PAGEANT OF PROGRESS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24227, 20 February 1940, Page 4

PAGEANT OF PROGRESS

POST ANDj TELEGRAPH HISTORY NOVEL EXHIBITION FEATURE Nearly 16,000 people have seen the Pageant of Progress, the striking and colourful cavalcade of developments in the Post and Telegraph Department from the earliest days of the Do- ■ minion’s history to 1940. ; ■ All aspects of the department’s work are graphically presented to, the-.,public ;by means of cut-out scenes and models- oh a moving belt linked rrith moving pictures on a backgroiind screen,'. The pictures on the screen are in direct contrast to,the models and cut-outs as they show modern methods, while the passing panorama gives a picture of early stages in the development of the department’s work. Synchronising with these two pictorial media is. a changing sky effect and a commentary which tells the story of telegraphic progress as the cavalcade recedes. Some examples of; the incidents shown in the pageant Include a Maori beating the ‘-‘tree gong,”, as he does so the film shows telegraph wires stretching through the country, and the sound accompaniment is the’ticking of a teleprinter. In one early scene a Native runner is shown transporting mails and overhead fly to-day’s rapid mail ’planes.. The erection of telegraph lines'by. the militia 'in. 1863, the laying of the Cook Strait • cable, and the opening of the first telegraph office at, Christchurch in 1862 are all further points of interest. The. pageant demonstrates pictorially,. among other things, the service provided by the Post Office Savings Bank, the convenience of the money order and the growth of the telephone systems. As the vast intricacy of modern telephone exchanges are shown on the screen, the commentator recites the history of. the first longdistance telephone conversation which took place in 1879 when Sir- George Grey, in Dunedin, spoke to a member of the House of Representatives .in Oamaru. From this developed the first telephone exchange at Christchurch with 27 subscribers in 1881.

Among the many hundreds of stages of development are included the rural mail service, the installation of the first wireless station at the General Post Office in 1911. and the radio telephone services. The Pageant of Progress not only makes the average man appreciate the wonders of the present-day telegraph and communication, but enables the younger generation to, understand and appreciate some of the hardships endured by the pioneers and the difficulties overcome.