ST. MARY’S FLOWER SHOW

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 15 September 1927, Page 9

ST. MARY’S FLOWER SHOW

TO-DAY’S ATTENDANCES. EXCELLENT RETURNS. St. Mary’s Flower Show was continued again to-day, and there was a constant stream of people interested in all there was to he seen. The results so far have been very satisfactory. EXHIBITION OF CURIOS. The collection of antiques lent for the occasion and organised by Miss Newland has attracted much attention. She says she is sure many more Could have been secured if there had been more time. People were very good and the result was a collection of antiques and curios such as had never before been seen in Hawera. It had been very much admired, and a feature worth special notice was the interest taken by tlie young people, who asked endless questions from Miss Newland. Altogether nearly two hundred people went through the hall. A feature was the -remarkable old china, which included many bowls of curious shapes and wonderful workmanship, and the sewing and wool work were such as were rarely seen. Included in the collection were such things as an ancient holder for quills and ink as used by a lawyer’s cleTk; a copy of the Treaty of Waitangi; a silver chain owned by a soldier whose wife was one of the nurses under Florence Nightingale at the Crimea, facsimiles of the warrants for the execution of Mary Queen of Scots and Charles I.; Madagascar raffia curtain; eighteenth century needlecraft; ancient bell ropes; patchwork curtain 150 years old; a wonderful bedspread, which occupied a whole lifetime and was then unfinished; wonderfully carved Chinese cheessmon; spoon cut out of silver; spoon showing house of three old maids in Llangallen; paper knife made from timber of Tyne Bridge, built in 120 A.D.; Arabian basket; Grecian and Turkish shoes; silver bangle from Egyptian tomb; Chinese embroidery and old warming pans; ancient spinning wheel; powder horn (Crimea); old policeman’s call; old prints and pictures; whisky flask picturing “Tlie Triumph of the Pen” worked on the side; ivory drum sticks used by a drum major in Crimea; wheat grown from seed taken from a mummy's tomb; table cover made by a tailor of the 57th Regiment from clippings of soldiers’ uniforms and formerly owned by the late Sergt. Fred Dale, killed at Otapawa and buried at Ohawe. These were some of the most interesting, but there were many more and they should repay close inspection.

CHILDREN’S DISPLAY. A capital programme was given upstairs by the children, three separate sections being presented —the small girls, the bigger girls and then the small boys. Previous to the concert the children all paraded in fancy dress round the halls and created much interest among spectators. The performances were organised by Mrs ..mg and Miss Picken, and consisted of floral drill by the elder girls and nursery rhymes in tableaux by the younger—Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and others. Mr A. E. Morris had arranged the boys’ show, and thirteen little chaps took part in a coon entertainment. A fence was rigged up with a paling missing, and as each item came on they tumbled through and over the fence on to the stage. They sang three choruses, “Old Banjo,’’ “Poor Old 1 Joe,’’ and “Good-night, Ladies,’’ and all went very well, Mr Morris acting as interlocutor and “firing off’’ a few jokes and the boys having a couple of frving pans as banjos. The whole programme was much appreciated and caused much interest and amusement.

TO-NIGHT’S ATTRACTIONS. To-night there will be folk dances by Whareroa children as done at the competitions and other dancing numbers. The Hawera Municipal Band will also give a series of selections during the evening. The flower show, the tug-of-war, the children’s concert and the stalls will form strong attractions and ensure good attendances. Among the blooms arc the following special attractions: Displays of very fine blooms (daffodils) by Mr Robert Gibson and Mr C. Goodson, and a wonderful iris, of extraordinary colour and marking, shown by Mr W. T. Good. These have all been much admired.