THE ADMINISTRATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 27

THE ADMINISTRATION.

MR SPENCE SPEAKS. Asked to make a few general romarks, Mr H. R. Spence, secretary of the Exhibition Company, stated that in his opinion the chief and outstanding requirements on the part of the executive was “preparedness” and by this he meant to sit down at the earliest possible moment and calmly and collectedly sketch out a programme and afterwards copy the same procedure in respect of carrying out the details of that programme. “It must always be remembered.” he said, “ that there are no text books on Exhibitions and although each one of any pretensions duly issues its

official record, yet local conditions so affect matters that it is difficult to obtain any exact data to work upon. To promote and run an Exhibition suocessfuf.y it is essential that vision and imagination be brought into play, and it should bn recognised at its earliest stages that i» is not an ordinary business, but that it bristles with technicalities which mostly, if not unknown, are at best only pei*eptible through the imagination. The ramifica tions of our Exxhibition ran the whole gamut, including company promoting, finance, publicity, lay-out and building and obtaining support of Governments, local bodies, manufacturers, organisations, and individuals scattered with their varied interests all over the wide worldr Following on thi9, one has to attend to all details such as letting and allotment of space, providing music and -art sections, let alone amusements pure and simple, and above all seeing that any necessary parliamentary authority is obtained. To accomplish all this and have everything ready down to most minute detail requires organisation of a high order and its watchword is ‘pre- redness’ for without great initial foresight being shown no Exhibition could ever hope to be successful. Having recognised the necessity it is essential that the earliest possible occasion be taken for bringing the system into operation. In the case of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition the most intense and active system was brought into beinu- early in November, 1923, after the long debated matters of location and scope had been settled by vote of the shareholders.” With these general remarks. Mr Spence proceeded to speak of the financial and accounting side of the Exhibition. He stated that of about £83,000 submitted in shares and donations, only some £350 was now outstanding, and that out of about £58.000 space fees involved there was only a small sum of less than £lO owing by general exhibitors, remarkable results brought about by efficient organisation on the part of the executive, whil.-t denoting the loyal adherence to contracts entered into on the part of shareholders and exhibitors The system of accounts spread over the last two and a-half years and embodying all matters financial, including the formidable one of dealing with receipts of the operating period has stood the test of time and answered in every way most satisfactorily, avoiding any confusion or delay. In stating this. Mr Spence said he could not miss the opportunity of thanking his own particular staff of some 45 helpers for their loyal assistance and zeal, for without these essential qualities, the system, carefully planned as it was, could not have brought in the results it had. The ramifications of the money side of the Exh»biton were too wide to specify here, but when the final accounts are presented to the shareholders they will possibly be astounded at the amount of definite work involved. Mr Spence did not feel called upon to enlarge upon the general theme of the success of the Exhibition; as that, he was convinced, would be covered bv others, but so far as he was concerned he attributed it to the farseeing programme adopted by the directors as far back as December, 1923. and in the vigorous carrying out thereof ever since. The material results of this programme were seen in the British Court, the National Courts of Canada. Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand, aa well as in the various provincial courts, whilst that masterpiece, the Secondary Industries Court, was the result of earlv n..d patient endeavour, and the same applied to that great army of individual exhibitors. Then the art collections from Great Britain. France, United States Australia, and our own Dominion were the results cf patient and dogged perseverance on the part of the directors. Last, but not lease, there was the band. as. the services of an Imperial military band were only obtained after the most persistent efforts had been made by the High Commissioner in London at the urgent request repeated time after time of the directors, who would not take “no” for an answer in what they considered an all-important factor of the Exhibition. In conclusion, Mr Spence remarked that there were many other points he would like to touch upon' but time did not at the moment permit. He would, however, consider his few words absolutely wanting in something if be missed the opportunity of placing on record his deep sense of the valuable work so heartily entered into and performed by the directors, whose personal devotion to the interests of the Exhibition and the expenditure of their time therein no one was in a better position to speak than himself . . He would further like to pav the directors a personal tribute, inasmuch in the faraway days of early 1924 they adopted his suggestions, some of which were far-reach-ing and of great magnitude, notably in the case of gross area of buildings required to house the expected exhibits. The directors assumed, of course, all responsibility therein and took the consequent risk, but the faith displayed by them had ever been an incentive and an inspiration to the executive to do its level best for the Exhibition, and the results would no doubt, afford the directors keen satisfaction of the far-seeing policy then adopted by them.