West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Tuesday 31 October 1905, page 7


FREMANTLE WEEK. SUCCESSFULLY INAUGURATED YESTERDAY. GREAT INFLUX OF VISITORS. THE TRAMWAY SYSTEM OPENED. If, as the late R. L. Stevenson would have us believe, pleasures are more beneficial than duties, then the high hopes which the business people of Fre-mantle entertain of the results which will flow from the initiation of an annual "week" should be realised in full measure. During the current week the business and municipal com-munity at Fremantle will put aside their ordinary duties and devote their time to giving enjoyment to the thous-ends of visitors from the goldfields and county, who invaiably "come to town" at show time. More delightful weather than that which prevailed yesterday could hardly have been desired, and the opening day's festivities were marked by an enthusiasm which must be taken as a happy augury for the success of the "week." It was truly a red-letter day in the history of Fremantle. The offi-cial opening of the Municipal tramways and electric lighting scheme was, in it-self, leaving out of consideration for the moment the actual opening of the har-bour works, an event of importance, second only to the great occasion when the mail steamers started calling at Fremantle, making it their first and last port of call between England and Australia. The crowd which thronged the streets during the afternoon re-minded one of "Mafeking" day. The most sanguine of the promoters of the "week" could hardly have anticipated such an influx of visitors. True, the State schools in the district were closed for the half-day and the children from the class-rooms helped considerably to swell the gathering. Still, it was evi-dent that the movement had been well advertised, and those who came from afar to witness the spectacular displays and join in the general festivities had their tastes well catered for. The day's programme began with the official opening of the tramways, and this was followed by an interesting cere-mony at the Town Hall, to celebrate the initiation of the "Week" movement. The trams were run on the two prin-cipal routes—to East Fremantle and South Fremantle—at frequent intervals during the day, and needless to say, they were well patronised, a good many people going for the ride just for the novelty of the thing. The poster, motor, and trades procession in the af-ternoon, provided a spectacle which un-questionably excelled anything of the kind that has yet been seen in this State. It was both instructive and amusing, and afforded much en-tertainment to the thousands of people who lined the footpaths and encroached on the roadways, during its progress. On the Fremantle Oval a motor and cycle gymkhana form-ed a novel attraction in the afternoon, and log-chopping contests and an amus-ing exhibition by the police Darktown fire brigade were carried out during the evening. A popular concert was given at night in the local Town Hall, and at the King's Theatre Williamson's Opera Company opened a season of five nights with "The Mikado." The town presented a brilliant ap-pearance in the evening, when, for the first time in the history of the Port, the streets were lit up with electricity. The arc lamps, of 2;000 candle-power, which are erected in the principal thorough-fares gave forth an exceptionally bright light, and the installation was in every way a success. Most of the business establishments were also specially illu-minated, and High-street never looked more radiant or attractive than it did last night. Nearly all the shops were gaily decorated for the occasion, and the best efforts of the occupiers had evi-dently been put forth to make their wares pleasing to the eye and tempting to the would-be purchaser. One enter-prising confectioner gave a miniature representation, in lolly-work, of a High-street block of shops, with a tram pass-ing the doors, whilst another trader displayed in his window a small pig and poultry farm, in which real live porkers and chickens and ducklings made them selves quite at home. The whole of the tradespeople, in fact, heartily co-oper-ated in the movement, and nothing was left undone to make the affair a suc-cess. The principal attraction to-day will be a schools' demonstration, on the Fre-mantle Oval. The programme for the evening includes a hall at the Town Hall and an international tug-of-war on the Oval. OPENING OF THE TRAMWAYS ANDY LIGHTING SERVICES. CONGRATULATORY SPEECHES.

