1874: The opening of Roath Park was celebrated by a procession of horse-drawn floats. The Cardiff Times described how ‘the day’s festivities began with a luncheon at the Town Hall to which some 300 people had been invited. At the appointed time the various trade organisations, friendly societies and local bodies, equipped with bands and banners and in many cases wearing the uniform of their Order or bearing artistic models of their crafts, assembled at Cardiff Arms Park. The Boilermakers and Shipbuilders Union decorated their floats with gigantic specimens of their skill and workmanship. Most of the men wore buttonholes or rosettes and seemed to enjoy themselves to the utmost. The Cardiff Hibernians presented a highly creditable turn-out, their silk hats, white trousers and regalia evoked no end of favourable comment from the thousands who lined the route. The procession through the town extended from St Mary Street to the park in one unbroken line.’