BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLI, Issue XLI, 10 September 1921, Page 10

BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION

IMPERIAL STOCK-TAKING

A NATIONAL SPORTS GROUND

LONDON, July 6. Wembley Park has been selected as the site of the British Empire Exhibition, 1923. The executive were faced with the alternative of making the best of such exisitirig exhibition buildings as could be obtained, or of creating an entirely new exhibition centre. After careful examination of the existing exhibition facilities, the latter course was decided upon. Wembley Park lies beyond the, north-west edge of London, towards Harrow-on-the-HUI. It was here in the early 'niceties that it was proposed to erect the Wembley Tower which should be higher than the Eiffel Tower of Paris. The" work was begun, but never proceeded with, and only the foundations are ihere to-day. c^The park consists of 120 acres of land, partly flat and partly undulating-^-aiid- is crowned at its sonthern,end b^acbrisiderable hill. Its natural featurte" are particularly attractive; It,.is^tflddedf wi^ oak, beech, and elm t^ee^ and; inolndes a lake which has'an Outflow to the^river Brent. There is no'doubt ithat^ from the viewpoints of i^atural beauty, and^ surroundings, Wembley Park is very much better than atiy other site within easy A reach of the heart of' London. ; The Great Central Railway and the Metropolitan Railway both serve the locality.. The buildings that will be erected on the ground will bje permanent in construction, and while designed in the o• • ? ace for the Purpose of the British Empire Exhibition, they will be equally suitable for other exhibitions and trade fairs, for which the pressing need for a permanent home is becoming more and more urgent in view of the increasing demands on existing exhibition, facilities. Of these fairs, the British Industries Fair, first held in 1915, has achieved the most rapid and remarkable success, and in the plans for the British Empire Exhibition full consideration has been given to the needs of the British Industnes and kindred fairs, which will find at Wembley Park a permanent home under conditions of construction and efficiency which will make them a model of European "commercial progress. *

Not since 1886. when the Colonial and Indian Exhibition was held at South Kensington, has there been a comprehensive- inter-Imperial Exhibition, fhe present project was initiatioiS y wrd Str, athcona as far back as 1913, but on the outbreak of war in August. 1914, it naturally fell into abeyance. On the.: cessation of hostilities, however, the scheme was revived, and. at a meeting held .at the British fC P£%°L UV ull.d^ the of 20 wah "^P'^League,: : on May ■rr-' i. £ 19 ' attended :by Ministers, Mich Commissioners, and Agents-Gen-eral, a unanimous;, resolution was passed^in favour of. holding in London a great exhibition ofUe manufactures and products of the ■Empire.; \ j OBJECTS OF THE EXHIBITION The first object of the Exhibition is concerned with the urgent need for greater production: There is still a S rCIoL° f T, Dy °f ,^ he necessities of lite and until supplies more nearly equa demand the cost of living cannot be reduced to any appreciable extent, -it as therefore, intended to take stock of the resources of the Empire, and to^how how those that are still undeveloped, or only partly utilised,.can be converted into wealth More gram and wool might be grown"more sugar, cotton, timber, and fruitS* mefe lsmmi- ht b * and more fish caught. It is proposed to show an extensive series of exhibits dealing Si if 6F as Pect of fishing. There: \jill also be. a, complete collection of alii -minerals f ound wit hi n . the Empire, and tjiere will be an interesting section organised to demonstrate the various j sources of power—tfdal, water/ wind ' mineral oils,,and aleißnol. The second £]> -the peoples O f the Empae better known to one another— SkvTi! 1 Bhowi\at work, and at .play, the sources of their wealth, the Sn'tf %^ s of their lands, cities? schools, factories, an d houses will all be shown. And it is honed to secure o representative exhibition' of the art jLjat E f mS ire ' aTld tO exhibit OX.wort^art" 6 Im^ial There will also be an important «."ientifio side. Committees are being formet* to arrane© displays which may .

arouse mterest in efforts to conquer disease and unhealthy conditions of existence. Prominence will be given to .housing and sanitation, and in this way it is hoped that support will be given to the campaign against all diseases! which prevent large parts of the Empire from being colonised. It is intended to enable established industries to Bnow what they have to offer, arid to allow new industries to prove what they can do. j AWARD'S ATvD CLASSES. ' The awards ivill be of five grades—: Grand Prix, gold medal, silver medal, bronze medal, and hon. mention. The exhibits will be judged in the first instance by class juries, on which the various States participating will be represented in proportion to the extent and importance of their exhibits in each class. The recommendations of i the class juries will be referred to the group juries—constituted on similar : lines—for confirmation or modification, and finally to the superior jury as a supreme court of appeal. The classification comprises: ". Seption A: Food of the Empire. Section B: Raw Materials of the Empire. Section C: Communications of the Empire. Section D: Machinery and Implements of the Empire. Section E: Manufactures of the Empire. Section F: Homes of the Empire. Section G: Education, Science, and Art of the Empire. Section H: Recreations of the Em- < pire. Section I: Traditions of the Empire. The vice-preßid«nts include: Lord Milner, Sir James Allen, Colonel L. S. Amery, and Major the Hon. E. F. L. Wood. Those on the Executive Council include: Lord Morris (chairman), Mrs L. S. -Amery. Sir H. E. Brittain, Mr Robert Donald, Mr F.- M. B Fisher, Lord Islington, Sir G. Lagden, Lord Burnham, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir J. Norton-Griffiths, Lord Riddell. Sir W. P. Rylands, Sir Aston Webb, Sir I H. Wilson. Major E. A. Belcher (formerly headmaster of Christ's College, Christchurch) as assistant general manager of this interesting and important enterprise.