The first function in the programme for the week's festivities was the official starting of the Fremantle electric light-ing and tramway services, and it was carried out in a manner befitting an oc-casion which marks such an important epoch in the history of Fremantle. Hundreds of people came into town to be present at the opening, and when the invited guests left the car-barn, in High-street. in three of the cars which had been specially decorated for the oc-casion, High-street was lined with people. Amongst those present were the Minister for Works (Mr. Frank Wil-son), Mr. M. L. Moss and Captain R. Laurie. M's.L.C., Messrs. J. J. Holmes, A. J. Diamond, J. Price. and H. E. Bolton, M's.L.A., the Mayor (Mr. M. Samson) and members of the Fremantle Municipal Council, the Mayor (Mr. W. C. Angwin) and members of the East Fremantle Municipal Council, Mr. E. Solomon (chairman) and members of the Tramways Board, leading citizens and tramways officials, and a number of ladies. When the trams reached the intersection of High and William streets the Mayors, councillors, and others adjourned to the Town Hall bal-cony, from which the opening of the system was announced to a large gather-ing of visitors and citizens who were as-sembled in the roadway. The Mayor (Mr. M. Samson) said that it had fallen to him, as Mayor of the town, to be selected and to have the pleasure of performing the most in-teresting ceremony that had ever taken place in the history of Fremantle—the starting of the Fremantle electric trams and lighting service and the opening of the Fremantle Week. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the trams, he thought the residents of Fremantle and East Fremantle might congratulate them-selves on having an up-to-date tram-ways system and means of locomotion that they had never expected to have at all. It was a pity that the system had not commenced earlier, so that Fremantle and East Fremantle might have reaped the full benefits of it. (Hear, hear.) All praise was due to the members of the Fremantle Tram-ways Board for the manner in which they had carried out their trust, and he could ensure his hearers, from the short time he had been connected with the Board, that their duties were no sinecure. Credit was also due to Messrs. Noyes Bros., represented through their engineers, Messrs. Mc-Carty and Jolly, for the manner in which they had put forward all their energies to meet the wishes of the people of Fremantle in starting the trams at the beginning of the Fremantle Week. (Hear, hear.) He really thought it was a red-letter day in the history of Fremantle, and he trusted that the facilities put forward by the committee which had arranged the "Week" would be enjoyable to all, and that the occasion would mark a new era of prosperity for the town. (Hear, hear.) He was sure they would he with him in wishing that all would go pleasantly, and that those who visited the town during the week would go away knowing that there was such a place as Fremantle. (Hear, hear. and laughter.) He would not detain them any longer, but would simply say that

he had much pleasure in declaring the Fremantle tramways and electric light system open, as well as the festivities in connection with Fremantle Week. (Applause.) He had that day received the following telegram from Messrs. Noyes Bros. :—"Please accept our hearty congratulations on the opening of your tramways system. We wish you all every success." The Mayor of East Fremantle (Mr. W. C. Angwin) expressed the pleasure he felt at having the opportunity that day of taking part in celebrating the event of opening the Fremantle tram-ways and lighting services. He was more pleased because he believed it was the first time in Western Australia at least, if not in Australasia as a whole that a scheme of this description had been taken in hand by the people. When they realised that in the Old Country tramways schemes had been profitable to all municipalities, he thought and trusted that the scheme would prove profitable to Fremantle as a whole. He realised that the enter-prise would be the means of cementing together the whole of Fremantle and suburbs, which eventually would all become as one. There was not the slightest doubt that the scheme would be the means of other enterprises being entered into by both municipalities. Many people seemed to think that Fre-mantle was dead, but he, for one, be-lieved that Fremantle had only just started to live. (Hear, hear.) He hoped and trusted that every endea-vour would be made to assist the Board in making the scheme suc-cessful. (Hear, hear.) He was confi-dent that East Fremantle was reaping great benefit from the service, because ever since the construction of the trams the Council never met without having to pass plans for some new buildings. East Fremantle had enter-ed into a profitable undertaking in taking part in the tramways and light-ing scheme, which he would again wish every success. (Applause.) The Chairman of the Tramways Board (Mr E. Solomon) said that during his sojourn of 48 years in Fremantle, of all the many things he had lent a hand in, in the town, the ceremony that day gave him most pleasure, as it marked, more than any other event, a new era of progress