CARNIVAL.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1999, 5 March 1914, Page 6

CARNIVAL.

ITS BRILLIANT OPENINGj "■■"; THOUSANDS PRESENT. THE FROLICS AT THE PARK. Nine thousand fnn-seekers and fuE« malcors paraded and frolicked on 'i\eVtewn Pari: yesterday. , Merrily the carnival danced through the happy home of the sun-gold afternoon 'and the moonlit night. Willingly the mantlo ok care was cast aside, and the garb of gladness takenoofn f for this was Wellington's yearly carnival, when all must •bo merry and bright* All shades, ages, and sizes revelled in the fun.'. The children tripped tho maypole, the Mayor . broke Aunt Sally's clay pipe, and de- .'- corous citizens rode .011 tho "ocean, wave." Irrepressible, boys and girls laughed their rippling laughter, and amid all the gaiety the glory of innocent childhood stood out as stands the loveliest rose in all tho garden. They •were therefor the moon to silver, and the sun to gold. ,The : Decking of the Rotors. Thocitizens should bo thoroughly satisfied with the carnival and the patronage of the function so far. About seven /•thousand people were present yesterday afternoon, and tho ovening attendance numbered nearly' 3000. So great had • been the salo of tickets that up to 5 o'clock in the afternoon only £32 had been taken, at tho gate. Tho crowd was early on the sceno, and when the procession of motor-cars drove into the park at 2 o'clock there were several '. thousand holiday-makers there to greet them. The dozen gaily-bedecked cars inado a fine show. . The competition in fhisjine was won by Dn Platts-Mills, who adopted a sunflower design and dewloped the idea very . prettily. In , clpsign it stood alone as the best, and though : more might have'been made m the idea, it was quite the nicest decoration to look upon. A car represent- -.' inu harvest was placed seeond, and a red-bells design .on Mrs.' J. P. Luke's car, secured third position. , The most novel of the car designs was a cleverly got up "steamboat", arranged by Miss Pearson and'''manned" by several maids of:, the sea attired in naval costume. '. Feats by Motorists. The rnotor-car see-saw contest, a novelty in the city, held the crowd deeply, interested for two good hours. The task of balancing a car on tho see-sa.w is so difficult, and so many failed, that ■the officials began to, think that they had set an impossible task. However, beforo .the. day was out two motorists succeeded in accomplishing, the feat of balancing car and platform on the narrow .The prizp .went, .to Mr. W'• Rowe. -The;competitors' numbered ■ twenty-one."' In' this contest, as in the competition in steering a car through a maze of barrels, some excellent driving was done. Great, fun resulted from ' the potato race, -'which consisted. of whizzing round' the track in a motorcar and spearing ,up potatoes by the way.' Here Mr'. Harold Townsend was the victor. ---■ •■.--.,,-..,

A Humorous Passagsj. <'■•■' The band 'and a troupe of 'dainty children, prettily robed, tripped on to the ground and'took up the rainbow ribbons of the.maypolo. Tho bagpipes stirred.the,air, and kilted children stepped and giggled to the tuno they sot.-.And.so.it aJI-ran on,;- The call of the Carnival was irresistible! liven the . Mayor had to submit tb it when ho Opened the'affair:'He was ainwunced through a-.megaphone by ono who urged tho peoplo to ''Roll.uplv. Roll.up! The' Mayor's got somothing to tell you I Come and hear tho Maypr/spoakl" •Tho. 'side-shows'cpnimanded l tho attention of-ago "and' youth. "Come on! Como on! Let's seo yon smash Aunt Sally's pipe!". Aunt Sally was getting let down so lightly .that her businessmanager, was becoming rather boastful. Tho Mayor,,awl. City. Councillor Georgo Frost ;happep'ed along, and conspired to loweKthe. bulging pride of this enthu'sifirst. „"A-miss,": 'said. Aunt ■ Sally's gentleman friend. "Another miss,", he called," louder still. "Oh,'' he called ~. tauntingly, as'tho; third shot flew wido, "she isn't there,'sir!" And so Auntie wns to "the o'nd kindly treated by Councillor Frost. . . - . "Tho Mayor tries his hand, gentle-' men"—and' Mr. luk'o took up his halfdozen missiles. Whack I Whack, again! "Oh, there's-her pipe gone. You're in again next election. .There's another pipe, break that and you're in by double ..

