CELEBRATION OF THE JUBILEE OF THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XX, Issue XIV, 2 April 1898, Page 409

CELEBRATION OF THE JUBILEE OF THE PROVINCE OF OTAGO.

ARRIVAL OF HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR IN DUNEDIN. HIS Excellency the Governor, Lord Ranfurly, Lady Ranfurly, and suite arrived in Dunedin by special train from Puketuaki, where they had stayed since Saturday night, on Monday afternoon, 21st, at 2.30. The Dunedin Engineers, mustering fifty strong, under the command of Capt. Barclay and Lieut. Ross, joined the Guard of Honour as His Excellency left the station for his carriage. Lady Ranfurly was becomingly attired in a pale fawn faced cloth tailormade gown, consisting of skirt and semi-tight-fitting jacket. With this was worn a large and handsome epaulette collar of point lace. Her hat was of white chip, trimmed with white plumes, and under the slightly-turned-up side a group of pale blush roses, which partly rested on the hair. Among those who received the Governor were His Worship the Mayor (Mr E. B. Cargill), Miss Cargill, Col. Pole-Penton and Lieut.-Col. Webb, the Hons. R. Oliver, D. Pinkerton, S. F. Shrimski, M.L.C.’, Mr J. A. Millar, M.H.R., Mr D. Fraser, M.H.R., and Mr James Mills. As His Excellency stepped off the train the Garrison Band played ‘God Save the Queen,’ and the crowd cheered heartily as His Excellency and Lady Ranfurly drove off with the Otago Hussars, under the command of Capt. Robin, acting as a travelling escort. In the first carriage with His Excellency were His Worship the Mayor, the Hon. John MacKenzie, and Capt. Alexander, private secretary. The second carriage was occupied by Lady Ranfurly, Miss Cargill. Hon. C. Hill-Trevor (assistant private secretary), and Capt.. Ward, A.D.C.; the third by the Hon. R. Oliver, M.L.C., the Hon. G. Mac Lean, M.L.C., Capt. Wellesley, A.D.C., and Lieut.-Col. Webb; and the fourth by the Hon. W. H. Reynolds, M.L.C., and Mr James Mills. The Vice-Regal party drove up Rattray-street and along Princesstreet to the Town Hall, being loudly cheered along the route. Perfect order was maintained by Inspector Pardy and his men, who kept the traffic clear. A large concord of people had asembled in the Octagon to witness the proceedings at the Town Hall, and a number of ladies and gentlemen were also present in the reception-room. An address of welcome was presented after the usual formalities had been gone through, to which His Excellency replied as follows:—‘As the representative of Her Majesty the Queen I am pleased to accept your loyal expressions of devotion to the throne and person. It is a fact of which your citizens may be justly proud that fifty years ago the prosperous town wherein we stand was a barren wilderness, and it is a lasting monument to those noble pioneers of the past, who, nothing daunted by hardship or privation, gave their best energies to its foundation and who understood so well that without the Divine blessing their labours would be but in vain. In congratulating you upon your Jubilee I pay a tribute to another city, which your ancestors, and I am proud to say some of mine, also made famous in the history of the world, for the old Dunedin has a record which needs no words of ours to enhance her fame. But there is something in her name that stirs up feelings of love and devotion in every Scottish heart. I shall convey to Her .Majesty the assurance of your unalterable loyalty, and I thank you cordially for the welcome you accord to me personally and to Lady Ranfurly.’ Three hearty cheers were given for His Excellency, and another set for Lady Ranfurly. An address was then presented by the Rev. T. G. Brooke on behalf of the Loyal Orangemen, to which His Excellency replied. The Governor and party then proceeded to the Grand Hotel, attended by the Hussars, anit later on were taken for a drive round the city, visiting several public institutions. His Excellency attended a reception nt the Mayor's residence, ‘The Cliffs,' in the evening. His Excellency and party, accompanied by Mr VVi I’arata, M.H.R., at-

