DUNEDIN EXHIBITION

Grey River Argus, 19 June 1925, Page 2

DUNEDIN EXHIBITION

VISIT TO Till-: UI'ILDINGS. A GEEAT TEANSEOBMATION SCfiXE. A stranger io Dunedin a little over a year ago might have pardonably mistaken the site of tin* New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition for one of those romantic spots scattered throughout Otago, where myriads of men desecrated the soil in their ceaseless quest for a certain yellow metal. It was a dismal, dolorous spot flaunting its ugly self unashamedly amidst scenes that in comparison were of jewelled beauty. 11 was Lake Logan, thong'li one with telescopic vision might still be looking for the “lako’O a ccurtesy little no doubt, and reminiscent of a better past. These things are refer red to because to-day they are gone, gone like the pungent odours '. b.-it once assailed Ihe unsuspecting traveller who inadvertently got to windward of this ‘‘lake.’’ even in the swi ft .moving tra in. To.day, the spot (if 65 acres can be referred to as such) is a seem l of wondrous activity, and has been for some time past. The oozy substance has bv some inirticle solidified and i equally astonishing il has been made to carry upon its surface hundreds and hundreds of ihousamls of square feel of substantial buildings. One of the things that astonishes the visitors or those who take a cursory survey from a railway carriage window, is the size of the buildings. A visit, such as your representative paid a day <r two ago, enhances the effect of tin 1 hugeness of the place, though if your guide is acquainted with tin l position relating to the internal economy of the Exhibition, he will vouchsafe the information that generous as has been the Directors’ provision for exhibitors tons of thousands of square feet of space is st ill required. i Opposite the main entrance in Union Street, scores of mon are at work on a new 90 feet broad highway, a nag. i.ificent thoroughfare that is to run from the Exhibition to Dunedin’s handsome railvvav '• " and which of course will be a permanent re. •minder of what will be temporarily “the greatest show on earth.” As the visitor miters the spa< ions grounds the first thing that will mrely strike the eye is the dome of the Festival Hall, nt present in the course of construction. In the foreground, sandwiched beween two ornanuntal lagoons, is the Bandstand, which will be graced by the famous Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Regiment. To the right is the British Government Court, ami if bold figures convey any impression of size, it might be added that the dimensions as given by the guide are 390 feet by 155 feet. 'The British Commercial Exhibits will be housed at the rear. To the right is another building of the same design and acreage, and here the Canadian, Australian and Fijian ex. hibits will be on view. The Alotor Section is evidently to be a special feature, as to the of the Canadian Building is a huge structure of about three acres in which the ” Motor Olympia of the Sout aern Hemisphere” is to be held, ami i i claimed that hero will be seen one of the largest ami most up-to-date exhibitions of motor cars, trucks, i: e-tor evades, bicycles, accessories etc., (‘ver seen south of the line. A peep into the structure, 'where carpenters no longer beat their ceaseless tatoo. suggest that it will truly bo “ ;nnie show.” At the roar is tlie Now Zealand Government Section which is as long as the Motor Pavilion but only half as wide. This leads into the Secondary Industries Court, a eanaci mis I 'show room” over twice the size of the one just visited. But capacious as il is, it is not largo enough to bouse all the exhibits that are offering. At the north end the shell i> already up of the Restaurant ami Tea Rooms. The magnificent Festival Hall, which is to be the scene of much mirth and melody, is at present the scene of very differ. l ' 1 * activity. Here seem to be eoncentrated all the vvielders of ] am.

mors in Dunedin, and the rapidity with, which it is assuming shape it is evident that the ca ’ canny virus has not penetrated here. T’he Exhibition Choir of 500 lusty voices will he making the rafters quiver in a month or two. The Art Gallery is the most substantial structure of them all. It is in brick and will house treasures from many British collections, whilst French and American support is assured. Fast of the Gallery is the spacious Sports Ground where optimists are hopeful of staging cricket mat dies. Whether the turf, even on this magical spot, will be ouite ready is a dmihtf'il matter, but there will be a wondrous variety of other attractions ranging from such hectic pleasantries ns : n Axemen’s Carnival, ami tiig-of.war te spectacular military page:'.nis. The Amusement Park promises ’<> be a miniature Cenex- Island affair, with a water chute as perhaps the most thrilling of the attractions on otTer. From the Sports Ground one passes through the General Exhibits and Educational Court, an impressively capacious place, but “far 100 small” you are rather dolefully informed. There is still tin l Alachinery Hall to visit. Here massive engines will whirr and buzz in tune, or out of it, with the hummings of innumerable dynamos and the clangours of sundry other mysterious contraptions, all dear to the hearts of the young and old. There are many other places yet unnoticed. There is the Aquarium, for instance, where monsters of tho deep, hitherto only heard of in roman, tie tales of the sea will be there to refuted the notion that these are only myths. Tho ATaori House, which is already on the grounds, but only in piles which from the disenchantment of distance might appear to be noth- ; ing more than more firewood, will be ■ the nearest attendant to the Aquar. • ium. Tt has a romantic history they ; say, so many hundreds of years old and no doubt the Exhibition guide : book maker will find plenteous copy ' in those piles of ochred and carved ' wood. There is the inevitable Fernery and already small armies of those skilled in. the. Art of producing demure lawns, ornamental lakes, garlanded walks, and gorgeous patches of rainbow tinted flow r ers out of apparently nothing at all, are on tho warpath, or at least on the path to bo. They are armed with trowels and spades and sundry other xvorknmnliko mplements and with tho first sugges:ion of spring one can look forward to In ding that this verduroless spot has? mdergone a fresh transformation. i