THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8337, 21 January 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WEEK

THE AXEMEN'S CARNIVAL. COMING ATTRACTIONS. ™ By Telegraph—Special Service. CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 20. Another successful week ended on Saturday for the Exhibition, which, for the last two months, has been progressing in a most gratifying manner. For years past there has not been such an auspicious summer. The attendances are being well sustained and the royalties daily pouring in from the side-shows and refreshment rooms are gladdening to the managerial heart. ,On, Friday, which was a cold and showery day, the attendance fell with a big drop to 7,167, but the amount of .cash taken exceeded by £SO the takings on December 12th, when there was a thousand more visitors. The explanation is that the present crowds include a far greater proportion of strangers to the city, who pay their shilling at the gate, than earlier large attendances, which were made up largely of local seasonticket holders. At the same the proceeds from the sale of season tickets have, been very large. The exceptional good fortune that has attended the Exhibition in regard to the weather threatened to on Saturday, the day fixed for the Axemen's Carnival. All Friday night rain fell heavily, and on Saturday morning advanced till noon with a piercing' wind and gusts of hail. With a prospect of losing several hundred pounds, the authorities announced the postponement of the Axemen's Carnival till Monday. Then, with surprising suddenness, the weather cleared, and a beautiful afternoon set in. The postponement was rescinded, and several thousand people gathered again on the Sports Ground to see the champions wield their axes. The absence of the Besses b' th' Barn Band, which had been announced to give performances in the Concert Hall when the weather was so threatening, deprived the meeting of an enjoyable side feature, but the contests.themselves were keenly fought and were, full of interest. The Exhibition Handicap, of 150 sovs, with 18-inch logs, standing blocks, resulted:—J. Hartnett (Hawke's Bay), 30sec, 1; J.'W. Weston (West Australia)), 25sec, 2; P. O'Rourke (West Coast), scr, 3. H. Egan, (West Australia), 4. Time, 3min 4 3-ssec. The Singlehanded Sawing Handicap, of £B, 2foot logs, was won by G. W. Casey (Taranaki), scr, with G. Morrison (Dannevirke), 20sec, 2; J. Hartnett (Hawked; Bay), ssec, 3. Time, 2min 16 4-smsec. ' New Zealand Underhand Championship, £25, 18-inch-logs.—C. O'Rourke (West Coast), 1; P. J. O'Rourke (West Coast), 2; W. Featherstone (Tasmania), 3. Time, 2min 2sec. New Zealand Double-handed Sawing Championship, of £ls, 2-foot logs.—T.' Kelly and | Cowan (West Coast), 1; Morrison and Benbow (Dannevirke), 2; C. W. Casey and Coombe 3. Time, 32sec. The Besses o' th' Barn Band played to crowded audiences on Saturday afternoon and evening, and the Governor will be present at the final performance of the Band on Wednesday. An exceptionally fine display of fireworks will be shown m'con junction with the Band concert. Nine fine pictures have arrived at the Exhibition, for which the painter (Mr G. Rowe) received a bronze medal at the London Exhibition in 1862, depicting Melbourne, and the. Victorian goldfields in the early fifties. One of the most interesting represents the race?for the Melbourne Cup. The paintings are of much artistic merit, and will be. hung in the entrance corridor. Nineteen thousand, people have, made the ascent of the Exhibition tower in five weeks. Preparations 'are well advanced for the New Zealand Athletic Union's meeting on Thursday and Saturday on the Sports Ground. The selection pieces for the Band Contest are coming to hand in large numbers. It is hoped to run a special train from Christchurch to Invercargill after the Band competitions" on the Saturday night. The Contest has awakened unprecedented interest among bandsmen, and entries, even after allowing for some defections, constitute a record for the colony. The Auckland Orchestral Society will give concerts in the Concert Hall on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights. \ ,