AN EVENTFUL DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3764, 4 May 1926, Page 25

AN EVENTFUL DAY.

SPECTACULAR CLOSING SCENES. Under a melancholy sky, seeming to mourn for the passing of a great triumph, the last Exhibition hours were spent. Rain drizzled down with steady persist-anc-e, and a light coating of mud on roads and paths throughout the grounds of Logan Park made outdoor conditions unpleasant. Umbrellas were to be seen everywhere, for visitors were determined to make the most of all that the Exhibition offered, and regardless of the rain they enjoyed the last great Exhibition session to the utmost Needless to say, high spirits and the greatest enthusiasm ruled throughout the day and evening, and as the hours passed and the time came for the lights of the great dome and the huge pavilions to be dimmed for the fast time, the atmosphere of suppressed excitement changed to open revelry —joy unrestrained in a dying won derland. From the early morning it became evident that the day was to be one of the greatest since the Exhibition opened, despite the fact that the weather was opposed to a large attendance. Down the highway came bus after bus laden with city folk who, in preparation for the great occasion, had finished the work of the day earlier than usual. Every few minutes laden trains arrived at the busy Dunedin station. The crowds of outside visitors arrived from north, south, east, and west, demonstrating the support of New Zealanders in Dunedin’s great achievement that has been given to th-3 last. General alarm was felt when, during the morning, the electric power failed for some time, disorganising the tramway system, but fortunately normal conditions were again reached before the rush to Logan Park set in. As on opening day, the traffic on Saturday was particularly congested in the early afternoon. Regardless of the lowering skies, thousands waited at the bus ermmi, and a never-ceasing stream ot vehicles moved past the railway station and down the main h liway. Outside the main gates a few minute? prior to the commencement of the opening ceremony, the scenes ri-ailed the bu?ie a i Exhih tion days. Owing to the enormous* in mber of people who waited to pass the turnstilefr the gates in front of the motor pavilion were thrown open, and the etowds were handled with greater ease and speed than ever before.. "Where will the dosing ceremony be held?” wa? an oft-repeated questions an swered by the gatekeepers, and following the reply the vast major ty of those who entered Logan Park streamed towards the Festival Hall. The coming of the rain had presented a giave problem to the directors and management. but it was dealt with in the same efficient and satisfactory manner that had characterised all Exhib tion achievements It was obvious from the outset that the accommodation of the Festival Hall wa? utterly inadequate to cope with the multi tude that attempted to enter. All avail able seating in the hall *vas taken up by the first arrivals early in the day, and when the official party entered the crowd undei the great dome was so great that the police had extreme difficulty in keeping corridors and entrances clear. To enable those who could not enter the Festival ElalJ to hear the speeches and closing ceremony, loud speakers connected to the Fest.val Hall were Tperatincr from the Grand Court rotunda. There several thousand interested listeners assembled, and the loud ar.d perf.ct reproduction of the voices made up in a great measure for the unfortunate circumstances. Radio also took a prominent part in the proceedings In the New Zealand Government Favilion, the radio receiving set under the control of the Post and Telegraph Department reproduced by Ipud sneaker the proceedings in the Festival Hall, and the spacious entrance hall of the pavilion was packed with visitors, who hung on every word issuing in mysterious fashion from the wide mouthpiece of the set. The radio station at the rear of the Festival Hall transmitted all the-afternoon. and it may safely be said that through this channel the audience of speakers in the hull was increased by 10,000 listeners in all parts of New Zealand, as well as an indefinite number overseas. After the closing ceremony in the Festival Hall commenced, Lhe eagerness ot the crowds” that surrounded the Festival Hall was increased fourfold. “Can’t you open the door so we can hear what is going on?” called a woman to one of the policemen guarding the entrances, and expressing the feeling of the impatient thousands that waited. At the Festival Hall it semed that all Exhibition visitors were gathered to hea r the closing ceremony, yet there were va3t crowds to whom the ct tony wus a detail compared with the dominating fact that there were but a few more hours of Exhibition enjoyment available.

Never have the pavilions been so crowded as on Saturday ulteruoon. The visiting legions moved from court to court in a solid, never slackeniu<r mass. Every doorway was congested, and in many cases the services of the police were requisitioned to clear the way. Hundreds Hocked through the Canadian Court and into the spacious Australian building, where men worked feverishly, packing portions of the exh its The attendants in the Fij* Court were busy selling off the remainder of the exhibits, and in every corridor of the compact little corner visitors stood examining the products and wonders of the Pacific Islands for the last time. lhe New Zealand Government and Secondary Industries Pavilions also eou- 1 tained a phenomenal number of visitors, 1 and the stalls and stands spent most of J the final Exhibition hours selling as fast < as the assistants could attend to the cus- i tomers Despite the bad state of the grounds, / the attendance in the Amusements Park broke all records. The enthusiasm of the visitors was infectious—people weTc obviously loth to part with the thrilling de-"roll-dovvns.” Jn the drizzling rain the vices, the side-shows, and the popular scenic railway carried hundreds of shrieking, happy visitors, and from that time the cars hurtled along the tortuous tracks at the rate of three trains per minute up to midnight. From the cabaret, where afternoon dancers enjoyed the entertainment offered by one of the largest Exhibition concession features, to the whip, i where a long quei* waited, the excite- - inent grew as the hours passed. J On the far side of the Exhibition thousands paid a final visit to the dignified British Court, preserving even in the midst of that vast merry-making throng, the same atmosphere of quietness—impressive solemnity—that has so characterised British representation at I.ogan Park. Through the big machinery hall the crowds flocked, and in the provincial courts the commissioners dealt with numbers of visitors that exceeded all expectations. , So the afternoon passed. In the past ' Dunedin people have learned to calculate > Exhibition visitors in terms of thousands, 1 but even at a late hour in the afternoon, j it was necessary to speak in terms of tens of thousands. Few returned to the city and suburbs for the evening meal—in fact many must have contended themselves with an odd snack purchased at a nearby stall. . The restaurants were packed to the doors ! and queues waited until late in the even- [ Gradually the darkness fell and the lights . of the festival Hall were switched on for i the last glorious time. With the cording of tho evening session the festivities re- ) doubled. Balloons, confetti, and paper hats made their appearance amongst the crowd, while the University students appeared in ’ force with diver? fancy costumes, lending a gala touch in keeping with the great occas«on Great though the crowds in the 1 Amusements Park had been during the after- * uoon. they were dwarfed by the evening 1 throng?, and the scenes will remain vividly in the memory of ali who were present. Tho queue of visitors waiting to ride on tho scenic railway stretched to the Fun Factory, and the remaining devices were proportion- ! atelv popular. “Come on Your la?t chance until tho vv inter Show. Don’t miss the roll-downs.” was the constant cry of the perspiring men j behind the stalls, where tempting choco- > nn d kewpie? waited for lucky players. \ The pavilion? closed at 10 p.m., emptying i thousands into the alreadv packed Grand j Court and Amusements Park, where tho * merry-making' continued until after midnight. One excellent feature of the even- 1 rntT wa? the comparative orderliness of tho crowds. Naturally enough high spirits j reigned, and there were the odd incidents °* 9, rr>inor nature that cannot be possibly avoided under such circumstances, but on the whole the behaviour of the people present wa? excellent and the police had far Ms? tro»hlp than had been anticipated by the management.