The New Zealand Industrial Exhibition was an industrial exhibition held in a large Industrial Exhibition Building in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, between

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll ...

and Stout Street in 1885. Organised by

Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...

it was intended to display New Zealand's industries to both encourage foreign investment and to boost New Zealand's self-confidence.

Opening

The exhibition was opened by

William Jervois Lieutenant General Sir William Francis Drummond Jervois (10 September 1821 – 17 August 1897) was a British military engineer and diplomat. After joining the British Army in 1839, he saw service, as a second captain, in South Africa. In 18 ...

, (

Governor-General of New Zealand The governor-general of New Zealand ( mi, te kāwana tianara o Aotearoa) is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently King Charles III. As the King is concurrently the monarch of 14 other Commonwealth realms and li ...

) on 1 August 1885, with the Mayors of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

(

William Waddel William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

(

Charles Hulbert Charles Hulbert (18 February 1778 – 9 October 1857) was an English businessman and writer. Life The son of Thomas Hulbert of Hulbert Green, near Cheadle, Cheshire, he was born in Manchester on 18 February 1778, and educated at the grammar sc ...

) and

( George Fisher) in attendance.

Buildings, exhibits and entertainment

As well as the main purpose built exhibition building exiting an existing drill hall was used as a concert hall with a borrowed organ from Jenkins of Christchurch. And in St George's Hall refreshments were served on the ground floor, with its upper storey of St George's Hall being used for painting, drawing and photograph display. There were was a water colour competition, which was won by

John Gully John Gully (21 August 1783 – 9 March 1863) was an English champion prizefighter who became a racehorse owner and, from 1832 to 1837, a Member of Parliament. Early life Gully was born at Wick, near Bath, the son of an innkeeper who became ...

with his ''Western Coast of Tasman Bay''.

References

External links

Photograph of the Exhibition Building

Newspaper cutting with much contemporary detail about the opening ceremony, and the main building construction
{{coord missing, New Zealand History of the Wellington Region History of New Zealand 1885 in New Zealand Culture in Wellington Exhibitions in New Zealand National exhibitions 1880s in Wellington Events in Wellington