THE JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6937, 29 October 1900, Page 1

THE JUBILEE EXHIBITION.

>THE BUILDINGS, THE ARRANGEMENTS, AND THE EXHIBITS. The Jubilee Exhibition of the Canterbury Industrial Association, which will be opened on Thursday in the magnificent premises in Manchester Street, is now in a forward state, and there is very little doubt that when the public are admitted they will find that the arrangements are much, more complete than has been the case at any previous exhibition held here, or for the matter of that, in the colony. With the permanent buildings and the annexes the exhibition will cover more ground than did the large Ex'ihibrtiott held in Auckland, and it is three times as large as the Wellington Exhibition, and has considerably more space under cover than had the- International Exhibition held in Hagley Park in 1882. But size is not the only respect in Avhich the Jubilee Exhibition should eclipse its predecessors. It can be readily seeni by a wnlk round the exhibits, even at this early stage, that the display will beiar in advance of any previous colonial effort. This is all the more satisfactory when it is' remembered that the whole of the articles,' with one or two exceptions (such as musical instruments and oil engines) are of New Zealand manufacture. Ib was only after careful inquiry as to whether oil engines could be made in the cplony, and a^ter Aveighing the fact that this kind of power is now coming into prominent use in the manufacture of local goods', that the committee agreed to admit the engines, while, of course, musical instruments are not wholly., made here as yet. In addition to very fine displays of nearly nil the principal articles' manufactured in the colony, including. wearing apparel, food products nqcl machinery, the exhibition will contain aconiprchensivc.diyplay m the. Home industries section, the entries in. which number over 3001),. and include everything from •Jila-inxintl fancy needlework to the finest Itice and crewel work, drawing, painting, photography, and both delicate, and massive • carvings. The workers' section will also be a very attractive feature, as here will be shown machinery, of all- classes in motion, flud worker.- of various trades will be turning out finished goods in wood, silk-weaving, and so forth. The exhibits from the technical schools of the colony in themselves will , form v very interesting sight, and- in this section somo hundreds of articles are being displayed. The Art Gallery will have the ;iineft collection of pictures ever shown in 'New Zealand, with, perhaps, the exception 'of the display made at the South Seas Ex- ; Jiibitton iti Dunedin, for in ib will be found the works of eminent English and foreign 'ipainters, as well as a good many efforts of 'leading colonial artists. The committee en{trusted with the work of selecting and hang. '•;ing ha,s had a difficult task, as a very large '.•number of pictures has been sent in. '' The ceremony of opening the Exhibition ;will be performed in one of the finest halls <in the Southern Hemisphere. It is provided with many cloak-rooms, and lavatories, ,which are all up'to-date, There is a very " fine cafe, at whigh luncheons and tea can be 'obtained, and there are also two tea kiosks .one of which, though nc^taß ornamental as ' 'the. comniibtee coiild have.wished, will probably be none the less useful, and the other iwill be more representative of Oriental ideas .mi its construction. i THE BUILDINGS. •; < SOME INTERESTING PACTS. • Somo description of the buildings, more uf the iicnnanent portion of them, jwhieh will remain after the Exhibition has

closed, in the shape of the Agricultural and Industrial Hall, will no doubt b© interesting. Messrs Rennie and Pearce, the builders, kindly gave some information on .this subjectjto a representative of this journal, and it wilt be seen that the contractors have performed some sniart work in getting the buildings so far forward as to allow of the original date being kept for the ' opening ceremony. Dealing with the permanent portion of the buildings first, ifc may be mentioned that, after the designs of Messrs Clarkson and Ballantyne were accepted, tenders were called for, and that of Messrs Rennie and Pearce was accepted on Nov. 28, though the contract was not finally signed until Jan. 9. The contractors were unable to obtain possession of the ground until a fortnight latei-, but then immediately gob to work on the excavations, including the cellar under the stage, which were extremely heavy, some thousands of yards of earth having to be removed. Such expedition was used, that by the first week in March, over--700 yards of concrete foundations had been put in, nnd a start was made with, the brickwork, the ' foundation stone being laid on March 14. The buildings, were so far Completed by Oct. 26 that 4he Hall Company took them over, and handed -them to the Industrial Association, which has leased them for the Exhibition. . ■ OVer a million bricks were used in the construction of the buildings, and these kept the yards of Messrs Wigrani Bros., J. Brightling and T. N. Hovsley busy for some months. The lime used was from Mr L. '' Adams's Marble Kilns on thei Dal'Sthorpe Estate, at