EXHIBITION GROWS

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1939, Page 11

EXHIBITION GROWS

THREE MONTHS LEFT

WILL STANDS BE READY?

P. & T. CAVALCADE

"Once Inside Weather Defied" might-be the Exhibition motto. Nothing could surpass the general lay-out of the Exhibition at Rongotai to provide comfort for visitors in weather such as we have had lately—once they have entered the buildings. Outside the full sweep of a hard southerly may make one gasp and run for shelter, but, even, with many of the doors opening frequently, it is warm enough inside to stop and look at what is going on, in comparative comfort. Without the carefully-provided ventilation, indeed, the huge buildings would be unpleasantly warm in summer, especially with the crowds that will fill them.

As the turf settles into place, and the : planting of the grounds proceeds, the ■ vistas down the avenues, backed by the attractive buildings and the domini ating tower, ohow that when the ! | grounds are finally cleared and the red , j brick promenade surtaces are laid, the reflecting pools filled, and the planting completed, the planning of the Exhibition will rouse admiration from all visitors. On dull days nothing lodks its best, but even in mid-winter, when the sun shines, the huge enterprise is cheerful looking. At night, when the vast system of exterior illumination is in action, adding to the appeal of the many reflections, the effect will be enchanting. When all is said, the architectural feature which will most appeal to Wellingtonians, will be the defeat of the winds. With the exception of ,the comparatively rare south-easter, shelter can be obtained from the worst of the wind in some part of the avenue in the main block, while once ! inside patrons may see the whole of the New Zealand part of the Exhibition, eat, rest, or do. business, under a practically continuous roof. SOME EXHIBITORS LAG. Though the displays of the New Zealand manufacturers are not yet conspicuous, general exhibits are daily taking shape, and it is evident that when some of the big-,spaces chalked} up as reserved in this section, are in place, the whole will make a most interesting display, on a scale' never hitherto attempted here. The style of the stands and displays is in nearly all cases not only original, but thoroughly 'modernistic." At the moment visitors who are admitted to most other parts of the big show find that they are being excluded from the Dominion Court, j the idea being that at least something must be kept in reserve to spring on the public on opening day. The Government Court is perhaps the busiest just now. . So complete and impressive are the buildings that there is only one doubt to the visitor: will the stands be ready in time? There is in fact an enormous amount to be done in this direction Wall board is most plastic material in the hands of skilled workers, and it is at once noticed by anyone who visits the Exhibition occasionally that the stands do hot take long to finish. Arranging the displays may take longer, but it is not the stands which have been started that give any cause for anxiety. It is those which still have their floor space untouched, relying perhaps on doing their job in a week or two by and by, that make one wonder whether all will be ready on November 8. It is the final touches which count in suc"h displays, and it would be most ' regrettable if everything were ready for the crowds except the things they have come to see. P. AND T. PAVILION. The pavilion of the Post and Telegraph Department in the Government Court has been commenced. This Department is well known to New Zealanders as \he one which handles a multiplicity of matters either not convenient to, or perhaps not actually affiliated with the activities of .other Departments, but its displays chiefly concern its main business. The Department has two courts. One is a working post office, including money-order and savings bank, telegraph, and telephone. Souvenir home savings-bank boxes bearing the Centennial emblem have been specially manufactured and enclosed in neat little cartons with address labels ready for posting. These boxes will be on sale. Attached to this court is a Post and Telegraph philatelic . bureau and stamp exhibition, which will include displays of stamps from overseas as well as issues of New Zealand and its dependencies. Dies, plates,^ and rollers used in the preparation and printing of stamps will also be exhibited. The second court contains interesting working exhibits, included in I which are (1) "A Glorious Pageant of Progress." depicting by a cavalcade of events the romantic development of the Department during 100 years, the principal events in each five-year period being shown in colourful models and cut-outs contrasted with present-day modern equipment by screen features; (2) a mechanical postal map showing the Empire airmail route, the connecting air-mail routes to South Africa, and the airmail route through Canada to the United Kingdom from New Zealand. Grouped in front of the map are three binnacles containing "press" buttons. On operating the buttons, coloured lights indicate the route taken by the air-mail and the approximate number of days taken to fly to each point. COMPREHENSIVE DISPLAYS. ' A relief map representing the area i surrounding Cook Strait will illustrate j the multiplicity of communication ser-1 ' vices between the two islands, tele- j ' graph' and telephone, ships, and air--1 craft. Illuminations will indicate the r submarine, telephone cables. Marine radio beacons will reproduce Morse 1 signals, and how they are transmitted 5 and received will be shown. There s will be a full-sized radio equipment - as used for communicating with ships ' at sea and aircraft- Radio as a whole t is well featured, one of the features • being a portable magic dial on a small box disconnected entirely from other I apparatus, to control'a number of eleci trie devices on the stand. Another ■ exhibit gives visual demonstration of i the nature of electric currents correr sponding to sounds of different kinds. • There is a vast display of apparatus } used by the Department, including : teleprinters, cable manholes with \ fittings, cables, exchanges, etc. An - interesting display is that of telephones ; from the earliest days.