FINAL RUSH ON

Evening Post, Volume CXXIX, Issue 96, 23 April 1940, Page 11

FINAL RUSH ON

INFLUX TO ciTY

EXHIBITION VISITORS

CLOSING NEXT WEEK

So great is the influx of visitors for the final weeks of the Centennial Exhibition that -4he Accommodation Bureau is having difficulty in finding suitable billeting for everyone. This week particularly its resources are being severely taxed, and officials state that the rush is greater than before the Christmas holidays, and in the final ten days of the Rongotai season it will probably eclipse that experienced during the Easter crush.

It is stated at the bureau that people who have offered their homes for Exhibition visitors and . who are hot on

Yesterday's attendance Total, 142 days

13,324 2,321,905

the telephone are advised to notify.if their premises are still available, as the accommodation officials will not send visitors to homes unless they are certain that rooms are available.

A crisp clear niglit brought large crowds to Rongotai last evening, and the day's1 attendance, more than 13,000, was above the Monday average. Jit wa-;, an evening on which^both inside and outdoor attractions could be enjoyed, and the facilities were freely used. The playing of the big fountain enhanced the general scene.

Throughout the day there was a steady stream of people going through the gates, several large school parties helping to swell the numbers in the morning and afternoon. Within the courts the atmosphere was warm and inviting, and the majority spent their time there.

Among the entertainments was a demonstration arid variety show in the Assembly Hall, "New Zealand Youth on Parade." This was well attended and obviously enjoyed. Variety and originality were the keynote. Some clever child entertainers were heard in individual and.group items, and a community sing helped to brighten the programme. There were also some tumbling and gymnastic acts, and. an exhibition of model aeroplane flying andi a demonstration by members of the St. John' Ambulance Brigade. 1 ■ WOMAN'S PARTIES. " , A party of nearly 400 people from the Auckland districts -cached Wellington this morning for a visit to the Exhibition. They comprise largely farmers and their wives, and they travelled from Whangarei by a special train, to which several extra carriages were addei at Auckland. The excursion, which is organised bj' the Waitemata provincial executive of the Women's Division of the Farmers' Union, includes four days at the Exhibition. The party is scheduled to leave on the return journey next Friday. Other parties ■spending Exhibition visits are 50 women from the Oamaru district who arrived this morning, and 300 men and women. who will come from Southland, reaching Wellington on Wednesday of next week, May 1. .;' • ,>.,-.■ ANZAC DAT. .. '' \ S The -Exhibition will .be open frorri 3.30 p.m. on Thursday - (Anzac Day), and all facilities,, including Playland, will be' availabl* until the usual closing hours. Friday is to be "Diggers' Day,", when. visiting returned sodiers will spend, part of the day there and will be the guests of the directors at a reception. The Tin Hat Club, comprising members of the Wellington R.S.A., will give an entertainment in the. evening. Friday will be countrywomen's day. There will be an old-fashioned dress parade in the women's section at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Paekakariki Women's Institute glee circle will give recitals in the afternoon and^ evening. In the evening, at 8 o'clock, Miss M. Cooper, Wellington, will lecture on Honolulu. Today, St. George's Day, is being celebrated by a reception given by the Commissioner-General for. the United Kingdom Pavilion to about 350 guests. The pavilion will be closed to the: general public from 4 p.m. Ift the Women's Court this afternoon and evening there will be demonstrations and talks by Red Cross nurses. VISITING BANDS. New attractions have been arranged for this week. Tomorrow the visit of the Kokatahi Band, from the West Coast, will -draw former West Coasters to the Exhibition in large numbers. From a picture of the band it appears that their costume is unorthodox for contemporary musicians, but, according to Mr. John McCormick, the leader, it was the type of dress worn by the miners of the West Coast in the sixties, seventies, and eighties of last: centtiry. The mining camps of the pioneers extended from Nelson down to Jackson's Bay, and in every camp there were musicians who supplied rhythm and melody for the miners. The instruments played by the present band are similar to those used in the early days, and the feature of- the performances is that they still play the tunes to which the earliest West Coast communities [danced and sang.

The band will represent a section of the Dominion's early settlers little known to North Islanders. v

Requests from ex-West Coasters from all parts of the Dominion have been received "ir the visit, stressing its historical importance in the Centennial celebrations. "I hope that when the band is in Wellington the descendants of the pioneer miners from other parts of the country will be there at the same time and will rally round the banner to show that the memory of those pioneers has. not been forgotten," said Mr.- McCormick. y : . Another band attraction for the weekend will be the. appearance on Saturday afternoon and evening of the Southland Boys' High School Drum, Trumpet, and Bugle Band. They are celebrated in Southland for their smart appearance and high standard of playing. The band-have a personnel of 52, trained by Lieutenant J- L. Napier, one of New/" Zealand's best-known bandmasters! They arp to give two performances at the Exhibition, on Saturday afternoon and evening, at 3 o'clock and 7.30 respectively. They will play ■from: the band?hell, weather permitting: ' ; • ; ..'.'.■'.