FINEST SOUTH OF THE LINE

NZ Truth, Issue 1017, 23 May 1925, Page 2

FINEST SOUTH OF THE LINE

Amusement Park at the Exhibition Fun and Excitement m Plenty. Apart altogether from the industrial side of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition (not the Dunedin Exhibition) a great deal is being done by the directors to make this "pivot of business" a place of interest to the average citizen, who, ever a fickle- individual; is inclined to bestow his patronage elsewhere unless he is sufficiently entertained. And so, for his especial benefit, and for the benefit of his wife and his merry tribe of youngsters, there will be thrills galore m the amusement zone which, it is claimed, will be "the finest amusement park south of the line." For example, the; visitor finds a factory the like of which he has never seen before. It is a "fun and joy factory" and as such it will guarantee to provide sufficient excitement to last a lifetime.

If he feels up to it, he may try an exhilarating ride on the scenic railway. This is not merely a small engine pulling a string of carriages along a winding track. On the contrary it will be a modern contrivance and the track — an elevated structure — will rise m places to forty-five feet, making the greater /portion of the journey a breathlessly fast gravity ride. In combination with this will be an up-to-date chute, 1 consisting 1 of boats sliding between rails into, a lake. '

The caterpillar is another novel device which -will give a thrilling ride. It consists ogr a light circular, track on which i a continuous series of twenty-four carriages is kept revolving about a central shaft. After one or' two revolutions the operator suddenly shifts a lever and a movable canopy is pulled over the seats so as to cause the whole moving contrivance to resemble a careering caterpillar — heaving and bulging m parts as caterpillars do.

"The Whip" is one of the more popular rides. It consists of a large oblong floor round the edge of which twelve tub-like cars are operated. ' At each end of the floor is a large grooved disc on which run stout endless cables. One of the discs is fitted with rack gear and is rotated. The twelve cars are attached to the cable by steel brackets so designed to allow the cars to swing outwards at the corners, thereby greatly increasing the speed. Next is order of importance is "the Merry-Mix-Up."

Those who venture only to look on derive even more fun from the "Dodgem" car's than do the passengers themselves.

These will be jthe more outstanding forms of amusement but m addition there will be innumerable sideshows, stalls, etc., and by the time the visitor has gone the round of these, he will no doubt welcome the opportunities that are provided by the first-class restaurant which will be as poplar a feature as any.

The opening ceremony will "be performed by the Governor-General (Sir Charles Fergusson) who is patron, on November 17, and the Exhibition will run for at least five months.