THE EXHIBITION.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXVI, Issue 14147, 23 August 1906, Page 4

THE EXHIBITION.

SIDE SHOWS AND ATTRACTIONS. HOW THE PUBLIC WILL BE ENTERTAINED. THE WORLD SUPPLYING ITS NOVELTIES. The general public, with its deeprooted distaste for instruction and its ardent love for. amusement, will find plenty of attractions at the Exhibition. The scheme of side-shows, apparently, has been drawn up mainly to attract the public to the grounds in the first inHath the intention of leading them on to the educational side of the undertaking afterwards. The amusements, at any rate, will form one of the very prominent features of the Exhibition, and will be a prelude to the more serious business which the pub.ic will be expected to give its attention to when it inspects the exhibits in the buildings. ti le principal side-show, of course, is Wonderland,’' which has been wellnamed. The area of six acres the proprietors have secured is now the scene of much activity and of unbounded curiosity, the erection of the towers, castles and other buildings being watched with great interest. The proprietors piopose to make a charge to adults of bd at the castle entrance. Every person admitted will be given a coupon, which will carry with it the right to sixpence worth of fun at any of the . amusements supplied. The coupon, for instance, will afford three rides on the “ helter-skelter,” two on the toboggan, one on the water-chute, and so on. By this arrangement, the proprietors keep back people who would only walk round and look on, and they really make no charge for admission to genuine amuse-ment-seekers. With an additional £6OOO, which it is proposed to spend 111 Wonderland,” the grounds will be artistically laid out with beds, ' walks, and hedges. There will be several electric fountains, after the scheme adopted at the Crystal Palace. The water will, be subjected to strong pressure, and will be thrown to a great height, and many coloured electric lights will play upon it, so that the hues will be constantly changing. The “ Katzenjammer ” is a house of marvellous and terrible things. Visitors to it will meet with amazing adventures at every turn. Horrible grinning skeletons will direct them on through dark passages, the floors will rock, jets of smoke will shcot out from the walls j and uncanny occurrences will dog their footsteps from the time they enter the building until they leave it. The toboggan, with its humped back, which is now being constructed, will be 400 ft hjng, so that it will afford a long ride. There will be three tracks, each four feet wide. The cars will run along a smooth, polished floor. Some skill is required in steer-

ing the cars, and it is exEeoted that races will be arranged e tween rival bobogganista. There will be ten attendants at the toboggan. Men are now engaged digging a swimming bath for the champion divers who will bo _ brought over to give displays of professional diving. On one side of “ Wonderland ” there will be a miniature model railway, with engine and carriages complete, and all round the grounds a train formed like a huge dragon will wind in and out and crawl along. A “cylindrical quandary,” composed of a number of upright cylinders, will be erected near the gateway. _ The water-chute, one cf the principal attractions of “ Wonderland,” will be 240 ft from the starting point to the water’s edge. The care will start from a height of 60fb, rush

down the chute, and sweep across the lake to the opposite shore. Each oar will have a professional steersman, who will guide the car to the landing-stage. The attendants, who will help the passengers to alight, will be dressed as men-of-war’s men, and will be trained to their, work. In another part of “ Wonderland ” there will bo a huge platform, which will be used ■ for dancing and_ other open-air displays. A band will play in the grounds every night and on two or three afternoons during each week. It has also been decided to import a number of camels from the Northern Territory and the Central Desert of Australia. The camels, which will be in charge of Australian aboriginals, will carry sightseers round the grounds. Mr Frederic Shipman intends to spend £SOO in providing side shows. Mr F. Hamilton, who managed the San Souoi Park, Chicago, for six years, is now bn his way to Christchurch _to take charge of Mr Shipman’s side shows. They are of a novel nature. Mr Hamilton is bringing with him, for instance, ten tons of looking-glass, which will be used in the “ Laughing Gallery,” or “ Palace of Mirth.” It consists of twenty mirrors, which make ■ those who gaze into them appear in ludicrously grotesque shapes. This sideshow has been very successful in the United States, where it has made thousands laugh. The “ House of Trouble” is another idea from America, 'which has been a source of amusement to the public. Mr Shipman will also send to Christchurch his famous Pullman car. As soon as the passengers are seated in it, the whistle is sounded, and the train-load is taken off into the heart of the Rocky Mountains, the scenery apparently whizzing past as the train rushes along its ‘‘ ringing grooves.” When the curves are reached, the passengers feel the usual jolt, and th© car swinge from side to side. There is the sound of the rotating wheels, and the rattling and snorting of the engine, and it will bo a very matter-of-fact passenger who does not believe that the train is travelling at the rate of forty or fifty miles and hour, over bridges, up inclines, and through long, dark tunnels. There will be a cyclorama, and also a shooting-gallery, which will be supplied with automatic birds, rabbits and other game. In this section the children will be exclusively catered for by means of riding-galleries and merry-go-rounds, which will be on new principles, and will offer special attractions. A model working colliei-y, Which will come all the way from Glasgow, will be the first thing of the kind shown in the colonies. It has been the object of much attention at recent exhibitions in the Old Country, The colliery is shown at work from the start to the finish. The spectator is taken down into the coal mine, and is shown all the processes and all the appliances now used in this groat industry.

