Eight Hundred Miles on a School Excursion.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 101, 9 April 1907, Page 4

Eight Hundred Miles on a School Excursion.

SEEING THE EXHIBiTfOy

(By J. Firth™.)

PART 111.

A round 0:1 tho helter-skelter t-'av.-. any n."iionnii of fun it) the juveniles, who greally •->M'yo-l the discomfiture of tho "teachers'' m i!m more hasty than elegant ejection from li". top to (ii.*. bottom of ihe tower. An accident to tho internal machinery of the dragon prevented a ride on that fearsome beast, and dragon tickets being also available for tbe helter-skelter, a second round on that.gidcly erection was indulged m, and as the leader? could not b-? prevailed on to show their agility m spiiyil precipitation, some of the younger of the juvenile? had an extra share. We iuiend' d making a journey from Cairo to Khartoum, across the Sahara Desert, represented by a tan bark track round one section of Wonderland, bnt we found the dusky attendants on the ships of the desert had booked so many passengers that we could not be accommodated with seats, and had to abandon, for the time being, the doubtful pleasure of a c-mie l ride. At- a later v. sit, most of the children made the jourii'-y. To meet the demand, the proprietory would have required a camel corps of double tho strength; Camel tickets b?ing negotiable at the watorchute, most of us had a double ride on the chute. This is the most excitinr p-pT'enee of Wonde In, 1 : ana :hyio ia „ constant stream of visitors passing m through the turnstile. The feeling of shooting down the steep incline, and being sh":t aeios' t'c lak-> is nin-t ex hiliara i p. nnd t <■ youn^s-r'ers c n'dn't g too much of th« " shoot," as il is familiarly .callotl. The linrror.-- of the Kdzen jammer Castltt wen* 11 ■ xt, fa. Ed, and as :he ia-t tiling you see h for" pissing into "darkness which may he f*dt." is the notice "Ab uidon hope all who enter here." One's feelings area trifle mixed when t c floor begins to jump about under your feet, and you stumble against obstructions, while you are wondering if you aren't falling m among the, moving machinery. It doesn't add to jour control of yourself to have flasned for a second m front of you a huge eye, with the lettering, •' I've got my eye on you." Stumbling along m the inky blackness, with the floor heaving and pitching about, tbe girls squealing, and the machinery whirring, a death's head grins at you out of the darkness, and yon are precipitated almost headlong against a skeleton, only to pi* 11 yourself together again to have your hat blown off your head, and coat or skirt whirled round with a gale from a funnel, and a final heaving of the floor as you emerge into the sonshine once more. You can scarcely explain when you come out whether you are cold or hot, agitated or composed, amused or exasperated, but you want to go through again and try and solve the mystery. We did go through again, but the Kat' Castle is still a mystery, luring m the hundreds of victims at one door, and ejecting them at the other, still unsatisfied and mystified. To wind up Wonderland we all climbed to the top of the helter-skelter, and to use the favourije phrase of nearly all the children, had a "dandy" ride to the bottom. For over two hours we had been enjoying such a^ feast of pleasureable experiences, and everyone admitted we had each bad a grand ninepence worth.

As an evidence of the obedience and good behaviour of all? our young folks, it maybe mentioned that the writer alone conducted tho whole party for a night excursion over the whole of the above, when crowds of people were assembled, and good-naturedly pushing and jostling for places, and had no occasion to feel otherwise than quite composed for the safety of the whole party, so amenable to orders was each member of the party. A night excursion to the top of the tower on the electric lift opened to the eyes of the lookers-on the beautiful picture of the buildings and grounds under electric light, reviving memories of the Arabian Nights, and conjuring up visions of Oriental splendour. A whole evening m the Exhibition, with its variety qf attractions, the railways exhibit with the luxuriantly appointed carriages, tbe seats of which had to be tried, a peep at the cases of frozen poultry, carcases of frozen sheep, lambs, and cattle, as prepared to feed England's millions, a trip to Fiji, across Canada, viewing its corn fields, its paper pulp mills, its maple sugar industry, its vast deposits of coal, cobalt tin, Mica, asbestos and gold, its great piano and organ factories, the vast manufactories of the Massey-Harris combination for harvesting machinery, ' the largest under the British flag," it is proclaimed. On across the Atlantic to the " dear Homeland," with its beautiful picture galleries, its great exhibits of machinery, its manifold types of armament, offensive and defensive, its splendid stands of food supplies, its magnificent motor cars, and a host of other things. New South Wales with its wool, tbe ventatile golden fleece of those far off southern lands, its Newcastle coal, Broken Hill tin, Hardwood timber, and heaps of manufactured wares. Victoria's mighty golden column of £273,000,000, its dreams of attractiveness m the shape of luscious Mildura fruit. A peep at tbe products of " the Islands of the Blessed," Tonga, Raratonga, etc. A run through all th'? provinces, from gum gathering m the Auckland province, frimley canned fruit m Hawke's Bay, handling Seddonvale State coal m Westland, comparing Marlborough dressed flax with Cameron's Maori Hill production, anxiously reckoning that Canterbury courts, north an i south, will score higher when the prizes are given out than Southland. Right through Southland, including a gratified glance at John Mclntyre's Orepuki Mills exhibit of figured red pine (the best of its kind m the exhibition), a wondering look at birch from Hensley's mill, Otautau, m the shape of sofa and chair frames, to a peep at W. Lightfoot'f Maori axe. A race up ond down the dozens of stalls where all sorts cf pretty things are sold when you wish your were a millionaire for the time being, and last a rest m a luxurious lounge m the Government Tourist Bureau, ends up a day replete with pleasurable memories that will remain till the last flicker of the lamp of life goes out. Several similar rambles through the exhibition followed this one, also a visit to the art gallery, generously provided free to the whole school on an order from the General Manager's office. The young colonial manifested somewhat too impatient a disposition to enjoy m its entirety the feast of art spread before them m the wonderful collection within the walls of the art gallery, inclusive of the majestic and awe ..inspiring " Light of Via World," down to the tiny gems of art m tho small medallipns shown. The fernery was an unfailing sourco of delight, repeated visits being paid to it. On Thursday a round of outside shows, not included iii Wonderland, but which had combined to grant children's concession tickets, wan. made, -including the cyclorarna of the hatt'e of ■Oet'ysbm-'.T. admittedly one of the r-o?t i-ipres-- : v > ,i h.,s of the exhibition, a j •uniey th.- n h •> i,n.M coal mine personally con '.noted by an .expert,, and a valuable and enduring lasson given on the man who works underground, and the object and result of his labours. An excruciotingly funny trip through the laughing gallery, where uucontrollaule merriment pre" vailed especially at the ludicrous cut of the conductor. The weird mysteries of the Egyptian Hall were also enquired into, while the unfailing attraction of the Merry-go-round put a smile on every youngster's face, which

