WAY 1979
Encyclopedia
WAY '79, also referred to as WAY 79 and WAY 1979, was the official 1979 sesquicentennial (150th anniversary) celebration of the colonisation of Western Australia
by Europeans.
Government
became involved. When Charles Court
became Premier of Western Australia
in April of that year, the government took over planning, and preparations began in earnest. The following year the WAY 1979 concept was officially launched by the premier. S. W. Dallymore was initially appointed executive officer for the celebrations, but he resigned after two years, and Slade Drake-Brockman was appointed in his place. According to Bolton (1989), "It would be fair to assume that Court and Drake-Brockman played the most significant roles in determining the character of WAY 1979."
, Fat Cat
and Percy Penguin. A controversial moment occurred when the Indigenous
activist
Ken Colbung
, who had been invited to perform on the didgeridoo
, handed an eviction notice to the Governor of Western Australia
, Sir Wallace Kyle
. Colbung claimed to be serving the notice on the white people on behalf of Western Australia
's Aboriginal
people. The notice was pointedly in the same form as the eviction notices given to Aboriginal tenants by the State Housing Commission. Thus the act was both a reminder of Aboriginal land rights and dispossession, and a reference to the contemporary plight of the State's indigenous people. Court was furious at the act, calling it "a cheap and ill-conceived stunt".
One of the main events held under the patronage of WAY 1979 was the Miss Universe 1979
pageant, which was held in Perth
. It is best remembered for the collapse of a catwalk shortly after the announcement of the winner, Maritza Sayalero
. Eight contestants and two media representatives were plunged to the ground, but there were no major injuries.
Another major event was the visit of Prince Charles
in March. Among his many engagements was officially opening the Avondale Agricultural Research Station Museum
by planting a tree near the entrance. His other tree planting activity included Government House . He also followed the steps of the founders from the Swan River into what is now the city
In August the first of two international conferences in Perth on the Indian Ocean
region was held as the International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies
- the second was held in 1984.
Competitors in the Parmelia Yacht Race
from Plymouth
to Fremantle
arrived in late November.
s and street parties. A twenty cent postage stamp
was issued, and a range of merchandise were produced, from books to tea-towels.
Some have noted the celebrations focussed on its perpetuation of the "pioneer myth", which "saw progress in terms of mineral development rather than social justice or environmental amenity". In the analysis by Bolton (1989), the WAY '79 celebrations "offered a sanitised version of the past.... Nobody tried to replicate the heat, the insect
s, the dysentery
, the alcoholism
, the boredom and the discomfort which were so intimate a part of daily life in the Swan River Colony
."
The subsequent anniversary event celebrated by the state of Western Australia was the 175 celebrations in 2004 during the premiership of Geoff Gallop.
, 14 volumes on a range of Western Australian topics, possibly the most ambitious publishing venture in the state's history. The Women's Committee for the 150th Anniversary Celebrations produced the volume Reflections; Profiles of 150 Women who helped make Western Australian History.
The West Australian
contributed Swan River Colony—96 pages of images selected from its newspaper archives
The Education Department produced an Atlas of Human Endeavour'
' to provide schools with an up-to-date, cartographically represented list of achievements by the state and its people.
An editorial panel, all connected with the University of Western Australia
released a 437-page Who is Who in which the candid aim was to change as little as possible what people wrote about themselves. The result was an engaging compendium of academic and political networks of the day which sadly omitted such eminent persons as Sir Paul Hasluck
, Sir Norman Brearley
, building magnate John Roberts
and hallowed Australian Rules footballer Bill Walker.
However Parliament was provided with a report of the events of the year The various committees formed did produce ephemeral material - such as the list from the Commerce Committee of the names of those plaques on St Georges Terrace and the Premier's Department and the Anniversary Board arranged for the New Year proceedings to be kept on record
are 150 bronze tablets commemorating notable figures in Western Australia's history.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
by Europeans.
Planning
Preliminary planning for WAY '79 began shortly after the March 1971 celebrations of Western Australia's population passing one million. The success of this celebration prompted the Perth Chamber of Commerce to begin planning for Western Australia's sequicentenary. Planning proceeded slowly at first, and it was not until January 1974 that the StateStates and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
Government
Government of Western Australia
The formation of the Government of Western Australia is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1890, although it has been amended many times since then...
became involved. When Charles Court
Charles Court
Sir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...
became Premier of Western Australia
Premier of Western Australia
The Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
in April of that year, the government took over planning, and preparations began in earnest. The following year the WAY 1979 concept was officially launched by the premier. S. W. Dallymore was initially appointed executive officer for the celebrations, but he resigned after two years, and Slade Drake-Brockman was appointed in his place. According to Bolton (1989), "It would be fair to assume that Court and Drake-Brockman played the most significant roles in determining the character of WAY 1979."
