INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.
A Preliminary Review.
Mr. Gregor McGregor, who is in charge of the native party engaged in building the Maori pa at the Exhibition, was in Wanganui this week, and a "Herald" representative, in the course of a chat with him, gathered a few facts in reference to the progress of work at the big show-house on the Avon's banks.
All departments are well forward, says Mr. McUregor, and the main building, which is rapidly nearing completion, is going to be a very fine and handsome structure. Though only a temporary wooden erection, it will have the appearance of stone, the outer casing being covered with Carrara plaster, which gives a finish much like Oamaru stone, but lighter looking. The Exhibits' Committee is now finding its work cut out, and from now on wiil have no sinecure, as exhibits are already arriving by the truckload. The Canadian Court, says Mr. McGregor, is going to loom large, and already it is the most forward in its arrangements, which are most tasteful and pretty. A reddish cloth will line the walls, along the top of which sheaves of wheat are being arranged as a frieze. Altogether, Canada bids fair to have the biggest, and probably the most interesting, exhibit in the whole of the big building. What will be " the" beauty spot in. the whole of the Exhibition is the fernery, which is now just about complete. In area it is about 60ft by 80ft, and it will offer a complete representation of the glorious wealth of fronds for which Maoriland is famous. The surface arrangement is also very striking, being broken up into miniature cliffs, cascades and lakes, the intervening water spaces being crossed by rustic bridges. With its sparkling waterfalls, its fern-clad banks, and quiet pools fringed with softest green, it will, especially by night, look like a peep at fairylajyj. «
Across the Avon, directly opposite the main entrance, is " Wonderland" — the amusement section— of which we have already seen many pictures in the illustrated weeklies. Here will be found the Katzen jammer Castle, in which may be seen bights as weird and wonderful as its name. There are many other delights too. The winter aojourner at Davos, who for this solstice has strayed to the lands of the Southern Cross, will find a huge toboggan slide, which will give him all the exhilirating excitement of the mad rush down. Switzerland's mile-long snow elopes. Dear to the heart of the English tripper, awakening memories of Earl's Court and a dozen other places of merry-making, will be the water chute, down which the punts will fly to leap from the water below like porpoises at play. Near here is an interesting building, which ought to be called "Children's Castle." It has been built for the purpose of housing the school children who will visit the Exhibition from afar, and when completed will accommodate 50Q. It should prove an altogether admirable institution. Some ot the New Zealand Government's exhibits will be veiy tomjuete. Perhaps the most interesting or tiiese will be tLe Agricultural Department's section, one part of which will be devoted to plots of forage plants and grasses. But what will delight the city-bred, equallly with the country visitor, will be the model bee farm, where bee culture in all its branches will be shown during the whole course of the Exhibition. Not the least interesting part of this, to fanciers of Apia and her busy tribe, will be .the collection of ancient and modern hivfts, leading from the old straw 'ekep to the gin case, . and up to the fin de siecle Langstroth hive. Transforming, queen-rearing, honey extraction, and ripening, in fact, all branches in the province of the bee expert will be shown.
The Mines Department's exhibit is probably the least advanced so far, but it is understood it will make a very fine display. Specimens of gold, coal, iron, in fact all the minerals of New Zealand, will be shown in a Court which will cover a space of about an acre.
Last, but certainly not least, and especially so to the visitor from oversea, will be the Maori pa, which has been named Araiteuru. A happy idea has been embodied in the choice of this name. Araiteuru was the name of one of the ancient New Zealand Mayflower fleet which carried the old-time Maori from the legendary ilawaiki to the iorest-clad shores ot Aotearoa and Waipounamu. This canoe mailed past the ioriiier island and skirted the coasts of what are now the provinces ol Marl borough and Canterbury. Finally, hue many another pioueer vessel, it cai^e ~x> grief, being wrecked some distance jouth oi Lyttelton. The crew landing, QCAttered, and found habitats in' boil, island, as do also their descendants of to-day. In view of the national character of the Exhibition, it was thought proper to give a name to the pa representative of both islands, and so the name Araiteuru was chosen, being that of the canoe whose crew's descendants found homes both north and south.
The Wanganui natives who went down to Christchurch to commence the erection of the pa, have lately been reinforced by a contingent from the famous Arawa tribe, and the work is now well on to completion. The pa will be a replica of the old style Maori stronghold, and though it may suffer somewhat in impressivenese by being on the flat, instead of being perched on the lofty eyrie of the days of Rauparaha, it will yet faithfully represent the palisades, trenches, drawbridges, and other defensive arrangements of the native fortresses of those stirring times, while the carving, showing all that is most striing in ancient and modern art, will delight the eye of the connoisseur and the collector. Needless to say, however, a sharp look-out will be kept on the operations of the last-named.
Altogether, the Exhibition promises to be a huge success, and though it cannot confidently be predicted that the financial result will show on the ripht side of the ledger, its educational value is unquestionable. It is, therefore, to be hoped that everyone to whom the opportunity offers will, at some time during its run Wait it.
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Bibliographic details
Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11978, 22 September 1906, Page 2
Word Count
1,032INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION. Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 11978, 22 September 1906, Page 2
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