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VIGILAN8 ET AUDAL.
PERTH, MONDAY, NOV. 26, 1906.
Should the local resident be encourag
ed to spend his holidays at home, or at
any irate within the borders of his own
State? Incidentally this question was
raised in the Legislative Assembly last
week. The Minister for Works, in de
fending a certain proposed expenditure
in the Caves district, remarked
that people, should be given every in
ducement to find pleasure resorts in
Western Australia, instead of seeking
them abroad. The topio is pertinent
at this time of the'year.' Many hun
dreds of persons are beginning tomedi
tate a flight towards the rising sun.
Between this date and Christfmas'every
Eastern-bound passenger steamer 'will
be cro)vded. The inter-State' shipping
companies are promised a lively trade.
It is' a phase of life that anifiually re'
peats itself at Christ'ias time in this
part of the world. In spite of wairs
and rumours of wars, in spite of the
drawbacks of Federation and the loud
murmur of the Secessionist, the habit
of looking to Eastern Australia as a
place.of ultimate refuge still continues.'
The Western Australian has succeeded
in, crossing the desert; nevertheless he
remembers Egypt. From the commer
cial and econoimlo standpoint, we los6
somewhat by this recurrent exodus.
Shopkeepers complain that money is
scarce during ,the two concluding
months of the year. Owners. of hoise
property are troubled with a scarcity
of clients. Compilers of population
statistics.record' the fact that though
Western Australia is in the habit 'of
gaining <steadily 'from January to Oc
tober, it fails: tfohold'its own fr6m the
latter ponth uni,tilh?'?eginning of the
new year. I} iss ,p,su.uprising that
'politicians shoul soktb bring about a
change.: Nor cdi There 'be serious demur'
to the expenditure of a; few hundred
pounds. for this purpose. No one wishes
to see a nation of absolutely .self-con
tained and non-travelled units. But it
is not flattering to the self-esteem of
a State or of a nation that its citi
zens should be aniious' to spend all
their leisure time outside 'its borders.
It is the individuial.rather than the
national or collective' point of view that
has to be cohsidered. Is it worth while
for the man or woman who looks for a
holiday, 'and' who has means' to 'spenid
one, to stay at home? Will he' see
more and enjoy more if he goes abroad?
'An iiigenious Frenchman once wrote a
"book which, he entitled." "A' Journey
Round 'Ml Room." ,To his mind, there
was all the pleasure 'that a reasonable
being required' in tl?e contemplation of
things infinitely kma1L'and easily with
in reach. The .way'in 'which a spider
hung its '? eb frgm the ceiling; the
fashion of a rose plant in trailing out
side the window; the fanatical folly of
a moth in dashing against a glass; the
colour scheme of a-picture; the. piece
of porbelain.on a mantleshelf ; the piano
standing against the wall and the
books lining the shelves-these were
enough, and more than enough, to fpro
vide him with amdsement and enter
tainment for months at a time. It is
true' that everyone, has not -the tem
perament' of a be Maistre' nor his
capacity for subtle .and philosophic ob
servations. But much is to be said in
favour of the local, as against the for
eign pleasure-ground. If the view is
extended beyond the house- in which
one lives-and for purposes of the or
dinary individual.this is essential-there
is abundance of picturesque material
within easy acces. ' One need not leave
Western Australia in order to find
it. It is satisfactory to 'know
that yachting ~f~d boating, and the
amusement known, as river-tripping,
have their votaries by the hundred, and
even by the thouslnd' But the last word
has by no means been 'said on the' sub
ject of the picturesqueness and gene
ral attractiveness of 'many portions of
this city, whether these are looked' at
from the river or from the shore. To
make the journeyby boat from Perth
to Fremantle1 or even to embark on
one of the steamers running across to
Canning Bridge: to watch the mingled
effect of light and dark as the shadows
lengthen from the Mount, and the
curious sensation of unreality comes
with the play of sunset over whispering
water and fringing city, and remoter
bh.h; merely to breathe the cooler air
that follows the heat wave in Western
Aitstralia almost as regularly as the
night "'follows the day-all this is to
receive a sensation of reviving energy
and of pleasure that is apt to be missed
in other parts of the' world. If the
holiday-seeker goes a little;'further
.afield, say to any pant of the. coastal
district between Albany and Bussel
ton, he will find additional attractions
of a kind that are only now beginning
to be appreciated at their proper
value. While other countries insist
almost ad nauseam on thdir particular
and local beauty-spots, it has to be ad
mitted that enough has not yet been
heard of certain half-developed and
half-exploited portions of Western Aus
tralia.
Needless to say, the habit of cross
ing the Australian Bight at Christmas
time is never likely to become quite out
of date. It would not matter if Perth
and its environs were to possess the
fabled beauty of the gardens of the Hes
perides. It would not matter if the
Busselton district were more pic
turesque than the Vale of Chamounix,
or if the coast right round from Fre
mantle to Albany were to develop all
the attractions of another Riviera.
Social and family ties'have to be allow
ed for. There is something to be said,
also, for the benefits,that ensue upon a
change of scene and" a decided change
of air. It is always an advantage from
the educational standpoint to be able
to break fresh ground. "The fool wno
has been to Rome" may be a more
egregious specimen of his class than
the fool who has not travelled beyond
his own domicile. But the latter is
the less enterprising of the two. And
where there is any spirit of enterprise
there will be some desire to go abroad.
It seems tolerably certain, however,
that there is much to be gained both
by insisting on the natural advantages,
as health and pleasure resorts, of many
parts of Western Australia, and also
by spending a certain amount of money
in order to make them more readily
available. It was objected by one or
tw ? members of the Legislative Assem
bly last week that the provision of
"luxuries" should be subservient to that
of necessities. As a general proposi
tio: this is correct. It would be wiser,
for example, to give a starving man a
loaf of bread than to rush him into an
embroidered and expensive garment.
But Western Australia, tbough it may
not be rolling in affluence, is neither
starving nor moribund It is about
to embark on a .public works policy of
some boldness, and it promises to.have"
a certain sum available for public'
worlks all over the country. Ont of
this very considerable sum t.d few hun
dreds that may 'be devoted to the pic
turesque amid health xrsorts of the
State are not likely to o .grudged-If,
indeed, they areconsidered by the man
jority of people to go far enough.
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