AN APPRECIATION AND A FAREWELL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 26

AN APPRECIATION AND A FAREWELL.

A WORD FROM THE ARCHITECT. Mr Edmund Anscombe, F.N.Z.1.A., architect to the Exhibiton, wrote as follows on Friday:— The hour is at hand when Dunedin’s Festival must close. To-morrow the minds of thousands will revert to November 17, 1925, the memorable opening day of our Exhibition, Dunedin’s greatest undertaking and achievement, the farreaching effects of which, though impossible to measure, must reflect to the very greatest, credit not only of our city and province, but the whole of this fair Dominion. On August 16, 1923, the then Prime Minister (the late Right Hon. VV. F. Massey) in replying to a deputation to the Government for financial assistance, said: “Go ahead and prosper; make the best and the most of it, and I’m sure you will come out on the right side.” It can be truly said this has been done. From its inception the undertaking has been of ambitious proportions, and all who have contributed to its consummation will never cease to look back to it with feelings of deep pride. To recount the labours responsible tor the accomplishment of the work is unnecessary; even as the material benefits it leaves in its train are too comprehensive to attempt to estimate. The esteem in which it has been held has been manifested in the wonderful attendances and the unstinted praise of distinguished visitors throughout the Exhibition period. One cannot determine how many minds have been enlightened and enlarged by the Exhibition’s inconceivable educational excellence, the beneficial and unlifting influence of which will be felt and appreciated as the years go by. Illustrating as it has done in the fullest degree tne growth and progress of human endeavour in the direction of a higher civilisation, the Exhibition has afforded constant encouragement. The evidences of intellectual and industrial development, the advancement of all that is paramount in the arts, industries, and sciences will he stored in memory’s treasure-house for the benefit of the generations to come. Our love of the beautiful has been increased, cur appreciation broadened, and we realise that tne Exhibition has not been in vain, but has been an inspiration, a joy, and an educational benefit to all who have visited it. May it prove a firm foundation and inspire in coming generations the same civic pride which has made possible this great undertaking! We acknowledge our deep obligation to all countries who have by their co-operation and interest assisted in this glorious achievement. May we always merit the good-will and fellowship of the overseas commissioners and representatives, and may we, with them, ever strive to foster the common interests which bind together all sections of the community and Empire ! The stupendous results of this enterprise, the magnificent evidences of skill and intelligence are the results of that basic foundation of all material things—viz., labour, that activity upon which all growth depends; without which there can he neither physical nor intellectual development.

Uur Exhibition “commemorates the dauntless courage of our pioneer men and women.'' All we are and all we have we owe to the devotion, wisdom, self-sacrifice, loyalty, and courage of our pioneers, and to protect and guard that inheritance should be our aim. We, as their sons and daughters, profit by the wisdom and experiences of that noble band of men and women, those pathfinders whose devotion to the highest principles was exemplified in the noblest sense by their enterprise and enerby, justifying their vision and faith in the future possibilities of this young country 60-70 years ago. We honour their achievements, and the goodly heritage they bequeathed us. And so our Exhibition, one of the greatest events in our Dominion’s history, closes. Our gratitude is mingled with sorrow in saying “Farewell, a long farewell to all thy splendour and greatness”; but we feel its mission has been successfully—nay, triumphantly—fulfilled. Our gratitude in fullest measure goes to all who have assisted by heart and hand to prosecute this magnificent undertaking to such a successful issue. We are mindful of and thankful for the inestimable benefits received and for the opportunities offered. What is life without opportunity ? The future, with its duties, is ahead of us. May we go forth to meet it fearlessly, sustained bv the faith that what has been wrought will endure and forever stand as a beacon light “guiding others to loftier heights and greater achievements,” and so Make it live beyond its too short living, With praises and thanksgiving.