Children with their dog in Hollywood, 1941 – Newcastle Sun

Hollywood, located near Jesmond in Newcastle, NSW, was one of several shanty towns that emerged during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

The Great Depression, which began in 1929 and lasted throughout the 1930s, led to widespread unemployment and economic hardship across Australia. In Newcastle, as in many other urban areas, people faced significant financial difficulties. As a result, many individuals and families were forced to seek alternative living arrangements – including heading into local bushland to establish a place to live.

Hollywood was established in the late 1920s as a response to this crisis. It consisted of makeshift homes constructed from discarded materials, including wood and corrugated iron.

At its peak, Hollywood was home to around 40 families. The structures were often rudimentary, lacking basic amenities such as running water and electricity.

Despite these challenges, the resourceful residents of Hollywood created a functioning community. This mutual assistance was crucial for survival during difficult times.

As Australia began to recover from the Great Depression in the late 1930s and into the 1940s, many families moved out of Hollywood and into more permanent housing. Government initiatives aimed at providing affordable housing contributed to this transition but some families remained in Hollywood which became a difficult social issue for several decades.

By the early 1950s, Hollywood had largely disappeared, with most of the shanty structures dismantled or abandoned, but the last of the residents were forced to leave by 1960.

Newcastle Museum is hosting A Place Called Hollywood, an exhibition that has been created from personal stories and photographs, newspaper reports, and a selection of objects from the more than 2,000 items that were uncovered during archaeological works prior to construction of the Newcastle Inner City Bypass from Rankin Park to Jesmond.

Watch the video below to learn more about Hollywood and its community from exhibition curator Bridie Moran.