THE EXHIBITION.

Evening Star, Issue 12873, 24 July 1906, Page 6

THE EXHIBITION.

TO BE OPENED ON NOVEMBER 1. Mr G. S. Munro, Chief Executive Commissioner for the New Zealand International Exhibition, arrived in town last evening. Seen by a member of oar staff 1,0-day, he stated that the buildings wcto fast approaching completion, and there was no reason to suppose that there would be any departure from the opening date mentioned when the foundation-stone of the building was laid last year—viz.. November 1. The mam building and machinery hall, as already mentioned, provide a floor space of 465,000 ft, every inch of which has been taken up. Further applications for space continue to come m. The artistic success of the venture is assured ; that from the financial point of view depends on the attendance of the public The applications for space are already accountable for a revenue of £30,000. We are indebted to Mr Mmrro for the following items of information : A complete electric light and pown plant is being erected within the Exhibition grounds, from which the building and grounds will be lighted and all power required by exhibitors and side shows win be supplied. The Besses o' the Barn Band leave Vancouver on the 7th December, arrive in Christchurch on the sth January, and make their first appearance in Atrctralasfa at the Exhibition on the 7th January. The fifth issue of Exhibition ** stickers " is now out. The demand for this " sticker" caused quite a block at the Exhibition office last week, people crowding in from all parts of the City to obtain specimens. The commemorative issue of postal stamps is well forward, and oversea oders will be executed in September, although the stamps will not be available locally until the Exhibition opens, and then only in the post office located within the Exhibition buildings. Already some hundreds of pounds worth of oversea orders are in hand.

The sports ground, which provides a rnnninc: track of considerable extent, is finished, and steps axe now being to provide seating accommodation therein for 1,000 people. The sports eround will be used for athletic sports, military tournament, fire brigades' demonstration, axemen's carnival, band contest, and Pain'a fireworks.

Messrs Pain and Sons, of London, ar« providing twenty fireworks displays daring the currency of the Exhibition, 'full programmes of which are being issued immediately for public information. In addition to the Maori pah illustrating original Maori life, there will be similar representations from Fiji and Cook Islands. The former islands are sending twenty-five natives and all native material to build bnts, eta An electric lift is being erected in one of the towers of the mam buildine From the top of the tower a powerful electric searchlight will be worked on flio Exhibition grounds, the City, and surrounding country. * ' - '