CHRISTMAS IN JULY COACH TOUR
28 Sep 2015
There were 34 members and 3 guests who enjoyed the day. The first stop was at Mundaring Weir for morning tea. The brilliant engineer Charles Yelverton O’Connor was recruited by Premier John Forrest in 1891 to design and build Fremantle Harbour. His next task was to establish a railway system for WA. As gold had been discovered in the Coolgardie and then Kalgoorlie regions, there was a desperate need for water. Once more O’Connor defied conventional engineers as he had done during building Fremantle Harbour when “the world’s leading marine engineer” Sir John Coode stated that the river harbour would not work. The concept of a pipeline was not O’Connor’s idea, but he designed and started building in 1898 the Goldfields Water Supply Scheme. The water had to be pumped over 500km and raised 390 m, plus another 434m to allow for the friction in the pipes, giving a total of 824m. There were a total of eight steam powered pumping stations.
The Editor F. Vosper of the Perth Sunday Times was an arch political opponent of Premier Forrest, but the Premier was such a favourite of the people of WA, it was politically foolish to attack him. Instead the Editor decided to attack the Premier’s loyal engineer. Most thought it was an impossible task to pump water the required distance. There was a continual campaign in the paper and Parliament to denounce the scheme and heap initially criticism, and then eventually, claims of dishonesty against O’Connor. Finally the attacks all became too much for the brilliant engineer and he committed suicide at South Beach in March 1902. Later an inquiry completely exonerated O’Connor and also his foreman (the next target) of any dishonesty. For petty political gains, a gifted engineer was lost. The scheme was opened in January 1903.
Casey Australia Tours name their coaches after notable Australians who developed our country. The coach we used was named after O’Connor with his name on the door
In 1830 Ensign Robert Dale explored east of the Darling scarp and located suitable agricultural land. The first settlers arrived in the area, later named York after the English city, in September 1831. An army barracks and stores were built in 1836 and the town evolved around these buildings. By the late 1880s the town was teeming with miners on their way to the eastern goldfields. It was between 1885 and 1900 that most of the town’s impressive buildings were erected
The 2011 census indicated that 3,395 people were in the shire. York’s population is steadily increasing due to retirees and working commuters wanting to live there.
Our Christmas in July lunch was held at the Castle Hotel, established facing Avon Terrace in 1853. It is the longest continuously licenced hotel in WA. The exterior of the later hotel erected on the site has been maintained as it looked when built, but the interior has been modernised. We were served a traditional roast meal followed by Christmas pudding Once again all enjoyed the day with our host Bryan Casey.
Many top class hotels have toilet staff to make your visit for a comfort stop more luxurious. In an old fashioned way, the Castle Hotel provided toilets assistants to help after the client became comfortable. Here two hotel staff and the husband are trying to unlock the door with the hotel manager attempting to bash the door down with his shoulder, only to find it is not as easy as seen in the movies. Finally the client was given a screw driver and she deftly removed the lock to escape. Keep her in mind for your next DIY job.
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