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Canadians

Although Canadians have assimilated quickly, several have left a mark on Melbourne. Cobb & Co. owner Alexander Robertson named his Caulfield mansion (now Labassa) Ontarion after his boyhood province. Melbourne's first electrified railway carriages ('Tait cars') were named after Sir Thomas Tait (Chief Railway Commissioner, 1903-10). Horseshoe nail magnate John Pender drove the first motor car in Melbourne. In 1917 Janet Cooper became the first woman doctor at the Homeopathic Hospital. Wowserism was a shared phenomenon. Visiting in 1934, former Canadian Prime Minister Arthur Meighen expressed dismay that the centenary of Victoria celebrations attracted less public interest than the Melbourne Cup.

Ann Capling