Physical description

Melbourne, 1856, and the era of gaslighting had arrived. The illumination of shops and homes, offices and streets no longer depended on the dull glow of the oil lamp or the flickering light of the wax candle. This account tells of the conservative forces of Victorian financial and political life which, until 1950, succeeding in repelling all efforts to turn the gas industry over to public ownership. Bibliog. index. photos. maps.