PLATE, LICENSE - AK 79

In the 1924/25 edition of the RAC Year Book it lists AK 79 as belonging to Mr Thomas Price of Karragullen and was on an Oakland,which was a two seater passenger car. Later the number plate ended up with either a member of the Glew or Cosgrave family who also lived in Armadale.
With the advent of motor vehicles early in the 20th Century, licensing was the function of Municipal Councils and Road Boards. This necessitated a model by-law specifying licence fees; this was applied as a uniform by-law to Road Boards and was available for adoption by Municipalities. Uniform by-laws were also promulgated for traffic control - but generally Councils could make their own by-laws.
When the Traffic Act was passed in 1919, local authorities in the country continued to license vehicles and control traffic. In the metropolitan area, the Act passed the licensing of vehicles to the Minister for Works (at that time in charge of Local Government) and the control of traffic to the Commissioner of Police. A 1925 amendment made the Commissioner the licensing authority as well.
The fees collected by the local authorities remained their own. In the metropolitan area, the fees collected by the Minister were divided among the local authorities according to a formula determined by the Minister - based on the percentage of population and length of roads in each district.
A further amendment to the Traffic Act in 1974 created the Road Traffic Authority. This new division of the police force was set up to progressively take over the role of traffic law enforcement and the licensing of vehicles throughout the State. This was largely achieved within two years, although some country Councils continue to license vehicles as the agents of the Road Traffic Authority.
July 1904 Despite the centralization of licensing, Western Australia continues to allow the issue of distinctive number plates which indicate, by alphabetic prefix or suffix, the Council area where the vehicle owner lives. - Sourced from http://www.walga.asn.au/about_lg/history.html

Owned by the Cosgrove family of Forrest Road. AK plate was used in Armadale.