for Fremantle. It showed that Fremantle had not been asleep, although adverse times had been experi-enced. He congratulated the people of Fremantle on the manner in which they had behaved during the dull times. They had nobly endeavoured to assist public institutions to the beat of their abilities. With regard to the tram-ways, they had to remember that it was the first scheme of its kind that had ever been undertaken by local govern-ing bodies in any part of Australia. It was a speculative concern, and it be-hoved the people of Fremantle to as-sist both the tramways and the elec-tric lighting service as much as they possibly could. (Hear. hear.) It had to be remembered that it was a ??? in which all the people were sharehol-ders, and to protect themselves they should do all they could to make the undertaking a success. Messrs. Noyes Bros., although their time for construc-tion would not expire for six months, had already presented a system of tramways and lighting that was not excelled in any part of Australia. (Hear, hear.) The Tramways Board had in-troduced a system of penny sections in the town proper, and he believed that they would be well repaid for the inno-vation. (Applause.) He also had re-ceived a telegram from Messrs. Noyce Bros. in regard to the inauguration of the services. It was as follows:— "Please accept our hearty congratula-tions, and convey our thanks to Mr. McCarty and his staff of engineers for their energy in enabling us to open the tramways six months before contract time,' and only one year from the date you first authorised us to order tie ma-terial." This concluded the ceremony, and the party was then taken in the cars over the Canning-road and the Mandurah-road routes. The cars ran splendidly, and the outing was thoroughly enjoy-ed. At a quarter-past 12 o'clock an adjournment was made to the Town Hall, where light refreshments were provided. In proposing "Success to the Fre-mantle Tramways and Electric Lighting System," the Mayor (Mr. Samson) said he hoped to see the tramways extended in other directions, and he trusted to see the day when the system would be running miles beyond its present li-mits. The run they had, had that day had given them proof that the work had been well done, and he could assure them the lighting scheme would be car-ried out in, an equally up-to-date man-ner. (Applause.) The Minister for Works (Mr. F. Wil-son), in supporting the toast, said he was present in his official capacity to offer them the hearty congratulations of the Rason Government. The Gov-ernment recognised that Fremantle had made a departure which bade for suc-cess in the future. They knew he had been somewhat long in making a start in tramways, but now that they had been successfully completed, they felt sure the fact would tend towards the advancement of Fremantle and the State generally. (Hear,-hear.) They judged the future of this country by the enterprise of the people, and they judged the future of the port of Fre-

man by the enterprise of its citizens. They had evidence that day that the citizens of Fremantle were enterprising, and he felt sure they would utilise to the fullest extent the facilities given to them. He desired to say for the Gov-ernment that they would have their as-sistance and support. (Hear, hear.) Fremantle was destined to be in the near future one of the first ports in the Commonwealth. He personally had great expectations of Fremantle. It was destined to be the great distribu-ting centre of the Commonwealth. Soon there would be a line of steamers run-ning north and south, not only to the State's own borders, but to other States of the Commonwealth. West-ern Australia's exports must go ahead, and the imports must, of course in-crease with the people: and the Gov-ernment was determined that Freman-tle should receive all she was entitled to. (Hear, hear.) The Government hoped that the present movement was only the start of the town's extension. They believed that the town would ex-tend miles up the river, and also to the south, and that with the increase in the number of people the prosperity of the town would advance. (Ap-plause.) He congratulated them per-sonally on the step they had taken that day and he trusted that the present was not the only occasion when he would be favoured with an invitation to such a gathering. (Applause.) Mr. E. Solomon, in responding, said it was indeed a pleasure to meet that morning to commemorate the inauguration of the electric light and tramway system. They towns-people had passed through some troub-lous times, but they had borne up with a good heart, and done all they pos-sibly could to push ahead in the teeth of the adversities they had encounter-ed. (Hear, hear.) The system had been made the subject of a good deal of criticism for a long time, and there were many who wanted to know why the trams were not there years ago; but all must know that the population of the district was not then large enough to warrant the municipal councils go-ing to the expense necessary to estab-lish the service. The system would compare with any other in Australia. Recently he had been informed by Government inspectors, who had visit-ed the Port, that the materials used and the work itself, if not superior, were equal to any other in the Com-monwealth. (Cheers.) Everything had been carried out in a highly credit-able manner. The men who were working the cars had been trained dur-ing the past ten days, and those who had made the trip that morning would know how well they were able to do their work. They were men who had never seen a tram in their lives before -(laughter)-or, at any rate, had, had no experience in regard to the work-ing of trams. The Board had endea-voured to have everything done as far as possible locally, and the men em-ployed were residents of the district. He thanked the Mayor for the kindly references he had made to the scheme, and to the Minister for Works he also desired to return thanks for the ex-pressions he had made on behalf of the

