This gentleman’s town house is full of fine furniture and curiosities brought in part from Europe, among these being a dinner service of 120 pieces, each of which bears a different pattern of Venetian lace, the whole set representing every pattern made in Venice since the earliest manufacture of lace. In the drawing-room are exquisite chairs, the embroidery of which is the work of a continental sisterhood; vases of Venetian glass which cost 100 guineas each, Bohemian glass bowls in amethyst, thickly encrusted with gold; priceless statuettes of Carrara marble, and elegant Louis Seize cabinets containing rare curios from all countries, are a few of the contents of this rich room; while on the polished floor are handsome Brussels squares, on which lie rare skins, one specimen of a magnificent Polar bear, with glistening teeth, bright eyes, and perfect head, lying almost life-like. A fine aviary adjoining the house is full of the twittering of birds and chattering of parrots.
MOUNT ELIZA AND SWAN RIVER
After the wealth and magnificence of the Gold King’s house, it is not to be wondered at if other homes look plainly furnished, and yet Lady Forrest’s, although an old-fashioned house, is most pleasant to visit. The furniture and surroundings are in exquisite taste. The afternoon I called, the artistic drawing-room looking out into the garden of sweet flowers was most restful to the eye. Lady Forrest is most kind and genial, and very much liked by every one. She takes great interest in her husband’s work, and takes many a worry from him by seeing people herself who come to interview him. “Sir John is nearly always busy,” said Lady Forrest pathetically, “I can’t get him to talk to me sometimes.” There are a great many works of art in the house, especially pictures, some by Lady Forrest herself and some by well-known artists; many portraits of Lady Forrest’s ancestors, and also bits of lovely English scenery from her father, the late Mr. Hammersly’s, old home in England, called Pyrton, of which she is justly proud. Mr. Hammersly was an English sportsman, and came to Australia many years ago. Lady Forrest is a Western Australian born.
There are many other nice old houses in Perth, notably Mrs. O’Grady Lefroy’s, at the upper end of St. George’s Terrace, called Cambay. The house stands back in spacious grounds, and belongs to the family, which is of old standing in Perth. Mr. H. Maxwell Lefroy in 1843 made an excursion into the Lake District to the east of York, and his discoveries have been of great value to the country. Twenty years after, in 1863, Mr. Lefroy made a more extended exploration. Mr. H. Bruce. Lefroy, the late genial Minister of Mines, is a Western Australian, but was educated at Rugby, England. He was Minister of Education in 1897, and has administered the Department of Mines with great skill, and to the satisfaction of Parliament and people.
Next to Mrs. Lefroy’s house is that of the late Mr. Alexander Forrest, in 1900 Mayor of Perth for the third time. Mr. Forrest has also done good service in the early exploration of the colony, and is now known as the Cattle King, because he took up immense tracts of land in the various districts, utilised them for cattle stations, and amassed a large fortune.
There are two daily newspapers in Perth. The West Australian is edited and owned by the Hon. J. Hackett, M.L.C. Mr. Hackett is an Irishman who landed in Melbourne thirty-five years ago. He was a barrister, but shook off the shackles of the law, came to Western Australia, took up land, and eventually became proprietor of the Western Australian newspaper.