NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 9, 2 March 1907, Page 42

NEW ZEALAND EXHIBITION.

. THIS WEEK'S ATTR’ACTfONa. ' FIREWORKS AND EIRE BRIGADE . ‘ COMPETITIONS. - (Special Service.) . _ CHRISTCHURCH, Sunday. The attendance at the Exhibition was again a big one on Saturday. There was a large audience at the organ recital' given by Air. W. H. Alonk, the Sydney organist. Air. Alonk was assisted by his brother, a member of tbe Exhibition orchestra, who played several violin solos. In the evening a vocal and instrumental concert was given, at which Airs. Arthur Alead acquitted herself well as a vocalist. The arrival of 122 Hawke’s Bay Alaoris had added to the population of the pa. They will give performances of pois, hakas, and war dances daily during their stay. . The Amateur Athletic Association’s championship meeting was concluded on the sports ground on Saturday, in the presence of about 1000 spectators. The second season of the Besses o’ th’ Barn Band will commence on Thursday next, and performances will be given every afternoon and evening in- the sports ground during their fortnight’s visit. ' Extensive preparations are being made for the display of daylight fireworks; which is to take place next Saturday. These fireworks, which are an entire novelty to New Zealand, are a Japanese invention. Shells will be thrown into the air, where they will burst, emitting fighting cocks, horses and riders, birds and fish, swarms of butterflies, and many other curious contents. Special arrangements are being made to enable the school children to witness this exhibition, and a record attendance of young people is expected. Arrangements are now almost complete for a motor-ear gymkhana, to be held by the Canterbury Autohiobile Association on Hie Exhibition sports gi'ouifil on Alarch 9. A large number of ears will take part in a procession through the city to the Exhibition, and the programme of competitions will include some highly novel events. The. Besses o’ th’ Barn Bandwill play on the rotunda as an additional attraction. Entries for tbe pet show, to be held in Wonderland on Friday, Alarch 8, Close on Alarch 4. Already a large variety of pets have been entered. Shilling tickets for the pet show will admit to Wonderland and the Exhibition. A week of fire brigades’ competitions, which will take place on the sports ground, commencing Alarch 19, should be one of the most important the exhibition has yet seen.. Teams from 80 brigades will take part in the contests. One hundred brigades altogether will be represented, and over 800 firemen will be engaged iu tbe competitions. On the evening of Tuesday, Al arch 19. a water display will be given on Victoria Lake on highly novel lines. The lake will lie surrounded by fire brigade steamers, and 12 or 14 branches of hose will be led to the centre of the lake, whence they will throw up powerful jets of water to a height of 150 ft, making the lake resemble one gigantic fountain, whose columns will be lighted from beneath by changing coloured pieces, Roman candles, and other pyrotechnic devices. On tbe following evening 100 boats containing firemen discharging fireworks will form a procession on the river, led by two motor launches carrying the teams’ bands. On Thursday evening an elaborate water display will be given with the entire Christchurch plant, and on Friday night, when the prizes will be presented by judges, 1000 firemen and guests will dine together publicly in the main corridor. In tbe course of the water display it is intended to. send ip 2500 gallons a minute, and another novel feature will be a test of all the chemical engines in tbe Exhibition. Buildings will be erected of different sizes on the sports ground, which will be set fire to, and flames extinguished by different engines in the presence of competent judges, who will time the respective performances and decide which chemicals are most efficient for their work.