DUNEDIN EXHIBITION.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 19 January 1926, Page 6

DUNEDIN EXHIBITION.

LOCAL RESIDENT’S IMPRESSIONSA local resident who has just returned from a visit to the Dunedin Exhibition writes interestingly of his impressions: “First the people, everywhere, at all times making for the exhibition. In Dunedin at the present time all roads lead to Logan Park, and in the exhibition grounds they crowd the courts, the fernery, the amusement park till one is fain to leave the grounds in order to breathe. But yet the crowds are exceedingly orderly and well behaved and obliging. The police say that they watched for the bad ’uns, tapped them on the shoulder as soon as they landed on Dunedin station, and quietly told them that their room was required more than their company. And so there have been no speilers among the crowds. 1 stayed while in Dunedin in a house overlooking George street, and 1 was never tired watching carload after carload coming in from the north, all loaded with passengers eager for the great show. Then the arrangements to shift the crowds were very impressive. Taxis seemed to have little to do. A special road from the railway station to the exhibition was constructed, tarred and lit with flaring lights, and on it great buses and cars pounded at all hours. AA r hen the gates closed at 10.30 p.m. the main road leading from the grounds was like AVaihi road on race night. “I was impressed by the wholehearted support of the Dunedin people. Public and private citizens seemed to realise that it wa6 expected that they would do the. exhibition well, and though trade in the town was suffering because of the desire of the visitors to spend their money in the show, yet no complaints were heard. I shall be surprised if the number of season ticket holders do not constitute a record. “Then one was impressed by- the number of people who had their exhibition experience in the amusement park. Far be it from me to say that they went nowhere else, but the scenic railway and the caterpillar railway were perpetually screaming along. The dodge ’em, the switchback, the crazy cottage, the merry-go-round, the turn-them-out-of-bed all do great and continued business.

“The courts grip one. The British Court holds pride of place and of merit. The models of the old windjammer battleships, Nelson’s Victory, Grenville’s Revenge, and a host of others attract boys of youth and of age. The sheet metal work is, I- believe, wonderfully executed. The illuminated photographs and scenes of old and new London hold one fascinated. And so on until the mind is obfuscated by the very wealth of material.

( “But, frankly, I liked the Fijian Court best. The centre is occupied by a hut built in native style. The roof, a foot thick, consists of rushes like our raupo, and is renewed, I believe, every year. But I was impressed by this court mainly because it is an illustration of the possibility of using and adopting native and home-grown articles to all manner of uses. The rushes provide the roofing material; the coeoanut is given many a job.. I saw some beautiful flowers, every petal of which was a sea shell.

“The motor and machinery shows are simply appalling to the layman like myself. Cars, lorries, accessories, and every other imaginable perquisite for a car is shown in. bewildering number and detail. Truly,,,the display requires a certificated engineer to appreciate it. “But the band—last, but by no means the least. Say what one will, the uniform possesses a big attraction. An hour before the advertised time of starting the crowd begins to gather, the chairs fill no, and those who prefer sitting on the grass to paving 3d for a seat spread coats or rugs and sit down. The conductor told me that he thought the crowds quiet and unappreciative. I thought them very Quick to express their feelings. The conductor is a wonder. For hours he leads his band of 33 performers through grave and gay, difficult and easy, heavy and light music, with never a note before him. He says that music in front of him would distract him. It seems right, for his band seem simply to hang on to him from start to finish. I wats not impressed by the Highland pipe solos with band accompaniment. They were undoubtedly very harmonious, but it was found necessary to fit a special reed to the pipes, and the result was the loss of the minor note in the music. “A last impression was that it would take a month to ‘do’ the exhibition. As T had less than a week I had perforce to come away leaving much unseen.”