The Cyclopedia of Western Australia, edited by James Battye, was the pre-eminent written summary of Western Australia's development and context prior to World War I.
Review of progress
It was created at a time that saw progress, and was subtitled:
An historical and commercial review Descriptive and biographical facts figures and illustrations
An Epitome of Progress
Contemporary reviews before and after publication reflected this sense.[1][2][3] A similar review of the state of Western Australia appeared in publications at the centenary of the state in 1929.[4]
Aboriginals,[5] Agriculture, Biographies, Commerce and Industry, Fauna and Flora, Geology, Government, History of Western Australia, Immigration, Tourism, Lands department, Medical, Fremantle, Perth, Police, The Press, Public services, Railways, Trans-Australian Railway, Shipping, Suburban Municipalities, Telegraph and Telephone, Trade and Customs, Woods and Forests.
Volume 2
Agriculture, Churches and Ecclesiastical, Caves of WA, Mining, Hospitals, Schools and Education, Country Districts, Cities and suburbs, Dairying, Farming, Institutions, Explorers and exploration, Political parties, Pearling, Biographical index, Sporting and recreation.
^"THE CENTENARY BOOK". The West Australian. Vol. XLV, no. 8, 467. Western Australia. 9 August 1929. p. 26. Retrieved 15 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^Garrick, Phyl (December 1984). Reece, Bob; Stannage, Tom (eds.). "Two historians and the [Aboriginals ...]: Kimberly and Battye". Studies in Western Australian History. European-Aboriginal Relations in Western Australian History (8): 111–130. ISSN0314-7525.
Further reading
"Review of the Cyclopedia on the occasion of the facsimile production in 1985". West Australian. 17 August 1985. pp. 38–39.