HOKITIKA EXHIBITION.

Hokitika Guardian, 6 September 1923, Page 4

HOKITIKA EXHIBITION.

— (To the Editor of Westport “News. ) Dear Sir,—Re the Hokitika Exhibition: This is the term used in connection with Ihe Exhibition to he held in Hok-itika at the end of this year, However, Hokitika is the location ol the Exhibition, hut the Exhibition itself is to be The British and Intercolonial Exhibition. Why should Westport take an interest ill the Exhibition ?

Just turn up a copy of the booklet, "The Golden* West Coast,” prepared ' specially for the Otira tunnel opening celebration. Look at the map of the West Coast on the back of the cover and your question is answered. Westpart appears practically as Land’s End, and detailed features ecase a little north of Greymoutli. Why? AY as this intentional? No. It was because EastCoast knowledge of the Golden AT est was limited to the southern areas. The reason is obvious. Easier facilities for communication existed between the East and the South AA'estcrn districts. That, however, was not all. Our friends further south of us took* every opportunity to advertise their districts and their resources and impressed the outside world with the possibilities of development, consequently the details in their portion of the map are very complete.

The primary object of every Exhibition is to advertise, and to give a ‘fillip’ to trade. The Coasters are celebrating the opening of the East and AA’cst Coast railway and commemorating the Diamond Jubilee of the Province of AA’estland by holding The British and Colonial Exhibition and they extend to Westport an invitation to participate in that exhibition. Tt is up to every one of us to see that the invitation is made good use of and endeavnor to help our southern friends to make a great success of the undertaking. This is the opportunity of a decade to ‘-boost” up our own portion of the Golden AVost Coast, and need we he ashamed of doing so? AA’e have some of tho finest mountain scenery and seascapes in New Zealand in our province; some of the finest timber in the Dominion, and our coal is second to none in the .Southern Hemisphere. Our sea beach leads and our streams and terraces have produced several million pounds’ worth of alluvial gold. Our mountain ranges contain a variety of minerals, and we

| have building stone of first quality, j limestone of high grade, and the constituents of Portland cement in almost- ! unlimited -quantities. AA’e have our Charleston coal field—so geologically situated that the coal may fie quarried at minimum expense—awaiting deI velopment of the huge quantities or I by-products contained therein, j AA’e certainly should avail ourselves |of this opportunity by -letting the . i 60,000 visitors expected at the Exhibition know that the northern end of the Golden West Coas is by 110 means the poorest in potentialities. AA’e are living in the twentieth (not the nineteenth) century, and we must use methods for pushing the development of our resources in keeping with the times. A small contribution from every citizen of AYestport and the surrounding districts would enable full use to j be made of the opportunity for adverI tising our large and valuable resources ! by availing ourselves of the invitation ' extended to us by our southern 1 friends, to whom we return thanks ! and wishes for a very successful ex- ‘ liibition. j C. S. BEILBY, j President Duller Progress League.