There will be a circus. It will be on a small scale, but the performance will be continuous. Its principal feature will be the feats of educated ponies and exhibitions of buck-jumping horses. At the disposal of the public there will bo Japanese rickshaws, which will take passengers all over the grounds. Negotiations are now being carried on for two captive balloons to be in attendance, and for an exceptionally good exhibition of glass-blowing, but up to the present satisfactory terms have uot been arranged. Arrangements have been definitely made, however, for electric motor-launches to ply on the Avon. A concession has been granted to a Wellington firm to represent an American manufacturer of those launches. The weir which will be made to deepen the river, will be erected at the firm’s own expense, and it will have at least four launches.

Mr George King will transfer his ostriches to the grounds, where, it is expected, these birds will be the centre of much attraction. They will vie, to some extent, with the model American poultry farms, which will be shown in operation, and will be designed to demonstrate American methods of dealing with poultry, with a view to mating a profit. Sight-eeere will be able to ascend the southern tower by an electric lift on paying a small fee. There is a magnificent sight of the city from the tower; and at night a searchlight will

be operated continuously, so that Christchurch may b© seen at night as well as by day. A very novel feature of this searchlight will be an appliance by means of which printed words will be thrown on to passing clouds. The idea has been used largely in the Old World as a kind of ‘ ‘ sky-sign ’ ’ advertisement, and no doubt commercial firms will take advantage of it in the same way here. All the time the Exhibition is open a famous lightning sketch artist will be at work showing caricatures of prominent persons, especially those connected with the Exhibition. The Maori pa, of course, is ranked among the side-shows. It is on© of the most important, and will contain many smaller side-shows of its own, representing the arts and crafts, customs and ideas of the Stone Age Man who, i{ is stated, once lived on the very spot where the pa is situated, or close to it. Close too the Maoris there will be the Fijians and the natives of the Cook Islands, with their quaint and ancient tools, weapons and appliances. The side-shows at the Exhibition, however, like many' other good things, will need to be seen to be appreciated. The 1 scheme is a comprehensive one. The whole world has been searched for novelties, and the shows, even, if they do not pretend to have any educational value, will, at any rate, be striking illustrations of the way in which man is applying his ingenuity and genius to all manner of things.

THE BUILDINGS. AN INTERVIEW WITH MR G. SCOTT. Mr G. Scott, chairman of the Buildzing Committee, informed a reporter last evening that he was delighted with the position of the immense buildings, which are now nearing completion. “ Beginning with the Machinery Hall,” be said, “ there have been several additions to the original contract, but in spite of that, the contractor will hand the hall over well within the contract time. The Building Committee is ©xoediugly pleased with the design of the hall, and the arrangements made, and everything reflects credit on Mr Barlow, the architect, and Mr W. W. Smith, the contractor. The next building, coming south, spans the space between the Machinery Hall and the main building. It will be 160 ft long and 50ft wide, and it is supposed to be ready in about three weeks. Judging by the progress made already, 1, have no doubt that the building also will be well inside contract time. It will be. given up to the Victorian Court. “The,main building is making rapid and satisfactory progress. The galleries are ready, the stairs leading to them are being fixed in position, the floors have been, laid in the two principal portion® of the building, and the framework and roof of the annexes axe complete. There has been a.;great deal of fifficulty in obtaining rimu timber _ for the floors, but all the timber required is on the ground. We intend to leave it there as long as possible so that it nay be seasoned. During the past hree days the timber has had a ipiendid opportunity for drying. __ The inside of the building will be ‘completed by Che middle of September; the floors will then be laid down and . the space will be marked off for exhibitors. That will oe a fortnight before the time promised, and I may say here that the Building Committee is anxious that this building should be an exception to most Exhibition' buildings, which are generally behind the time stipulated for.

“ The end of this week will see the completion of the southern tower. The northern tower will bo' completed in four weeks from the end of this week. The staff engaged in. the stuccoline work will concentrate the whole of its energy, on the northern tdwer, which, consequently, will appear in all the glory of its finery sooner than would otherwise be the case.