tended Divine service at the church at Puketeraki on Sunday, when Archdeacon Fucas preached. The weather for the commencement of the festivities was perfect; later on in the week cold showers and wind greatly spoiled the various functions. The streets were crowded with visitors. Fully 300 arrived from invereargill and 400 from Outram, 400 from Palmerston, 900 from Clinton, 600 from Oamaru, all by specials, while the ordinary trains brought quite ano ther 1,000. The religious services were very well attended indeed. A united thanksgiving service was held at Knox Church, at which His Excellency and two of his suite attended. They were received at the gate by the Mayor, and conducted to seats in the gallery over the clock, the choir and congregation singing the National Anthem. The officiating clergy were the Revs. Saunders and Hew-itson. Immense congregations were present at the Synod’s Special Services at First Church, the Revs. Gibb and Chisholm preaching appropriate sermons. The Rev. Father O’Neill, of Milton, preached at S. Joseph’s; the Revs. North and Jolly at Trinity Wesleyan Church. Bishop Nevill preached in the Cathedral, and a special grand service was held at the Synagogue. The illuminations were not nearly so extensive as for the Queen’s Jubilee. THE JUBILEE INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION OPENING CEREMONY. Long before the hour appointed, a crowd assembled at the Agricultural Hall. The arrangements for admission were utterly inadequate, carriage after carriage depositing its occupants on the pavement, who had to wander up and down until the full glare of the electric light found them standing room within the building, which was soon filled to overflowing, and crowds turned away. The stage was occupied by the Orchestral and Choral Society, while on the platform were the Premier and members of both Houses of Parliament. As the Governor and suite entered punctually at 8 o’clock, the orchestra played the National Anthem, the audience joining in the singing. His Excellency was accompanied by Capt. Brown, Lieut. Freeman, Lt. West, Dr. Bowie, 11.M.5. Tauranga. Hon. C. Hill Trevor, Capt. Ward, and Capt. Wellesley, 'rhe Vice-Regal party was met at the entrance by the Hon. T. Fergus, Messrs G. Hazlett, and T. Brydone, Vice Presidents, and escorted to the platform, where seats were also occupied by the Right Hon, R. J. Seddon, His Honor Mr Justice Williams; the Hon. W. 11. Reynolds, W. D. Stewart, 11. Oliver, S. E. Shrimski, G. McLean, D. Pinkerton, W. M. Bolt, G. Jones, M.L.C.’s; the Hon. W. Rolleston, Messrs H. J. Millar, Scobie i.iacKe’nzie, W. Fraser, T. G. Duncan, A. Morrison, J. W. Kelly, T. Parata, E. o. Allen, M.H.R.’s; the Mayor of Dunedin, Mr E. B. Cargill, More, Dr. Copeland, Naseby, Mr Guffie, Port Chalmers, M. Mill. Councillors Carroll, Solomon. Haynes, Swan, Chisholm, Messrs W. Cutten, W. Henderson, J. M. Gallaway, R. Wilson, A. MacFarlane, A. Burt, B. Hallenstein, T. W. Kempthorne, A. C. Begg, A. Thomson, Fenwick, C. R. Chapman, W. T. Monkman, J. Shiel, W. Brindley, H. V. Haddock, J. Cook, J. Angus, J. C. Thomson, J. Edgar, A. Todd, and G. P. Farquhar. The combined musical societies, under the leadership of Mr a. Coombs, gave much pleasure to the large gathering, which was representative of the whole colony of New Zealand. On the conclusion of the National Anthem, the Governor, as President of the Exhibition, who was loyally cheered, called on the Hon. T. Fergus to state its objects. The speeches dealt chiefly with the agricultural and commercial progress of the province. His Excellency said in the first place, ‘I desire to express my extreme regret that Lady Ranfurly is unable to be present this evening, hut hope she may be able to take part to-morrow. It is hardly necessary for me to say with what pleasure I am able to be present on this auspicious occasion of your Jubilee. I have seen as much of Otago as possible in the short time at my disposal. This province, which owes its origin to the persevering energy of those who are mostly all of Scottish descent, ami Scottish birth has made in these 50 years a marvellous stride in civilisation. When 1 saw the woollen manufactures, with the latest appliances and machinery, the most, modern methods in the mining dis-

