THRILLS AT WEMBLEY.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 December 1923, Page 4

THRILLS AT WEMBLEY.

ACRES OF WONDERFUL GARDENS A LAKE OF FIRE. (By the Sydney 'Sun's’ Special Representative).) With all the British Empire to draw upon, the great Exhibition at Wembley ought to bo picturesque enough, yet other exhibitions with almost equally great chances have failed in that respect. For instance, none would call the White City, the last great exhibition ground of London, picturesque in tin- wildest sense of the world. Alter all. there is considerable difficulty (amounting almost to impossibility) in making halls of industry and galleries of machinery picturesque. .Even if one grants that the design of the buildings in which the exhibits are housed is graceful and artistic, the clement of newness and the essentially formal and prescribed plan required to make the best theatre lor exposition do not allow of the buildings attaining, as a rule, to real picture«.qlioness. But allowing for all obstacles, there is still plenty of scope for the Empire Exhibition to surpass all former function- in its appeal to that sense of the

i beautiful which so many of us possess, ! but which is so rarely gratified. And j ;ho-o countries which can draw upon ’! their national architecture I'm special j de-iglix have successfully achieved a i solution of giving variety and charm i . . . _ j to the Exhibition buildings. | ELF I’ll ANTS FROM BURMA. ; Tile Indian pavilion i- reminiscent 1 of the glories of the Mahal at Agra, one of the most beautiful buildings in the world. Its similarity to the Taj ’ is enhanced bv the majestic stretch ol V water in which the white minarets anil colonades will lie reflected. The charo aeterb tic Burmese pagoda is inspired j by the temples of that land of charm j j and color, and even if it falls short I or the glories the Artist has bestowed J upon it in the drawing there will still | remain much to be admired. Burma, too, is making a special I effort to retain the palm for original- , ity. Koine of the elephants for which j the land is famous are to be stabled in ’ ! the gardens as they were wold to be j in the palace of King Theebaw. Ftir- ! liter, a Burmese theatrical company is ! to be sent from Rangoon to present a I scries of nhivs in a theatre, which is e , 1 • . ! also being shipped across piecemeal I | and then ic-erecteil. This w ill give ! a touch of reality that will be eliali bulged so far a.- the Fast is colit'erlied | only by the Chinese street which is tu j form pari of the Hongkong display. ' TREES AND SHRUBS. Bui whatever formality may be enforced on oilier exhibition buildings there -till remain the garden-, with which they will be surrounded to bestow ili -4im tiou and freshness upon them and to make their sumnuitlingr, 1 j a feast of color and beatify. The landscape about the dominion buildings is j to be in the care of the respective j countries, and are to be filled wherever j practicable with iho trees, foliage, anil j blooms eha i aet- ri-i ie of fbo.se lands. 'j A pari ironi ihose special attrai lions j there are the general gardens, which j have been placed in tlts.- care of a welli known gulden architect. lie lia.s the I advantage of working in a stretch ol I i ‘eimiry, which, before it was pulled: |to pieces for llie Exhibition, had many I natural beauties, chief among which | j were numerous trees. Many of these ; j i! has been possible to preserve in their | original positions, so that the Exhibition grounds will start with a siigges- ! lion of maturity unusual in an exhihi- | tion. Further, while many also have j been transplanted, some 7RO lorest | trees which have attained a height of j 3lH't have been planted, and an enorI mini- number of llowcring and evor- | green shrubs and trees have been in-j j In addition, there will be vast areas | Oi Ed- di luted to powers. One such | ili-- main Miitiai avenue will h-iu- a I run of (ii.Klyds oi (lower bed'. Others will be placed on the banks of the great ornamental lake, near which is also a lock garden, into which from Till) lo Will tons of stone have been in-

j iio(!ii«-o:l. and ihi-ouixli which will run | a cascade spanned liy an arch of the | original l.nialnn Bridge, v hich lias | i lie.'ii presented to the Kxhihiiinn. j The gardens will he hcdded with lmri haceons perennials, especially prepared i for planting .-n as in give almost im- [ mediate results as regards liloom. Some idea of tiie niimher of her'iaecoum plants repaired may Is- gathered from I lie fact 'that d.Odtl delphinium l ', are held in reserve. As an opening display I ill 1,000 Darwin tulips are to

J>o installed. Yet another feature is to he the lighting effect.'. These will prove quite as much a part of the exhibits any eertilled and catalogued object, and will lie installed with a view to showing the advances in lighting in recent years. To-day lighting does not mean the Use of millions of small globes that thuv/le the eyes and conl itse Ihe picture. Already l.ondon realises the po.-.sjhililies of lighting . tip an object from a distance, ami much more. lit, is announced that a complefi lv new seheme of arfilleia! lighting will ho put into effect by the use of all the most modern inventions, rihl IXTAXT LIGHTING KFFEC.TS Vast as is Iho Exhibition, all Ihe i lighting viil he controlled by one man, who will have at his command electricity representin'; o.OtlO horse-power of mechanical energy, or enough for the lighting of over half a million globes. The general aim of the lighting will he to produce a broad, luminous effect, which will also harmonise, or rather contrast, with the weather. This is to Ik* achieved by an elaborate scheme ef color lighting. Tints it will he possible on a cold evening to present the whole Exhibition In a v.arm orange or red glow. On a hot night the effect will he that of cool moonlight. Even more striking effects are in- I tended in connection with the hake in the centre of the grounds, a sheet of water a quarter of a mile in length, upon which craft, typical of the various methods of transport and pleasure 1 1 10 Empire over, will move. The lighting effects of the Lake will proceed from four boats, each of which will represent a period of the development of the Empire. Their outlines will he picked out in myriad colors, while front the waterline will he rad-; inted across the lake floods of the rosy light. When the night mists rise they, too, will catch the splendour and add to the charm of the scene.