STATE SHOWS ITS WORKS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 5, 6 July 1939, Page 20

STATE SHOWS ITS WORKS

DISPLAYS FOR EXHIBITION

HANDSOME AND INFORMATIVE

Innumerable surprises await the public when the Government Court at the Centennial Exhibition is thrown open. # There are many novel effects, .and the pavilion architecture is a credit to the architect, Mr. E. Anscombe. Two big features of the court will be the lighting and ventilation. There will be three bays, and concealed coloured lighting, in red, gold, and green, while the separate pavilions will be specially lighted to combine with the whole effect. There will be no clash of colours. This court contains 98,000 square feet of space, and when filled by perambulating crowds, say, in January and February, would become insufferably hot were it not for the highly- : technical scheme by which fresh air is taken in from above, and diffused through the court at breathing level, giving a complete change of air four times an hour, by means of a system of fans and ducts.

The style of architecture in the pavilions in the court has strictly avoided ( the conventional. The court ' has in fact been arranged so that those in a hurry or not. seriously inclined may glean the main ideas from a rapid tour of the pavilions, while anyone .desiring ,tb study the actual working • of any State Department more closely could spend hours. The lay-out is such that while one may see clearly ahead for some distance, there is no long and uninteresting alley o.r thoroughfare, but on the contrary the visitor is led naturally to the chief features., in the court. All State Departments are here, Tourist and Publicity, Railways, Post and Telegraph, Public Trust, State Advances,' etc., so that anyone may book 3 tour, make a will, telegraph friends, or'otherwise use the various Departments, which today play a greater utility Part in the lives of the people than ever before. Twenty-six Departments in all are housed in the court. As one enters by the main entrance a cross-wall cuts off draughts, and on It there will be a special exhibit, containing some of the work of the Maori Arts and Crafts Department at Rotorua. On the left upon entering is the post office, which will have plenty to do in the building, with its big departmental population, and on the right is the administrative block. Tourist and railway booking rooms and an offi- , cial reception-room follow as one pro-, ceeds. HALL OF PROGRESS. The lay-out is such ,'that all traffic ' "must pass through the Hall of Progress, which jone then' enters. It contains the displays of those Departments connected with land development, such as Agriculture, Lands and Survey, Industrial Research, Forestry, .Public Works, in irrigation, and hydroelectric branches, Primary Products , Marketing, etc. All combine their dis- . plays to form what is probably one of the best individual sections of the court, as the exhibits will deal with the progress in methods of 100 years. t The Public Works Department's display in the transport section will contain,, faithful models of some of the largest modern bridges in New Zea.land, the Mohaka Viaduct model, 20ft long and Bft high, and that of the new Karangarua River Bridge, a suspension bridge with concrete deck and steel' girders, is 15ft long. Each model is one-forty-eighth of the full size. The Government Printing Office, the Housing Department, and many others have their pavilions and displays. THREE FINE PAVILIONS. The three outstanding pavilions are thdse of the Fisheries, National Broadcasting, and-Mines Departments. The Fisheries Department's pavilion is designed to show the curling over of the top ojE a wave; down below there will be a miniature fish hatchery, and the displays will contain rare fresh-water and sea fish, a fine collection of which has been obtained, as well as fine specimens of sporting fish. There is a floor display below the level of the main floor which will give, by charts and models, the fish resources of the sea, and show.methods of research and utilisation.

The pavilion of the Mines Department has for its facade two towers reminiscent of the head-gears of mine shafts, in which cages/containing the .figures of miners move up and down. -. The interior of the pavilion affords 1 free access to many interesting exhibits of grouped classes of ores and minerals. Coal, limestones, sands, and • clays used industrially, building stones, including marbles, diorites and granites, samples of petroleum, etc., are shown so that they may be studied. The underground workings of the Martha and Grand Junction mines at Waihi are shown in a model on glass. In this mine nearly 100 miles of development have been done. There is also an interesting display by the Geological Survey Department, with a relief map of Botorua, animated dioramas, and photographs illustrating gold mining, dredging, sluicing, drilling for oil, etc* The National Broadcasting Service pavilion has on, its facade a harp, •while the decorations express the diffusion of sound to wide areas. Its principal feature is the group of studios used for broadcasting from the Exhibition, These are sound-proof, but large glass windows give the public a free view of action in the studio. At times the recording apparatus will be peen in use. Demonstrations of other technical equipment showing the wide Irange of activities in broadcasting will hb .given.