Malvern. The whole of the bases, window sills and mullions are of Mount . Soiners stone", while the ornamental stone in the front elevation was obtained from the Totaxa Tree and Minories quarries in the Oamaru district. r The* massive iron girders, which include four 40ft 16in by 6in, were turned out by Messrs Scott Bros. ; (who also made the iron columns Supporting the gallery in the main hall) and seven 16in by 6in steel girders to carry the span. The number of men employed on the work was over 200, including 30 masons and stone sawyers, 54 bricklayers and their assistants*over 70 carpenters, and 33 pla-sterers and 13 plumbers. The plastering was done by Mr J. Joll, and the plumbing by Messrs Taylor and Oakley, while Mr J. t Denham was clerk of works. On entering the main vestibule, which, ia 34ft by 28ft, the visitor finds on each side commodious cloak-rooms and lavatories, and there are also two wide, passages leading into the main corridor, and the large concert hall. Further to the south are two boaTd-rooms, each 32ft by 20ft, which can be made into one large apartment, by the removal of folding doors, arid beyond 1 this another passage gives access to a couple of commodious offices fitted with strong : rooms. Running along behind these rooms is the main corridor, 172 ft by 15ft, and opening from it are a dancing room, 70ft by 40ft, fitted with a floor on spiral springs, and alongside this is a supper-room, 40ft by. 30ft, connected with which is a kitchen, 28ft by 21ft, fitted with two large stoves, scullery and eervery. The ground floor of the main hall, which is 103 ft by 70ft, can be entered from either side of the vestibule through large swing doors, while along the northern side runs a passage about 16fb wide, which leads to the stalls door, as well as to the stage and green-rooms. Altogether there are five sets of large swing doors on. the ground floor, which form very effective fire 1 escapes, .while another leads into'the. chair store alongside,54ft by 16ft. The stage is 86ft 6in by 10ft, with two large green-rooms and four dTes-sing-rooms above, and each has been fitted with lavatories, etc. The cellar under the stage is 7ft 6in in the clear, while the height from stage to "grid" is over 40ft, and 20ft below this are the flies with floating lights. The hall is extremely well lighted with side windows, and in the haindsome ceiling, which is 39ft from the floor, there are four large ceiling lights, each 20ffc by 10ft. All the corners of the walls and 'the ceiling have been coved so that not a single angle is presented to interfere with the acoustic properties, which have been proved) to be perfect. From the main vestibule, a grand staircase, 10ft wide, leads up to a landing, where further stairways break away on each side, and end on a landing and promenade, 34ftby 28ft. On the north side of this is a cafe, 29ft by 13ft, and on the other side ladies' and gentlemen's cloakrooms, each 28fb by 18ft, with lavatories. The dress circle can be dfcered from the promenade by three larg'e^swing-doors, and here the giallery, which is horsehoe shaped, with an area of 103 ft 6in by 64ft, is capable of seating 500 persons, the chairs being placed in

nine tier. 1 ?. A splendid view of the stage and ceiling can be got from this position, and now that the handsome maroon plush curtain has been hung, the effect of the proscenium is very pretty. Again descending into the main corridor and passing along to the north, another commodious staircase is met with, which leads to a corridor, 68ft by 15ft, on the first floor, .off which there are two nails, one 70ffc by 40ft, and the other 46ft by 52ft, while there are also two offices, each 15ft by 15ft. The ceiling of 'the main hall, which is quite a feature, was supplied' by the Wnnderlich Company, of Melbourne, and is of ornamented steel. The whole has been divided out into square panels, the beams being blocked down and finished .round with cornice mouldings, and it is provided with fourteen large ventilators, each connected with the trunk system leading out on to the roof. The decorations were carried cutby Mr T. -H. Davies, who has succeeded in securing) a very pleasing effect; The panels have been filled in. with a light cream colour, and the mouldings have, been relieved with 'turquoise blue, vermillion pink, and light buff, and outlined with lines oi crimson hue.' The soffits are treated with a> deep vermillion tone relieved Vfth a delicate ajsthetio green, the lines of which are treated with gold. ■ The cenitre .flowers and boss ornaments are a blending of the whole ot the colours used on the ceiling, relieved with gold. The background of frieze is of » deep tint of turquoise blue, the raised portion being of ivory-white, -while the cornice is a coirtbin'ation of green, ■cream* - crimson, and terra cotta. The capitals are blended with various tirota of green, the background ol which is deep vermillion ; the projection of the acanthus leaves, husks and corona- are lined with gold. The 'background cf the dress circle front is of light blue, picked out with oream lines outlined with gold. The front of the proscenium is treated -with various coloured bronzes, and is the first that has been decorated in that manner in the