tricts for getting and winning the gold from the earth, the manner in which you also won gold from beneath the water by dredging, I could not help thinking that although in the present day, there was less labour employed possibly at the moment, still you are probably only on the eve of a great industry which may employ more labour than it has done in the past. In viewing the Exhibition this evening, 1 noticed that nearly every requisite of an inhabitant of Otago, no matter what his pursuit in life may be, seemed to me to be manufactured in the colony (applause), and I was much pleased to see that there appeared to be very little else but home manufactures. (Applause.) As your Mayor said, it is not to wheat alone that a nation can look for prosperity, but to manufactures and industries as well. The energy shown by the founders has indeed been great, but to-morrow we are to see what are called the old identities. (Laughter and applause.) Your old identities are the people who kept the ball rolling. The present generation are keeping the ball up. But what of the future? Let the present generation, I say, teach their children that if the old identities have placed New Zealand in its present position, it is not for those children to sit down at their ease and spend the money, but it is for them to put their shoulders to the wheel, and heave the ball up the hill. (Applause.) It is byenergy alone that New Zealand will take its place as one of the foremost British Colonies, and I trust a British Colony always. (Loud applause.) The old identities recognised England and Scotland — the United Kingdom—as their home, their motherland. Many of you here no doubt have been born in New Zealand, but still I trust that you will use the word ‘Home,’ and still think of ‘Home’ as the land where that Sovereign lives who has reigned over us for so many prosperous and happy' years. I have much pleasure in declaring this Exhibition now open. (Loud applause.) The crowd was too great to admit of examining the courts in detail, but notice of the various exhibits will appear in future THE PROCESSION. The procession, which was over 2J miles long, and took 40 minutes to pass a given point, started from the Town Hall at 12 o’clock. From Knox Church to the Oval appeared to be a dense mass of people, and the sight was the most imposing ever witnessed here. Every' house-top, window, and verandah was filled with spectators, and the crowd was estimated at 100,000 people. The order of procession was as follows: —Fire Brigades, City Railway, Caversham, Invercargill Pipe Band, Dunedin Pipe Band, Gaelic Society, Foresters (Adults and Juveniles), M.U. 1.0.0. F., 1.0.0. F., North East Valley Band, Kaikorai Band, Druids, Hibernian Society, Shipwrights, Engineers’ Band, Timaru Band, Orangemen, Protestant Alliance, Tailors’ Union, Naval Band, Citizens’ Band, Painters’ Union, Trades Displays, Reid and Gray, W. Wright, Anderson Bros., A. Philips, Christenson Bros., J Gollar, J. Walker, D. M. Wilson, Otago Paper Mills, VictorySewing Machine, Strachan’s Brewery, Otago Rolling Mills, A. Johnston, Johnston and Robertson, ‘Frog in the Throat,’ A. and J. Macfarlane, and W. Patrick. The procession of Old Identities numbered about 400 on foot, and 200 in carriages, and each squad bore flags showing the date of their arrival. They were cheered all along the route. The Vice-Regal party, who were also loudly cheered, includded Lord and Lady Ranfurly, Capts. Alexander Ward, and Wellesley, Hon. C. Hill Trevor, Hon. R. J. Seddon, and J. McKenzie, and His Worship the Mayor. A most interesting group were the Maoris, of whom there were three drag loads. A great many were in full native costume, and looked very picturesque, though somewhat thoughtful and sad. The volunteers lined the streets and fell in behind the carriage of His Excellency, who joined the procession at the Octagon, after having seen it pass. Included in the Otago Paper Mills’ display was a dray containingrawmaterial,drawn by a team of bullocks. The miners also had a mail coach and six. with an escort of two troopers. On arrival at the Caledonian Grounds, speeches were made, and His Excellency thanked the |>eople for the reception they had given him, and concluded by asking them to sing ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ THE SPORTS were then proceeded with, and great

