New Zealand Centennial Exhibition
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The New Zealand Centennial exhibition was held from Wednesday 8 November 1939 until 4 May 1940, a duration of six months. It celebrated one hundred years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the Pākehā settlement of New Zealand. It was attended by 2,641,043 visitors (2.6 million).
The exhibition was the work of the New Zealand Government, both national and provincial, New Zealand industry and the New Zealand public. The exhibition received support from the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Fiji and other Pacific islands who either constructed their own pavilions on site or had displays in one of the exhibition buildings.
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[edit] Location
The exhibition was located at Rongotai, Wellington, New Zealand. The buildings and grounds were designed by Mr Edmund Anscombe in the Art Deco style. Construction began on April 27, 1939 by the firm Fletcher and Love Construction Companies and over 1,000 staff were employed in the process building the exhibition. The exhibition grounds were just over 55 acres in size, with the main buildings accounting for around 14 acres of this.
Feature Structures included:
- The Centennial Tower was the focus of attention, standing 155 feet tall and weighing 700 tons, it was this icon that featured on many of the souvenirs celebrating the exhibition.
- A statue of Neriad (seawoman on a seahorse) stood in the central fountain.
[edit] Photography
Eilleen Olive Deste. In February 1938 tenders were invited for official photographer for the Exhibition. Deste’s submission included a testimonial from John A. Lee, under-secretary for housing in the Labour government, for a housing exhibition project in the Kirkcaldie and Stains gallery in 1937. Sole right to photograph exhibits or any other object in the exhibition buildings or grounds with a percentage of the gross takings from the sale of the photographs going to the Exhibition Company was won. It covered all aspects of the exhibition, from construction to closing. She flew above the site in a small plane to take aerial shots, a terrifying but exciting experience she later remembered. An agreement with Coulls Somerville Wilkie Limited to supply photographs for publications and general souvenir material was also won, and her photographs illustrate their Pictorial souvenir of the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, 1939–1940. A stall owned by Deste in the General Exhibits Building, sold photographs and postcards in black and white and colour. Much of the photography at the exhibition was by an employee, Neville d’Eresby (Des) Aickin, while Deste did the processing and printing at her studio. [1]
[edit] post-exhibition war time use
The building was only to be used for six months by the public at which point it was to be dismantled. However, during World War II, the site and some buildings were used by the New Zealand Air Force until the end of the war. In 1946 what remained was burnt to the ground.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Appendices to the House of Representatives, Department of Industries and Commerce, 1941, H-44, pp 21–23.
- Bowron, G. 'A Brilliant Spectacle: the Centennial Exhibition Buildings', in John Wilson (ed.), Zeal and Crusade: the Modern Movement in New Zealand, Christchurch, 1997.
- New Zealand Centennial Exhibition 1939–40: Official Souvenir Catalogue.
- New Zealand Centennial Exhibition Company Ltd archives, held by Wellington City Council Archives.
- Palethorpe, N.B. Official history of the New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, Wellington, 1939–1940. Wellington, 1940.
- Renwick, William (ed.), Creating a National Spirit: Celebrating New Zealand's Centennial. Victoria University Press. Published April 2005. ISBN 0-86473-475-1