colony. . The stock scenery for the stage. has teen made by Messrs Rose and Whit-more, and painted by Mr E. Briggs. THE AINNEXES. The erection <yf the temporary annexes for the Exhibition wias also entrusted to Messrs Rennie and Pearce. That these buildings ihave been constructed in, a substantial manner was proved by the fact that they completely withstood the fierce north-west wind which raged on Saturday night. The annexe running along Worcester Street is 360 ft by 70ft; the cross avenue at the back of the main, -hall is 160 ft by 72ft ; the one running along Gloucester Street is 277 ft by 74ft, and the cross-section is 96ft by 74ft; while the one fronting on Worcester street, which contains the electric light plant and the workers' exhibits, is 161 ft by 65ft. The whole of. the Exhibition allows of a. mile and a Quarter of exhibits, averaging 6ft in width. In addition, there are several side shows, tea-rooms,, and a band stand, all of which have been placed in good positions, and a garden has also been arranged as a, smoking lounge. . THE LIGHTING. Tho' Executive made arrangements for the use of electricity for the Sighting and motive power, And placed the contract with Messrs Turnbull and Jones, of .Wellington, for whom Mr C. A. Seager, of Christchurch, is manager. The firm immediately cabled to, Messrs R. E. Cromptojfi and Co.y of London, crnd the whole plant? wad soon niakle to order, and it has now been placed in. position, in. spite of the fact that the contract was only signed in June last. The power required for the lighting and motors is about 120 horse-power, and this ia obtained from two Maclaren and one Wallace and Stephens traction engines, a 20 horse-power portable engine, while one of Crossley Bros.' specially constructed gas engines will be used for day-lighting; and for supplying the motive power for the working exhibits, and it may be stated here that this is the first engine of its kind that has been seen in the colony. There are eight dynamos, varying in power from 50 to 450 lights. These will supply eighty arc lamps of drom 1000 to 2000 candle-power each, and some 400 incandescent lights of 16 candle-power each. There are already used about a- dozen electric motors for private exhibits, and the firm also supplies the power for the workers' exhibits, The main hall will be lighted by five arc lamps, each of 2000 candlepoweT, while the stage will be fitted with an arc of 1500 candle-power and two of 1000 candle-power each. For dramatic representations a special incandescent plant is being supplied. The avenues and corridors are all fitted with arc lamps, and the private lighting of exhibits will be done by means" of incandescent glow lamps, as required. The private lighting of some of the stands will be carried out on a scale which has hitherto never been attempted here. The installation has necessitated the running of over eight miles of wire and cables. There are eight distinct switchboai'ds at different points throughout the Exhibition, each carrying about the same load. Every section i 3 separately controlled, and at the main switchboard any sectidn can be connected or disconnected at- will. Messrs Turnbull and Jones have over £5000 worth of plant in the building. Although the installation is only of a temporary nature, it has been carried out on the most modern principle. The system is that known as " central distribution." THE OPENING CEREMONY. The opening ceremony, as stated before, will take place on Thursday. It has been arranged that the opening of the- main door with a golden key, which was to have been done by Lady Ranfurly, will be carried out by Mrs Recce, wife of the Mayor oi Christchurch, at 1.45 p.m. Those who have secured special tickets Avill then enter the main hall, and it is particularly requested that they should be in their seat® by 2 p.m., at which hour the Governor will arrive. The Executive Council of the Exhibition, with the Premier and the Mayor of Christchurch, will then meet the Governoj- in the main vestibule, and will conduct, him to his seat in the front, of the stage, the' Volunteers forming a guard of honour. As his Excellency walks up the aisle, the orchestra will play a few bars of the National Anthem. After the party is seated, the choir will sing the National Anthem, and then both orchestra and choir will render the ode specially written for the occasion by Mr O. T. J. Alpers, which has been, set to music by Mr Maughan Barnett, of Wellington, under the conductorship of Mr F. M. Wallace. Lord llanfuily, escorted by the Premier, the Mayor of Chiistchurch, and the President of the Exhibition, will ascend, the dais, and Mr R. Allan, the President, will request his Excellency to declare the Exhibition oven. After this has been done, short addresses will be given by the Premier and the Mayor. This portion of the ceremony will be brousrht to a close by the orchestra playing the '" Britannia Overture," and Lord Ranfurly will then be conducted round the Exhibition. The public will be admitted to the buildings at 3 p.m., and will be allowed to remain untill 5.30 p.m. The Exhibition will then be closed, but. will re-open at seven o'clock. In the evening the orchestra and chorus will render Mendelssohn's " Hymn of Praise."