The building was huge with a ¼ mile long front - and covered an area of about 14 acres (or, for those not familiar with the Imperial units of measurement - an approx 400 metres long frontage with an area of almost 5.5 hectares)! Today the only remnant of the 1906 exhibition is Lake Victoria, in Hagley Park, which was used for the water chute attraction.

The foundation stone, after several delays was eventually laid by the then Premier of New Zealand, R J Seddon, on 18 December 1905. The total cost of construction of the exhibition building amounted to £87,732.

At the time of the 1906 exhibition New Zealand’s population was around 975,000 of whom some 68,000 lived in Christchurch. The number of persons entering the exhibition grounds was 1,967,682 - or about 30 times the city’s population!

Today, New Zealand’s population is a little over 4 million, of whom approximately 365,000 reside in Christchurch.

A railway branch line was built from Riccarton railway station into Hagley Park and the exhibition grounds for the carriage of building materials and exhibits only. Electric trams were driven over new track especially laid for the exhibition which travelled from Victoria Street, along Peterborough Street, on to Park Terrace, out along Salisbury Street and back to the main line on Victoria Street.

The exhibition was opened on Thursday 1 November 1906 by the then Governor General of New Zealand, Lord Plunket, and the Christchurch International Exhibition closed for the last time on 15 April 1907, having incurred a substantial financial loss.

A post office was opened on the exhibition site on 22 October 1906 for the convenience of the exhibition staff and exhibitors, but the 1906 Christchurch Exhibition stamps were not released until November. The ½d (green), 1d (claret), 1d (vermilion), and 3d (brown and blue) stamps were issued on the opening day 1 November 1906; whilst the 6d (pink and olive green) stamp was not issued until 16 November 1906.

Some 60,000 sets of four Christchurch Exhibition stamps exist (only 60 are reputed to exist of the 1d claret, which was an error of colour) - these were New Zealand’s first commemorative stamps, as they each bore the inscription COMMEMORATIVE SERIES OF 1906.

Reference used: 1 The Great Exhibition Christchurch 1.11.1906 to 15.4.1907, by A de Kort, 1985.

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In that park, the most prominently displayed piece of amusements and displays was the Waterchute. It was run by men in Sailor’s uniforms, and the uniforms did give those men a more sailorlike appearance, especially as they had to man the boats, which held about twenty passengers on each trip.

At the bottom of the chute was a small lake, the boats assembling on it, and an endless chain with grips towed the boats to the top where there was a platform.

That pull up, to the uninitiated, resembled somewhat a ski tow, excepting that the boats were pushed up from underneath, and the ski tow works from the top.

All the passengers for the ride down in the waterchute boat had to assemble at the bottom of the large frame which carried it all. They were carried up to the top in a small carriage like affair that ran on rails. It too was pulled up with an endless wire rope that ran continuously, and when enough people were at the top, the sailors ushered them into the boat for the run down.

The boat was pushed by men at the top on to the steep slope, and with one sailor, who was in charge, standing in the stern; it took off at a high speed down that steep grade until the flat bottom hit the water at the bottom. That quickly reduced the speed, the sailor then taking over and paddled the boat to a small platform for all to get off, or disembark, and then off, adults had had their shilling’s worth and those under fourteen their sixpence worth.

Another of the more prominent amusement places was the Toboggan, it working on lines similar to the waterchute, but it did not go to any water, having instead the up and down run which eventually brought the passenger carriages to a stop. Again, priced one shilling, children half price.

There too was the Katzenjammer Castle. It was a spooky place, and its motive was to give its patrons thrills, and in lots of cases it did. There were dark places in it, other parts had shaking floors, and other places winds of gale force coming round the corners. It was a recognised place for pick pockets to work in, and they did

There were several other amusement places of the nature described, but one of the most interesting and educational displays there, was the Battle of Gettysburg. The building in which paintings of The Battle of Gettysburg were housed was one of the most elaborate there. It was large and circular, and had paintings covering a lot of the inside was among the most wonderful one could imagine or see. They appeared to be real, and would be practically a true scene of what happened at Gettysburg during that Civil War. The lifelike pictures of soldiers in battle, some of them wounded, and others for whom all of the fighting had ended, the guns and cannons in action, and the surgeons at work on the battlefield as all of it was said to have happened. The Surgeons were at work in the middle of it all. They were to be seen most plainly using saws and knives doing amputations, and to the ones, who were not physically fit or disliked seeing anything of that nature, that battle scene was most unsuitable.