Government, who he was sure would do anything that was possible to fur-ther the interests of the Port. (Cheers.) The Mayor of East Fremantle (Mr. W. C. Angwin) submitted the toast of "The Tramway Board." During the past twelve months he had been in a position to know what the members of the Board had to contend with, and he was of opinion that a good deal of the criticism that had been cast upon the Board had not been jus-tified, because, to some extent, their hands had been tied by those who had preceded them. He thought every resident of the district was pleased with the work so far accomplished, and they would be still more encouraged when they saw the town lighted up with electricity. The Board, he was sure, had given every attention to their du-ties, and more credit was due to them than had been given to them by the public in the past. They expected the Board to make the scheme a success, and if they did not the municipal coun-cils would want to know the reasons why. The Board was in a happy posi-tion, for, although they had to manage the tramways, they were responsible to the councils indirectly for the manner in which the work was performed. He believed the ratepayers of Fremantle and East Fremantle, and he hoped in the near future those of North Fre-mantle, would not be burdened in con-sequence of the trams, because he was confident that the scheme would prove to be a paying concern. The Board had taken the right step in fixing their fares and he thought they would find it necessary to go further in extending their sections after having given those already decided upon a fair trial. He had no doubt that the Board could be relied upon to conserve the interests of the ratepayers in respect to the whole scheme. (Applause.) Mr. R. J. Lynn, a member of the Tramways Board, responded. He thanked Mr. Angwin for his references to the Board. He thought, however, that something should be said of the good work that was done by other citi-zens before the Board was established. He referred particularly to the work that was done by Mr. Frank Cadd wheh Mayor of Fremantle. Dealing with the work of the Board, he said it was intended to popularise the scheme as a whole, and to reduce the charge for lighting to such an extent that it would be installed wherever possible. Mr. C. S. Nathan proposed the toast of "The Constructing Engineers, Messrs. Noyes Bros.," coupled with the names of Mr. McCarty and Mr. Jolly, to whom, he said, most credit was due. Mr. McCarty, in the course of his response, said that, although it was not part of the contract that the trams should be running so early, they had hurried them on to comply with the wishes of the festival committee. He hoped that the six months in which the trams would be running before their contract time expired, would be a profitable time for the Board, both in the receipts from the trams and the revenue from the lighting service. (Hear. hear.) They, would extend the lighting service as fast as possible. He thought they would find that the whole scheme would pay, and pay well, with careful management. Mr. Jolly. manager for Noyes Bros. in Western Australia., also replied. "Success to Fremantle Week" was proposed by the Mayor (Mr. Samson), and Mr. T.J. Press, responded. The latter said that the Retail Traders' -As sociation, of which he was president, first suggested the Fremantle Week scheme, and received every encourage-ment from the Council. He trusted that the programme that bad been ar-ranged would prove worthy of Fre-mantle. (Hear, hear.) In proposing the health of "The Chairman," Mr. M. L. Moss, M.L.C., said that, as a member of the Govern-ment, he would not be backward in reminding Mr. Wilson of the promises he had made that day, and the strong claims Fremantle had for assistance from the Government for the purposes of facilitating the progress of the town, and generally promoting the interests of the country. (Heir. hear.) Mr. Samson, in replying, said he was ready and willing to do all he could to promote the welfare of the town. HISTORY OF THE MOVE-MENT. WHY THE MUNICIPALISATION SCHEME WAS ADOPTED. So many years have passed since it as first proposed that tramways and an electric lighting service should he in-stalled at Fremantle that a retrospect on the movement should be interesting at the present juncture. Eight years have passed since the idea was first seri-ously mooted, but the apathy then dis-played by some, and the opposition of others, were the means of shelving the matter for a time. Meantime, many Fremantle business men who built resi-dences at Cottesloe Beach and other ??? along the Perth-Fremantle line would possibly have established homes in the Fremantle, district, probably along the Canning-road, where the rural surroundings almost border on the ideal. It was not at first suggested that the services should be municipalised. There seemed at the time to be an easier and has risky means of supplying the dis-trict with trams and lighting. Num-

