Complex sentence: In 1971 the state government announced that the tramway system would be closed and replaced by buses and in September 1971, a large contingent of the Ballarat population turned out to farewell the trams and the government systematically shut down the network.
Split into simpler sentences: In 1971 the state government announced that the tramway system would be closed and replaced by buses. In September 1971, a large contingent of the Ballarat population turned out to farewell the last trams after the government systematically shut down the network.