The seating accommodation was ample for all that wished to see what the battle was like. With the use of electricity which had in some way been connected on the guns and rifles a flash was created when they were fired, at the same time the bangs from them were as real as to make one believe he was there in the middle of the battle.

At the Exhibition there were displays of all kinds and stalls to suit everyone. Most agricultural and pastoral efforts were there. Grains of all kinds. The largest wheat grains I had ever seen were there, nor have I come in contact with any that could come anywhere near them in size or quality since. Wool, cheese and butter were on display, as were root crops or samples taken from them were there for all to see too.

Model Maori Pas were there too, as were villages from the Islands. Samoa had a model village, and it was inhabited with people from there. It would be safe to say that there were displays that would suit everybody, yet after a few months of its existence the whole place was dismantled when it ended, and very soon no trace of where that Exhibition had been could be seen.

The two days for us at the Exhibition were most pleasant ones, but all the same we young ones at the end of that time made no protests when it was time to go home.

All of us were very tired, but not so tired that we would not go back the next day if we had half a chance.

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The 1906/7 Christchurch International Exhibition

(Thanks to Laurence Eagle for supplying the following snippets of information:)

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At a time when exhibitions were in vogue, Christchurch staged the New Zealand International Exhibition in 1906-7. Sponsored by the New Zealand Government, the exhibition was the biggest to be held in the country. Huge halls were constructed on a 5.6 hectare site in Hagley Park, and a branch railway line was built from Riccarton to service the complex. Exhibitors included the United States, South Africa, Canada, the UK, Fiji, Australian states, and even the Straits Settlement.

In 1903 Mr Seddon, New Zealand’s premier, suggested that it was time for a great exhibition. There was little enthusiasm. In 1904 the St Louis Exposition opened - with NZ exhibits.

Mr Seddon stated in 1904 that time was opportune and that 'I am still of opinion that the most fitting place is Hagley Park, and I hope to see the matter taken up with vigour'. £1000 was granted to meet preliminary expenses, and in November Seddon met with citizens of Christchurch. Committees were appointed during early 1905. The government appointed Mr. G.S. Munro as executive commissioner and Mr. E.J. Righton as secretary. Munro convinced Seddon that the government should finance the whole scheme.

On 18 December 1905 the foundation stone was laid by Mr Seddon, who gave a moving address, recounting Canterbury's and the nation’s progress, to date. This was regarded by many that attended, to be Seddon's greatest political speech. As one paper reported after the event: 'It was generally agreed that Mr Seddon never spoke with more effect to the people than on that occasion. The scene was picturesque. He stood bareheaded on the platform, with the flags of many countries flying above. The people were gathered in front, and behind them was the great stretch of Hagley Park, flowing away in beautiful undulations. The grey-headed premier, grown old in the country's service, spoke with exceptional warmth and hope for the future of the Colony he loved.'

The immense buildings were soon erected, and it was not long before the whole face of the northern part of Hagley Park was entirely changed.

The grandiose buildings included machinery, produce and concert halls, and in the south tower visitors took an electric elevator constructed by Turnbull and Jones, to ascend for the view from the top.

Attractions included a model Maori village complete with geyser, poi dancers and 'model Rotorua'. A ride on the water chute gave boatloads of screaming visitors a splashdown on to what is now called Victoria Lake. Amusements included the Laughing Gallery, Rocky Road to Dublin, Katzenjammer Castle and a Cyclorama depicting the Battle of Gettysburg from the American Civil War.

Sadly, Mr Seddon, died at sea on 10 June 1906 - five months before the Christchurch International Exhibition, opened to the public on 1 November 1906. It was open for five and a half months and closed on 15 April 1907. Registered admissions totalled 1.8 million whilst New Zealand's population at the time was about 900,000 and that of Christchurch was only 68,000.