CORONATION EXHIBITION.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 63, 15 March 1911, Page 6

CORONATION EXHIBITION.

A MtD-WINTER ATTRACTION

London is not going to have it all its own way with its merry-making at Coronation time. Wellington is arranging to celebrate the occasion by the .holding of an exhibition, which: is to be the biggest thing of its kind held in the Dominion since the New Zealand Exhibition. .Up to the present (says The Dominion) Wellington folk have not the faintest conception of the size and importance of the Coronation Exhibition, which is being slowly but surely brought, into being by the Wellington In-, dustrial Association. First of all the organising authority has been ! particularly fortunate in securing al--1 most ideal premises from the Wellington Harbor Board, which has 1 offered the use of "U" Shed on Waterloo Quay, and, the new threestory ' "3" ' Shed, now in the last stages of completion. Those are not sheds in the ordinary aeceptidn of the word—they are great, solidlyconstructed building, with concrete floors, and strong enough to take any oxhibit likely to be offered. The location must be regarded as favorable. The exhibition will be within a minute's walk ■of the tramway stopping-place, opposite Levin and Co.'s warehouse, the Railway Station is three minutes' walk, and the ferry wharves are immediately adjacent to the premises. By the time the exhibition eventuates in May, it is hoped that the tramway extension from Willis . Street via Customhouse Quay to Waterloo Quay will have been completed, so that all visitors will be adequately served. . This will merely mean the linking up of the lines between Stewart. Dawsori's corner and the General Post Office, a work already approved. At the exhibition 'terminus the Waterloo Quay is to be brilliantly lighted; and no one need be deterred from leaving the building on the score that they are afraid to go home in the dark. PLANS AND SPACE. ■ "U" Shed is that nearly new long shed, .beyond, and to the north of, the Customhouse, which has a verandah and raised terrace t extending its full length along Waterloo Quay. It is proposed, according to plans submitted by Mr Thos. Balling-, er at a meeting of the Industrial Association on Tuesday evening, that the grand entrance shall be at the southern end of this, shed;- i.e., the end nearest to the tram terminus and the brighter part of the town. The verandah which now projects for four or five feet' out from the building for a section of the end of the shed is to be extended along so as to connect with the side verandah. "U" Shed within resembles a huge arcade, which after being separated into three sections, divided by broad aisles, will yield 10,755 superficial feet of space for j exhibitors, including the gallery which surrounds the whole building. This shed will be retained for exhibition purposes^ pure and simple, and j will be the sole means of entrance to the other part of the exhibition. This will be contained in the magnificent three-storey new brick store— the finest of its kind in New Zealand —which will be connected with "IT" Shed by an annexe; "J" store has a fine broad gallery-on the Waterloo Quay side of the building extending its full length, supported by massive reinforced square concrete pillars. Only a portion of this huge building j —some 4794ft—will be available for

exhibitors, as about half the building will be utilised as a concert hall.

THE CONCERT HALL

The Concert Hall, which is destined to be the centre of attraction, will be the northern half of "J" shed. Here a space 87ft by 80ft will be partitioned off from wall to wall crosswise, and .as the gallery runs along the Waterloo Quay side, the platform will be erected on that side of the building nearest the harbor front. , The advantage of this is that both the top and side gallery can be used for seating accommodation. The sole disadvantages are the huge reinforced concrete pillars, which intervene here and there, but an effort will be made to get them in the centre of the aisles, in order that they will block the view of as few people as possible. As the roof is very high, and the walls are of white-washed brick, the pillars may be a blessing ~in breaking up the I sound, and so prevent echo. Mr Ballinger calculates that.the Concert Chamber, above and below,'will seat about 1550 people. A raked floor will be built in to ensure a good view of the stage from all parts of the hall - ■■■.:■:■■■ i SPORTS GARDEN DE LUXE. ■ , "J" Shed has three stories and has concrete floors throughout. At present only a narrow wooden staircase leads up to the third floor—but what a third floor it is! As Mr Ballinger pointed out, it is an ideal sports ground. The entire floor -is 246 ft long and 87ft wide—big enough to run races and hold sports of almost , any description oh. The concrete floor is at present being covered with ,a\ two-inch layer of Neuchatel asphalt, which will give it a perfect j surface on the dead level. Here at least eight rinks of bowlers could play were the asphanlt covered with felt or some stuff with a bit of grip in it. On one occasion in bad weather a whole tournament was played in the old Drillshed in Maginnity Street, by laying down rooffelting, on which the bowls ' rolled with the greatest truth. The only thing that stands in the way at present is the means of access and the City Council by-laws. When the ] last exhibition was held in Wellington ! the City Council was approached to ' suspend the building by-laws as far as the exhibition was concerned, as it was only., a temporary structure. Some such, concession as this is needIcd in the provision of temporary stiiirways from outside. Were this co iceded, the third floor, of "J" ISI led would probably turn out to be a feature of the exhibition.

The annexe will provide another lG6lft of space for .exhibits, making in all 17,210 ft. In addition, the Technical School is being given 2420 ft of space for an exhibit, and' 2560 ft is. being set-aside in "J" Shed as an art gallery. The local Art Society intend, it "is understood, to exhibit its best pictures, and in addition hold a show during the exhibition. It is not improbable thab musical and elocutionary contests, now mooted, may be held in the Exhibition Concert Hall in August.