THE EXHIBITION

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 74, 24 September 1938, Page 10

THE EXHIBITION

TOAST TO SUCCESS

ACCOMMODATION PROBLEM

"It is a little unusual to find a toast of this kind on the list, but the executive felt that it was time we all became Exhibition-minded," said the immediate past president of the Comimercial Travellers' and Warehousemen's Association (Mr. W. Smith), in proposing the toast of "The New Zealand * Centennial Exhibition," at the annual smoke concert last night.. In a little over twelve months the Exhibition would be jopen and Wellington would become a very big town indeed, he said. It was the duty of members of the association to play their parts in making the Exhibition a success and to get behind it like those who had had the courage to push ahead with this big venture. One of the chief of these was LieutenantColonel Avery, who was with them that evening. Lieutenant-Colonel Avery, in reply, said that he knew that the directors of the Exhibition would be very pleased by the evidence of support forthcoming from the commercial travellers. Already many members of the C.T. and W.A. had shown their! support in a practical mariner. Some idea of the extent of the Exhibition could be gauged from the fact that, by the time it opened, expenditure on it would amount to nearly £500,000. The site comprised 55 acres and the main block of buildings alone would occupy 15 acres. The floor space open to exhibitors in the four general exhibition blocks was 350,000 square feet, of which 75 per cent, had already been taken fifteen months before the opening of the Exhibition. A very large attendance was expected aißl, barring accidents, the success of the project already seemed to be assured. At the Dunedin Exhibition thirteen years ago, 3,250,000 people went through the gates, and at Wellington they expected to reach 5,000,000, or an average; of 30,000 a day.' There were, of course, many problems, including that of parking and accommodation. So far as parking was-con-cerned, they could now see safe parking for 11,000 vehicles in the vicinity of the Exhibition.. With regard to accommodation, they proposed shortly to issue an appeal to the people of Wellington for their co-operation; given this, they were sure that the difficulties could be overcome.