THE TOODYAY VINE AND FRUITGROWERS' ASSOCIATION. - THE FIRST ANNUAL DINNER. - The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) - 16 Jan 1894 (original) (raw)

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Tue 16 Jan 1894 - The West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954)
Page 6 - THE TOODYAY VINE AND FRUITGROWERS' ASSOCIATION.

THE TOODYAY VINE AND ERJfïT^

A short twelve months ago I made my first

incursion into the Toodyay district for" the

purpose of bringing the growers of vines and

fruit-trees into association. I met with, a

number of earnest workers and not a few

enthusiasts, and my task was easy. The

formation of an association had been talked

about a great deal, and written about a little,

some time before my visit, aad I was merely

the one who applied|the match. If there bad

not been men like Mr. Kelso, Mr. Woodward,

Messrs. Bull and Stephens, Mr. Stewart, Mr.

Demasson and others, growers and workers

and enthusiasts, my row would bave

been a harder one to hoe. Bat even

so, with all their enthusiasm, -with all

their eagerness to assist me m every way,

I never anticipated that our united

efforts would have been crowned with such

oomplete success in so short a period. If

those gentlemen had told me then that twelve

montos later I should be their guest at the

first annual dinner, and see such a gathering

under the auspices of the infant first-born of

associations, I should have smiled as sweetly

as a drop of eil on a hot tin plate, and felt

jksstedulous all round the back of my head.

I have, in my notes, repeatedly referred to

the energy of the Toodyay Association

Hardly a month has passed sinca its forma-

tion at which a paper of interest to growers

ha« not been read ; practical démonstrations

of field werk have been given, and the dis-

cussions which have followed the meetings

have, I am assured, been of the greatest

benefit to all those who took part. In its

secretaries and in its presidents the young

association has been peculiarly fortunate.

Mr. Kelso, its first secretary, always an earn-

est advocate of unity amongst the growers,

Worked like a who'e team in getting toe aseo«

Station under way, and Mr. Woodward, as he

very nicely put it on Friday night, said he

felt he bad been admitted to citiz9nsbip iii

Western Australia when he was eleeted

.resident of the association. That the efforts '

ne has made have been appreciated was amply J

demonstrated at the dinner and it is pleasing

to see that he is as proud of the progress the

young association has mide as the associa

sion is of the active part their president noa

taken in the progressive advance they havj)

anide. Mr. Sbevyns, the present honorary

secretary, is a partner in the largest vineyard '

in the colony, is ably holding ap tha big ena '

of| the assooiation log, and thara does not

appear to be a member whp is not thoroughly

impresssd with tbe importance of the work

the association has before it and the necessity

ef carrying out the duties that are nearest to

their hand. It was a happy thought that'

suggested the annual dinner and it could^nót

have been entrusted to better hands than

those of mine host and hostess of the Victoria

Hotel. In addition to edibles of every des-

cription the vintages of Coormga and Avbn-j

dale played a most important part in making

glad the hearts of those who partook of the

feast, and it is a noteworthy fact that a feast,

and essentially a feast of reason-for politios

were prohibited-has taken place at which

West Australian wine, and Toodyay wine at

that, was the only bererage. There was no

demand for shoehorns next morning and (tbe

loeal undertaker has not been requisitioned

unless his wagon is hired to carry the

" dead marinas " off the premises. It will

Come as a surprise to many to learn that

between sixty and seventy intelligent men

oan meet and eat and drink locally grown

viands and locally grown wine and enjoy

themselves heartily and live to tell the tale.

It is perhaps only with politios our home-

made vintages, and especially those of Tood-

In spite of the removal of a partition, the

eapaoity of the large dining room at the

Victoria Hotel was overtaxed. Between 60

and 70 gentlemen sat down to dinner, and I

believe over a score were unable to find seats.

There were a number of visitors from Perth

and elsewhere, and the association is to be

congratulated upon the liberality with wtíioh

it issued invitations. Apologies were received/

from the Premier and other members of [the

Ministry, from Mr. C. Harper, M.L.A.,(Mr.

Monger, M.L.A., Dr. Waylen, President of

the Swan District Vine and Fruitgrowers'

Association, Mr. Amherst, M.L.C., hon. secre-

tary of the same association, and a number of

Mr. Bernard Woodward, the President of

the association, occupied the ohair, and]Mr.

W. G. Stewart the vice-chair. Amongst the

visitors present were Sir Arthur Stepney,

"Bart., Mr. B. D. Clarkson, M L.A., member

for Toodyay ; Mr. R. D. Hardey, M.L.C. ; Mr.

G. T. Simpson, M.L.A. ; Mr. G. Throssell,

M.L.A. ; Mr. G. T. Poole, assistant Engineer

in-Chief; Mr. O. Burt, Mr. Fairbairn (R.M.

Fremantle), Mr. 0. W. Ferguson, Mr. Davies

(General Traffic Manager), Mr. Kelso and

.thors. The toast list was of course a long

one. The Royal Family, including the Duke

.f York, were very respectfully and enan

saarily disposed of. His Bxoellenoy the

Governor, whom we all know and like, .came

in for a three times three, whioh ' con

-?eyed with ita general regret that he was not

present to participate in the proceedings.

