I thought I would tell you a little bit about Newcastle, NSW my home from home for the next few months. Situated on the East coast of Australia, Newcastle lies approximately 101 miles (162km) NNE of Sydney at the mouth of the Hunter River. It has a population of just under 155,000 (as of 2006 cenus) although the Newcastle Metropolitan area brings this up to just under 289,000, and is recognised as NSW's second largest city after Sydney.
I have copied a brief history of Newcastle as it much more eloquently tells you the salient facts:-
Newcastle History- the short version
The Awabakal people lived in the Newcastle area for countless generations. To the Awabakal,
Newcastle was known as Muloobinba, translated as Mu-lu-bin (edible sea fern) –ba (place of).
Lieutenant Shortland was the first white man to explore and name the place, and it his original
landing at Signal Hill (Fort Scratchley) and Stockton on September 9, 1797, which Newcastle
has chosen to mark as the founding of the city. Captain Cook had earlier marked on a map the
rocky islet of Nobby’s Head at its mouth as he sailed north on May 10, 1770.
Shortland reported on the abundance of coal in the area and in 1799 the first shipment of coal
was sent to Bengal, making Newcastle, Australia’s first commercial port.
The first settlement of Newcastle was short lived, ending with a mutiny and closing in early 1802,
after sinking what is believed to be the first coal mine in the Southern Hemisphere at Colliers
Point (now Fort Scratchley).
A new settlement of Newcastle was established in 1804 as a place of secondary punishment for
unmanageable convicts and was re-named Newcastle, after England’s famous coal port. The
new settlement, comprising of convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on the
10 March 1804, under the appointment of Superintendent Lieutenant Charles Menzies.
Captain James Wallis (commandant from 1815 to 1818) laid out the streets of Newcastle, built
the first church (on the site of the present Christ Church Cathedral), erected the old gaol on the
seashore, and began work on the breakwater, which now joins Nobby’s to the mainland. The
quality of these buildings was poor and only a much-reinforced breakwall survived. In 1816 a
public school was built in East Newcastle for the children of soldiers and convicts, making
Newcastle East Public School, Australia’s oldest school.
The Bogey Hole was built in 1819 when Major James Morisset, the town commandant, ordered
a swimming hole for his own personal use. Originally called the Commandant’s Baths, it was
made by convicts who cut into a tidal rock platform at the bottom of what is now King Edward
Park. The current name is an aboriginal word meaning ‘to bathe’.
Newcastle’s time as a penal colony ended in 1823 and the town began to acquire the aspect of a
typical Australian pioneer settlement, with a steady flow of free settlers pouring into the area.
In 1847 Newcastle was proclaimed a city and named as the centre of a new Anglican Bishopric,
meaning the structurally questionable Christ Church became a Cathedral.
Construction of a lighthouse on Nobby’s Headland was begun in 1856, replacing the original
signal mast set up in 1804, and has been guiding ships into Newcastle Harbour since 1858.
1876 saw the construction of Customs House and in 1881 work on Fort Scratchley commenced
because of fear of a Russian invasion.
BHP was opened in 1915 and so began the transformation of Newcastle from coal city to steel
city.'
So convict labour once again the mainstay of a new city in this land. That chap Cook got about didn't he? It is quite staggering when you consider the distances those sea-fairing explorers actually covered in the time before jumping on an aircraft.
I am staying in the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton and it was home to Newcastle's first Italian and Greek arrivals as is evidenced by the strong Mediterranean influence with delicatessens and restaurants along Beaumont Street, the main hub and cultural beat of the area.
Newcastle hit the world headlines on Thursday, 28th December, 1989 when at 10.27am it was devastated by a major earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale. At the time it was Australia's worst natural disaster with 13 people killed, 160 injured and over 60,000 buildings damaged. Of those killed, 9 were accounted for by the total collapse of the Newcastle Workers Club in the city centre and 3 were killed by a collapsing balcony in Beaumont Street in Hamilton, the remaining death was a lady in the Broadmeadow area who died from shock.
Since then, world attention was again focused on Newcastle when, on 8th June, 2007 the bulk carrier Pasha Bulker at 77,000 tonnes was blown aground 20 metres off Nobbys Beach during a ferocious gale. It surprisingly, or not, attracted thousands of visitors before it was eventually re-floated almost a month later on 02nd July.
