QUEEN OF THE CARNIVAL

Taranaki Daily News, 10 March 1924, Page 6

QUEEN OF THE CARNIVAL

VICTORY TO CITY EAST. VOCELTOWN CLOSE SECOND. OVER £2OOO REALISED FETE IN THE PARE. Amidst great enthusiasm Miss Maisie Whittle (City East), with 50,358 votes out of a total of 176,458, was proclaimed Queen elect in the Pukekura Park Queen Carnival on Saturday night. City East’s victory was a narrow and last minute one over Vogeltown, whose candidate, Miss Flossie Washer, polled 44.45'2 votes. The order of the other candidates was: Miss Margaret Lovell (West City) 31,044 votes; Miss Nettie Cameron (Fitzroy) 29,432 votes and Miss Nancy Thomson (Moturoa) 21,167 votes.

The carnival has realised a little over £2OOO. The coronation ceremony will be held in the park in about three weeks’ time. The competition for the best decorated queen court at Saturday’s garden fete was won by Fitzroy, Vogeltown being second, with West City, City East and Moturoa following in that order.

Interest in the carnival reached its climax on Saturday when the central executive conducted a highly successful floral fete on the sports ground at Pukekura Park. Dull weather in the morning was succeeded by an ideal afternoon for such a function, and the executive was well rewarded for its efforts by the way in which the public thronged the terraces, and later patronised the afternoon tea booths and money-extracting stalls conducted by the committees supporting the queen candidates. At night, too, there was another large attendance to listen to the concert by the lake and to hear the result of the poll. A CHARMING SCENE. The number of items on the programme of the floral fete in the afternoon was small, but they were decidedly good. In fact, many old residents of New Plymouth said they had never seen the sports ground present such a charming spectacle as when the procession of decorated children, perambulators, tricycles, bicycles and motor cars wended its way around the arena. The taste displayed in the decorated perambulator section, particularly, was something of which those responsible might well be proud. Not onlj* were the colour schemes harmonious, but the effect obtained with a few flowers and pieces of silk and ribbon was in all cases decidedly picturesque. Each little competitor differed in a greater or less degree from her predecessor, but the procession was marshalled in such a way that there was no violent clashing of colours or of schemes of decoration.

The event of the fete was the fascinating display made by the queen candidates and their courts. The public had been led to expect something decidedly novel from each candidate, and they were not disappointed. The Moturoa candidate drew first place in the procession with City West. Vogeltown. City East and Fitzroy following in that order. It was a pity that a last minute change in the arrangements z had prevented Miss Thomson’s supporters from completing their scheme of decoration. As it was the beautiful intertwining of variegated asters and blue ribbons making a canopy above the car was offset by the naked outlines of the machine itself below. This was more apparent to the spectators on the lower terraces than to those on the higher terraces, from which the effect obtained was very pretty. Miss Thomson was attended by Misses Aroha Parkinson, Marjorie Stevens and Nellie Carter. FAIRY TALE PICTURES. For Miss Lovell, the West City committee had completely enveloped a car with the body of a huge white swan, made of paper stitched on a cloth frame. Miss Lovell and her court, Misses Beryl Lobb, Ann Brodie and Marjorie Millar, were seated in an opening in the swan’s hack, and drew many rounds of applause as they made their appearance before the crowded terraces. Vogeltown also made use of a white swan as the basis of their decorative scheme and the completeness of their efforts was that at every glimpse one could not help recalling the fairy tales of Grimm and Anderson. The picture was one of a swan reposing in a nest garlanded with water lilies. Simply nestling in the cosy feathers and down of the swan’s back was the the young fairy princess (Miss Washer) with wings and wand complete, while before her sat her diminutive page ami maids of honour, Misses Betty Edge-

combe. Nancy Moore and Flora Allen, holding pink ribbon guiding reins with which to direct their fairy carriage to the land of never ending sunshine. Structurally the swan was a masterpiece, individual tail and wing feathers adding a realistic note which was heightened by the huge worm which seemed to be always within a point of disappearing into the open bill of the swan. ’Except for the wheels the car was completely hidden, the driver seeing his road through a small opening in the swan’s neck.

A different note was struck by City East, for whom Miss Barbara Allen acted as qUcen candidate in the stead of Miss 'Whittle, unfortunately the victim of an attack of influenza on the eve of a successful campaign. Their car was decorated with red, white and blue paper bands, flanked on one side with the royal arms apd surmounted by a canopy of blue streamers, the junction of which formed the base for a gold crown. Red, white and blue discs on the wheels completed what was undoubtedly a very pretty scheme. Miss Allen’s court comprised Misses Abbey Kenny, Rosa Weston and Nancy Milne. THE WINNING DISPLAY. It was left to Fitzroy, however, to present the most striking picture of the procession and, in gaining the popular verdict, Miss Cameron’s supporters were given the award for what was

nothing less than a magniificient effort. On the chassis of a light truck was erected a pergola calling to mind the groves of ancient Greece. The supports and cross pieces of the pergola were designed to give the appearance of strength, and, rising from a foundation of white paper, which came to within a few inches of the ground, the whole structure looked as if it had been hewn from pure Italian marble. A few pot plants, fern baskets and trailing vines lent a cool out-of-doors note, which was heightened by the appearance in classical robes of Miss Cameron and her court (Misses Nola Martin, Thelma Warburton and Wynneth Thompson).

