Gas was used for streetlights. Men employed by the local council were each alloted a section in which to light the street lamps in the evening and turn them off in the morning.
To reach the gas control on the lamp they carried an extension pole with them on the bicycle they used for transport. On summer evenings, underneath the lamp light was a place where youngsters could gather to tell a yarn, play games or argue.
Under cover of darkness the more venturesome would play practical jokes causing annoyance to householders and pedestrians. One favourite was "Nick-Knock". The method used to carry out this prank was to stealthily tie black cotton to the knocker on a door, run out cotton from the reel and from a distance down the street tug on the cotton, this action would give a "some-one at the front door" knock and hopefully break the cotton so that it could be wound back and used elsewhere.
Other pranks such as dropping a coin or placing a parcel on the footpath were carried out from behind a front fence under cover of darkness. The coin had a hole in it with string attached for quick retrieval before somebody, thinking they had dropped money, started searching. The parcel had string attached to pull it away when somebody tried to pick it up. Of course all these escapades did not take place every night. Four-wheel trucks (billy carts) were easy to make. Axles, cast iron wheels and wooden boxes could be purchased. The trucks could be used single-handed or with a mate, when with a mate steering and pushing would be taken in turn. Truck races were popular with the boys.
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