"PEACE, PROGRESS AND PROSPERITY." 221 



of productive prosperity. Settlement was steadily increasing, sea* 

 sons were favourable and harvests abundant, Parliament was in a 

 generous mood, and a really magnificent permanent building was 

 erected in Carlton Gardens, which, with its temporary annexes, 

 lavish decorations and horticultural surroundings involved an ex- 

 penditure of 250,000. A well-organised appeal had been officially 

 made to nearly every civilised country in the world to send exhibits 

 and representatives, and it was most generously responded to. 

 Twenty-six foreign countries, from France and Germany to China 

 and Japan, contributed specimens of their industries. Great Britain 

 and her Colonies filled a large portion of the space. The art depart- 

 ment of the exhibition was a revelation to the untravelled colonist. 

 Amongst the 250 oil paintings sent out on loan, or otherwise, were 

 many high-class works, and so well had interest been worked up in 

 England that Her Majesty sent out four large pictures from her own 

 private collection, depicting special ceremonial incidents in her life. 

 The 1st of October, 1880, on which day the official opening by the 

 Governor took place, was a public holiday, and an unwonted in- 

 terest was manifested by the many thousands of spectators in the 

 part taken in the proceedings by the officers and crews of the 

 French, German, Italian and Dutch men-of-war then lying in the 

 Bay. On the whole, it was the most exciting time that the native- 

 born Victorian had encountered, and it had a distinctly rousing 

 effect upon the ordinary prosaic level of a hard-working colonial 

 city. Indeed, it materially helped to enlighten the too easily satisfied 

 colonists as to their progress when compared with other countries. 



The projectors of the Exhibition " builded better than they 

 knew," for it was the means of revealing to observant foreigners 

 the great natural resources of the country, the free spending power 

 of the people of all classes, and the wide field which it offered for 

 exploitation by the commercial travellers of every manufacturing 

 country in Europe. It was Victoria's first invitation to the foreigner 

 to come and look at her at home. When he came he saw that it 

 was good, and he stayed. Foreigners in plenty had flocked to bar 

 shores during the gold fever French, Germans, Scandinavians and 

 Italians, but mainly as recruits in the army of labour the Germans 

 specially as agriculturists. But from 1880 onward the commercial 



