First Radio Exhibition Exceeds Expectations

Radio Record, Volume III, Issue 3, 2 August 1929, Unnumbered Page

First Radio Exhibition Exceeds

Expectations

HE first Radio Exhibition ever held in New Zealand was staged in the Wellington Town Hall on July 25, 26 and 27, and proved a wholehearted and unqualified "access. In the course of the three days over 7000 people visited the exhibition, lavincing throughout an intenSe ‘interest, not only in the splendid range of exhibits ‘yrovided on the various stalls, but also in the modus operandi of broadcasting, ‘as displayed by the modelstudio erected by. 2YA station on the central platform of the Town Hall. A feature of the. exhibition was the pleasure displayed, by country listeners in particular, in making contact with the popular announcer of 2YA, Mr. Clive Drummond, known as the "‘Good-Night Man." .

N spite of bad weather, the first.radio exhibition "~ held in New Zealfnd-suggested by the "Radio’ Record" and organised by this. paper, in conjunction. with the radio branch of the Electrical Federation-was an unqualified success. The official opening. took place on Thursday evening at 8 p.m., when the Hon. J. B: Donald, PostmasterGeneral, officially opened the exhibition in_ the presence of over a thousand people. Throughout

the day the Town Hall had been fairly well attended,» both by school children and adults, and in the evening, in spite of the inclemency of the weather, a surprisingly good total resulted. In introducing the Minister, Mr. A. J. Heighway, managingeditor of tne "Radio Record," and chairman, .of the Radio Exhibition Committee, thanked the audience for their attendance, and expressed the hope. that they would be interested in: the exhikits as displayed and entertained by the programmes specially arranged for the occasion by station 2YA. The purpose of the exhibition ‘was to afford the public one comprehensive view of the’ latest developments in radio, and so popularise radio as a social amenity. He conveyed a special apology from Myr. A. R, Harris, Gen--eral Manager of the Radio Broadcasting Company, who had hoped to be present, but .-Continued on page 2

Thé Exhibition (Contijped from front page.) had been detained by business. In his apolegy Mr, Harris expressed the hope that the fullest syecess. would attend the exhibition, and stated that, with the stabilisation now afforded the industry by the modern A.C, set and thé highly efficient battery sets, there was no treason why anyone should refrain from purchasing a regeiyer and enjoying the benefits of radio broadcasting. ‘ , Formally Opened, Mr. Heighway then introduced the Hon. J. B. Donald, PostmasterGeneral of New Zealand, to whose care broadcasting. was entrusted. In formally declaring the exhibition open, Mr. Denald said :-- *As one who is very interested in wireless, it gives me very grent pleasure indeed to be here to-night at the invitation of the Radio Committee to -open this exhibition. I wish to congratulate the committee op its entcrprige in holding this exhibition: and to congratulate the exhibitors, not only

en the exeellence of their exhibits, but also on the splendid way in which their exhjbits are displayed. ‘This exhibition serves as an object lesson ap, the phenamenal growth of radia, Born only eight years ago, as far as age counts, if is an infant, buf no one wil] deny that it is a very lusty infant indeed. Already its yolee is heard in 44,000 homes in New Zepland, Five years ago there were lesa than 2000 licenses, Lo . "Radio is now a part ef our everyday life, Generally it ia. leaked upon as a means for the dissemination af news and as a method of entertaining, but other uses were demonstrated when it was the enly means of cammunication with districts strieken by the recent earthquake, "There. is no need for me to tell this audience of the difficulties encountered by the administratiye side. You all know, how hard it is te construct pregrammes that will give satisfaction to a majority, and it js only Batural that it should be so, but we myst recognise the rights of the minorities. Popular modern music probably makes the widext appeal, but the educated taste jn classifical musie must nof} he éverloaked. My Department is in the position of custodian ef the public interest,

and everything possible is being done to keep abreast of the times, The Secretary of the Department has recently peen at the Postal Gonferenge in London, and I hope we shall learn muel from hjs ebservations in England and America. oe "Without doubt, wireless is making qvonderfyl strides, and the impravements which are taking place almost every month ga te shew us that hefore long we may expect to have some wWwone derful things brought te eur notice, "T knaw- beennse of this there are seme. people whe will net buy a radio set, stqting that they are waiting until wireleas becomes hetter. These peaple haye been waiting for years to secure the set that will be to their absolute satisfaction. To those who are waiting I would suggest that they try out the instruments they see before them, and J am sure they will be hard to please if they cannot find at least one that will give them satisfaction, and a great deal ef pleasure, Further, if they do secure one of the present-day sets, it will give them a better idea as to when the time has come for them to seeure, say in a year or two, the ultimate instrument upon which they have set their hearts. "J waeuld like to exnresy my appreciation of the way in which dealers in New Zealand have met: the Department by refraining from selling sets likely to cayse annoyance to other listeners. All reeeivers seld in New Zealand, are submitted for Departmenta] examinatian and. approval, and aver 200 different. types baye been tested. "Leaking around this hall this evening, one in sivuck by the improVements made of recent years in the design of receiving sets, Every cabinet is essentially a piece of drawing-room furiture, 2 fitting object for the eentre of the family circle. "Mr,. Heighway, ladies and_ gentlemen, I will not detnin yon, I declare the Hxhibition open and I wish it every snecess,"

