The New Zealand Exhibition held in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
, New Zealand, in 1865 was a
world's fair
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
visited by 31250 people.
It was the first world's fair held in New Zealand.
It opened on 12 January and ran until 6 May 1865.
Organisation
Following the Bazaar and Industrial Exhibition of 1862, held in Dunedin, a group of gentlemen formed a committee for the promotion of a similar exhibition to be held on a larger scale in Dunedin in 1865. An application was made in February 1863 to the Governor requesting the formation of a Royal Commission, which was granted in May. The Provincial Government provided the sum of £4,000 for the aid of general purposes and another £4,000 to build a suitable building.
John Hyde Harris
John Hyde Harris (24 November 1826 – 24 July 1886) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Born in England, he came to Dunedin as a young man and practised as a lawyer, and was then a judge. He entered provincial politics and was elected as ...
was president of the executive,
James Hector
Sir James Hector (16 March 1834 – 6 November 1907) was a Scottish-New Zealand geologist, naturalist, and surgeon who accompanied the Palliser Expedition as a surgeon and geologist. He went on to have a lengthy career as a government employe ...
was commissioner and
juror
A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment.
Juries developed in England dur ...
, Alfred Eccles the secretary
and
Thomas Forrester building superintendent.
Architecture
A low-level site on King Street was secured and a contract was let to Messrs. George Cornwell and Edward Horsman on November 11, 1863 for £10,250 to erect the Main Building. There was a large two-story stone Italianate building with clock tower and a series of annexes all designed by
Mason and
Clayton,
with a central courtyard derived from
Fowler's design of
Covent Garden market
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site ...
.
It was not completely finished when the fair opened.
International participation
From the America came exhibits from Canada and the United States. From Europe came exhibits from Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, and the Netherlands. The sole Asian exhibiting nation was that of India. From Oceania, the colonies of New Zealand were well represented as were New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, and Victoria. Altogether there came 1,598 exhibits from about 700 exhibitors.
Legacy
Exhibits from the exhibition provided the opening collection of the colonial museum, and added to the collection at the
Otago Museum,
and the main building was converted into a new hospital for Dunedin. The old annex at the rear of the building was torn down in the mid-1890s, and a fire in the tower in 1897 almost destroyed the entire building. The old exhibition hospital finally was torn down in 1933.
After the exhibition, the collections were put into store and the art works were included in formation of
Otago Society of Arts in 1876.
References
External links
Image of the exhibition buildingJurors reports from the New Zealand Exhibition 1865
{{List of world fairs in New Zealand
1860s disestablishments in New Zealand
1865 disestablishments in Oceania
1865 establishments in New Zealand
Festivals in Dunedin
World's fairs in New Zealand
1860s in Dunedin
1865 in New Zealand