Events
The first WAY '79 event was a New Years Eve concert on the Perth Esplanade, attended by about 60,000 people. Performers included Rolf HarrisRolf Harris
Rolf Harris, CBE, AM is an Australian musician, singer-songwriter, composer, painter and television personality.Born in Perth, Western Australia, Harris was a champion swimmer before studying art. He moved to England in 1952, where he started to appear on television programmes on which he drew the...
, Fat Cat
Fat Cat and Friends
Fat Cat and Friends was an Australian childrens television show starring Fat Cat , an orange anthropomorphic cat who wears red braces, a blue bow tie and a green bowler hat. The show was similar in concept to Here's Humphrey featuring Humphrey B. Bear...
and Percy Penguin. A controversial moment occurred when the Indigenous
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
activist
Activism
Activism consists of intentional efforts to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. Activism can take a wide range of forms from writing letters to newspapers or politicians, political campaigning, economic activism such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing...
Ken Colbung
Ken Colbung
Kenneth Desmond Colbung, AM, MBE , also known by his indigenous name Nundjan Djiridjarkan, was an Aboriginal Australian leader who became prominent in the 1960s. He was awarded an MBE and an AM for his service to the Aboriginal community.-Early life:Colbung was born on the Moore River Native...
, who had been invited to perform on the didgeridoo
Didgeridoo
The didgeridoo is a wind instrument developed by Indigenous Australians of northern Australia around 1,500 years ago and still in widespread usage today both in Australia and around the world. It is sometimes described as a natural wooden trumpet or "drone pipe"...
, handed an eviction notice to the Governor of Western Australia
Governor of Western Australia
The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
, Sir Wallace Kyle
Wallace Kyle
Air Chief Marshal Sir Wallace Hart Kyle GCB, KCVO, CBE, DSO, DFC, RAF was a senior Royal Air Force commander and the Governor of Western Australia from 1975 to 1980.-Career:...
. Colbung claimed to be serving the notice on the white people on behalf of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
's Aboriginal
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
people. The notice was pointedly in the same form as the eviction notices given to Aboriginal tenants by the State Housing Commission. Thus the act was both a reminder of Aboriginal land rights and dispossession, and a reference to the contemporary plight of the State's indigenous people. Court was furious at the act, calling it "a cheap and ill-conceived stunt".
One of the main events held under the patronage of WAY 1979 was the Miss Universe 1979
Miss Universe 1979
Miss Universe 1979 was held at Perth Entertainment Centre, Perth, Australia on 20 July 1979. 18-year-old Maritza Sayalero earned Venezuela's first Miss Universe crown. First runner-up Gina Swainson would go on to win the rival Miss World 1979 later in the year...
pageant, which was held in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. It is best remembered for the collapse of a catwalk shortly after the announcement of the winner, Maritza Sayalero
Maritza Sayalero
Maritza Sayalero is a former beauty queen who was crowned Miss Venezuela in 1979 and became her country's first Miss Universe titleholder...
. Eight contestants and two media representatives were plunged to the ground, but there were no major injuries.
Another major event was the visit of Prince Charles
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
in March. Among his many engagements was officially opening the Avondale Agricultural Research Station Museum
Avondale Agricultural Research Station
Avondale Agriculture Research Station or Avondale Discovery Farm is one of thirteen research farms and stations operated by Western Australia's Department of Agriculture and Food...
by planting a tree near the entrance. His other tree planting activity included Government House . He also followed the steps of the founders from the Swan River into what is now the city
In August the first of two international conferences in Perth on the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
region was held as the International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies
International Conference on Indian Ocean Studies
International Conference on Indian Ocean StudiesThe 1979 and 1984 events were held in Perth, Western Australia*ICIOS I was held 15 to 22 August 1979*ICIOS II was held 5 to 12 December 1984....
- the second was held in 1984.
Competitors in the Parmelia Yacht Race
Parmelia Yacht Race
The Parmelia Race was a one-off yacht race held in 1979 to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first British settlers at the Swan River Colony. The race started from Plymouth, England and finished at Fremantle, Western Australia...
from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Fremantle
Fremantle
Freemantle is a suburb of Southampton in England.Fremantle or Freemantle may also refer to:- Places :* Fremantle, the port city to the capital Perth, Western Australia...
arrived in late November.