bers of people representing capital dis-played a keen desire to install the ser-vices as a private enterprise, but in most cases the conditions under which they were willing to act were not deem-ed to be satisfactory by the Council. Eventually, in 1900, a concession was granted to the Electric Supply Co. of Western Australia, but after the Coun-cil had waited many months for the Company to make a start with the works in accordance with the terms of ?? agreement, the Council decided that it was time to force the hands of the Company. It was Mr. L. Alexander, the then Mayor of the town, and one of the first public men to advocate the municipalisation scheme, who first made a decisive move against the Company. On November 21, 1901, he tabled a mo-tion to the effect that unless the Com-pany made a substantial commencement with the physical works by noon on the 1st of the following December, steps would be taken to cancel the concession. In such an event, he said that he would strongly recommend to the Council the wisdom of municipalising the services, being convinced that, operated as a municipal concern, the results after a few years would in every way be satis-factory. The motion was carried and after the date specified the Council de-decided that the concession had lapsed by the default of the Company. This was thoe narse of a suit for damages being i"sl it;tji :Zainst the Council, but al th ough it him;: lire for somene time, it wa. never tal;eii into court. Now that the Council again had a free. hand to deal with the questioiin, there was a prenouneed feeling in fa vour of nmuiicipalisation. Early in 1.!oM a rpecial connmittee was appointed by the Council to consider the whole matter, anld after six weeks of lahour it roninlmended the installation of elect ric lichtinug and tramways as a municipal e.nterprise. and that the overhead trolly asvtern should he adopted. The reinom muendation was adopted hy the Council and subsequently the East Fremantle and North Freranntl Councils aoppoint i'd del.?_nas to confer with the parent municipality. Owing to the state of the bridges over the Swan River, how ever. the North Fremantle Council enIld not see its way to participate in lh:- scheme. A joint conmlitter, was thein r.ppoiuted from the Fremantle and East Fremant leCouncils to go thorough. Iv into thle numstion of rest. etc., and. following upon the original committe's work. it obtained the services of two eaxprt electrical engineers. M1es\ars. Shlaw-and Diiai:ond. from the New south Wales Government.' The ex port- made a thorough examination of She local conditionn. and at Ithe end of five weeks they recommended a scheme of tramways. with eight miles of i rack. and ai eomprehensivue system of electric lightini, givinit alternative e,: t ilnates of thl cs-t of consi ruction. The report was adopted by the two Coun cils, and it was decided to seek statu ,cry authority for the raising of the :eansanry Inooi;o to ins:ai an?d operate tile systems Prior to this no Ircal nuthori:y had been enpaowr'rel to oper aie any system of tran;iirys or electric lihltin, in Australia. When the onestion of raising the ne cessary loan--£100,000--for the pur

pose of installina the servicess was re feried to a referendum of 'the ratepay ers, a very large majority voted in favour of it, and thuasendorsed the ac tion of the Councils in deciding on the munitipalisation scher e. An Enabling Bill was passed through Parliament, and during the time Mr. Frank Cadd was Mayor of the town the loan was advertised. Messrs. Noyes Bros. were successful in coming to terms with the municipalities on the questions of financ ing the scheme and carrying out all the work of construction, the agree ment between the fiiri named and the local authorities being signed in June of last year. THE SER.ICES. The tramway and" lighting services which were inaugurated yester day will cost in round fig ures about £100000, including the pre liminary expenses and the costs of raising the loans. The actual cost of constructing the combined systems, ac cording to the agreement entered into by Noyes Bros. with the municipal councils of Fremantle and East Freman tie, was not to exceed £84,000 (excmu sive of legal and clerical charges and the cost of administration), which amount was to include the commission of 10 per cent. to the firm named for installing the services. It is likely that the amount mentioned will be ex ceeded owing to alterations in the routes which were adopted after the agreement was signed, and which en tailed extra construction material and extra work. They power house on the South Mole and the car barn in High-street have previously beun described in the "West Australian," and it