The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition ran from 8 November 1939 to 4 May 1940. The fair covered 22.2 hectares just west of Wellington’s airport. 2,641,043 people went through the main gate; the entire New Zealand population was 1,600,000 at the time. The daily average attendance was 17,149 (Ref 1). Tina White (2020, Ref. 2) of the New Zealand Dominion Post reports:
‘The outbreak of war on 1 September 1939 had initially put a dampener on plans for the pleasurable occasion the centennial was meant to be, especially since this planning had stretched, off and on, for almost a decade, with recurring monetary anxiety. The booked-in stars of the show, the Welsh Guards Band, cancelled. The exhibition directors held an emergency meeting. Costs were cut, and the Bank of New Zealand stepped in, giving the directors .’
