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        The crowd in the park had been summoned by the "Save the ferries Committee".   The Committee's secretary, an academic well known for his penchant for purple clothes, had posed the question: "Can the Government give us an assurance that the Manly Ferry service will be retained?"

        That morning the  Manly  Daily  editorial had pontificated about the significance of the protest meeting:   "It will be noted as a measure of the public feeling against further deterioration of the conventional ferry service".   Presuming to speak for the localpeople, it concluded:   "What they want today is a resounding apolitical protest on the ferries".   Which could be translated as:   "Protest if you wish but don't embarrass the Askin Government".

        The  Manly  Daily, as a pillar of the conservative establishment, did not wish to attack its own kind; but dare not ignore the strong local sentiment for the ferry - the popular symbol of Manly itself.

        An isolated location, at the most northern reach of Sydney Harbour, had made Manly dependent on water-born transport.

        Governor Phillip had found a place of diversion, separated from the rest of the colony by "one of the finest harbours in the world".   Boats plied to and fro; as a village grew behind the sweeping arc of beach, sprawling along the isthmus behind North Head.

        Visitors were urged to board ferries by the

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