is only necessary to remark, in passing, that they are in keeping with the general excellence of all the work which has been carried out by the constructing engineers. The boilers are of the most approved makes (Babcock and Wilcox's), and the gene rators and the engines to' drive them are modern in every' respect. Expert opinion declares that the whole plant will compare more than favourably with anything of its kind in Australia. In the terms of their agreement, Messrs. Noyes Bros. were not required to hand over the services until April next, but they succeeded in making such rapid progress with the work that when approached at the beginning of the month by several public men they agreed to start the running of the trams over the Canning-road and Man durah-road routes and to light.the bu siness portion of the town at the com mencement of the Fremantle "week," as well as to gradually extend the opera tion of the services as the works were !advanced. The routes are as follows :-(1) Canning-road, which starts oppo site Mr. W. D. Moore's residence, and runs along Canning-road, Victoria-road, Adelaide-street, and High-street. (2) Mandurah-road, which runs from Douro-road along. Mandurah-road, South-terrace, and Market-street, and down Phill~more-street to the station. (3) South-street, which commences oppositb Amherst-street, and traverses Mary-street, Alexander-road, Hamp ton-road, and Stirling-street, into High-street. (4) Marmion-street, which is to serve residents ' in, Marmion-street, East-. str4et, and High-street east. Regular services will now be' run daily over the first two -routes, and it is anticipated that the other lines will be working by Christmas. At one time there were complaints with regard to the ballast ,that was being used on portions of the tracks, but it is now con ceded that this work hItas"been well and faithfully harried 'out,. and that there was no justification for the com plaints referred to. Eight of the cars have been put to gether and painted at the car barn, and they will be used on.the 'a-nning and Mandurah-road -routes. Six more re main, to be fitted up to complete the number which it is thought will be sufficient to cope with the traffic for some time. The cars are constructed on the "most approved lines, and the seating accommodation could not, pro= bably, 'he improved upon. The cars are fitted with magnetic brakes, which re cent trials have proved to be most effec tive. • . The arrangements for the lighting of Fremantle and East Froma4.eo are well forward, and in a very short time both municipalities will' be illuminated' by current from . the service.' The light, judged from recent trials, is a very good one, and it is believed that it will be: largely availed of by business and pri vate people. High-street, Fremantle,,is now a net work of overhead wires, and, while this adds to the business-like look of the town, it is regretted by many that the wisdom of placing as many of the wires as possible underground was not given fuller consideration. Already the effect of the wires on the telephone sys tem of the port is said to be very pro nounced. Now that the services are partially ii operation, a question' frequently asked is, "Will they pay ?" To this it is early in the day to 'hazard an answer, but Mr. McCarty, the con structing engineer for Noyes Bros., who has had considerable experience in tram- i way imatters, is firmly convinced that the tramway servion will give satisfac- I tory results. As to the lighting sys

temn, the conviction of those in au-I thority is that, it will pay handsomely. I Apart from private consumers, the sys tem will provide the lighting for the Fremantle, East Fremantle, and North Fremanitle municipalities,.~ a well as the Fremantle Railway Station and yards. and the Fremantle harbour and wharves. The Harbour Trust and the Railway Department are expected to require clcse on 200,000 unite per an num, and it is anticipated that so great will be the demand on the plant that another generator will probably have to he added to the plant at an early date. Already a staff has been thoroughly trained to work the cars, and those' who had charge of the three ears which I made the opening run yesterday morn ing appeared in well-fitting uniforms, which were made by a Fremantle firm. Six-sevenths of the capital of £100, 000 required to institute the combined system was provided by the FremRntle Council, and the remaining seventh by tha East Fremantle Cmuncil. The money was raised at the rate of 41 per cent. per annum, payable half-yearly by the Councils. As a sinking fund, 2' per cent. o fthe canital sum is to be in vested half-yearly by the Councils with the Colonial Treasurer, and this, it is, stated, will liquidate the principal at the end of the loan's currency, 'viz., 25 years from the date of issue. After the payment of working expenses. mnainten ance. renewals. etc., the profits of the undertaking, if any. will be applied to thl payment of the interest and ilnk ing fund chlrges, but in the event of any lo]s the municipalities are author ised under the Enabling Act to strike a special rate to make good the defi ciency. The profits, if there are any after the payment of working charges. maintenance, renewals, interest, and sinking fund, are to be paid into the revenues of the municipalities of Fre mantle and East Fremantle, in propor lion to the amounts raised by the 're spective bodies for the installation of the systems. It is eatted that tile 'hus proprietors intend to continue their services in op position to the trams, THE POSTER PROCESSION. AN ATTRPlAC'IVE DISPLAY. The fir:,t fixtunie of a distinctly pub lic eharacter in connection with the We ek'l; festiviti?ies was the paIter. and trades and motor-car procession which took place in the afterneon. This at tracted thousands of people into the streets, and for the first time during the day the town assnumod a festival appearance. 