TECHNICAL TRAINING

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2640, 10 December 1915, Page 6

TECHNICAL TRAINING

' ■ EVIDENCE OP USEFUL WORE. .Apart from the well-established fact' Mat-the Wellington Technical Cojlege is notoriously overcrowded .to an .extent that'pupils have had to bo refused , admittance to ..certain olasses, the-best; -' argument in favour of new and very much larger quarters is provided in the very fine exhibition of work done during th© year by tlio students, which is beiing held at the Technical College. It ,■, is the one opportunity the general pub- . lie have of gauging the advantages of ■■ technical instruction, and ib certainly a splendid testimonial to'the director (Mr. \ iW. S. La Trobe) and 1 his staff. ■In the domain of'practical trade work such as » engineering, plumbing; carpentering; irasswork, etc.,'the show made is ilium- i inating to a degree. . In. the engineer- • ing workshop, which is oramped as to space, a, capital idea of the very good work dbne m pattern-making and tool- 1 . making—-chisels, latlte tools, cut and jmoulded wheels, drills, etc.—in great variety, the basis of all engineering, is given. Sets of tools for the different requirements of the tradfc are Bet out on benches in proper relation to one another, and any.engineer could notbut appraise the workmanship of the boys. One particularly 'fine bit of .brass finishiug is a siglvtrfoed lubricator, a very delicate and valuable bit of work, which shines with a primal lustre under a glass shade. The same skilful hanii which produced this work is also responsible for an array of ornamental brass candlesticks. There is also a display of dummy armatures, on-which students ■ in electricity are taught the technique of armature-winding. Other electrical sundries testify to activity in ll«t branch of engineering. In the plumbing branch, there is a splendid exhibit of leadwork, which shows at a glance tlio - ideal lead-pipo 1 work,- lead ridges, etc., of a solid and endurinj character that ' - most people would wish to possess. Tlio ; i shapes that can be made out ofsKeet lead by skilful tool-work is shown side by side with joint-wiping exhibits of which ; bo tradesman would be ashamed. Much potential taleut is also shown in the exhibition of draughtsmanship. ' Turning to avenues of artistic endeavour one could not but be struck with admiration at the delicate and beautiful designs embodied in -the illuminations on parchment of written messages of a, patriotic character' from Lord and Lady Liverpool, the Primo Minister, . and members of the Cabinet, Mayors of the four centres, and tile consular re- . preventatives of the in Wellington. These messages have been neatly ivritteu by Me. George R. Pitkethly, the late art instructor, and each sheet has been illuminated in colours and gold by the students with admirable skill arid symbolical appropriateness. There are ' also exhibits m drawing, painting, and modelling from life, a few still-life and Several capitally. executed anatomical studies, and surprisingly good work in . lithography and etching. A gaily-col-c'ured array of otching designs is ,the -woi;k of commercial students,! an antidote, as Mr. La Trobe says, to the form material side of their studies, which are shown on the corridor walls m the form 1 of samples of typewriting (from difficult "copy"), shorthand, commercial arithmetic, bookkeeping, and precis " Writing. There is much more of interest to note, and as tlio exhibition will remain open f until Saturday evening, "all who can should see the display of studjnts' work. .