EMPIRE EXHIBITION

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 81, 2 October 1924, Page 14

EMPIRE EXHIBITION

NEW ZEALAND PAVILION

NEW ITEMS OF INTEREST

AN ANSWER TO CRITICISM.

(FROM OUR-OW.N CORRESPONDENT.)

LONDON, 2nd August.

Mails that' have recently arrived in this country. have brought newspapers containing, severe qriticism of the New Zealand pavilion. .' Such criticism is from private people who have written to relatives in the Dominion.. Their impression of .the pavilion, be it said, was gained during the first week of the Exhibition," when'there was no pretence of the pavilion-being ready. -A member of the staff has something to say regarding this criticism.

"It must 'be remembered," he said, in the course bf conversation a day or two ago, "that four days before the opening of the pavilion 'there were no doors in the building. The offices we had cabled about months before were not finished.' Fora month after- the opening we .were subjected to the nuisance of having plasterers-and carpenters still working. . "It has been suggested we lacked imagination. We did not have the Prince of Wales in butter. ' We did not have miniature sheep farms, and bucking horses. Our reply to such criticism is that the Exhibition is a practical commercial exhibit, and aB Buch will compare with anything exhibited by anyone else. Our wool is set out so that farmers and traders may see the kinds of sheep bred in New Zealand and the class of wool. We show them merino, and then we show' how we have bred away from merino with the English Leicester - and. Lincoln so as to combine the meat trade with the wool trade. The wool was selected in New Zealand by expert farmers, and it was set up for display here and checked by four wool buyers who have had experience in the purchase of wool in England, in New Zealand, and in other parts of the world.

With regard to the meat. The exhibit was carefully selecte'd^by two experienced men- in New Zealand. On Arrival at the Exhibition, it: was cut up and shown.exactly as it would be shown in the retail shops.' One of-the most experienced - and capable ' butchers in London was engaged' for this work. After, he had completed his task- he expressed the opinion that in a life-time's experience of the nieat trade inXondon he had not seen a better collection of meat'in-one lot. Delegates to the International Refrigeration Conference 'who paid a visit, to the Now Zealand pavilion conceded : that, .for the practical, purpose of showing: the uninitiated the methods of refrigeration, no' finer exhibit could be found anywhere. "In the case of the- butter; we found it somewhat difficult to display .it in an attractive form, but we decided to adopt the old-fashioned method of having the butter made up in a fanciful way. The only merit about this is that it proves attractive to the passers-by and calls their attention to the exhibit.

"Since wool, butter, and meat are the three great industries upon which New Zealand's prosperity depends, we have given special attention to these without any reference to the scenic artist. Pin tho average disgruntled New Zealander down to the question as to how ho would improve tho pavilion, his answer is that we should have had a model of the thermal activities of the Rotorua district.' Attention has been focused in tho New Zealand pavilion on the production of a solid commercial show, and that object has been satisfactorily accomplished."-'

MONSTER TROUT.

Anglers in this country have heard a good deal about the 201b trout that are caught in tho New Zealand lakos, but it is eometimos difficult to imagino what these monsters are like. Those- who aro interested in tho matter now have an opportunity of seeing for themselves what tho waters of tho Dominion can yiold, for during tho past week a consignment of about a scoro ;of frozen trout, each weighing 191b or 201b, has arrived from New Zealand, and these havo been displayed on ico in the "refrigerated cabinet allotted to the fish exhibit. They aro a consistently formidable lot, and they will certainly1 allay any suspicions that Now Zealandors are prone to tell "fish stories." '

A NEW INDUSTRY.

A modest colleotion of pottery added to tho minerals collection has an interesting story behind it. There are a dozen articles shaped in imitation of Roman models which aro in the Kensington Museum. A New Zealand lady has. been in England studying the pottery trade. A friend of hers, a resident of Mercer, sent her a 2cwt sample of clay. This has been handled by an expert, and used for tho production of tho pottery now being shown at the pavilion. The expert reports that the clay is one of the finest he has seen for the particular fancy work it has been used for. It is understood that there are' 1200 acres of the same clay available near Mercer, so that it is reasonable to expect the development of quite a flourishing industry.