THE COMPETITIONS, Considerable interest was aroused during the afternoon by the tug-of-war competitions between team/ representing the primary schools. Pulls were of two minutes’ duration on a battened platform, the winners of the final being the Bell Block team (R. Thomas, G- King, G. Yardley, J. Hamilton, N. Kopu, C. Jury. D. Roe and H. Sampson, captain), who defeated by four inches W aitara A (W. Lucas, R. Watson, H. Letts, J. Jones, T. Musehant, C. Wilson R. White and C. Ewens, captain). The members of the winning team each received a medal. The result of the several pulls were:—Waitara A (total weight 48st 41bs) defeated Central C (47st 41bs) by 12 inches; Waitara B. (48st 81bs) defeated Central B (49st 71bs) by 6 inches; New Plymouth Convent (46st 51bs) defeated Moturoa (47st Bibs) by 10 inches; Omata (44st 91bs) defeated Central A (49st lOlbs) by 18 inches; Bell Block (48st lllbs) defeated vogeltown (47st libs) by 12 inches; Bell Block defeated Omata by 6 inchesWaitara A defeated Waitara B by 2 inches; Waitara A defeated Convent by 6 inches; Bell Block defeated Waitara A by 4 inches.

The results of the other competitions are:—

Best Decorated (floral) two girls wider ten.—Margaret Martin and Dorothy Herdman 1, Lina Avery and Maisy Nuttall 2.

Best Decorated (floral), two girls, under fourteen.—Elsie Parker and Biddie Hawkins 1.

Best Decorated Tricycle, girls under twelve.—Dorothy M’Kay 1, Hazel Morey

Best Decorated Tricycle, girls under fourteen.—lsabel! M’Kay.

Best Decorated Tricycle, boys under twelve.—Cliff 1, Keith' Roebuck 2. Best Decorated Push-chair, girls under twelve—Nancy Evans 1, Freda Phillips 2.

Best Decorated Go-cart or Pram, girls under eight.—Dulcie Thompson 1, Joyee Knight 2, Molly Hookham 3. Best Dec-orated Go-cart or Pram girls under twelve.-Vema Lawrev L Nola Main 2.

_ Best Decorated Go-oart or pram, girls under fourteen.—Audrey Hay 1. Boys, any age. to be dressed as'nurse girls. Geoffrey Evans and Sam Rogers

Best Decorated (floral) Tricycle, boys under fourteen.—Colin Mollison 'l, Hart-y Evans 2, Douglas Roebuck 3. Best Decorated (floral) Bicycle boys over fourteen.—A. M. M’Lean '1

Best Decorated Motor-cycle.— Mrs Blanchett.

Best Decorated Motor-car, five or seven seater.—Mrs Blanchett 1, Miss Beading 2, Miss Thomson 3. The winning car of this class was beautifully decorated with white cot-ton-wool, besprinkled with pink artificial flowers, and edgings of natural rose leaves and asparagus fern. Miss Readings car had the hood covered with fern fronds, the sides being hidden with streamer*? anti yellow floral The front of the radiator was covered with a large red heart, composed of red dahlias. The third car wan heavily decorated with greenery and yellow artificial flowers, interlaced with sprays of asparagus fern. On the side of the ear reposed a large yellow dragon. School colour display, teams of twelve schoolgirls, representing any one colour in floral decoration (paper decorations allowed).—Moturoa School 1. Vogeltown School 2. Mixed Classes—West End School 1. Central School No 1 2. Several Maori hakas were excellently rendered during the day bv the .Moturoa hoye under the leadership of Mr Atua. These boys also gave some *ell rendered item* on the big lake The carnival spirit was further fostered by both the regimental and pipe bands, which contributed many enjoyable items a ' J J THE FINAL SCENE.

The result of the campaign and of the voting in the competition for the best decorated queen and court were announced during a concert in the park at night, when there was again a targe attendance of the public. A huge flood light and hundreds of coloured lights, aa well as flares, made the scene a gay one as the beams darted in and out through the trees and flashed on the ever-moving throng. After the Mayor (Mr F. E. Wilson), had made the official announcements’ Mr H. Dempsey (chairman of the Pukekura Park Board), thanked the carnival executive and various committees for their very fine effort to raise funds to further improve their already beautiful park. Some little time 'back, he said, the funds- of the board were at a very low ebb, but now, thanks to the magnificient work of those who ‘assisted in the carnival, their financial resources were again restored. Mr Dempsey then called for cheers for the chairman of the Central executive (Mr A. L. Humphries), the secretary (Mr F. R Hill) and the ladies.

Mr A. L. Humphries, in reply, thanked all those who had assisted Mr Hill and himself in the carrying out of their many duties. Mr C. E. Bellringer (chairman of the Vogeltown committee), called for cheers for the successful candidates, while cheers were also given for the defeated candidates at the request of Mr C. E. .Monaghan (chairman of the West City committee).

Members of the New Plymouth Bowling Club played a match on Saturday and raised the sum of £7 Ils, which vas presented to the Vogeltown candidate as a compliment to Mr A. E. Washer, who is vice-president of the club.