'T'he State schools were closed at midday and the children en tered into the proceedings with true iju enile holiday exuberance. For over an hour previous to the a"tvertised tilme for starting the procession the streets were densely thronged with an expec tant crowd. Fremantle for tihe arpos.'; of ;: display of a processional character does not lend itself to the convenient I accommodation of a particularly large 1 concourse of people, owing to the nar " rowness of the thoroughfares, and it

was not asw?prising that onsiderable crushing took place. Nevertheless, the procession was a decided success. All of the arrangements connected with it were carried out with' a precision and expedition which reflected the greatest credit upon those to whose charge they were entrusted, and if the same ex cellent management, distinguishes the subsequent attractions on the Week's programme the result will be highly satisfactory to all concerned. Tere was no lack of variety in the display, and some elaborate and costly exhibits were produced, but competition in pos ter advertisements was comparatively restricted. The latter remark, how ever, does not apply to the general or trades' displays, which were numerous, and, for the most part, of effective de sign., The prize for the best general display was secured by Mr. W. Wat son, pork butcher and provision dealer, whose High-street business w~s repre sented by: five delivery carts, the first of which was heavily laden with farm produce and pork dressed in artistic Smanner and lavishly decorated. Other business houses which provided striking trade exhibits were Messrs. Bolton and Sons, who turned out their collec tion of rubber-tyred vehicles, specially prepared for the Royal Show; Messrs. W. H. Burford and Sons, soap and candles; Mr. T. H. Day, model bakery at work; Messrs. Mills and Ware. bis cuits, cakes, :etc.; Mr. G. A. Wright, electrical' appliances; W. Balchin and Co., Throgmorton whiskey. Mr. K. Mc Kensie, saddlery ;and W. Detmold and Co., Ltd., account books stationery, etc. Amongst the poster advertise ments Mr. D. Cannon, tailor, of High street, was represented by a dis tinctly original show, entitled "the Big Gun." This consisted of a lorry 'fitted up with miniature cannons. manned by a number of lads dressed in khaki. The boys were provided with a liberal sup ply of crackers, and these were explod ed during the march of the procession to the immense delight 'of the younger portion of the spectators. Other in teresting and novel advertising displays were made by Ezywalkin's nine Pierrot boys; P. Antony's restaurant, anil Nestle's cow and milkman.. The cow, which was painted white about the head and forequarters, caused considerable merrim by her fractiousness, and her sm: .attendant had a difficult task to keep her in the line of march. Per haps the most striking feature of the display was a procession of stage coaches which since the advent of the electric trams will not now be required on the Canning and Mandurah roads routes. These ,vehicles were mostly all decorated with flowers, and bore such inscriptions as "In mourning for our jobs," "What's the price of oats?" etc. indicative of the fact that cabby recog nised that his occupation was gone. Still, there was nothing ntournful about the drivers,; who, it, is under stcod, are having first consideration in the framway Employment Burean. Three of the new cars and the tramway water-sprinkler also followed in the ;procession as far. as Point street. The `Reperfoire 'Company's "Mikado Guards" turned out in picturesque costume, but they were late in joining in the procession. There rere other displays of a less striking nature, and the pageant, which mea suied over a mile in length, also in cluded school cadets, fire brigade en gines and reels, and sixteen motor cars. under the direction of Mr. A. W. B. Mather, secretary of the Automo bile Club. The procession moved away from the corner of Cliff. and High streets at a ouarter to 3 o'clock, 'the music for the i?march' being played by the Fremantle Town Band and the Trades Hall' Band, the former being at the head of thd line.. The route followed was along Higli-street to Adelaide-street, thence to Point-street, and along Cantonment and Market streets and South-terrace to the Oval. During the progress of the procession, the "Darktown Fire Brigade," with an improvised engine, consisting of a washing-copper and va rious clinary utensils, jomed 'in the march, but they had too much fire un derneath' the washing-copper, with the result