Thirty Years On

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 242, 3 January 1928, Page 8

Thirty Years On

THE INDUSTRIAL EXHIBITION OF 189 S

Historic Auckland Enterprise

ON the King's Wharf, housing part of the waterfront enterprise of J. J. Craig, Ltd., stands a rather ornate wooden building. The twin cupolas and elaborate arabesques, accentuated by their business-like environment, recall the memorable occasion of Auckland’s first exhibition. With the arrival of 1928 it is thirty years since the original exhibition year. After months of preparation the doors were thrown open on December 1, 1898, just over 2!' years

/"hRAIG’S building has a direct association with the exhibition. Mr. J. J. Craig was one of the supporters of the project, and after the carnival was over he assisted its finances by purchasing the main hall. The frontage of the King’s Wharf building is identical with that which attracted thousands in 1898, when it was the main entrance to the exhibition. The Auckland exhibition was suggested by the success of the Christchurch exhibition, in 1895. and the Wellington exhibition in 1896-97. Both these fixtures returned a substantial profit, the Christchurch venture producing £2,000, although it was open for only six weeks.

Mr. B. Kent, then president of the Chamber of Commerce, was the originator of the Auckland scheme, which was financed at the outset by the guarantees of about 100 businessmen, and by a £SOO subsidy promised by the Government. An index of progress, and of the greater official regard for publicity, is the fact that the

New Zealand Government, not 30 years later, advanced £50,000, and other sums free of interest, to the organisers of the recent exhibition at Dunedin. ROTORUA REPRODUCED Auckland's 1898 exhibition was notable because it marked the first occasion when an effort was made to reproduce the thermal activities of Rotorua. This, along with mining and South Sea Island features, was embodied as the plan was developed. Prominent figures in the business world of Auckland were associated with the promotion of the project.

Mr. W. R. Holmes was secretary, Mr. F. N. Meadows, exhibition superintendent, and Mr. H. D. Griffith, the official engineer.

Among the members of the executive were Messrs. A. H. Nathan, Matthew Clark, of A. Clark and Sons, G. S. Kissling, G. Fowlds, P. Dignan. Mayor of Auckland. J. J. Holland, exMayor, T. Morrin, W. J. Napier, G. C. Garlick, W. Ledingham. and the late Mr. Newton King, of New Plymouth. Possibly the most important work was that undertaken by the finance committee, which consisted of Messrs. Clark, Nathan, T. Hodgson, R. Rose, Dignan, Kent and Philson. Mr. R. W. de Montalk, who many years later designed Hotel Cargen, was the official architect, and was thus responsible for the form of the building which now adorns the King’s Wharf.

The site of the exhibition was the present university grounds, facing Princes Street. At the back a cycle track was formed, and for nightracing the arena was illuminated by gas-lamps. This was the first occation in •which outdoor sports meetings, at night, were staged in Auckland. A NATIVE REGATTA

Auckland wore a carnival atmosphere throughout the period of the exhibition, and a large native regatta was one of the novel fixtures run as a side-attraction. There were war dances, poi dances, war canoe races, and other events now never included in the aquatic programmes of the Waitemata, while as the crowning feature the small steamer Enterprise, of 113 tons, was blown up to give the onlookers an idea of the spectacular forces released by a submarine mine explosion. The flavour of primitive native customs was again introduced in the Hot Springs Court, which owed its inclusion to an enterprising photographer, Mr. Josiah Martin. Maori girls to re-create the Rotorua atmosphere were brought from Ohinemutu, and several truckloads of Rotorua clay were brought to Auckland so that the settings of the geysers might be faithfully represented. Steam from a hidden boiler maintained a sizzling atmosphere in the court, geysers played, springs boiled, and the whole effect was altogether a creditable imitation of the spectacular original. It was a great occasion for Auckland, and exhibition year, 1898, was long remembered. Many changes have since come over the city, which in those days was still served by horse-trams, and still derived its greatest wealth from timber and mining. Ralph’s mine at Huntly had just given fresh impetus to the coal mining industry, but as dairying country the Waikato was of minor importance. Later came Auckland’s development as the outlet for the produce of a flourishing farming community, and the next exhibition will doubtless emphasise, more strongly than ever, the importance of dairying in the scheme of provincial progress.