Build it and they will come
The New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition will be opened in less than three weeks’ time, and it is then that visitors will realise fully what an immense thing it is for this Dominion. An actual visit is the only way to do it justice, for a photograph of a written article is entirely inadequate. When one sees the great pavilions, some of them containing several buildings that would make fair-sized houses, but which are dwarfed into insignificance by the magnitude of their surroundings, it is then that one is given an idea of the vastness. And all around, in every corner inside and outside, is the hurry and bustle of industry — of men working against time. All day long great trucks and laden motor lorries haul their heavy freights down Union St —the busiest road in Dunedin. Down here, too, the tram lines are being laid, and the road is being repaired and tar-sealed ready for the opening day. Already the grounds are being patrolled by the police, and already a fire engine is in attendance. Let it be hoped that neither will be required for any serious purpose. There is much to do, but it is being done with a rapidity that is amazing.
Yellow harbinger of summer
Our native kowhai is one of the most beautiful of early flowering trees, and as it is of moderate growth and takes a long time to outgrow its position, it is exceptionally suitable for planting in town gardens. It is a remarkable plant, in that it has two distinct forms of growth — a juvenile form in which the branches are a twiggy mass with a drooping habit, and a mature form with upright branches and pinnate leaves. To intensify its display, the leaves usually drop when the flowers are at their best, new ones appearing as soon as they are over. The kowhai is easily raised from seed, but care has to be taken to collect fresh seeds, which germinate readily (old, dry ones often take a long time). There is a variety called grandiflora, often called the North Island kowhai, and also one with small leaves called microphylla, In addition to our native kowhai, there is a species called Sophora macrocarpa, a native of Chili, and another species called S. japonica, a native of China.
Getting to the Exhibition
At the meeting of the City Council on Wednesday night, the General Committee will report having given careful consideration to the important question of the control of Exhibition traffic after conferences with the superintendent of police, representatives of the Motor Club, Taxi Owners’ Association, and Exhibition Company.
The committee reccommends that, (1) from the date of the opening of the Exhibition, Union St, from Forth St to the Exhibition and the highway from the bridge across the Leith to its junction with Union St, be a one-way area from 10am each day till midnight; (2) That all "in" traffic to the Exhibition by vehicle be down the highway, Union St traffic being diverted at Forth St into Albany St and thence to the highway, and that all "out" traffic by vehicle from the Exhibition be up Union St, with the execution of the traffic that passes through the Exhibition grounds and leaves by way of the new provision at Dundas St.
It is recommended that the fares to be charged to and from the Exhibition be as follows:
Exhibition to Frederick St, twopence; Exhibition to Monument, 3d; Exhibition to Albany St, 2d.
The proposed fare for children under 14 years is 1d for any distance each way. — ODT, 31.10.1925
Compiled by Peter Dowden
