DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND 1925-26
New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition
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Quick List Info
Dates Open - November 17, 1925 to May 1, 1926. Not Open Sundays. Open 142 Days.
Attendance - 1,778,400 (paid, not including Season or weekly tickets, which totalled 17,633. 1,989,996 (interpolated visitor with average of 12 per ST/WT above. 3,200,498 (total attendance).
International Participants - 23 nations and 4 colonies/protectorates.
Total Cost - L359,259 ($1,735,221).
Site Acreage - 65 acres in Logan Park.
Sanction and Type - Prior to sanctioning by the Bureau of International Exhibitions. Would be considered a Special category Recognized event today like those on the 2-3 or 7-8 years of the decade. There was a subsidy by the New Zealand government for L50,000, plus departments and consuls assisted with invitations for foreign exhibits.
Ticket Cost - Adult ticket price was 1s, $0.24. Per capita for total attendance $0.152 with Per Capita for paid attendance $0.223. Children under 16 cost 6d. Season tickets for Adults 30s. Season tickets, Children 10s. There was a Weekly ticket for Adults at 10s and Children 5s.
Photo top center: View of the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, 1925. Courtesy The Lothians via Pinterest, Original source, unknown. Column Top: Certificate from the exhibition, 1925. Courtesy Government of New Zealand via Pinterest. Column Bottom: McSkimming and Son Exhibit, 1925. Courtesy Hocken Collections, University of Otago via Pinterest.
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The New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition may have been small, but by the end of its run was touted as an unqualified success. There were seven exhibition palaces covering fifteen acres and an art gallery with works from England, Scotland, the United States, and France, among others. Some exhibits had been transferred from the London fair of 1924-5, i.e. Sarawak, and the residents of Dunedin and the islands of New Zealand loved them all. On March 9, the two millionth visitor attended. They were given a gold watch. On April 28, the three millionth visitor came through the gates. They were given a L25 check.
The exhibition was run by a private company, but backed by the government, as well as British interests who wanted to promote settlement there. Some contend it was more of a Colonial exhibition, which many British Empire exhibitions were during this time, but it did have international participation. New Zealand had caught the international exhibition bug early in the genre, hosting events in Dunedin in 1865, Christchurch in 1882, Dunedin again in 1889-90, and Christchurch in 1906-7. The idea to host again had been brought up in 1921 and by 1923 the idea had turned to an international event to be held in Logan Park. L100,000 of shares in the company were issued and the New Zealand government gave the company a L50,000 subsidy and L40,000 loan.
An agreement was made to give the resculpted park back the city after the fair in exchange for a road built to the exhibition by the city at a cost of L80,000. Over two thousand trees and shrubs were planted, along with one hundred and twenty thousand plants. Seven large exhibition structures were constructed; Pavilion #1 - 390 x 155 feet held the British Government Court and Exhibits, Pavilion #2 - 240 x 155 feet was reserved for heavy machinery and displays of the New Zealand Navy and Railway, Pavilion #3 - 360 x 155 feet hosted Provincial exhibits. Pavilion #4 - 390 x 155 feet had the Canadian, Australian, and Fijian Courts, plus the Women's Section and Adminstrative offices. Pavilion #5 - 330 x 155 feet was for the New Zealand government with Pavilion #6 - 360 x 310 feet having exhibits from what was called Secondary Industries. Pavilion #7 - 330 x 310 feet was for the Education and Motor Courts . Beyond those seven, there was a Festival Hall which sat 2,500, Band Stand, Art Gallery (permanant), and Restaurant. All were completed by opening day.
Above photo. Scene from the Opening Ceremony, 1925. Courtesy the Lothians via Pinterest. Middle: Postcard of the exhibition, 1925. Courtesy Alexander Turnball Library via nzhistory.net.nz. Bottom: Government Tourist Court, 1925. Courtesy Photographic Archive, National Library of New Zealand via Wikipedia Commons.
The Grant Court led from the Entrance Pavlion for one quarter mile, creating a magnificent vista. At the far end was the dome of the Festival Hall rising almost one hundred feet. There was a Band Rotunda in the center where the Sutherland Highlanders and Second Battalion of the 93rd Argyll gave twice daily concerts.
The exhibition drew 3,200,498 visitors, remarkable for a nation in the southern Pacific with a population of only 1,408,140. Dunedin itself had only 85,000. There was a small loss per accounting terms, 16,217L, but it was regarded as a good investment, drawing attention to trade and the islands. All loans from the goverment were repaid. For five and one half months, they hosted the world again. While it was meant to draw attention back to the south island after the effects of World War I and stem population loss to the northern cities, that second part of the goal was not successful. Dunedin did not gain population until after World War II.
What legacies remain from the fair? The area of the exhibition was developed into a sports ground with the Art Gallery building remaining on site.
Empire Exhibition
International Participants Nations and Colonies
United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, France, Fiji (Colony), Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Holland, Czechslovakia, Japan, Phillipines, Austria, Samoa, Spain
Society Islands, Sweden, South African Union, India (Colony), Hong Kong (Colony), Egypt, New Zealand.
Nations with Official Courts - United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand.
Note: It is sometimes difficult to tell whether certain nations or colonies actually participated in a significant way, especially in joint pavilions. Newspaper reports as well as the official guidebook may indicate participation when actual participation did not occur, or occurred minimally. Take the above as a guide, not gospel. Some exhibits listed under government auspices may have been unofficial hosted by private exhibitors.
Expo Tidbits
Opening Day attendance was 45,786.
The Main Restaurant held 800 with additional Quick Lunch rooms on site. Number of meals served was 831,481, including 66 tons of meat and 23,000 loaves of bread.
There was a Sports Ground of twelve acres.
The Amusement Park, nicknamed Chocolate Alley, was on the west side of the grounds. There were seven mechanical devices and sixty-three private side shows. The seven main attractions brought in by the expo itself were the Scenic Railway, the Whip, the Dodge'em, the Merry Mixup, the Fun Factory, the Caterpillar, and the River Caves, which cost L32,000. 2,414,033 tickets were sold for those attractions.
Legacies
The Art Gallery remains, although it no longer is an art gallery, but offices and space for sports (see below) as part of the sporting grounds of Logan Park.
Those in Charge
Official list of patrons included the Governor-General of New Zealand, General Sir Charles Fergusson and Earl Jellicoe. Vice patrons were the Right Honorable J.G. Coates, Prime Minister of New Zealand, the Honorable W. Downie Stewart, Minister of Customs, and H. Livingstone Tapley, Mayor of Dunedin. The President of the exhibition was J. Sutherland Ross. Edmund Anscombe was the architect.
Sources: Official Report of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition 1925-26; The Book of the Fairs; London Times; Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs; History of Fairs and Expositions.
Photo column top: Color view of the exhibition main court, 1925. Courtesy Lothians via Pinterest. Bottom: Exhibition Art Gallery from the Dunedin 1925-6 fair on current University Oval, 2007. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons.
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