Lemuel Lyes

B/W postcard from the 1913/14 Auckland Exhibition. Five exhibition visitors are posing in a 'flying machine' set for a novelty photo. Lemuel Lyes Collection

I love novelty postcards like these. Some of my favourites to look out for.

The earlier 1913-1914 exhibition in Auckland had a similar 'flying machine' setup, but, curiously, the 1925-26 cards are harder to find. I'm putting it down to the postcard-collecting craze starting to wane.

My Collection.

B/W real photo postcard. Two men in suits and hats pose in a 'flying machine' novelty studio 'flying' over the 1925/26 Exhibition grounds. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

A souvenir from the NZ & South Seas International Exhibition, Dunedin, 1925-1926.

Don't this duo look absolutely thrilled to be flying over the exhibition grounds!? Visitors could pose in this novelty studio set for a fun little keepsake.

My Collection.

Illustration featuring an artistic rendering of a map of New Zealand, with a scenic view behind it. The words "Dominion of New Zealand". Lemuel Lyes Collection.

So it was nice to see the Dunedin organisers arrange a unique stamp design for the 1925/26 Exhibition.

Here's the reverse of the card.

Close-up view of the 1d stamp - a Red/Carmine colour. It features a view of the exhibition grounds, including the Grand Dome, bordered with a Maori taniko pattern. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

It's an attractive stamp - I used to covet these as a young collector.

NZ's first commemorative stamps were issued for the 1906/07 ChCh exhibition. Rather than issuing their own unique stamps, the Auckland 1913/14 exhibition simply overprinted their name on existing definitives.

Unused postal stationery from the 1925-26 International NZ and South Seas Exhibition, Dunedin. It features four b/w portraits - Sir Chas. Fergusson, Hon. J.G. Coates, Sir James Allen, and C.P. Hainsworth. In the top right corner is an exhibition postal stamp. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

Time for some philatelic geekery! The exhibition sold a special series of commemorative stamps - featuring a view of the exhibition grounds. There were 1/2d, 1d, and 4d varieties in different colours.

This 1d example is on a souvenir card, but hasn't been postally used.

My Collection.

B/W Postcard showing the Entrance Gates at the exhibition, the tops of hills visible behind the buildings and a large crowd of visitors waiting out the front.

Another postcard from the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition, 1925 - 1926 - this one showing a mass of visitors outside the entrance gates. More queues were waiting inside for the various rides and attractions.

My Collection.

"Dear Mother, we are sending this card from the exhibition & we are having an enjoyable time & lovely weather. We are going to Waipori for the day next week some time if you haven't posted shoes, by the time this reaches you don't bother as these ones are all right now, with love from, Elsie & Jane (?)"

Here's the reverse of the card, with a message from a couple of exhibition visitors.

"At 11:45 p.m. the pipers of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders' Band headed a big procession round the grand court. Suddenly the orange and red lights of the big dome faded, and the lights on the band rotunda followed them. A minute later the dazzling entrance gates lights disappeared, and the Chinese lanterns and fancy lamps of the grand court disappearing plunged the scene in darkness. As the Old Year was dying bells began to sound. Then, as the last stroke of twelve sounded, all the thousands of lamps in the grand court blazed simultaneously, and the New Year was born. The band led the crowd in singing "Auld Lang Syne," and the 50,000 people who were present will never forget New Year's Eve at the great Exhibition."

This glorious scene was the backdrop for revellers counting in the New Year, as reported in the NZ Times, 2 Jan 1926.

B/W postcard showing the Grand Dome lights at night, and their reflection in the water in the foreground.

This is one of my fav postcards from the exhibition - showing the iconic Grand Dome at night.

The exhibition lights (17,312 of them!) were an attraction in their own right. The grounds were likened to 'a glow-worm palace in a grotto among the hills'.

My Collection.

Adding this to compile all my 1925 NZ & South Seas exhibition centenary shenanigans into one thread.

bsky.app/profile/lemu...

A row of stone block sleepers, with holes in them (presumably where the rails were attached)

Photo looking down a railway cutting, with trees growing on the steep banks on either side and a row of stone sleepers down the middle.

A very early mineral railway - part of the Liskeard and Caradon line. I think this section dates to 1846. Original stone block sleepers are from the nearby Cheesewring quarry. They were cheaper than wood but sometimes sank into the ground after heavy rain, which buckled the tracks.

Coloured postcard of The Grand Court, New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition at Dunedin, 1925-1926. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

This postcard from the 1925-26 New Zealand and South Seas Exhibition shows the Grand Court.

As was often the case with big exhibitions, the buildings were designed to be temporary. Most of what you see here are sports fields today - including one of NZ's best test cricket venues.

📸 My Collection.

Portrait photographs of the board of directors, including Chas Speight Vice Chairman. Scanned image from the Official Opening Ceremony Souvenir Programme. Lemuel Lyes Collection

Here he is in the programme!

I'd wondered that too. I'll put some more from that series up.

It's a mystery, as so far, reverse image searches haven't found matches for any of the natural history slides in this collection. Not the ones I've checked anyway.

