DUNEDIN, NEW ZEALAND 1889-90
New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition
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Quick List Info
Dates Open - November 26, 1889 to April 19, 1890. Open 125 days.
Attendance - 625,478. Some reports list 618,062 as the figure.
International Participants - 17 plus.
Total Cost - L54,670.
Site Acreage - 12.5 acres with 10 acres covered by buildings.
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 L10,000.
Ticket Cost - Not available.
Photo top center: View of the Main Exhibition Building, 1889,. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Column Top: Gallery of painting in the Art Gallery, 1889, David Alexander De Maus. Courtesy New Zealand Public Library. Column Bottom: Auckland Province Annex, 1889. Courtesy Hocken Collection via the-lothians.blogspot.com.
For
more info about the World's Fair Decision Model, development of the model, the study participants, etc. The development is currently being utilized for in-house publishing projects, but is not available for work-for-hire decuments or consulting.
Dunedin had hosted a smaller exhibition in 1865, but this event, would be much larger, more significant, and more international. It commemorated the jubilee of the proclamation of British sovereignty over New Zealand and the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. The British proclamation occurred in January 1840. Its goal was to strengthen closer ties to the Australian colonies and other South Sea islands. The federal government recognized both those goals and commemoration, and despite the exposition being run by a private company, the government of New Zealand put its money into the event with a subsidy of L10,000, the building of an Armament and Mineral Court, plus paying expenses related to the Art Gallery.
A site was chosen, part of the Harbour Board land bounded by Crawford Street, Anderson's Bay Road, Cumberland Street, and Jervois Street. Most of the site would be covered by buildings, which were predominantly made of corrugated iron, except for the Art Gallery, which was brick. Exhibitors came from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, plus the South Pacific, and many were tranported from the Melbourne International Exhibition, held the year before. The pavilions of the fair surrounded an open-air garden and the main building's dome of 80 feet in height and 50 feet in diameter was its most noted architectural feature. The exhibits were arranged by country and province, for the most part, with some subjects arrayed in specific courts.
What were the most popular courts? National History, Early History, Maori and South Seas, the New Zealand Armaments and Fisheries Court. What was a popular exhibit? The Austral Otis Elevator Company built a forty metre replica based on the Eiffel Tower, which included a working elevator.
When the exhibition opened on November 26, 1889, Lord Winslow, the Governor, presided.
Above photo. The Eiffel, or Austral Otis Elevator Company exhibit, 1889. Courtesy Hocken Collection via the-lothians.blogspot.com. Middle: Switchback Railway, 1889. Courtesy Hocken Collection via the-lothians.blogspot.com.
The exhibition, the largest held in New Zealand to date, was a grand success. It drew an attendance near the total population of the colony, and even turned a profit for the exhibition company, allowed it to pay back its guarantors, who had subscribed L15,000. Okay, it was a small profit, but it was a profit. How much? Try L579.
Word from Queen Victoria
Queen Victoria - "The Queen heartily congratulates New Zealand on the marvellous progress made during the last fifty years, and on the signs of recovery from the recent temporary depression. She highly values the continued expression of the loyalty of the people of New
Zealand, and hopes that the attachment to the Mother-country, which has been unimpaired since the proclamation of her sovereignty on the 29th January, 1840, may long
continue unimpaired."
Empire Exhibition
International Participants Nations and Colonies
New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Belgium, Japan, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Mauritius, Ceylon, India, and other Pacific Islands.
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
The attendance was only 18,000 higher than the estimated European population in the colony at the time. Population of Dunedin and suburbs was 45,898..
The largest attendance was closing day, April 19, at 18,434.
There was a small amusement area with a switchback railway and small sideshows.
A mining conference was held in conjuction with the exhibition in March.
Legacies
Several months after the fair, most of the buildings were sold at auction. When the history of the Dunedin 1925-6 fair was written, part of the Art Gallery was being used as a seed store. Unknown whether, but doubtful, that it still exists today. As of 2007, one of the Octagons from the exhibition was on a farm in Kuri Bush, but has since fallen into further disrepair.
Those in Charge
President was Sir John Roberts and the Executive Commissioner was Mr. Twopeny. Alfred E. Smith was a member of the Board of Directors.
Sources: Official Report of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition 1925-26; The Book of the Fairs; Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs; Christchurch Public Library; Official Report of the Christchurch International Exhibition, 1906-7; Official record of the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition held at Dunedin, 1889-90, compiled by D. Harris Hastings; New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition: report of the Royal Commission for Victoria at the New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition, 1889-90; the-lothians.blogspot.com; New Zealand National Library.
Photo column top: Another view in the Art Gallery, 1889, David Alexander De Maus. Courtesy New Zealand National Library. Bottom: View of one of the Octagons from the fair, 2007. Courtesy http://the-lothians.blogspot.com.
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