had been viewed. By this time " Otantau'* was well known tr all the showmen, who are always on the look-out for trade, and as. one of the " teachers " at any rate does'nfc lack m inches, and was easily distinguishable m the middle of his sfa'all army, we had the propi intors of the various shows constantly running up and expatiatiifg" on the wonders nf their .^v&fal establishments. WJiere any doubt was expressed ris to the resources of the treasury warranting an orstra plunge, and a move being made indicative of passing OH we were able to make .some fir?t c'ass bargains. "Take thf* lot for 2s 6d, or 5s will cover a trip for the crowd,*' usually was foi-* lowed by us all tailing into the particular show. By this means we enjoyed rt concert at the "Marionettes," where the reality of some of the ngnres performing almost yet leaves au impression that some of the dollwere living figures. At any rate we won't forget the dancing skeleton, who executed some extraordinary evolutions m his hunt for various of his members which manifested a tendency to part company with the balanoe of his anatomy. Or the'party who expressed himself as "let me like a soldier fall," and, when knocked down always complacently reiterated " it did'nfc hit me." While the senti*! mental character, who rapturously sang "com-' into the garden Maud," and m the middle of his trills was unceremoniously ejected with more haste than grace on the hons of a bull, made us feel that it was fafer to be ort the other side of the garden wall* A voyage across Lake Victoria m the sky slip was voted tip-top, while the mysteries of the camera ob^cura made us all wonder how if was done. The I'ike proved a regular s ni; f_r ptnuiii-s, the demand "to hear the thing speak," or to bring the smile on to the face of " purs m boots " was insatiable. A v-rv attractive " free admission " show was Uio :iqniri<un. vhich vroved very instructive ani p e*sant ($ the children, who w~-re greatl? intere«tH§in the fishes m the various i.'ia^? tank a. Anather attractive feature was the Bobble Foiaitain. the beautiful colour effects and the erf-aric flights of the bubbles being" a great J source of wonder and amusement. I^. visit to Rotorua let ns see the geyser and mud springs at work, but we; unfortunately missed the Maori divers. An act of courtesy on the part of the teacher of a Northern pchool allowed ns entrance on a special concession to the sports ground to a performance of the famous Besses 0' th' Barn Band on Thursday evening, followed by a magnificent display of fireworks. We went early, and weie fortunate m getting seats m one of the best positions. The r crowd was enormous — no official figures were available —and estimates varied from 10,000 to 15,000 people. It was unfortunt te that rain fell at intervals, and there were also slight gusts of wind. The combination made it somewhat unpleasant to be out, and largely spoiled the effect of the beautiful playing of the " Besses." The fireworks cannot be adequately described. To the whole of our company, who had never seen anything of the sort, they were a revelation. The magnificent colour effects, the wonderful accuracy of tbe mechanical exhibits, and the brilliancy of the rockets, all tended to strengthen the sense of wonder aroused m all opr minds, and to have an impress which will never be effaced.

Now we must bid good-bye to this enchanted land. Friday mornvng allowed of a brief run through tbe many long corridors, the expenditure of Is each from the general funds for presents for dear ones left at home, the purchase and presentation of small souvenirs of our visit to the master arid /natron of the Home, and then good-bye, "when tbe whole staff came out to give ua three cheers and a good send-off, a hurry to the tramcar, a bustle m the crowd on the station, aud into the express for home m dear old Otautau. Saturday evening saw ns all landed safe and sound without a scratch, fully satisfied that we had enjoyed the greatest t*-ip of, at any rate, sohool life.

In closing, I take the liberty of thanking the parents who entrusted to Mr Scatter and myself the care of their childi*en on such a long journey, and for the very kind expressions of their gratitude for care bestowed on tbem while away ; to Mr Scatter for his unwearying attention and care at all times, and for his generosity m assuming full control at any time I desired to be free. To the boys and girls who formed the party, I desire to return my warmest thanks for their willingness, under all circumstances, to implicitly obey instructions, and for their many evidences of devotion and kindness. To quote ihe report of the Exhibition authorities, as printed m Friday's papers:— "The Home has been visited by thousands of school children for a day, by others who have made a lengthened stay, including those'from the Napier High School m the North, to those from Otautau m the extreme South."

Brave Otautau, you led the way m school excursions from Southland, and hold the record for making the longest railway journey of any school to attend the greatest Exhibition your country has ever witnessed.