“MAKING NEW ZEALAND”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24415, 28 September 1940, Page 4

“MAKING NEW ZEALAND”

MORE PICTORIAL HISTORY Public Buildings. By Paul Pascoe, Furniture. By G. L. Gabltes. Pictorial Surveys of a Century (Department of Internal Affairs) ea. Is. New Zealand’s growth is to a large extent reflected in the facades of the country’s public buildings, and volume 21 of the “ Making New Zealand ” series is a particularly interesting development of this theme. The earliest buildings were generally plain and strictly utilitarian, but it was not long before the colonists aspired to something more grandiose and reminiscent of what they knew at Home. There was. however, little thought of unity or town-planning in the early history of our cities, and the individualism ot the succeeding eras resulted in the confusion of styles to be found in every big street. And. as Mr Paul Pascoe points out in his letterpress buildings are usually so permanent that it will be many years before the streets of the larger towns achieve any real unity. Furniture records the fashions in household furnishing and decoration from the time of our grandfather and grandmother to the present day. In this number some of the old sketches are amongst thf most interesting of the illustrations. The letterpress is by G. L. Gabites, who tells of the difficulty of securing furniture for the early New Zealand homes, and the subsequent overcrowded rooms so typical of the Victorian era. The return to simplicity is a commendable reaction, but is tending to reduce furnishing methods to a stereotyped formula. As the illustrations prove, personal taste is the better for discipline, but comfort and individuality must not be sacrificed. McG.