FINE COLLECTION.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20483, 8 December 1934, Page 23

FINE COLLECTION.

Photographs Taken by Lord Bledisloe. EXHIBITION AT D.I.C. When their Excellencies, Lord and Lady Bledisloe, leave New Zealand and return to the Old Country early next year they will carry away with them memories of the scenic charms of the Dominion and of the people that live in it, both pakeha and Maori. To ensure that those memories shall not grow dim with the passing of time his Excellency has taken pains to build up a valuable pictorial record of events that have occurred while carrying out his official duties, and of people and scenes that have appealed to him. This record has been printed by the Photo Supply Company, Wellington, and upwards of 200 enlargements have been lent to the D.1.C., with his Excellency’s permission, for exhibition. The collection, which embraces perhaps the widest range of subjects ever gathered

by any individual collector iii New Zealand, has been arranged in the D.l.C.’s ' tearooms and lounge on the first floor, and is open to inspection by the public. A collection box is placed in a conspicuous place in order that those who visit the exhibition may make donations to the Rotary Club’s Christmas Appeal Fund. Yesterday was the first day of the exhibition, and it attracted ■ great interest, and the appeal fund benefited appreciably. Prominence is given in the collection to Maori subjects—chiefs in traditional dress, native women cooking at the hot springs at Rotorua—and the Waitangi celebrations held in February of last year. The prints are as clear as those taken by any professional photographer, and retteet the ability of his Excellency as a cameraman. In many of the pictures both Lord and Lady Bledisloe are seen “snapped” with visitors to the Dominion, among whom have been Lord and Lady Baden-Powell, Dame Sybil Thorndyke and the South African cricketers. There are scenes dear to the hearts of Christchurch people, including a particularly fine view of the Bridge of Remembrance. There are also views of the simple life in the outposts of the

Dominion, and wonderfully clear pictures of the Wanganui River, Nelson Harbour, the “Garden of Memories,’’ at Kaikoura, and the Franz Josef Glacier from Lake Mapourika. There is a rare photograph of the interior of a typical Maori meeting house, and evidence of his Excellency’s interest in pastoral life is given by the section in his collection devoted 'to photographs of prize stock, ; farm life generally, and the shipping of produce at New Zealand s busiest ports. There are also views recording their Excellencies’ tours of the gold fields, and of their visits to Rarotonga, the Cook Islands and Samoa. The collection is very comprehensive and should continue to attract attention so long as the D.I.C. is privileged to have it for exhibition. Not only is it indicative of his Excellency’s wide and sympathetic interest in New Zealand, but it serves to bring home to New Zealanders once more the wide variety of the scenic gems of their own country.