SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 5765, 20 September 1879, Page 3

SYDNEY INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITION.

Advices have been received at Wellington per last mail from Sydney, amongst which are seme advance sheets of Dr. Hector’s catalogue of the New Zealand exhibits. 1 his work appears to be very carefully compi'ed, and m addition to the ordinary dry details of such productions it is diversified by a number of paragraphs descriptive of some of the exhibits, tdviug ©very information concerning thtro. Ilr Hector is entitled to the thanks of the colony for the trouble he has taken in the preparation of so useful a guide to the New Zealand court. From some of the correspondence received we learn that much disappointment is felt at Sir Hercules Robinson not being able to be present at the opening of the Exhibition. The following extracts from the Sydney Daily Telegraph, of the 11th instant will fully account for the delay in opening the Exhibition, and will also convey a good idea of the magnitude of the show “ During the past ton days so much energy has been thrown into the work at the Exhibition in every department that the succe-s of the opening on next Wednesday seemed quite assured. But unfortunately the weather during the last few _ days has been most provokiogly wet. Ham has fallen in sheets, and as a consequence a great delay will occur, more especially in the completion of some of the sheds and buildings that are not yet finished in the Outer Domain Two of tho towers—the northern and eastern—are also incomplete, and there is still a great detd to be done to the dome and fountain. The opening will be graced by the presence of several of the Governors of the Australian Colonies, and various members of the Legislative. bodies, and as. the ceremonial committee have arranged a good programme, the opening is quite safe to go off with greater eclat than has attended any event up to this date in any Australian colony. “ The buildings on the whole have stood the test of the weather very well, and it is fortunate that little damage has been done to the goods in the building. Several exhibitors have to regret great damages done to their goods, but in almost every instance the loss is solely attributable to defective packing, or want of care in transit. The great majority of the sheds and workshops used in connection with the erection of the various buildings have been sold by auction and removed ; and tho grounds immediately around the main building are being rapidly turfed, and laid out in neat parterre's under the direction of Mr. Charles Moore, curator of tho Botanical Gardens. The carriage drive round the building is formed and metalled, but will require a little attention prior to the opening. The tram-road from the machinery sheds, though completed so far as the laying down of the rails goes, is not yet fit for use. . “In the interior tho exhibits are being rapidly unpacked and arranged in the various show cases. Tho large space occupied by the British exhibitors has, during the last ten days, been reduced from a wild chaos of barrels, boxes, and cases, of all conceivable sizes and form, into something approximating to the splendour it will assume at orshortly af terthe day of opening. Several very beautiful show-cases have been erected, and their contents arranged. The machinery and implements are not in such a forward state as to require notice as yet, but in this particular department the ‘ Old Country ’ will be hard put to it to keep her originally proud position against the host of competitors in this arena. Belgium sends from the Oockerill Company many exhibits of iron and steel rai's, plates and bars, implements and locomotives. Austria has tools of very fine finish ; so have many other countries; and our Yankee cousins are pouring in vast exhibits in every conceivable department of manufacturing industry. The display of arms is especially noteworthy, one case of the Winchester repeating rifle exciting the utmost curiosity and admiration. The tools and industrial implements from America are also very fine. There are ‘ Yankee notions ’in abundance, and though this court is far from finished, it will not be the least interesting even at the day of opening. In specialties, the French court will he noteworthy for the beautiful display of fancy goods and textile fabrics ; Austria, for its Bohemian glass exhibits; Japan, for its silk, bronze, and ceramic exhibits. The German Empire has an enormous quantity of goods _as yet unopened, and it is hardly possible to say in what department she will take a prominent position. The Italian exhibitors are at a special disadvantage, as it was for some time quite uncertain as to their participation in our great fair. The tiny court of Holland is completed ; the colonial courts are well forward, Queensland being quite ready with some very beautiful exhibits. The trophies of this court are specially noteworthy ; there are two columnar trophies of gold, and three pyramids of copper, tin, and pearl shell—the latter being one of the most ornamental in the building. The exhibits of colonial timber, of which there are over 1500 specimens, are a special feature of this court. They have been forwarded by the Government, and will be second to none in their line. But it is in the display of her mineral wealth that Queensland will take the lead of every competing nation. The collection forwarded to our Exhibition is the property of the Queensland Government, is well arranged, and will be a rare treat to visitors interested in geology or metallurgy. Victoria excels the other colonies in wollen fabrics and implements, and her fine art exhibits are numerous, and several above mediocrity- South Australia and Tasmania are, in the main, exhibitors of the raw material of manufacture. The same remark applies to New Zealand, but the latter court will have a very fine display of Maori curios. There are also some fine exhibits from Hindostan and the Straits _ Settlements ; the speciality in the former being Assam tea and rare wood carvings, and in the latter spices and other tropical products. “The Government have decided on giving the special name of the “ Garden Falace to the Exhibition Buildings, by which it will henceforth be known in all advertisements and other official documents.”

The Sydney Tdcjycip/i of the 9th instant gives the following description of the New Zealand court at the Sydney Exhibition “This court has had allotted to it 11 bays of 25ft. x 25ft. each, with the exception of a small corner portioned off for an office, tho whole space will be fully occupied by exhibits. The whole New Zealand court is surrounded by an ornamental screen twelve feet in height, divided into ornamental panels. Two openings in the screen lead into the Queensland court, one into the Fiji court, and one into the American. The frontage to tho east transcept comprises three bays, the first of which will be arranged as a doable apartment to show specimens of furniture from the New Zealand Wood and Iron Ware Factory (late Guthrie and Larnach’s). In the second bay will be furniture exhibits from other manufacturers arranged round a central trophy of polished New Zealand woods. The third bay will be taken up by Messrs. Bnrt and Co., of Dunedin, brassfounders, by the Mosgiel and Kaiapoi woollen factories, separated by the lateral vista Sft. in width, which runs through the extent of the building. At the rear of the New Zealand Wood and Iron Ware Company’s exhibits will be found the show-cases of a number of coffee, spice, and biscuit manufacturers, which will surround a central trophy of confectionery. Behind these will come the educational department, in which will be included specimens of bookbinding, mapping, engineering, drawing, and ornamental works of art. In the centre of the New Zealand court will be placed a trophy showing the New Zealand flax, and articles manufactured from it, especially a number of specimens of rope from the Auckland rope works. The remainder of the court will be taken np by a show of cereals which will occupy three bays, and which Dr. Hector, the commissioner, expects will be one the most complete of its kind in the building. The grain will be all shown in bins or ornamental bags under glass, but so arranged as to be easily opened for inspection. The heavier mineral specimens will be shown with others in tho basement ; and considerable preparations have been made in order to enable New Zealand to occupy a prominent position in the ethnological collection.”