VISITING THOUSANDS HAPPY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3755, 2 March 1926, Page 28

VISITING THOUSANDS HAPPY.

RECEPTION TO SIR FRANK HEATH. Again the visiting school children were entertained at Logan Park on Thursday, where an excellent fine weather attendance was present morning, noon, and night. From the time the main gates opened at 10 n.m. the incoming stream of visitors never stopped until late in the evening, when thousands paraded through the pavilions, the Amusements Park, and the Grand Court, where the myriad lights of the Festival Hall, the buildings, and the Great Dome shone with glorious reflection in the placid waters of the lagoon. From the British Court, where hundreds moved slowly through the beautiful halls, to the restaurants on the far side and at the opposite end of the buildings the visiing crowds were to be found. Every court and bay held its quota, while all the new and interesting altered details of the various displays were examined with the greatest interest. An informal lunchon was tendered by the British Commissioners to the Press Union Conference delegates in the tea roAui3 under the great dome. ‘‘We wished to pay this compliment to the press because we recognise that the newspapers have had as much to do with the success of the Exhibition as any exhibitor,” said Captain S. J. Graham in the course of a brief welcome to the visitors Although during the past few lavs visitors have greatly missed the famous ur.d justly popular band of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, the Brass Band Contest is proving a special attraction, and there is no doubt that the steady and high attendances that have been recorded this week are almost entirely due to the performances of the visiting bandsmen in the Exhibition. All special items from the Exhibition broadcasting station have been suspended, and the station is entirely occupied with the transmiting of the competition items. On Thursday this was continued, and many visitors in the pavilions Avhere radio receiving sets are installed in exhibitors’ bays were able to follow the progress of the items. Late in the afternoon a reception to Sir Frank Heath, secretary to the Imperial Bureau of Scientific and Industrial Research, was given by the Dunedin Manufacturers’ Association in the New Zealand Government Pavilion. Included in a large gathering' were ' representatives of the A. and P. Association, the University Council, the Chambers of Commerce, and the Overseas Exhibition Commissioners. "** The formal portion of the proceedings was opened by Mr James Hogg, president of the Manufacturers’ Association, who expressed the appreciation of the members of tho interest taken in the Secondary Industries Court by Sir Frank Heath. Those who had heard him speak at the reception given by the directors would not readily forget nis lucid and cultured address. “The keynote of this and other talks given by Sir Frank Heath in Dunedin was an appeal for co-operation between the Mother Country and the Dominion in attaining the ends for which he and the bureau are aiming,’’ said the speaker. “I believe that the result of the visit will be a closer co-ordination between the universities- the Government, and the secondary industries and manufactures.” Mr concluded by referring to the prominence given by various speakers to the Secondary Industries Court. He could, however, assure Sir Frank Heath that all wero great admirers of the British Court, which embodied the high ideals and aspirations of the Empire. Mr J. Sutherland Ross, chairman of Exhibition directors, expressed the pleasure it had afforded the directorate to have had tho opportunity oi welcoming their guest, and thanked him for the great amount of time he had devoted to an examination of tho displays at Logan Park. He hoped that Sir Frank Heath would carry away pleasant recollections of his visit to the Exhibition Mr J. C. Stj>phensi member of the University Council, stressed the great advantage of scientific education and the need for manufactuiers to create opportunities for science graduates to secure positions that would givo them the chance to apply their knowledge in the practical industrial field. He pointed out the fact that even the most brilliant graduate could not be expectech to step right into an industrial concern and produce definite* results until ho was first given the opportunity of adapting himself to industrial requirements and conditions. Mr J. W. Collins, Secretary of Industries and Commerce, and New Zeala-nd Government Commissioner at the Exhibition, also welcomed Sir Frank Heath. The visits to the local industries had been somewhat curtailed because of tho fact that a 9 muoh time ae possible had been spent in an in-

spection of the ntanufacturea iu the New Zealund Secondary Industries Pavilion. The department had made u selection of the factories to be visited in New Zealand by Sir Frank, and though many of the leading factories had been missed, it was solely due to the fact that factories of a similar nature were to be inspected in the north. The speaker knew that their guest had been astonished at the progress that had been made in New Zealand industri in 85 years—the short 6pan of white settlement His visit vas one of extreme importance to manufacturers, continued Mr Collins, and his report would be awaited with the greatest possible eagerness. Every possible step had been taken by the New Zealand Government to ensure that Sir Frank Heath would obtain all the information he desired, and although it was not on the original itinerary, a special trip had been arranged to visit the irrigated areas of Central Otago. Speaking in the dual capacity of Secretary to the New Zealand Secondary Industries Pavilion, and a member of the Professorial Hoard of the Otago University, Mr G. W. Reid said that his oriation with the manufacturers on one side had shown him that there was a very real and sincere desire on the part of the manufacturers to avail themselves of the help that was offered by science, and on the other hand he was in a position to see that the universities were keenly anxious to place their services and resources at the disposal of industry. The great difficultv which both sides found was a practical way in which to come together, and, in his opinion, the visit of Sir Frank Heath, and the report he would make, held a great promise of pointing the way. In the course of his speech, Sir Frank Heath thanked all present for the welcome that had been given him, and assured them that? without exaggeration, he had been astounded at the scope and magnitude of the Exhibition. To him ,the Exhibition had not merely been interesting—it had actually been of great value in his mission in that he had found concentrated at Logan Park evidences of the Dominion’s resources in primary and secondary products that ho would never have seen on a journey through the country. ' He was sure from what he had learnt that there was indeed great scope for the application of science to the industries of New Zealand, and though there were great difficulties to be overcome, he was sure that much could bo accomplished by co-operation on the right, lines between manufacturers, the universities, and the Government.