Carol Duncan

Cathedral Park – Resting in Pieces

No human remains were removed from Cathedral Park, and indeed there were by that time less than 300 headstones remain, most illegible or broken. Other grave markers, being made of timber, had deteriorated years before.

The ‘Pasha Bulker’ Storm – June 2007

Most people in Newcastle and the Hunter were looking forward to a relaxing long weekend, planning a few days off. As we now know it was anything but a relaxing long weekend. The Newcastle and Hunter Region will never forget the weekend when storms and floods closed down the heart of Newcastle, the Pasha Bulker went aground on Nobbys Beach and the levee system around Maitland was pushed to its limit. On Thursday night, June 7, 2007, the Bureau of Meteorology warned of potential extreme weather conditions with a low pressure cell developing just north of Newcastle. Over the next 12 hours this low generated… Read More »The ‘Pasha Bulker’ Storm – June 2007

Leading Light or Beacon Towers

Newcastle has its very own castle turret on top of The Hill in the form of the Leading Light Tower or Beacon Tower. It was one of two built to assist captains in bringing their ships safely into the port. The coast around Newcastle is littered with hundreds of shipwrecks and the pair of towers built in 1865/1866 helped to increase the safety of vessels entering the Hunter River.

The Star Hotel

The Star Hotel is best known for the 1979 riot, but the site is a large complex running through from Hunter to King Street and is also one of Newcastle’s earliest large commercial complexes with a built history dating back to the 1850s.

The Wreck of the Adolphe

The French barque Adolphe is just one of many shipwrecks that litter the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, yet 110 years after the disaster, this vessel is still one of the most visible. Carol Duncan spoke with Deb Mastello of the Newcastle Maritime Centre. [ABC Radio 2014] A walk along the 2km stretch of Stockton Breakwall known as the Shipwreck Walk will allow you to see the remains of the Adolphe – yet the remains of The Sygna wrecked in 1974 are expected to be gone within the next decade. Having sailed from Antwerp, the Adolphe was ultimately heading for Sydney to load wheat, however in… Read More »The Wreck of the Adolphe

Memorial Drive Tunnel

One of Newcastle’s many hidden places, not open to the public, is a remnant of the Shepherds Hill defence group. A tunnel underneath Memorial Drive enabled power to be supplied to the WWII No 1 Searchlight which was situated on the face of the cliff below Strzelecki Lookout.

Henry Martin – Victoria Lifeboat crew member

From Lost Newcastle member, Robyn Jeffries: Pleased to be able to share – my great great grandfather Henry Martin, far right, holding the boat. This is taken in the water around the Pilot Station where he worked as crew of the “Victoria” Lifeboat. (Olive Hoggan’s (also her gr.g/father) photo.) Henry Martin d.1899, No 2, Pilots Row, Newcastle, now called the Boatmens Cottages on Nobbys Rd. opposite Fort Scratchley. The 1st rescue while working on the “Victoria”, we have record of, is the “City of Newcastle”. The little boy in the photo is Charles Henry Martin, son of Henry Martin, so dates the photo to approximately… Read More »Henry Martin – Victoria Lifeboat crew member

Ralph Snowball Collection

Anyone who is keen on Newcastle’s history owes a great debt of gratitude to Ralph Snowball. Thousands of his glass negatives have been preserved and digitised by the University of Newcastle Archives and Cultural Collections and browsing through them on Flickr is bound to lead to hours disappearing down this fantastic historical rabbit-hole.