“ The stuccoline workers and plasterers are pushing on with the grand hall which, we hope, will also be finished well before the opening. The Executive Commissioners took possession of the Art Gallery to-day, and are placing exhibits in it. The fernery has. been ready for some time, and it is now in the hands of the Landscape' and Gardening Committee. Exceptionally good progress has been made there. “The alterations to the concerthall, on account of the organ, were completed to-day, and the building will be out of the contractors’ hands this week.

“ The Canadian court has been ready for exhibits for several weeks. We are waiting for details from the Agricultural Department to enable us to complete its part of the building, and we nope to receive those details very soon. The Government will erect a special building for the dairy exhibit. “The electric light work is making good progress, and the large chimney stack behind the machinery hall, standing eighty feet high, will be completed thus week. “ The committee would like exhibitors to prepare all their exhibits, ready to bo placed in position, before taking them into the buildings. No joinery work will be allowed in the building.

The committee is anxious to take the utmost precautions against fire, and no shavings must remain in- the buildings over night.' We will hot allow the buildings to bo tunied into a joiner’s shop. Of course, sawing can be done there, but not planing and that - kind of work. Exhibits must be ready to be erected before'they are taken into the buildings, in order to. minimise the risk from fire. In regard to fire-prerehtioh appliances, everything has been satis* faotorily arranged with the underwriters, and we are attending to all their requests.” , ■'

The Besses o’ the Barn Band, whose arrival is looked forward to with very keen interest, will leave Vancouver' oa December 8, and Sydney on December 31. It is expected to arrive in Christchurch on January 6, and will make its first public appearance in this part of the world at the Exhibiton on January 9. An opinion is expressed, especially by musical people, that the engagementof this band, which is admittedly, one of the best in the world, was an exceedingly happy idea. _ Negotiations have been_ opened up with prominent organists in Australia and New Zealand to give recitals on. the big organ. 'These recitals will I be given in the afternoons, as-the concert hall will be given up to other purposes at night. One of the latest applications for space! has come through the High Commissioner, in London.. It' is from .’ the Orient-Pacific Company, which requires space for models of two vessels, the Orontes and the Omrah. The size, of the * models may be gauged by the space, which covers a frontage of thirty feet. , The Postmaster-General of the Com-' * momveplth has informed the Minister in charge of the Exhibition of his Department’s intention to recognise the use on correspondence sent to the Commonwealth from New Zealand from November 1, 1906,, to April 30, 1907, of the commemorative postage stamps to be issued in connection with the Exhibition. >■

The secretary of the Akaroa sub-com-mittee writes, inquiring as to whether it is possible to arrange an exhibit-of sea-fisn in a frozen condition at the Exhibition. Space will be allocated for the purpose in the transparent refrigerating chamber which is being erected for the accommodation of perishable produce. Tenders for, the fruit and confectionery stalls at the Exhibition close on Saturday at noon. ,' , -Mr.El E, Hardie, handicapper fqr.th| : Exhibition axemen’s carnival; writes,; suggesting that, in , addition to ■ the prizes already provided for, special prizes should b© offered and arrangements made for the three ■ best axemen competing at the carnival in the direction of establishing further records for a chop of 12in, loin and 18ra> logs. The honorary secretary of the Wyong Axemen’s Association, New' South Wales, writes, asking the Exhibition authorities ■ to supply him with full particulars of the international axemen’s carnival, to be held at the Exhibition. H© expresses his desire to assist the committee- with any _ information possessed; by his. Association, and further states that probably about a dozen of. the champions of New South Wales will compete. Arrangements are being made to provide seating accommodation in suitable parts of the Exhibition grounds. It has been definitely decided to allocate the space between the Mines Department’s exhibit and the railway line (just opposite to the Agricultural' Department’s display of grasses) to the dairying section of the Department of Agriculture for the purpose of erecting a model dairy, oow-byre: and other outdoor exhibits of a similar nature. _ The space devoted to this purpose will be 130 ft in length by 100 ft in width. The Tourist Department will immediately commence the erection of the active model of Waimangu Geyser, and also the model of the hot water and mud pools. These will be situated between the sports ground and the powerhouse. , ,

A WELLINGTON COMPLAINT. ; [Pee Pbess Association.] WELLINGTON, August 22. <f l feel keenly the effect that parochial considerations are likely to have on the attendance at the Exhibition,” writes a Post” correspondent, who states that he is the director of an attraction at the fair. Ho alleges that many of the leading manufacturing firms of the colony are .refraining from exhibiting on account of the fact that practically no attempt is being made to attract outsiders to view their wares. The writer submits that “a low estimate, of-the number ,of people from the Commonwealth who would come to the Exhibition under reasonable inducements is 150,000.” The correspondent then enters a protest against Christchurch people for electing a Licensing Committee which was pledged to ten o’clock closing, a regime which he contends would not be conducive to the comfort of visitors and would tend to keep them away* from CKristchuxch.