Photographs of the exhibition buildings and a birds-eye view of the entire site. Scanned image from the Official Opening Ceremony Souvenir Programme. Lemuel Lyes Collection

Newspaper reports indicate that 50,000 people attended the exhibition on the opening day. Over 3.2 million people visited the exhibition before it closed the following May.

In the upcoming weeks, I'll be sharing more gems from my collection to commemorate the centenary of the exhibition. Enjoy!

YouTube video by New Zealand Army Band - Topic Mac And Mac (Live)

I found this 1979 recording of the New Zealand Army Band performing the same number.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhZR...

Evening Programme. Scanned image from the Official Opening Ceremony Souvenir Programme. Lemuel Lyes Collection

But if there was one performance I'd love to see, it would be the Xylophone Duet "Mac and Mac" performed by bandsmen E Edwards and F Cowdrey. Rather humorously, the xylophonists were scheduled to perform after a rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.

Photograph of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Military Band in Full Dress. Scanned image from the Official Opening Ceremony Souvenir Programme. Lemuel Lyes Collection

The headliners of the opening ceremony were the Band of the 2nd Battalion Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders - part of a concerted effort to drum up Dunedin's Scottishness - with bangers including Highland Harry and Stirlingshire Militia.

The programme doesn't say what type of aircraft, but newspaper reports refer to them as Avros - I'm guessing they were Avro 504s.

Opening Ceremony Order of Events. A description of the start of the afternoon ceremony, beginning with a gun salute. Scanned image from the Official Opening Ceremony Souvenir Programme. Lemuel Lyes Collection

The ceremony kicked off with a 19-gun salute as Governor General Fergusson left from London St and made his way to Exhibition Park. Guards of honour included crew from HMS Dunedin, and the 1st Battalion Otago Regiment. In the skies above, two aeroplanes from Wigram circled low.

Front page of the Official Souvenir Programme of the Opening Ceremony of the New Zealand and South Seas International Exhibition. Dunedin, November 17th 1925. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

Today, it's exactly one hundred years since the opening ceremony of the New Zealand & South Seas International Exhibition in Dunedin.

To celebrate, I'm sharing some images from an original copy of the ceremony's official souvenir programme.

My Collection.

The ship's owner, Gow Harrison & Co., named their vessels after places beginning with the letter V - including Vermont, Volga, Verdun, Vienna, and Ventnor.

As a NZder, the name Ventnor will always be linked to the ill-fated steamship of the same name, which sank off the Hokianga in 1902 while repatriating the bodies of 499 Chinese gold miners.

Picnic at Ventnor, Isle of Wight. Six well-dressed young lads relaxing on rocks, presumably near the seaside. Likely Edwardian era. The Schoolmasters Slides – associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

'Picnic at Ventnor' - This slide is part of a series taken during a camping trip to the Isle of Wight. I recognise the endearing smile of the chap in the front from other slides in the collection.

Thank you! My once-was-home

This Edwardian glass slide shows St Leonard's Church, also known as Church in the Wood, in Hollington, Hastings. The church dates to the 13th century, built on the site of an earlier chapel. As a church crawler, I'm especially drawn to the shape of the tower - very different to the ones I'm used to in the West Country. I'd love to visit one day! 📸 Church in the Wood, Hollington, Hastings. Likely Edwardian era. The Schoolmasters Slides – associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

I’ll be sharing more images as I work through them – so if scenes of life in Edwardian Britain interest you, then keep an eye out!

Also, feel free to follow my Facebook page for more information about this series - www.facebook.com/historygeeknz

Church in the Wood, Hollington, Hastings.

Preparatory School, Uppingham, Rugby Football XV, 1912. Young lads in uniform pose with a rugby ball. The Schoolmasters Slides – associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

I start to recognise some faces through the slides. As the years painted on the ball tick by, and the faces age from boys to young men, I can’t help but wonder who they are and what happened to them all. Did they make it through the war?

Preparatory School, Uppingham, Rugby Football XV, 1912

'A torpedo boat searching for mines' - Among the many slides in this collection are an intriguing series documenting what looks like a group visit to see - and even go for a trip on - Royal Navy torpedo boats in Portsmouth. Fast and small, torpedo boats were originally designed to attack larger ships, but during the First World War mostly undertook coastal patrols, harbour defence, and minesweeping duties - vital but often overlooked work. The Schoolmaster's Slides - associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection

This slide is labelled ‘A torpedo boat searching for mines’ – and is part of a series of images that look to have been taken at Portsmouth around the same time as the Bembridge camp. The First World War looms in the background of many of these slides.

I really love this scene. And the working horses in the background. This 'camping' series in the collection is one of my favourites.

Also, I suspect that the moustached man might be Hayward.

‘Washing’. A moustached man (I think this could be Hayward) and young boy washing their hands and brushing their teeth at a campsite. Working horses in the background. Possibly at Bembridge, Isle of Wight. Likely Edwardian era. The Schoolmasters Slides – associated with Chas F. Hayward. Lemuel Lyes Collection.

Other slides are from further afield – including a series that look to have been taken at a boys' camp at Bembridge, Isle of Wight. A wonderful candid series. There’s a lack of uniforms, so I don’t think it's a scout camp, perhaps either a school or church group.