The toa?t of the Ministry, none of the mem-

bers being present, and politios being pre.

hibited, was neoessarily out down by both the

proposer and disposer, the latter being -the

non. member for Toodyay, who explained

that the response to the teast had evidently

been entrusted to him because his seat jn the

'House was very close to that ef the Attorney

General. During the reoent absence on leave

of this high functionary the member for

Toodyay waa dubbed acting Attorney-General

by some wit ic the House-and as ha siid

this Mr. Clarkson cast a sly glance at the

member for Geraldton, but the company

In spite of the tacit understanding that

politios were to be kept under the table, the

sandalwood question, whioh is apparently a

«natter of - considerable local importance,

obtruded itself, and just enough was said by

Mr. Stewart to show how important the

matter is to the farmer« of the Toodyay dis-

trict. Mr. Hardey, in responding fer the |

Upper House, seized the opportunity,to say

a great deal about that distinguished body

what we have heard before, and something

about the importance of vine and fruitgrowing,

and the associations, and tbe necessity for

model farms, wbioh I have not heard from

Mr. Hardey before, but am delighted to hear

now. ,It is very probable, Mr. Hardey said,

that he might ask the people of Toodyay

before long to elect bim to a seat in the

Upper HouBe, and this being so it is pleas-

ing to know that the vine and fruit-growers

will have one of their number, and conse-

quently one who should closely watch their

interests to represent them if he is elected,

and Mr." Hardey, like many more of the old

regime, is evidently up and moving with the

times. There is plenty to be done, and we

want the pioneers of the past to' become the

pioneers of the present, and much a9 they

have accomplished to still endeavour to do

Mr. .Throssell, in responding to the

"toast of ttfe Lower House, delivered an earn

".stand stirling address. Later on,in pro

.'poeiog.the toast of Agriculture, he was par-

ticularly happy^ and in beth i speeches h«

.mowed that he has not only an' intimate ao

quaintance with the subject on" which he

spoke, but that the advancement' of the

greatest oí all industries, that of agriculture

m its 'broadest and most inclusive sense, ia

one of the wishes dearest to his heart, and

for the accomplishment of whioh he is earn-

estly striving. It was nob to be expected that

on an occasion of this kind, no reference

should be made to the long delayed Bureau

of Agriouiture. Mr. Thro38ell stated

that he had been informed by the Pre-

mier that the Bureau waa in course

of formation and that the names of the

gentlemen who would be on it would shortly

be aanounoed, and to them would ba

left the work of appointing the secretary.

This announcement was the signal of ap

plauie, as was also the expression of opinion

by Mr. Throssell that there would be no need

to go outside the colony for a secretary.

Mr. Simpson, who always comes out strong

on on occasion of this kind, proposed the

toast of Vine and Fruitgrowers' Associations

of the colony in a most happy manner. The

honourable gentleman was occasionally funny,

and his reference to his first visit to New-

castle some five years ago, when al lfae could

get to oat was importad tinned food, occa-

sioned jsome satirical laughter, when the

statement was contrasted with the magnifi-

cent spread of locally grown prodnoe of all

kinds which was at that moment being dis-

cussed by the visitors. He likened the young

associations to an "infant Hercules," and

while the simile is appropriate it is to be

hoped that undeveloped strength will be

better controlled tban that of the hero of

anoient Greek mythology. Mr. Woodward, the

president of the ToodyayAssooiation.responded

and clearly demonstrated the goad the associa-

tions, and that of Toodyay in patticular, had

already accomplished though so short a time

in existence. Mr. Woodward is justly proud

of the strength and vigour of the association

over which he presided, and by the cordial

manner in which he was received it is evident

he is greatly appreciated by the members. It

is^gratifyfng to find the president, officers and

members working together with such

'-unanimity for the common good, and great

things may be prophesied for this the first

town of the association under Mr. Wood-

ward's guidance. Di conclusion, Mr. Wood-

ward referred most kindly to the good work

done by Mr. Kelso in the early days of the

association, and to the active interest he had

always taken in viticulture and'horticultural

matters. I also had the honour of respond-

ing to the toast, and was accorded a kind and

sympathetic hearing, and I also bad much

^pleasure in testifying to the aid I bad re

ttuved ia the formation of the Society from

S(c. Kelso. Mr. C. W. Ferguson also replied,

and in doing so referred to the absence of

colonial wises at the railway stations on the

line between Perth and Newcastle.

The toast of the visitors was proposed by

Mr. Bull and responded to by Sir Arthur

Stepney, who in a few words expressed his

pleasure at being present at so pleasant and

representative a gathering, and intimated

that be might perhaps at some future date be

one of the vinegrowers of the oelony himself.

The statement evoked considerable applaosi,

'and in no dietriot would Sir Arthur be sure

of a more cordial welcome, either as a visitor

or a settler, than in Toodyay. Mr. Davies, who

curiously enough is one of Sir Arthur's

old constituents in South Wales, made

a deoided hit when he referred to the

railways of the colony as a business

concern, and not as a Government monopoly,

and the efforts that had been made and would

be made to so reduce freights and fares as,'to

place tile farmers and fruitgrowers of ihe

colony on the most favourable footing. Tho

toast of the " Old Pioneers," proposed by Mr.

Fairbairn, was responded to by Mr. Clarkson,

Mr. Hardey, Mr. O. Burt and Dr. Mayhew.

The Prese, proposed by Mr. Kelso, was

replied to by Mr. Reiley, of the Central

''Districts Chronicle, and Mr. Poole, in the

humourous speech of the evening, proposed

the health of " The Ladies," to which Mr.

Stevens responded. The Host and Hostess,

and the Chairman were the toasts whioh

brought a very pleasant evening te a olose.

The dinner was followed by a ball, at

whioh a large number of ladias and gentle-

men were present, and apparently enjoyed

themselves greatly. The following morning

Sir Arthur Stepney and several other visitors

were kindly driven by Mr. Stewart out to

Avondale, the beautiful vineyard of Messrs.

Bull and SteveaB, and from there to Coo-

ranga, where a large number of visitors

were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

A light lunoheou was provided and a most

enjoyable time spent until the departure of