On .to the ocean wave where Mayor,, councillors, members of the executive, and other grown-n'ps again entered in a practical manner into tho fun of the .day! •' '.", ~.: Official Opening. ■ -.' The' carnival was officially "opened by the Mayor: \ 'Sneaking of the procession of motor-cars, Mr. Luke said that tho wont was : uniquo, and bo congratulated Dr.. Platts-Mills on gaining tho first; award, and also thoso who had gained'the lesser:"honours. The. demonstration, he said, would bo copied in other |. years. The Carnival required.personal sacrifice on jtho part of tho. citizens, and the proceeds from the function would be devoted to' the beautificatiou of city reserves, for which purpose the civic authorities would .'bo. delighted' to. receive a considorable'sum.'as'thoro were' many grounds on' which the', money could bo spent.', "We tender our : best thanks to thoso who have contributed to tho success of the opening " concluded His Worship, "and we trust you to circulate the good news that the carnival is I declare the carnival open." •

UNDER THE STARS.

GAY TIME IN THE EVENING'.' • ' Well, this doesn't look like Wellington—sober, unsentimental Wellington— does it?" rqmarked a member of tho City Council as he'gazed upon the gay throng that moved busily,about Newtown Park last evening. . ibid such scenes as that presented from' 7.30 until 10 o'clock last night are indeed rare in the Empire City. There must have been between 5000 and 6000 people present, and a good 70 per cent, of them wore properly imbued with the spirit of the Carnival. No one could complain of lack of entertainment; The programme • commenced with a snorts meeting run under tho electric light, in tho centre of the grounds, under.the auspices of the Wellington Amateur Athletic ' Association. vTlio results were as follows:— 50yds. bandsmen's handicap—First heat: Tidman, 1; Mooro, 2; Baker, 3. Second heat: W. Baker, 1; Spearman, 2; Moncricf, 3. Final: W. Baker, 1; Mooro, 2; Tidman, 3. 50yds. handicap—First heat: Avery, 1; Hoaly, 2; Hale, 3. Second heat: Murphy, 1; Wilton, 2; Hubbard, 3. Final: Avery, 1; Murphy, 2; Wilton, 3. 100 yds. handicap—First heat: Murphy, 1; Hales, 2; Poole, 3. Second heat: Avery, 1; Wilton, 2; Hoaly, 3. Final: Murphy (6yds.), 1; Healy (4yds.), 2; Poole (scratch), 3. ! Won.by Half■ a yard. . Dancing Competitions. Whilst the sports were in progress on tho flat, tho dancing competitions, which had commenced in the afternoon, occupied the attention ; of-■several hunjdretl peoplo at tho southern end of the ground. A host of clever little girls had entered, and, without oxception, tho dancing was wonderfully good. A Draw piper supplied tho music. The results of these competitions (afternoon and S37cning) am as follow :— Highland Fling (under 12V—Marry

Hogg. 1; J. M'Lean, 2; Bene Rogers, 3. Thirteen entries.

Irish Jig (under 12).—Lily O'Leary, 1; Rene Rogers, 2; M. Raeburn, 3. Six entries. ' , '

Highland Fling (under 16}.—Daisy M'Lellan, 1; Flora Shaw, 2;M. Raeburn, 3. Five entries. j Sailor's Hornpipe (under 16). —Flora Shaw, 1; Lily O'Leary, 2; J. Fothergill, 3. Nine entries, At the conclusion of the competitions a double quartet of sprightly little fays danced tho captivating Reel 0' Tul-. loch with commendable grace and', spirit. BrlgatJesmen— Real and Cqmio. Tho most spectacular feature of tho evening was the parade and display of the Wellington, Hutt, and Pctone Fire Brigadesmen, who, resplendent in their burnished helmets, wore met at tho Park gates by the Waterside Workers' Band, and played round tho outer edge of tho sward..in a sort of march past, with His Worship tho Mayor, Inspector Hugo, and Superintendent Tait at the saluting base. After the march pasb the motor and telescope ladder-escape circled the ground, and then tho brigadosmon got to work with the escape, throw a fine cascado of water from the top of the tower. Then followed a comedy that tickled tbo crowd immensely. A house, made of packingcases and packed with inflammable material, was brought into tho centre of the ground and set on firo. Out from the dusky background shot tho "Darktown Eire Brigade," in motley garb, -full of fun and'ready to put out anything. 'On receiving the call tho comic brigade upset itself in its haste to reach tho spot, and having located the fiercely burning house, some of 'the members attempted to douse tho flames with 'kerosene, whilst others tried to blow it out. Then the motor dashed round the ground at full speed, fetched up at the fire,. and got to work in earliest, to the great indignation of the Darktown flame-fighters. Feeling their honour at stake, tho ousted brigade uncoupled the hose, and partially drowned some of tho regular brigade before they were overpowered. Finally tho firo was soused, the brigado formed up in marching order? circled tho ground amidst cheers, and departed town-ward to the lilt'of a gay march. A Sham Fight. The Senior Cadots did valuable work. Under tho command of Captain Frandi they swaggered in with a fine swing, headed by a drum and fife band, and, gave a drill exhibition. They afterwards engaged in mimic .battle —a proceeding which proved highly spectacular. In ono comer of tho ground was a. stockade .of casks and brushwood, and behind, it roared the camp-fire surrounded by half a company of men, whilst beyond the red glare of the firo paced the sentries. It needed a trained eye to see the first approach of the enemy, quiet brown things moving forward on their knees. Suddenly a shot is fired —it is an outpost "in touch." The sentries rush to tho danger point and shoot into the dark. At tho same time the camp-fire song ..gives place to the rattle of arms, sharp orders ring out, and the stockade is thrown into a state of defence. A fusillade of shots bark at the danger in the dark.' But the enemy, tKrown out in open order,.is strong in numbers, and at 'the blast of the bugle charge down upon_ the sadly-decimated garrison. Verisimilitude was lent the scene by tho presence of a number of nurses.

