BRITISH AND INTERCOLONIAL EXHIBITION

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LVI, 16 June 1923, Page 5

BRITISH AND INTERCOLONIAL EXHIBITION

DELEGATES VISIT NELSON LAST EVENING’S MEETING A public meeting was held in the City Council Chambers last evening for the purpose of meeting delegates from (ho West Coast in connection with the forthcoming Biutish and Inter-Colonial, Exhibition. The attendance, although not large, was quite representative. Ihe Mayor (Mr W. Lock) presided. The delegates comprised : Messrs W. Butler (president of the Exhibition Council), V. Jeffries (vice-president of the Council), J. W. Collins (Secretary of the Department of Industries and Commerce), vV. Parfitt (Mayor of Greymouth), and S. Y. Evans (general secretary to the Exhibition Committee). : The Mayor, in introducing tlm delegates) said that he thought the Exhibition would create great interest throughout the Dominion, and he considered that it would offer an exceptional opportunity for advertising Nelson. , Each of the visiting delegates then addressed the meeting. Mr W. Butler expressed his appreciation of the manner in which the deputation had been welcomed to Nelson. 'lhe object of their visit was to give those Jn-i terested some idea of the lines the pro- • posed Exhibition would take. They had felt quito free in coming to Nelson as they were not asking for financial aid. The Hokitika people had risen to the occasion and had already subscribed over £2OOO, and ■ they were quite confident of raising that amount to £3OOO. This being the case, the deputation desired merely to awaken interest and thus solicit exhibits. In conclusion, Mr Butler said they had been fortunate in secur- ■ ing the goodwill of the Government in the matter. The Hon. Downie Stewart, Minister of Industries and Commerce, had assured them of every assistance. The-Exhibition Committee! meant to j make the utmost use of this. , At this juncture, the Mayor intimated that he had received information from Messrs Griffin and Sons that they ■ intended to be exhibitors at the Exhibition. >Mr W. Jeffries next addressed the meeting. In the course of his remarks ne stated that the idea of holding the Exhibition was to celebrate opening of! the Otira Tunnel and the Diomond Jubilee of Hokitika. He emphasised the necessity lor the three provinces, Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast, to keep abreast of the times. These provinces'had in the past, been neglected, and the time had arrived for thm to assert their claims. The Exhibition would be a splendid opportunity for advertising tlfese districts.. Otago had taken 200 feet of space. Nelson must get her commodities shown at the Ex. hibition if she wished to advertise herself. It was .up to her to see that Otago did not better her in this respect, and he asked that Nelson should have a firstclass exhibit. Mr J. W. Collins said that he, a few weeks ago, had the pleasure of making the acquaintance of the Nelson Chamber of Commerce and they had given him a dinner which had been composed of entirely local commodities. If Nelson could do this, ho was sure that they could make an exhibition which would bo an eye-opener to all who attended. The Government could promise to give substantial aid in the matter, and lie believed that legislation was to be pas cd ■ to protect the Exhibition against finau cial loss. Canterbury was interested in , the Exhibition, as also was Wellington, and ho had been informed that both of these provinces would participate. As for British exhibits, the British. Trade Commissioner had arrangements in hand , by which 120 British exporters would bo ; represented. In conclusion, Mr Collins i voiced the hope that Nelson would fail in line with the others and put up a ' really good exhibit. Mr W. Parfitt said that Greymouth ' intended to support the Exhibition to : the fullest extent. Ho mentioned the work done by Nelson in getting the Otira Tunnel constructed, and spoke of the vast natural wealth of gold, timber, etc. of the West Coast. In conclusion, Mr Parfitt said that many people would be going from, Nelson to the Exhibition and he promised that a hearty welcome would bo extended to all visitors. Mr S. J. Evans spoke of the work done by Nelson in originating the scheme of Ihe West Coast railway, and trusted that the second stage would be the link- * ing up of the West Coast with Nelson. Now that • the Otira tunnel had been constructed there could be no excuse for not establishing the immediate connection of the provinces by rail. Mr Evans then proceeded to give details of the arrangements for the Exhibition. He intimated that arrangements were being made for accommodation, motor trips 1 at reduced fares around the district, entertainments, etc., and said that every endeavour would be made to meet the wishes and the requirements of the exhibitors. He was satisfied that a town like Nelson could .prepare a very fine exhibit. At the conclusion of the delegates’ acjdresses, the Mayor called for a motion from the meeting as to what action Nelson would take with regard to the Exhibition. Mr C. Milner moved, “That Nelson heartily supports the project and that they should have a special ‘Nelson Day’ at the Exhibition.” Mr P. C. Hurst (President of the Chamber of Commerce) seconded the motion. He stated that the West Coast was one of the best friends commercially that Nelson had ever had, and he trusted the district would give hearty support to the Exhibition. Mr J. Taylor and the Hon. W. W. Snodgrass, M.L.C., spoke in support of the motion. The motion was put and carried unanimously. After some discussion it was decided that the Nelson Chamber of Commerce be appointed as a committee, with power to add to their number, to make the necessary arrangements for the Nelson exhibit. It was proposed by Mr Butler and seconded by Mr Jeffries, that the Mayor (Mr Lock) be elected as a vice-president of the Exhibition Committee. This was carried by acclamation. A vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding concluded the meeting. In connection with the routes to Kol dtlka tho Exhibition Commissioners mentioned that every opportunity would be taken to populai’iso the famous routes from the north via tho Duller Gorge, with Nelson as a terminal point, and also an endeavour would bo made to institute a round tour comprising both tho East and West Coast overland routes, and arrangements will '*be made with the tourist services to that effect, and uso will be made of the publicity now being instituted by Messrs Newman Bros., who are placing posters containing enlarged photographs of the scenic attractions in all tho tourist offices of New Zealand. Some of the posters which were ready to be sent away were seen by the Commissioners yesterday ,and they asked for some to be exhibited locally in connection with the .Exhibition blue print plan, and four"of these are now in Messrs Brxton and Co.’s window, and local residents who have not yet made the tri:> may gain some idea of the beautiful scenic routes that they will travel over on the way to Hokitika 'in December. The coloured photographs in oils are of similar nature to the ones that caused favourable comment in Christchurch. They have been prenxred hy Mr W. Howard Savage.