that their engine became ablaze, and they were required to cease play ing with the enemy and to "tumn to" in earnest to subdue the flames. The in cident, however, passed off without se rious consequentes. and it was produc tive of a good deal of amusement. The rize for the best-decorated cycle went to C. Congress, and D. Jewell, whose apoearance on an old' ogfinary bicycle caused much merriment, secured the award for the most antiquated ma chine. MOTOR-CAR AND CYCLE GYMKHANA. When the procession had disbanded the motor cars were ranged up on the Fremantle Oval, and a start was imme diately made with the programme ar ranged for the gymkhana. There was a large attendance, and the contests, which were new and of a novel charac ter, aroused the greatest interest on the part of the spectators. The first event was described as "fastest and cleanest driving through barrels," a task which the smaller types of car were able to accomplish with more celerity than the larger machines. Eleven drivers competed including most of the medical men who were pre-sent in their cars, and the prize was

secured by Mr. L. J.B. Wall, who oc cupied 31 2-5sec. in covering the tor tuous course around eight barrels plac ed about 15ft. apart. Mr. A. Byfield, who took 35 1-5sec., was second." The balancing of motor cars upon a plat form supported by a round log baf fled the competitors, not one of whom succeeded in getting a balance for the required space of 30sec., and the prize went to Mr. R. Strelitz, who kept both ends of the platform off the ground for 5sec. Mr. L. De Lisle gained second honours with a balance of 3sec. Then followed a 60yds. reverse race, in which the large car belonging to Mr. R. Strelitz was again successful, the dis tance being covered in 14sec. Mr. C. Dean was second and Mr. L. J. B. Wall third. The bicycle races were also of an un usual description, and they included a musical chairs competition, similar to ordinary musical chairs; an obstacle race, in which the greatest hindrance was apparently the threading of a nee dIe; and a rescue race. For the first event there were nine entries and the competition was won by W. !Travers from P. Kelly. The obstacle race was won by D. Jewell after n most excit ing finish: and the rescue race. which •attracted 13 riders, was won by C. Mar. shall. LOG-CHOPPING CONTESTS. In the evening the Fremantle Oval was the scene of further attractions in the shape of log-chopping contests, and a demonstration of a comical nature by the "Dark Town Fire Brigade." The formed provided some excellent exhibitions of wood - chopping, but the latter did not prove nearly so mirth-provoking as it might have done if the performance had been better illunminated. The scheme of the display was to rescue the inhabitants of a burning house, bring ing into usex the American "Hayes" ladder, respirating helmet. and all the sham appliances of the "Brigade," but as indicated abore the incidents of the suppased tragic occurronce could not ble followed with any clearness of vi sion. In the log-chopping contests two heats of the standing chop (18in. log) were completed, the places in the first heat being ;ecured by E. Jarvis, 22sec., I : and J. Fraser. 12?c., 2; and in the scn':! heatL by F. Mason, 18sec., 1; and P. Thompson, 27soc., 2. Three heats of the underhand chop (20in. log) were contested. and the following qua lified for tim final chop:--J. Fraser, 15sec.; A. Duncan, 3!sec.; D. Prit cher, 15sec.: W. Roberts, 35aec. The final events in the wood-chopping con tests will be decided this evening. EVENING ENTERTA INMENNrS. A concert in connection with the "'Fremantle Week" celebrations was held in the Fremantle Town Hall last evening. Owing. however, to the coin tar attractions at the Fremantle Oval and the King's Theatre, there was only a moderate attendance. An excollent arogramme was submitted, a large num her of the items receiving encores. Amongst the items presented were

soms, "The Mormak6s'm? and 'Dk5. fodil. X'blowing." by Mis Ada Baker; 'The valey by the ea,." "When I Awake," and "Softly sleeps the baby." by Miss Ethel Lohrm"nn; " Baeio" and "Waiting," by Miss Harris. Others who contrlbut~ d itenm were Meers. H. Hansen, W. du Boon lay, A. Glover, Wade, ad J. doger. The Port Orchestra also renered ele tions. Misses Sadie H a d Viott Pearceu and Mr. Hoerd as acted as aomrpa. During the .venin band were gone through in the and or Victoria Quay. The large number of people that attended the procession arid the sports at the Oval remained for the most part in the town, and at the wharf and on the Oval there was a large attendance. At the two places there were good audienoes, and the ef forts of the two bands (the Fremantle Town Band and the Trades Hall Band) were enthusiastically received. TO-DAY'S PROGRAMME. Today a monster schools' demonstra tion will take place at the Fremantle Oval, commencing at 1 p.m. The at tractions for this evening include the Fremantle week ball at the Town Hall, tug-of-war and bands at the Oval, phonograph and biograph, display by the Police Darktown Fire Brigade, to gether with a puglistic encounter be tween the members of the brigade. To morrow evening there will be a monster fireworks display, and also the tugof war.