So Newcastle, a pleasant city in which to be living and from where to visit other East Coast towns and cities.
I have copied a brief history of Newcastle as it much more eloquently tells you the salient facts:-
Newcastle History- the short version
The Awabakal people lived in the Newcastle area for countless generations. To the Awabakal,
Newcastle was known as Muloobinba, translated as Mu-lu-bin (edible sea fern) –ba (place of).
Lieutenant Shortland was the first white man to explore and name the place, and it his original
landing at Signal Hill (Fort Scratchley) and Stockton on September 9, 1797, which Newcastle
has chosen to mark as the founding of the city. Captain Cook had earlier marked on a map the
rocky islet of Nobby’s Head at its mouth as he sailed north on May 10, 1770.
Shortland reported on the abundance of coal in the area and in 1799 the first shipment of coal
was sent to Bengal, making Newcastle, Australia’s first commercial port.
The first settlement of Newcastle was short lived, ending with a mutiny and closing in early 1802,
after sinking what is believed to be the first coal mine in the Southern Hemisphere at Colliers
Point (now Fort Scratchley).
A new settlement of Newcastle was established in 1804 as a place of secondary punishment for
unmanageable convicts and was re-named Newcastle, after England’s famous coal port. The
new settlement, comprising of convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on the
10 March 1804, under the appointment of Superintendent Lieutenant Charles Menzies.
Captain James Wallis (commandant from 1815 to 1818) laid out the streets of Newcastle, built
the first church (on the site of the present Christ Church Cathedral), erected the old gaol on the
seashore, and began work on the breakwater, which now joins Nobby’s to the mainland. The
quality of these buildings was poor and only a much-reinforced breakwall survived. In 1816 a
public school was built in East Newcastle for the children of soldiers and convicts, making
Newcastle East Public School, Australia’s oldest school.
The Bogey Hole was built in 1819 when Major James Morisset, the town commandant, ordered
a swimming hole for his own personal use. Originally called the Commandant’s Baths, it was
made by convicts who cut into a tidal rock platform at the bottom of what is now King Edward
Park. The current name is an aboriginal word meaning ‘to bathe’.
Newcastle’s time as a penal colony ended in 1823 and the town began to acquire the aspect of a
typical Australian pioneer settlement, with a steady flow of free settlers pouring into the area.
In 1847 Newcastle was proclaimed a city and named as the centre of a new Anglican Bishopric,
meaning the structurally questionable Christ Church became a Cathedral.
Construction of a lighthouse on Nobby’s Headland was begun in 1856, replacing the original
signal mast set up in 1804, and has been guiding ships into Newcastle Harbour since 1858.
1876 saw the construction of Customs House and in 1881 work on Fort Scratchley commenced
because of fear of a Russian invasion.
BHP was opened in 1915 and so began the transformation of Newcastle from coal city to steel
city.'
So convict labour once again the mainstay of a new city in this land. That chap Cook got about didn't he? It is quite staggering when you consider the distances those sea-fairing explorers actually covered in the time before jumping on an aircraft.
I am staying in the Newcastle suburb of Hamilton and it was home to Newcastle's first Italian and Greek arrivals as is evidenced by the strong Mediterranean influence with delicatessens and restaurants along Beaumont Street, the main hub and cultural beat of the area.
Newcastle hit the world headlines on Thursday, 28th December, 1989 when at 10.27am it was devastated by a major earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter Scale. At the time it was Australia's worst natural disaster with 13 people killed, 160 injured and over 60,000 buildings damaged. Of those killed, 9 were accounted for by the total collapse of the Newcastle Workers Club in the city centre and 3 were killed by a collapsing balcony in Beaumont Street in Hamilton, the remaining death was a lady in the Broadmeadow area who died from shock.
Since then, world attention was again focused on Newcastle when, on 8th June, 2007 the bulk carrier Pasha Bulker at 77,000 tonnes was blown aground 20 metres off Nobbys Beach during a ferocious gale. It surprisingly, or not, attracted thousands of visitors before it was eventually re-floated almost a month later on 02nd July.
So Newcastle, a pleasant city in which to be living and from where to visit other East Coast towns and cities.
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