interest was taken in the events. The JUBILEE REGATTA was held in the afternoon, the barque Laira was used as a flagship, and the Citizens’ Band played. A nice breeze made the racing good and interesting. The DUNEDIN JUBILEE BALL was held in the Garrison Hall on the 25th, and was attended by nearly 700 people, exclusive of a number of sightseers, who occupied the east gallery, the west being reserved for guests. Lady Ranfurly was unfortunately absent through illness, but His Excellemcy the Governor, attended by Captains Alexander, Wellesley, and Ward, and the Hon. C. Hill Trevor, Captain Brown (H.M.s. Tauranga), and members of his staff, arrived about halfpast 9, and were received by the Reception Committee, the Volunteer officers, and the Consuls for the German Empire and United States. They were then escorted to the stage, which had been furnished as a drawingroom. Three dances were over, but the fourth, an official set of lancers, was at once formed. Lord Ranfurly, with Mrs Cutten, the Mayor (Mr E. B. Cargill), with Mrs Williams, Captain Brown and Mrs Roberts, and Captain Alexander and Mrs Reynolds, being their vis-a-vis. The sides were occupied by Mr Justice Williams and Mrs Batchelor, Mr John Roberts and Mrs Hosking, Colonel Pole Penftm and Mrs Sargood, and the Hon. Hill Trevor and Miss Cargill. Each of the dances was heralded by electric bells. An innovation much appreciated was the inclusion of the ‘Joy’ waltz, by Strauss, which was sung by a party of 16 voices, while the music was simultaneously played by the band. There was also pipe music for the reels, which has the magic power of stirring the generally unemotional Scot. The hall presented a brilliant spectacle, enlivened by the effective uniforms of the Otago Hussars, and other Volunteers wearing scarlet. A ladies’ drawing-room, as well as card and smoking rooms, were provided. The ’supper was laid in one of the new additions, and was tastefully decorated with flags and draperies. The cafe plan was adopted, whereby—excepting the table for His Excellency and suite and other distinguished visitors, and the hostesses and host —the supper was served on small tables set for six. The admirable arrangements prevented crushing, and nothing had been left undone for the pleasure and comfort of the guests. The following are a few of the toilettes: —Mrs Cutten, black velvet; Mrs W. H. Reynolds, shot brocade; Miss Cargill, black silk, gold and black passementerie; Miss Cargill, pink; Mrs Sargood, pale green brocade, entire front richly embroidered in gold—a beautiful and effective gown; Mrs Roberts, black velvet; Mrs Batchelor, yellow satin and black lace; Mrs Hosking, cream and heliotrope brocade; Mrs Williams, black silk; Mrs J. Mills, pink corded silk; Lady Stout, black silk and cream lace; Mrs Ulrich, black silk; Mrs Shand, black velvet; Mrs Petrie, white silk; Miss Reynolds, pink and grey silk; Miss J. Reynolds, yellow silk; Miss M. Reynolds, pale blue satin; Mrs Cheeseman, cream brocade; Mrs Finch, pink silk; Miss G. Roberts, yellow silk; Miss Roberts, heliotrope; Miss L. Roberts, cream brocade; Miss Rattray, green silk; Miss Macassey, black with crimson roses; Miss Ramsey, white silk; Miss Neill, white silk; Miss E. Neill, cream; Mrs Edmond, white satin; Miss Webster, pink silk; Mrs Grierson, heliotrope silk; Miss Shand, pale green satin; Mrs Fox, white satin; Mrs Hazlett, white brocade; Miss Bond, white silk; Miss Landells, yellow and green; Dr. Emily Seideberg, white silk with pink; Mrs Ogsten, green silk relieved with white; Miss Ulrich, pale blue; the Misses Williams, black net and white silk; Mrs W. Reynolds, white satin; Mrs L. Reynolds, white and pink; Miss Mills, white and pink silk; Miss F. Denniston, grey silk; Miss Moodie, white silk; Mrs Whitson, yellow silk; Mrs Sinclair Thomson, blue and pink; Miss T. Stevenson, grey and pink; Miss J. Stevenson, rose pink; Miss Brown, white silk; Miss Mac Lean, white silk; Miss L. Ferguson, white satin and heliotrope; Miss Turton, pink and black. His Excellency and Lady Ranfurly left for Christchurch on the 26th, and everyone was glad that Lady Ranfurly was sufficiently recovered from her indisposition to be able to attend the

garden party in the Fernhill Club on Friday afternoon. Some of the events of the CHAMPIONSHIP REGATTA were postponed owing to a strong breeze. Luncheon was served in the saloon of the Manapouri at 1.15, His Excellency and suite and a large number of ladies and gentlemen being the guests of Mrs Jas. Mills. After the repast, the toasts of the Queen, Governor and host, were duly honoured. Lord Ranfurly, in responding, said, that he should never forget his reception, not only in Dunedin, but in every part of Otago. The Governor visited the Chess Club’s rooms, and His Excellency, on behalf of the Club, was presented with a silver key, suitably inscribed, as a souvenir of his visit. Photographs of the Jubilee festivities will appear next week.