© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Frank Wainman, Cooranbong’s intrepid aviator

In my collecting travels I have sometimes found interesting real-photo postcards depicting aerial views of parts of the Hunter Region and Central Coast - mostly in the 1960s - with the business name "Avion Views, Cooranbong NSW" rubber-stamped on the back. My search for information about this postcard publisher led me to Judy and Perry Jackson, of Cooranbong, who filled me in on the story. Avion views was just one business run by Judy's father, the apparently indefatigable Franklyn (Frank) Wainman, a mechanic, garage proprietor and flying enthusiast. Born on December 18, 1910, Frank was a…

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Victims of the housing bubble

Q: What's faster than lightning? A: The speed with which a "for sale" sign on a house is replaced by a "sold" sign. Somebody wrote that on Facebook recently, in a happy mood, since they had just sold their house for a tidy sum. And we know it's true, because everybody seems to be talking about it. I know some people who sold a house a couple of months ago. It had been delayed going on the market by a variety of factors. When they started talking about selling they were told they might get $650,000,…

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Read more about the article To Morpeth by steamer
Hunter River at Morpeth, photo by Henry King.

To Morpeth by steamer

Dawn was breaking when the City of Maitland turned to enter the river channel, in the shadow of Nobbys. Seaward the grey, steel-like colour of the ocean was beginning to brighten. Daffodil and golden tints were spreading over sky and water. Soon the sounds of sailors scrubbing down decks came to the ears of the two girls as they sat on the bridge in the lee of the "dodger" watching the world awaken to another day. For some time they had seen dimly the hills on which part of Newcastle stands. Now those were gradually becoming…

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