THE EXHIBITION.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8385, 20 March 1907, Page 5

THE EXHIBITION.

By Telegraph—Special Service. t -—•'•■ CHRISTCHURCH, March 19. The International Fire Brigades Demonstration, which is on a larger scale than has ever previously been seen in the colony, opened in the Exhibition Sports Ground this afternoon. Unfortunately, the day was drab and chill and threatened to rain at any moment, and on this account the attendance of spectators was not so large as would doubtless have been the'case under more smiling weather conditions. Three different competitions were commenced at once, and as there were large entries for each, and the men had been training hard up to the last moment, the public was able to enjoy an interesting exhibition of quickness and activity in lire brigade 'work. In the evening a magnificent illuminated water display was given at the side of Victoria Lake. More than a dozen lofty waterspouts were kept in motion by engines drawn -up round the side of the lake, and the display was played upon by coloured lights, which gave a strangely picturesque effect, while fireworks were sent up and rockets fired above the lake, both from its side and from the temporary anchorage which had been formed in the centre. There was a very large crowd of spectators, and the display aroused much enthusiasm. The competitions will be continued at 9 o'clock to-morrow morning, and m the evening a sensational act, "Fighting the Flames," will be given on the Sports Ground in combination with a display of London fireworks. Great attention is being given by farmers to the fine collection of seeds exhibited in the Agricultural Department's court by a Dunedin firm, and the collection of cleanings from New Zealand-grown seeds shown by the same firm. Another collection of very choice seeds, grown in Hawke's Bay, is also "attracting much notice. The serious side of the Exhibition is being more availed of as it draws towards its close. Visitors to the Art Gallery are even more numerous than they have been before, and the high average attendance at the Orchestral Concerts and Organ Rercitals have never been so consistently maintained. Mr Webb, a Nelson organist, will give recitals in the Concert Hail on Thursday and Friday next, and it is possible that arrangements may be made for another organ concert to be giveri. by Mr Gregson, the Lpndon organist, who has made such a favourable impression. The papers sent in in the typewriting, shorthand, and commerccial correspondence sections of the Home Industries Competitions will be placed on view in the Home Industries portion of the Exhibition. The committee in charge of this section intend also to make an exhibit of home-made quilts and counterpanes in the northern gallery, which hitherto has not been very largely occupied. It is expected that a new detachment of Wanganui Maoris will arrive in the pah either at the end of the present week or the beginning of next week. Poi dancers from the Turakina Maori Girls' School, who made a previous visit to the Exhibition, are expected to return for a week about the same time. Three gentlemen of high standing in art circles—Messrs Sydney L. Thompson (artist), Herdman-Smith (Director of the Christchurch School of Arts), and Hemus (photographer) —have agreed to act as judges of the physical development competitions to be held in Wonderland on Friday next, in conjunction with the hunt for buried treasure. Large entries have been received for the competitions.