DUNEDIN EXHIBITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19177, 17 November 1925, Page 10

DUNEDIN EXHIBITION.

THE OPENING TO-DAY.

ENCOURAGING PORTENTS.

CALM AFTER THE STORM.

THE FINAL PREPARATION.

A SCENE OP ACTIVITY.

[BY TELEGRAPH. —SPECIAL REPORTER.] DUNEDIN. Monday.

The portents are encouraging for the opening of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition to-morrow. On Saturday a southerly gale blew. On Sunday there was nearly a blizzard. Hail and rain squalls alternated and even the hardy folk of the South who ventured abroad were muffled to the eyes. To-day there is a calm and the sun has shone brightly and if the improvement continues tine weather will usher in the Exhibition season

Wonders have been accomplished during the last few days in bringing order throughout- the pavilions and while there is not : the slightest hope of completion in many directions by to-morrow a large part of the great show will be in reasonable order. The bustle and .activity throughout the . buildings is fascinating. The present'population of the Exhibition cannot be much less than 1500 or 2COO. An army of carpenters, painters and signwriters is at work and the pressure of time has made the services of some men very valuable. Indeed, there are signwriters who are collecting 27s 6d for an hour's work. Tremendous profits are being made by contractors, who arc required to build stands, etc., in quick time. One man complains that lie has had to give £l5O for work that ought to have cost £3O. The law of supply and demand appears to be working on ball-bearings. Amid the noise of hammering and "scrunching" tools one observes a man vainly endeavouring to tune a piano. A man rushes past wearing "a deeds that won the Empire" kind of face. Another has a superior smile of triumph, while another is approaching the stage when lie may tear his hair and. .break things. A girl wearing.,a paint-stained cvei all works quietly upon a decoration. An army of waitresses is making preparations in the cafeteria. Tense-faced men of the engineering order are peering into the mechanism of the scenic railway or the "dodge 'em" or other amusement contrivances, quite oblivious to the grotesque face of Old Bill of the Bairnsfather pictures which stands 30ft. high and has a mouth which is the main entrance to a " fun factory." Their's is a very serious business.

Tho coming crowds will have the fun without, realising all the worry that has gone before. Mechanics by the score are concentrating their energies in the erection of machinery. Electric smoothing machines are scraping their noisy way over floors, bluejackets are polishing guns, and odd men are »rushing about for no apparent purpose. But order is coming with'in the buildings and out of doors the cleaning-up process in the hands of several hundred men is rapidly moving forward. In to-day's sunshine even the roses in the beds among the grass are' showing new bf'V , Some are lost bursting .into bloom. The gardens will be beautiful by Christmas '•

The night impression is wonderfully alluring. The great dome above the festival hall at.the end of the grand court with its' miniature lakes, lawns, fountain, and red paths is a blaze of colour and the pagoda towers above the main gate a-re similarly lighted The illuminations .should go a long way toward creating the carnival spirit-. The town is rapidly filling with visitors. .Every train is packed and the Dunedin crowd has already lost its individuality; to-day the street crowds are cosmopolitan.