NEW ZEALAND TRAVELLING

RUGS,

A stand has been taken at the Pavilion by Mr. P. P. Evans, of Wellington, for the retail sale of New Zealand travelling rugs. Supplies have been received from Mosgiel, Kaiapoi, Bruce, Pelone, Timaru, Onehunga, and Roslyn. Five hundred of the rugs are now unpacked at Wembley, and 500 more are on their way here. Moreover, Mr. Evans is assured of a regular supply, which hitherto has been the obstacle in th» way of a regular trade. Inquiries regarding (he rugs have been received from China, India, South Africa, and America, and Mr.- Evans considers that after the Exhibition he will be able to carry on a wholesale trade. The rugs are being sold at from £2 2s 6d to £7 7s, and are meeting with a ready sale. Mr. Evans also _ considers that New Zealand blankets will appeal to buyers in this country, and hns cabled over for a supply-

The Prime Minister (Mr. Ramsay MacDonald) paid a visit to the New Zealand Pavilion recently, and was shown round by the Commissioner (Mr. A. P. Roberts). Before he left the Primo Minister expressed his admiration of tho meat and butter display. Another recent visitor was tho Duke of Connaught, who inspected the Palace of 1 ndustry, the Palace of Engineering, and the pavilions of New Zealand and Malaya. His Royal Highness, who went to Singapore in 1905, was particularly interested in the Malaya Pavilion, and especially in a working model oi a hydraulic mine. On entering the pavilion he was presented to the Raja Muda of Selangor and the Raja KccliiJ Tengali of Perak, and on leaving was presented with a inalacc'a cane.

THE PRODUCE SECTION

The refrigeration section of the New Zealand Pavilion continues 1.0 hold the interested attention of the thousands of visitors who daily ' pass through the doorj. Vaxjous rearrangements har*

during the past few days been made of the contents of some of the big cabinets. For instance, the cabinet which was used primarily for the display of cut meat, has been redressed, mainly with choice whole carcasses of lamb and mutton. There are about 130 of thpse carcasses, but so clever has been the introduction of mirrors into the background and the middle distance that one gets the impression that the display is far larger. The contents of the chamber are gTeatly magnified. There are cut sections, too, which show the excellence of the meat, but there are not nearly so many joints and small parts as before, and the general impression is that the new arrangement is infinitely preferable. The pathetic-looking sheep of the taxidermist have been taken out of the cabinet.

Changes are in progress in the cheese cabinet, too, and the four cheeses, each weighing one ton, are going to prove a great attraction. They are in perfect condition, and the muslin wrapping is spotlessly clean. The smallen cheeses are well shown, and they are in good condition.' It is not found possible to show any cut sections because the cheese too quickly cracks.

New Zealand's "Golden Cow" is still the majestic occupant of the butter cabinet, where there has been a slight rearrangement of the ' miniature model dairy farm and homestead. At the retail counter the butter is selling- continuously and well, under the one designation of "finest New-Zealand butter." It is put into the neat cartons each holding half a pound or one pound, and these cartons can, if the purchaser wishes, be put into an artistic Exhibition tin container. These containers aro being sold at 6d and ls in the Palace of Industries, and their maker suggested to Mr. Paviojir-Smith, who has been in charge of the New Zealand: butter stall, that, the smaller size would just take two half pound butter cartons and the .larger ones two one-pound cartons. These tins are popular, and they are decorative in effect. Buyers of butter are given a neat brown paper carrier' whose chief feature is- the New Zealand coat of arms. These carriers hold a good deal, and they form a useful advertisement from end to end of the Exhibition grounds. Mrs. Gifford-Moore, who is on duty -daily, reports good business in butter. In the 'space of eight hours yesterday she had taken £24 in shillings and florins—tha' respective price of halfpound and one pound of New Zealand butter.

One often sees jars of New Zealand^ honey as well as butter nestling in the" carrier. The_ honey counter attendants report a continuously steady demand. The apple cabinet still is an artistic feature, the fruit being well arranged in baskets, and though Mr. Attwood says his variety for show is somewhat attenuated, all the types available are choice and in good condition. At the apple counter the fruit is being sold still, usually at 3d apiece.

At Wembley during the warjn. days, there has been a great demand for fruit. The numerous attendants in the beautiful fruit" section of the Australian Pavilion have had apples, pears, and grapes with which to ring the changes, while from the South African Pavilion and from Crprus very luscious oranges have been obtainable. About the grounds generally now there are a number of fruit kiosks, aad some of the etalls are of the travelling type. ... i