Bright Incidents. A FLASHLIGHT phetograph of the opening ceremony was. then taken, after which a promenade concert, arranged by 2YA, was performed fyom the Exhibition Studio,. During the evening two intervals of twenty minutes each were given, so. that portion of the audienee sitting. in the gallery might inspect the stalls, During these intervals the chairman, Mr, Heighway, intradyced Mr, Clive Drummend, announcer of 2¥A, and Mr, John Ball, editer-annauncer af the Radio Broadeasting Company, to the audienee, and.stated that, in response to requests from many country listeners there pyesent, thase gentlemen would be pleased to meet any who cared to make themselves ‘known, This incident provided a bright feature of the gathering, and the invitation was promptly availed of hy many, It was surprising to note the distances from which many of the audience came, visitors being present from places several hundred nijles fram Wellington, General suzprise was confessed by many of those meeting Mr. Drummond for the first time at the contrast between his actual appearanee and the prior conception built un by the listener from hearing his voice. ;

Avising out of this oecurvenee, general desire was expressed, mothers in particular, ta meet Au Gwen, and aceordipgly it was arrang ed promptly that Aunt Gwen should be in attendance on the afternoon of Friday and Saturday between’ the hovrs of 8 and 4,20 p.m,, in order ta make the acquaintance of mothers and childyen who are members. of her large radio family, : It, was also. announced during the | evening that arrangements were being made for acepmmoadating; on Saturday afternoon, those who wished to listen ta the rebroadcast of the final Test Match in Australia, as deseribed by station 2ME, os The: promenade eoncert, as given in the main by the Wellington Muni- . cipal Tramways Band and the Welsh Choir, supplemented ‘by indjidual. local talent, was an outstandMg ‘success, all in the hall thoroughly enjoying the oceasion and, what is more important, listeners over the air receiving a very clear impression of an extremely animated, happy and inspiring gathering. The Seeond Day. SUCCESSFUL as was the opening function, it was far eclipsed by the second day, and © outstripped again by the attendance‘on Saturday, the third day.. The hall on Friday evening was packed’ almost: to ca-_ pacity, and the happiest of spirits prevailed, Demonstrating during the course of the promenade concert was, of course, not carried qut, but in the intervals’ quiet dempnstration on station 2¥A _ yas permitted. This allowed he’ visiters to judge the tone of the various instruments displayed on the stalls. Keen and discriminating ineee

~ a was shown, the one complaint _of the stall-keepers being that they found: themselves unable to cope adequately with the rush of inquiries. The children’s session on Thursday evening was given from the Town Hall, and in the opinion of many proved one of the high spots of the exhibition. .Aunt Gwen, of course, ‘officiated at the microphone, and the whole session went through with delightful ease and spontaneity. Catering’ for Children. TSVITATIONS had been given to children from the primary schools to attend the exhibition on the mornings of Thursday and Friday, under : eonduct. of ‘their: masters, as guests ef, the exhibition. On Thursday large parties from several ‘schools attended and enjoyed a crusade round the stalls. Educational value was added to their visit by a brief lecture from Mr. W. M. Dawson on "Radio." On Friday morn- _ ing the severity of the weather prevented the children from attending as arranged. On Saturday a large number of pupils from -secondary schools, being favoured with better

weather, visited the exhibition and appreciated their thoroughly good inspection. of the stalls.- On this occasion the children ‘were addressed. by Mr. A. Gibbs, Chief Telegraph Engineer of: the Post and Telegraph Department. This was a most interesting experience. On Saturday afternoon the attendance was again large, the proportion of children being very high, the draw, of course, being the desire to meet Aunt Gwen. It was impossible on this occasion’ to give the children’s session from the: Town Hall, owing to the rebroadcast of the Sydney Football, Test Match. N Saturday evening. the special vaudeville programme arranged by 2YA sufficed to draw a record house to the exhibition, both galleries and floor being filled throughout the major part of the evening. The vaudeville programme, as arranged, was of outstanding merit. It was plain that the opportunity of seeing these performers so frequently heard over the air was highly estimated by the public. Each of the performers was accorded a very hearty reception

on being introduced by Mr. Drummond. , . The exhibition closed at 11 p.m. on Saturday, with everyone connected with it in the highest spirits at the brilliant result achieved by the enterprise. The first radio exhibition in the Dominion had been successfully staged with an eclat which unquestionably will contribute to the -expansion of radio in this country. The interest shown by the public was surprising and, although the returns actually secured at the exhibition were in themselves extremely good, traders feel that they will reap much additional benefit from the venture in the form of stimulated sales in their shops.