Smith ; the Premier, the Rt. Hon. Sir John Forrest, other members of 

 the Ministry and of the Legislature, bt sides a distinguished party of 

 private guests, were on April 3, 1896, conducted on a tour of inspec- 

 tion through portion of the Swan district. The object of the 

 Bureau in arranging the tour was to enable the merits of the pro- 

 posal to establish state-a'ded wineries to be better understood by 

 Parliament and by the public. The party were conveyed to 

 Woodbridge, where the large and well-appointed orchard was 

 seen in full bearing. It was much admired as an example of the 

 method with which it had been laid out, its scrupulous neatness and 

 the thoroughness of its cultivation. From the broad verandah of 

 Woodbridge the visitors had a view of the verdant fruit trees, 

 the Swan river, and the sparkling cascade of the artesian bore,- 

 which in summer refreshes the thirsty ground. The orchard is 

 planted upon deep rich fiats of heavy black loam, and that it can 

 grow all kinds of English fruits to perfection was shown by the 

 splendid samples which the visitors were invited to partake of. The 

 nursery stocks, which occupy several acres, were in a very forward 

 and healthy condition. The party drove to Carlisle, on the west 

 Swan road, the property of Messrs. Nanson, Lindley-Cowen and 

 Despcis^is. . The site of the vineyard, which is no acres in extent, 

 was purchased in 1893 from Mr. Harper, and since that time a won- 

 derful transformation has been made. From a piece of lightly tim- 

 bered forest land, light reddish and slate-coloured in different 

 parts, it h:id become a vineyard that might have been transplanted 

 from a sunny slope of France. There were then in course of being 

 broken up, additional acres for new plantations of vines, it being 

 the intention of the proprietors to bring the whole of it under 

 cultivation. The guests were entertained at Carlisle, and the 

 postprandial speeches bore many references to the subject of estab- 

 lishing central wineries. In proposing the toast of " The Ministry," 

 Mr. Harper said that the Bureau had become convinced that, in 

 the interests of the wine industry, which was destined to become one 

 of the great resources of Western Australia, a new departure should 

 be made. 1 1 was well known that every man who grew grapes 

 ought ii". to make wine, and it was desired to give the small 

 grower the benefit of co-operative enterprise in turning out wine 

 ot a high class. To make wine properly required a plant 

 which wa> beyond the ordinary private resources of the small 

 growers to purchase, especially as it was evident that the vigneron 

 should use every pound ol" his capital and his available labour in 

 bringing additional land under cultivation. I'nder these circum- 

 stances, and in order to prevent a surplus production, which had been 

 the bane Ol the viticnltunst in the other colonies, the Bureau had 

 drawn up a scheme by which it was proposed to a^k tor a State 

 loan l"i the e v.ablUhmeiif of wineries in such districts of the colony 

 as had a l.i;ge area of vines under cultivation. It was with the 

 object ot showii.g the members oi the Tio\ eminent, and as many 



