How we reclaimed Skyworks
Flashback to Skyworks 2004, and police in full riot gear were fighting running battles with drunken revellers along the South Perth foreshore.
It was the ugliest night in the event's 30-year history, with stabbings, glassings and random bashings marring the national day of celebration and turning Perth into a national embarrassment.
But jump forward to Skyworks 2015, and that violence was almost nowhere to be seen at what has become, once again, a family- friendly event.
City of South Perth mayor Sue Doherty believes the tough stance taken by police on alcohol is what has helped reclaim the event from the yobbos and the thugs who almost destroyed it.
"I didn't feel safe 10 years ago with people throwing empty bottles around . . . and families had stopped coming down because of it," she said.
"Our local residents were also sick of having people coming in and urinating in their yards or knocking letterboxes over - just putting up with people who were drunk or fighting.
"We have come so far since then and we have got the families coming back because it is safe."
It was in 2010 - after yet another bad year - when police drew a line in the sand and declared the event alcohol-free.
Street drinking had always been illegal, but until then officers were told to use their discretion and not target those enjoying a quiet drink, as long as they were behaving.
Cdr John Tuttle, who ran this year's police operation, said the policy sent mixed messages to the community and the current system of allowing alcohol only in designated drinking zones had added much-needed clarity.
But Cdr Tuttle said police could not take all the credit for turning the event around.
He said a reduction in crowd sizes because of the growing popularity of other events in areas including Fremantle had helped make Skyworks more manageable from the days when more than 300,000 would regularly line the river's shores.
Improved organisation, including better public transport and more family-friendly events during the day, had also helped deliver a change in atmosphere.
"It is fair to say that we are very happy with the way things have been trending in recent years," Cdr Tuttle said.
The figures speak for themselves, with just 87 people arrested around the State this year, down from several hundred in 2004. That same year, more than 300 people were treated in hospitals for alcohol and violence- related issues, but paramedics attended only a handful of incidents on Monday.
Most complaints related to the hot weather or pre-existing medical conditions. On the whole, the 150 St John's volunteers and paramedics positioned around the foreshore were able to enjoy the fireworks in peace, without having to fear for their own safety.
