THE EXHIBITION DAY BY DAY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVIII, Issue 81917, 28 January 1907, Page 2

THE EXHIBITION DAY BY DAY

! .MILLION .\I.\IIK l'A;-'-.-i-.i). !!>■ Telega p,,! Special .Smvlc... o.i-c4cl,urcl,, .iai.inry -7. passed one million.' and V tl'iT I'.i'.'es j a;.' v< ry auspicious, the gcciM: man- J agcr ii.jji •> it may touch the second \ million licl'oi'e ilie conclusion of the | ,'i.'.it fair. Aiucli cm ileaieiil was i '■au.--.-d on Sann.lav all-mo.ui by t:,e lirosjiei. of -seeing the milliolllli person receive „ reward oil lining that lucky person, and tue event was a con si'l.'iali.e a.tnu-lion in itself. When the Exhibition opened ill Hi ■ morning, ,i: *'- I'l'isons weie -lill reijiiired to complete the million, and it was anticipated that the .piola woud be made up cither hue in the afternoon •or early in Ihe evening. Short y af.er thei- inside and outside the" main en trance in anticipation of the event. About 20 minutes to o a'l the minor eulranees were closed, and ti:e stream of visilors concentrated on one point. An nllicial count of the numbers of admissions ~ho\vel that i">l were s ,ill required, and a careful tally wa.s then Liken of the people as they passed through. Precautions were also taken to preevent season ticket holders gain ing an unfair advantage by repeat-d- I ly going in and old. jj'y the time only five visitors were needed, the excitement had reached a high pitch amongst tire crowd, which laid increased to very large proportions. Most of those entering were by this time season ticket holders. *.Miss Alice Jennings, a C'lnisteluircli girl, proved to be the millionth patron, and as Khe hud had no such expectations she was much surprised at being pounced upon by the oilicials and made at once a public character. She had come out to see the croud more than anything else, and had been pushed away from the turnstile several times Ixd'ore she could eJl'ect an entrance. She will be presented with a gold watch by tiie Exhibition authorities as a lneiiienlo of the occasion. , 'l'lie total attendance for Saturday was 1.][;177, making f ( ,r the eleven weeks and two days that the Exhibi- . lion has been open ],00!l,187. It is , interesting to compare this record with i the attendance at other Exhibitions. The Sydney Exhibition of LS7O-80, open for practically seven mouths, returned a total attendance of 1,117,530. > The Melbourne Exhibition of 1880 was L patronised by l,,30l),4!)i) persons; thq f .Melbourne Exhibition of 1888, open t for six months. l,!)U.1,4;)(i; Duuedin and South Seas Exhibition of ISUO, t open live months, 070,000. t The. Xew Zealand Athletic L'nion's j sports meeting was concluded on the f sports ground on Saturday, when some 1 good sport was witnessed'. The Sheft held Handicap of 135 yds"hads"had a specially exciting linish. The iive competitors

iii lhi< I'mal kept remarkably close together, throughout the race, iiml finished tiluiosL abreast. The judges had to declare u dead heat for first place, and another dead heal f or third. Entire satisfaction is expressed with Hie financial result of the Besses o' the Dam's first season at the Exiiibf tion. The band will commence a socoin! season of 12 days on February 2S. Those people who did not see th*e earlier events and functions of the Inhibition will be able to witness a faithful and aetiv.' representation of [hem liy visiting West's pictures, now heinli snown in the concert hall. The opening ceremony, reception of the Maoris to Sir .lohn Coist, the axemen's carnival, and other events were all cinematugra plied when they took place, and \\ cut's arc now showing eo crowded attendances excellent moving pictures of these functions. Large entries are being received for Ihe New Zealand Amateur Athletic Ar-soeiai ion's championship meeting, to lake place on the sports ground on Jvbruury 21st and 23rd. Many of the New Zealand bands that have entered for ttio international band contest are stated to be in enpi tal form at present, and the contest is expected to eclipse previous ones in every detail.