THE NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH SEAS EXHIBITION.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 2717, 10 December 1889, Page 3

THE NEW ZEALAND AND SOUTH SEAS EXHIBITION.

(FHOII OL'H SPECIAI. COKRKSrONnENT.) Some mistaken folks will persist in calling the Exhibition, the Dunedin Exhibition. Nothing could be more erroneous, The project was started and tho money mainly found here, but unless other parts had bucked ns up in tho ricrht loyal way they have, kho whole affair must have tumbled tu the ground with a tremendous crash. Moreover, the Exhibition is recognised as the official celebration of the Jubilee of the colony, by tho Government. In my last letter I described the opening ceremony, and promised in this to give a great description of the Exhibition. This, I feat, would greatly exceed my limits and, I think, I will confine mvself this week to the "Lights and shadows of the Exhibition," and defer the root, to be dealt with more 111 detail. As the vestibule is passed, in entering, the eye of the visitor is at once eaught by the scene under the grand dome. Here the softened light shed by the flexible glass above falls upon tho tall white statue of Her Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria and its pedestal. This stands in the centre of the open space beneath the dome ; each ot the four archways loading from it in different directions is draped with crimson hangings, and on the broad dead-fltold facia above is one of the following appropriate mottoes: —

Labor omnia vincit improbu-v. (Incessant to'l conquers aJ ). Palmctm qui meruit ferat. (Let bim carry the palm who has won it). fovti omue solum patria. (The man of courage, makes every land his home). Virtu tern scqmtur glorni. {Merit wins credit).

The spaces between have been decorated in the most artistic manner in sage-green, crimson and pold, while below, jardinieres, bronzes and statwary combine to make the sight a most memorable one. Beyond the archway facing the visitor, as he enters, is the largest sheet of plate ((lass in tho colony, framed round with a broad gilt frame, and through it is seen the fernery. This is one of the greatest attractions of the whole " show." Winding paths twine themselves into tangled intricacies amongst piles of rugged rockery, in the interstices of which countless ferns maintain a precarious root-hold. Above, tree ferns wave their green and silvered fronds over your head. Below are cool spots and ferny dells, where lurk refreshing pools of fish haunted water. Rustic fern-embraced pillars support the roof. Moss covers with a cool green shroud every foot of wall, Stag s horns, and sharks tooth ferns, lycopodium and mosses festoon the rafters with Nature s own glorious decorations, and form leafy bowers whence glisten forth crystal drops that might be gems in Queen Mab's own diadem, or the laughter sparkle in the eyes of the antic Puck himself, while at night, from the same retreats gleam forth the glowing sparks of countless tiny electric lamps. Fountains shower around stroams of diamond-like drops. Never a lover can meet with a refusal from his loved one, if ho but prefers his suit in this enchanted fairy land. A more prosaic show is that made in the Armament Court, where tw > large 9 inch breech-loaders, a Maxim gun, a Nordenfelt, sectional models of 91 and 45 ton guns, and a large array of levelled t«r pedoes, and well-arranged submarine mines, give a peculiar little thrill about the third button of tho waistcoat, as the thought suggests itself, " Suppose one were londed — and went oti\ .Fhe Mineral Octugon contains a colossal gilded, sharp-cornered, bulbous - looking affair —said by sumo wag to represent the amount of money paid in pensions in the colony, but which re:dly represents the foity-two millions worth of gold raised from New Zealand soil. The Timber Octagon contains the trunk of a large kauri some liino feet in diameter, roared uptight on its centre; also a model of the bridgo over the Rakai i Korga and an aich made of the natural ship's timbers ot the Pohutukawa. The model working dairies should not be missed. Here de Laval arid all sorts of other separators are busy skimming cream off the milk and passing it on to churns, where delicious looking butter is produced. The Art Gallery contains the best collection ot paintings ever got together in this colony, and this I hope describe more fully on a future occasion. The music that is provided evory afternoon by the Exhibition orchestra is first-rate. In the Band Rotunda in the garden, to the musical murmuring accompaniment of the water trickling down the lofty cascade, various local bands discourse sweet strains nearly all the time the Exhibition is open. A popular concert is given every Saturday •night, and an oratorio or grand concert one other day in each week. The side-shows are great fun. The switchback railway, in particular, attracts a large amount of attention—the ladies squall as the car goes up, up, up and down, down, down, with an extra little tip downwards (beforo the final rush up), which always elicits an extra squall whenever it is reached. Merry-go-rounds, performing fleas, shooting galleries, model engines, etc., are in strong force. An Orchestrion, a large instrument producing all the effects of a large orchestra, is really worth healing. The camera obsctira is a remarkably fine show and no visitor should lr.iss it. ft is fixed up just opposite the entrance to the Exhibition. Ihe Libel Tower is not quite finished yot, but it is rapidly approaching completion. It is 120 fnet high and the base is uli feet square. The highest platform (there are three) is 100 feet high. The cage of the lift is 8 feet by 8 feet and can carry 20 passengers. An electric search light crowns the summit, while all the outlines and traceries are marked with rows of coloured incandescent electric lights, throwing a wealth of colour and beauty over the scene at night impossible to describe.