“ A DREAM THAT CAME TRUE.”

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 32

“ A DREAM THAT CAME TRUE.”

AN AUSTRALIAN TRIBUTE. In the course of a long article, the Ballarat Courier, of April 10, says: “There is at least one city in New Zealand that has fully realised that effective advertising is a sure road to better and bigger things. The citizens of this place are quite evidently keenly alive to the possibilities for development in their ‘home town,’ and they have not been slow to act. Dunedin leads the field in race. Duuedin has shown Australia as a whole, and Ballarat in particular, that a huge publicity scheme, no matter how much it may cost, is never lost, but acts as a tremendous force for advancement, that must ultimately be revealed on all sides. “Dunedin’s big advertisement ha? been the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition which is now in progress. The stag ing of the huge project is really the realisation of a dream, and the story of the preparations reads like a romance. There were hundreds of details to be attended to, and every one of these was thoroughly considered and tackled as though on every one depended the success of the whole affair. “The attention of the organisers was directed to the smaller details, and this was indeed a wise plan. These men realised the details make perfection, and perfection is no detail. The publicity scheme was one of the principal items for consideration. Here the officials were confronted with the problem as to how they could let the world know what Dunedin was staging an Exhibition. It was a mighty item, but it was tackled with confidence and brought to a successful conclusion. A committee was appointed to watch this part, of the preliminary arrangements, and a special publicity manager was appointed. To find the right man the directors searched Australasia, and their final choice was made only after extensive inquiry. With this appointment all was ready for the big advertising drive. “Of a sudden Dunedin, previously regarded. in Australia at all events, as a New Zealand city little known elsewhere, leaped into the limelight, and became the cynosure of all eyes in the business world. The advertisement told business men that here was a chance for them, a chance to boost their manufactures, to increase their out-

puts by exhibiting samples to the thousands of visitors who would visit New Zea land in connection with the Exhibition. There was no might about this propaganda—a note of enthusiastic confidence was noticeable in every letter. That was the spirit that carried the scheme through. The directors did not give a thought to what %iight happen—they knew what would come about and they looked to the immediate future with all the enthusiasm that it was possible to muster. ‘Cheap barns, it was agreed, would not be in keeping with the tone of a big Exhibition. No! What was wanted was a fine array of halls—imposing buildings that would impress visitors. Tne opinion was unanimous, and, the cash having been subscribed, the work was commenced- Before long the natural beauties of Logan Park were enhanced by the erection of massive structures, which acted as a foil to the trees and flowering shrubs of the reserve. The latter, too, made a beautiful setting for the buildings “So the seed sown, at the first meeting to consider the proposal had grown into a sturdy tree. The original scheme was now not a dream, but a fact—the idea had developed into a concrete realisation. Attention to tho minutest details wa? revealed in the final arrangements The directors aimed at staging a bright, snappy Exhibition—something different to the dry 'dull-as-ditchwater’ affair? that most people had been used to. “On the big opening was in readiness—nothing had been overlooked The city was to experience a gala day, the like of which had not been known before. This opening day was a wonderful one. Dunedin saw the dream of i. onths no longer a mere phantasm, but something real; the huge machinery was put into action, and its perfect working was a tribute to the engineering minds behind its construction.”