Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954)(about) |
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Thursday 29 January 1931
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AROUND THE CITY.
The Stride of Sixty Years.
(No. 2.)
(By "Stroller.")
The people of Perth, when they ret tiru .to tile city on these summer evenings, from their suburban teas. seek- ing diversion and amusement, find the streets welcoming them with a cheer- ful flood of light. The shop windows are agleam and {¡ic- picture *hows dance arni glitter and comíscate with :i very splen-
dour of illumination.
It was different sixty years ago, or course. Tlie scene was quiet and sombre, not to say dull. In the window of an odd store, here and there, a small oil lamp might have shed its weak ray. You could have looked up and down the whole length of the streets and you would not have seen a single street lamp pointiug out to way tarers the holes in the footpaths or thc- ruts in the road. Lifo went ow very quietly. True, the big, pictuie.-que. red brick Town Hall loomed up large and splendid atid sometimes a meetitui oi the citizens was held there at night to dis- cuss, with all seriousness, such vital sub- jects as water supply, sanitation, the hos- pital, fire protection, the education oí the children, and so on. -The population of Perth then was 4.S00 souls, and tho'c wa.v little indication" in tlie somnolent MÜiige of that quickening, pulsing movement that would convert it within a man's lifetime into a tall and-stately city.
In 1871 the municipality of Perth wu* formed and the progressive spirit* who comprised the municipal council, after two years' deliberation, decided on a mo- mentous step
"Let there be light!'' they said, und there was light of a sort. The first lamp- posts were put up in ELiy-citrcct and How iek-street (now Hay-street east from thc Town Hall). Oil must have been the il- luminant, for gas was not made in Perth until a good many years later.
. Under the arches iu the basement ot the Town Hall that faced the cooling breezes of the river was held the town market. Here the people caine to [ucl; out the greenest .md juiciest vegetables that could he-got. Who grew thc vegetables in those days: Was there a patient Hoy Ling or Kim Kee running up and down the. rowe with his watering cans from early morn till dewy eve? There., does not appear to be any record of the .dato when a plodding, toiling Chinaman first enter- ed the community of Perth. We know at least that there has been a ¡eng line of succession of Chinese market gardeners set" tiing on the low-lying, swampy bits of ground around the heart of Perth and gradually being squeezbd further out as the city has grown and spread, and "Chinamen's gardens have become thc site of big warehouses and suites of offices.
- And talking ol' swamps this might bc an appropriate juncture at which to con- sider the swamps of Perth and their de- velopment. Thc ambition of the City Council lias been to girdle Perth with green teserves-a very.- laudable ambition where a city is growing big and congosto!. Sixty years ago the necessity of - the green reserves was- not feltj fur the whole place ,wds Urie more "¿han bush. In those days Perth-boasted one reserve only, so old re- sidents say-Stirling Square in tho heart of the city, the site of the present Gov- ernment gardens. ^ To-day the reserves may be counted literally by the score.
In those days, there was a perfect chain of lakes north of the city, where black duck ; abounded;; The site "of the ceutral railway station was such a lake, und where engines . whistle to-day and great trains of wheat rumble down to thc fica, the cry pf wild fowl filled the air.
It is interesting to note thal Hyde Park,! that beautiful spot of pools ¡iud trees, was only saved toj thc city by an accident, so to say. In those early days of the seventies three lakes lay end to end-Lake Paulett, a second lake un named, and Hyde Park Lake. Thc au- thorities decided that these lakes or swamps should he drained, sub-divided, and the lots sold. A. start-to draiu was made on the second swamp, with the re
«ult that the wells ou private properties began quickly to dry np. There was at once an outcry, the Governor was pe- titioned to stop the drainage. The work was ubandoned accordingly,.and lots al- ready surveyed,1 including half of Hy<'e Park Lake, were withdrawn from sale
Thus Hyde Park was saved, its bounib were extended to Vincent-street, and thc City of Perth acquired its goodly heritage of a beautiful and central park for the people to enjoy for all time.
Another lake in the neighbourhood was known as Stone Lake-named after Mr. G. F. Stone, Advocate-Genera! for Western Australia. This was drained in the early seventies and became Loton Park, and grew up into possibly the most picturesque and pleasant sports ground about the city -certainly a very delightful spot. Between Palmerston and Fitzgerald stutts, theic existed a swamp named Heinle son Lake, after Colonel Henderson of the Imperial Service. It was the fate of most ol thesr lakes to be drained to make way for human habitation, but the largest of them all. Monger, 230 acres in extent, was spared with the intention of mokine it one of the prime beauty spots of the city. Work in this direction is still bciiip undertaken slowly. The lake presents a noble 6heel ol water and playing aud rocication grounds are gradually being folnied around it. One day there will be a fiue sweep- ing drive of two miles or . more right around the lake-a choice boulevard for the people to enjoy.
With sound foresight the City Council md the municipalities outside the city area. f:ir years past, have been following out a policy of acquiring reserves in ever;» *uburb and Converting them into pleasant playing places for the people. Year by year, ¡ts the city grows, the appreciation of the people deepens as they realise move and more the great value of these green brea th i ug spots which have becu so liber ally- provided.
There are the beautiful and gemlike Queen's Gardc-ns, rescued from the fate of beiug a permanent r-iibbish tip. There aie thc Botanical Gardens m the centre
of the city and the grounds around Go- - vcrnnient House, which, though they maj not be under the control cf the City Coun- cil still, are nart of the general scheme of city beautification which adds so much to the natural charms of Perth. There is the reclamation of the river foreshore and its conversion into Breen promeni-i'c shaded by cool trees-a work of consi-'« .
able importance, and adding very groi v to thc beauty of the city on ite ri.ei front.
And on the heights, overlooking inspiring stretches of the river is Perth's great and stately heritage, King's Park, wherein are enshrined in perpetuity for the use of a grateful people, many hundreds of acres of virgin bush, teeming with the
State's beautiful wibi flowers, and con- . faining interesting specimens oír its native
fauna.
Thing's Park, it is interesting to recall, ÍB a product of the early seventicB. It was in 1871 that Mr. H. P. Loftie first surveyed tire boundaries of. an area of 432 acres, and it was proclaimed a reserve known as Perth Park. In 1890 this area was greatly extended to take in thc bush lying well behind The river front towards Subiaco. The name of King's Park was apparently adopted in 1901, when the first meeting of the King's Paik Board appear* on the minutes. Credit for the preserva- tion and improvement of the park ÍB due. it is said, to Sir Malcolm Fraser, who at surveyor-general, set the land apart foi public ourposes, and to the tbree.men who, in succession, have been president of the board of control-Lord Forrest, Sir Win- throp Hackett, and Mr. A. Lovekin. M.L.C.