tha exhibition k j daily and nightly the Mecca of throngs of the public. It is by far the largest exhibition of its kind over held in the Dominion, but it is npt because of its size that-it is attracting the public. The exhibition is highly educative and entertaining and is a revelation to most visitors of the progress achieved by the secondary industries of the Dominion. This rjrogress_ is typified by the official statistics, which are as follow :— Total j Semi-primary Other value of .industries, industries. product. Year. £ £ £ 1895 ... 2,116,403 5,817,648 7,934,141 1001 ..." 5,255,625 7,608,344 12,863,069 IDII ... 11,223,860 20,605,142 31,729,002 1921 ... 32,071,149 49,302,420 82,473,569 There is 72,000 sq. ft. of floor space for the 250 exhibitors whose bays and courts are a credit in every way to all concerned. Generous provision has b|ben made by the management for passage ways and rest places, and the public is being'".well catered for in the way of amusements and side shows. A correspondent who recently made a close inspection of the exhibition states that visitors have expressed astonishment at the profusion and array of high quality goods produced in the Dominion's factories. Exhibitors from Auckland to Invercargill have sent displays, so that the exhibition is truly national in scope. Whilst most of the public have a more or less general knowledfiriJf T»tot is made in the older established industries of New Zealand,' some of the products of new industries have given visitors a pleasant surprise.- The exhibits cover a wide range of products, among which . may be mentioned pianos, cash registers, weighting machines, motorcar bodies, gramophones, lead-lights, including a particularly beautiful stained glass church wjndow the product of a Christchurch firm, and displays of wicker work,_ stoves (gas and coal), confectionery, jamSj condiments, agricultural implements, plumbers' supplies. Visitors are freely asking themselves why there is any necessity for importation of such goods from abroad. Particularly fine exhibits display furniture made o£ New Zealand timbers in combination with locally manufactured leathers. These are beautiful in design and finish. A joint exhibit made by the New Zealand woollen manufacturers includes a most comprehensive display of their high-quality goods, which should be hard to beat in any part of the world. The greaj) advances made in the engineering trade are also given prominence, and even such well-known citizens as Sir Joseph Ward and Mr. T. M. Wilford, who spent a considerable time in inspecting .the exhibits,- found it hard to believe that the whole of them were exclusively made in the Dominion itself. Summed up, the products shown in the exhibition survey the range of human necessity in clothing, food, transport, education, and recreation. Much of the success of the exhibitionis due to the co-operation of the Government. .The Department of Industries and Commerce has shared in its management, and several Government Departments have made educative displays. One of the features of the entertaining side of the exhibition is the provision of industrial films by the Publicity Department. Some of the leading industries of the Dominion have been filmed and these have created great interest, and high encomiums have been passed on the Department for the production of such excellent work. These films are to form part j of the Dominion's advertising campaign in the British Empire Exhibition to bo held in London in 1924. The purpose of the Dominion Exhibition is to appeal to the public to pur- I chase N.ew Zealand-made goods and to j demonstrate the quality of local products.