The Minister for Works and Local Government, Mr. Martin, assured the guests at the gathering that he did not intend to interfere with surfers in their choice of bathing costumes.

Until recent years, these districts were noted for little else than their oyster culture, but the railway will mean that the entire area will be opened up. One speaker at the official gathering in Cronulla said that nude bathing was compatible with modesty in Cronulla 40 years ago; the railway and the growth of the district now made it quite impossible.

The stations on the new line are:- Kirra-wee, Gymea, Miranda, Caringbah, Woolooware, and Cronulla. Each is a completely modern structure, and the Cronulla platform, 1,276 feet in length, is one of the longest in Australia.

Referring to the growth of Sutherland Shire when he was opening the line, Lord Wakehurst said that in 1906 its population was 1,500. There were now 18,000 people in the shire and this warranted the construction of the line.

The Deputy Premier and Minister for Transport, Mr. Bruxner, who officially opened the Cronulla railway station, said that, in spite of the development of air and road transport, the railways were still the mainstay of the transport services in New South Wales.

"Only the railways can handle the mass transportation of people," he said, "and I have no fears about the paying prospects of this line. We hope that the public will help us to make it one of the State's money earners."

Speakers at the official gathering were: The Governor, Lord Wakehurst; the Premier, Mr. Mair; the Minister for Works and Local Government, Mr. Martin; the ex-Premier, Mr. Stevens. M.L.A.; the president of Sutherland Shire, Councillor Monro, M.L.A.; the deputy president, Councillor Bingham; the Chief Railway Commissioner, Mr. Hartigan; and Mr. A. J. Hand.