CATHEDRAL CARNIVAL

Evening Star, Issue 22463, 7 October 1936, Page 3

CATHEDRAL CARNIVAL

FUNCTION OFFICIALLY OPENED The expectancy shown by the large gathering assembled in His Majesty’s Theatre last evening to witness the opening performance of the variety entertainment being conducted to complete the liquidation of the debt upon St. Joseph’s Cathedral was fully justified upon the rise of the curtain. Presented on a lavish scale, the theatrical amusement was of excellent standard, and, with some of the finest local talent comprising tho company, a fine and diversified selection was offered.

The mayor (Rev. E. T. Cox) formally opened the carnival, and was an interested spectator, both at tho stalls and the concert. He said that there was nothing conceived in tho imagination of tho architect and fashioned by tho hand of the craftsman, cither so beautiful in itself or so fraught with good to the human race as tho temple of God, bo it the village chape), the largo town church, or tho city cathedral. There was no public building upon which through the ages had been lavished such wealth of adornment as the cathedral church. Massive nave and chancel, ornate pillar and Gothic arch had called forth the best that heart, brain, and hand could contrive through the centuries. In Europe today, in spite of the magnitude of modern buildings, the cathedral stood as the centre and heart of civic and national life—it was also the place of pilgrimage for worshippers and tourist alike.

The greatest design, floor space, and •beauty of adornment was that of San Pedro in Rome. The colossal scale of its proportions could be imagined when he said that, though constructed at the conclusion of the middle ages, when the wages of labourers were IJd per day, those of a mason 3d, and a master mason 4d, it took 150 years to build; it necessitated the employment of at least a dozen architects in succession, with all their retinue of draughtsmen and clerks. Nineteen Popes reigned during the period of erection, and it cost £10,000,000. Colonial cathedrals might seem poor and ill-equipped measured alongside the greatest temple in the world, but they served a very great purpose—to elevate the thought and life of the people, and find their value in the chastened and purified lives of tho worshippers who regarded them as their church home. He would like to congratulate tho diocese of Dunedin on the beautiful cathedral dedicated to St. Joseph. It was a matter of very great importance to the church that so early in the history of this province Catholics had as a church home such a fine centre for worship. And he trusted that the carnival would achieve the end for which it had been organised—the extinction of the cathedral debt. The stage was arranged in the style of a Continental cabaret, and the many items were performed in the centre. A fine programme was presented, tho company having 45 artists in all. At the commencement, the rendered two fine choruses, and Mr Kevin Dunn and two of his pupils, Mr Robinson and Miss Anderson, were responsible for a brilliant exhibition of the modern waltz and foxtrot. A personable couple, Miss Tui Northey and Mr J. M’Farlane, sang duets, ‘ It Was In a Little Gipsy Tearoom,’ and ‘ From the Top of Your Head to the Tip of Your Toes,’ in excellent style. _ A most difficult dance was given by Miss Joyce Roley—a tap dance on her toes—which was very well recieved. Solos by Mr Harold Bain and Mr Alex M'Doewll were ‘ The Garden Where the Praties Grow,’ ‘ Carry Me Through,’ and ‘ Pickin’ Cotton,’ the two latter being negro numbers. Miss Constance Potts’s pink-and-silver ballet presented a popular chorus number. Bert Nelson, the one-wheel cycling clown, appeared in some skilful antics. _ and Chang Lu. the celebrated Chinese magician, in bewildering sleight-of-hand tricks. Two witty sketches, with Mr Harold Bain and Miss M'Noill as the players, completed tho programme. The stalls, which were situated m the Victoria, Fuller, and ■Brydone Halls, were exceedingly well patronised, and were most inviting. Colourful, attractive, and useful, tho goods displayed found a ready sale, and no unwillingness was displayed l)y the patrons in indulging in the various raffles, or in trying their skill at the many side shows. In consideration of this, and the fact that the carnival is to bo continued until October 17, no difficulty should be found in raising the requisite amount.