FOUR LARGE MURALS. In the centre of the court there is a large circular space formed by four tall concave pylons, each forming segments of the circle, but leaving pas-sage-ways for the public. On these pylons, above a neutral coloured dado, •will be depicted in four murals the development of New Zealand in a century, in four phases. The artist is Mr. F. H. Coventry, formerly of Wellington, who afterwards went to 'Australia' and later in London did vrork which has firmly established him jn commercial art circles there. The work is to' be executed in a perjnanent manner, and after the closing of the Exhibition the murals are to be incorporated in some Government building. They will each measure 16ft by 17ft. This was far too large! for the artist ,to cover in one piece, and the work is being done in sections. ' The subject of the first mural will he "The. European in New Zealand Before 1840." It will show those who came to New Zealand then, such as missionaries,, whalers, and traders, and their' contacts with the Maoris. It will stress the virgin nature of the land in the days before it became a colony^ The second mural will deal with :-organised settlement, and will show/""the coming of the immigrants, their: landing, how hordes were set up, and Vthe steps which led to the idea •that N"ew Zealand should eventually become a - colony. The ' third of the phases shows the land being cleared *f forest and being brought into cultivation, to prepare for the great pro-;-gress in farming which • followed,,

Felled bush will be seen burning on, the ranges. Cattle and sheep grouped here and there will indicate the first steps in agricultural and pastoral industries. "The fourth mural will de- ! pict the close of New Zealand's first century and will deal with all modern forms of communications and transport. The murals will avoid stereotyped topics, and the treatment throughout will be in true mural tradition. ■ . MANY FINE EXHIBITS. "One of the most impressive exhibits j will be that of the Railway Department.- It measures 182 ft by 36ft, and contains a practically complete exposition of all the services rendered by the railways, as well as the mechanism of the signalling system. There is also a model railway, perfect in every de« tail of operation, and track. . The track is 1000 ft long. Along the whole, of the floor level there is a typical relief section of New Zealand country. Above; that is ; a platform, with a complete range of railway mechanical and electrical exhibits, to which stairways give access from the court. Behind the platform there is a mural landscape flanked by maps showing the rail systems. Even in its present stage it is a truly remarkable exhibit and, as everything but the maps works, people may have explained to them many things about signalling and train running that they have hitherto been puzzled about.

Not the least interesting of the displays in the Government Court will be that of the Defence Department, which will feature navy, army, and air activities with many working models. Near the entrance to the . Defence group will be a small cinema theatre; the idea of which is to educate the. public in modern developments.

Nearby is another and much larger theatre, to seat 280 people, and this will be used for showing various films educative of the activities of the various sections in the Government Court.

Though nobody would notice it while walking in the grounds or anywhere in the Exhibition, there is a great difference in the level 'of the ground, which makes the floor towards the Lyall Bay side some nine feet above ground level. This has been taken advantage of by the Education Department to sink its display- below the floor of the court. On a heavy concrete foundation will be a large globe of the world, and the remainder of the display will hold most interesting features. ~ The External Affairs Department has amongst other displays Samoans and a typical Samoan house. Another display that will interest the public is that of the State Advances Department, near which is the Public Trust display.

So far the chief activities in the different displays have been concentrated on the building of the pavilions and stands, but shortly the Government Court will undergo its finishing touches. The Government, which has backed the Exhibition more heavily than anyone else, has also given a lesson in expedition. With the exception of the Dominion Court, nowhere else is work so far ahead at the Exhibition. Space-holders who delay may find not only that they will be in each other's way during the -final rush, but that there, may be difficulties in obtaining the sort of labour they want.-

Drawings of some of the Government courts appear on the illustrations page today.