i_ After the mimic battle the public was invited to indulgo-in a dance on tho and in ten minutes there were fifty couples stepping out bravely .to tho music of the Central Mission Band. The Side-Shows. Though, thero wero plenty of • free /shows to entertain the crowd, the sideshows did not seem to feel the competition. All the evening Aunt, Sally, .entertained a very fashionablo clientele. The ocean-wave gave many hundreds the sensation of being. afloat in a giddy boat. ,The ring games and the Indian dart gamo deceived the inexpert; thV> fortune-tellers' told al\ "a dark man,, and a journey across tho water" to dozens with all their old power of conviction, and '■ guesser's guessed the weisht of a live sheep. The fancy and sweet stalls appeared to be doing a healthy business, and tho refreshment tents did not lack patronage Aeroplane Exhibition. The Fisher aeroplane is. on view in a tent at the park, and is in charge 'of tho celebrated aeronaut, Mr. James Hislop (Secretary of tho Department of Internal Affairs). In this connection Mr. Schacf has' promised to give an exhibition of an aeroplane in action at the park to-morrow, and on Saturday afternoon. Whether this will spur Mr.' Rislop to an attempt to break the altitude record tho secretary (Mr. Amos) was not able to say. ■"''■'■• i Lost Children.

Parents who lose their, children need have no cause to worry. It is recognised by the Carnival Committee that tho happy mother can scarcely hope to enjoy herself without losing her children at somo tirap during the day, owing to the numerous counter-attractions provided, and this has 'been carefully provided fbr v The Boy Scouts, who have a camp near:tho' tea kiosk'/ have undertaken to arrest all strayed or lost children/'and hold tlioin in happy confinement until claimedvby'their parents.

PRIZE LIST..

: ■ THE DECORATED VEHICLES. Decorated ■, '',Privato Motor-car.—Dr. Platts-Mills (sunflower design), 1; Mrs.Underweod (harvest), 2; Mrs. J..P. Luke (red bells); 3. Decorated Motor (special prize by Mrs. A. L. Hordman):—Miss Pearson's (steamboat), 1. Decorated Trade Car.—Mr. Wollermann, 1; Mr. H. Whyte, 2; Messrs. Chandlers, 3. Decorated Motor-cycle.—Mr. P. D. England (Indian Queen), 1; Mr. Barnett, 2. ' Decorated Perambulator. — Master and Miss Carroll (Erin Go Bragh), 1. Decorated Go-cart.—Miss Nellie Bur■kett, 1. ' \ ' Fancy Dress, Adults' Original Costume. —W. Lun'dr guist (topsyturvy), 1; Miss Eos (acquarium), 2. . Child's Original Costume.—Linda M'lntyro (Maori girl), 1; Gerald Evatt (Maori boy), 2. Adult's Historical Costume.—Miss Ihrmack (Swedish lady), 2. No first prize awarded. Child's Historical Costume.—Eileen M'Carthy (Princess Victoria), 1: Dora Moller (Norwegian Princess), 2; Master and Miss Carroll (Irish dress), highly commended. Ring Events. • Potato Race in Motor-car.—Mr. Harold Townsend, 1. Motor Sec-saw.—Mr. W. Rowe, 1. Motor-driving.—Mr. Richards, 1; Mr.. Perrett, 2; and Mr. Tucker, 3.

TO-DAY'S*PROGRAMME :

' MEN-O'-WARSMEN AT PLAT. There will bo plenty of fun for young and old at the park to-day, when King Carnival will.again hold sway. In addition to the permanent and continuous attractions, there, will be a special display of cutlass drill by a squad of 21 men from H.M.S. Philomel, tho warship I now in port. Thereafter will bo hold a sports meeting for the crow of the ironclad, consisting of a 200 yards handicap, harrel raco, wheelbarrow race, sack race, obsta-clo race, veterans' race "(for those who liavo beon twolvo years or over in the soivice), a bnckot-of-water race, and a pillow-fight, in which tho contestants sit astride a■: beam raised about four feet from tho grbund. In the evening thero will bo a tug-of-war, a frco picctiro-show, a gymnastic display by a squad of youths from tho Y.M.C.A., and the Maypole dance.