Mementos
Numerous other events were staged under the WAY '79 banner, from yacht races to family reunionFamily reunion
A family reunion is an occasion when many members of an extended family get together. Sometimes reunions are held regularly, for example on the same date of every year....
s and street parties. A twenty cent postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
was issued, and a range of merchandise were produced, from books to tea-towels.
Some have noted the celebrations focussed on its perpetuation of the "pioneer myth", which "saw progress in terms of mineral development rather than social justice or environmental amenity". In the analysis by Bolton (1989), the WAY '79 celebrations "offered a sanitised version of the past.... Nobody tried to replicate the heat, the insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, the dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...
, the alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
, the boredom and the discomfort which were so intimate a part of daily life in the Swan River Colony
Swan River Colony
The Swan River Colony was a British settlement established in 1829 on the Swan River, in Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. In 1832, the colony was officially renamed Western Australia, when the colony's founding Lieutenant-Governor, Captain James Stirling,...
."
The subsequent anniversary event celebrated by the state of Western Australia was the 175 celebrations in 2004 during the premiership of Geoff Gallop.
Publications
Among the books released was the WAY '79 Sesquicentenary Celebrations SeriesSesquicentenary Celebrations Series
The Sesquicentenary Celebrations Series is a series of books published by University of Western Australia Press for the 150th Anniversary Celebrations of Western Australia in 1979 - widely promoted as 'WAY 1979' at that time....
, 14 volumes on a range of Western Australian topics, possibly the most ambitious publishing venture in the state's history. The Women's Committee for the 150th Anniversary Celebrations produced the volume Reflections; Profiles of 150 Women who helped make Western Australian History.
The West Australian
The West Australian
The West Australian is the only locally-edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia, and is owned by ASX-listed Seven West Media . The West is published in tabloid format, as is the state's other major newspaper, The Sunday Times, a News Limited publication...
contributed Swan River Colony—96 pages of images selected from its newspaper archives
The Education Department produced an Atlas of Human Endeavour'
Western Australia an atlas of human endeavour
Western Australia - an atlas of human endeavour was an atlas published at the time of WAY '79 by the Board of Management of Way 79, and it had a foreword by Charles Court who was personally involved in a number of the projects that were conducted by the organisation.It was an atlas that included...
' to provide schools with an up-to-date, cartographically represented list of achievements by the state and its people.
An editorial panel, all connected with the University of Western Australia
University of Western Australia
The University of Western Australia was established by an Act of the Western Australian Parliament in February 1911, and began teaching students for the first time in 1913. It is the oldest university in the state of Western Australia and the only university in the state to be a member of the...
released a 437-page Who is Who in which the candid aim was to change as little as possible what people wrote about themselves. The result was an engaging compendium of academic and political networks of the day which sadly omitted such eminent persons as Sir Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
, Sir Norman Brearley
Norman Brearley
Sir Norman Brearley CBE was a commercial and military pilot and one of the pioneers of the airline industry within Australia.-Aviation career:...
, building magnate John Roberts
John Roberts (businessman)
John Charles Roberts AO was an Australian businessman who was the founding chairman and an executive director of construction company Multiplex.-Early life and career:...
and hallowed Australian Rules footballer Bill Walker.
However Parliament was provided with a report of the events of the year The various committees formed did produce ephemeral material - such as the list from the Commerce Committee of the names of those plaques on St Georges Terrace and the Premier's Department and the Anniversary Board arranged for the New Year proceedings to be kept on record
Gallery
Set into the footpath along St Georges Terrace, PerthSt Georges Terrace, Perth
St Georges Terrace is the main street in the city of Perth, Western Australia. It runs parallel to the Swan River and forms the major arterial road through the central business district....
are 150 bronze tablets commemorating notable figures in Western Australia's history.
Further reading
- Gregory, Jenny (2003) City of light: : a history of Perth since the 1950s Perth, W.A. City of Perth, ISBN 0959463240 p.219-231, -has a description of celebrations throughout 1979 to mark the 150th anniversary of the foundation of Western Australia as a British colony.
- WAY '79 Commerce Committee A walk through the history of Western Australia, 1829-1979 : a chronological presentation of those persons commemorated on bronze inlaid paving tiles on St. George's Terrace, Perth (found in Battye Library)