© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Author: Greg Ray

This author has written 481 articles
Read more about the article When people sang together

When people sang together

Some years ago I was given the chance to scan some magic lantern slides that had been used for advertising in cinemas in the Newcastle area. Dates varied, but many appeared to be from the 1940s, including from the years of World War II. Among the advertising slides were many that bore simplified lyrics of song choruses, and I was surprised to learn that these were used in popular community singing events. Hundreds of people came to some of the local cinemas ready to sit and sing along to popular tunes. Usually a pianist and possibly…

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Read more about the article A Catalina almost bombed Cessnock

A Catalina almost bombed Cessnock

On April 22, 1946, some residents of Cessnock were told by police to evacuate their homes and remove their children to safety. A Catalina flying boat from Rathmines RAAF base was going to drop bombs nearby, and authorities wanted to make sure there were no accidental casualties. A Catalina flying boat from the Rathmines base at Lake Macquarie, circa 1942. The unexpected evacuation order had nothing to do with the widespread severe flooding across the Lower Hunter at the time. Instead, it was fire that prompted the demand. Earlier that week a disused portion of Cessnock…

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Read more about the article Newcastle’s ELMA lamp works and the light bulb conspiracy

Newcastle’s ELMA lamp works and the light bulb conspiracy

In the 1920s and 1930s the Commonwealth Bank's "Industrial Purpose Accounts Officer" in Newcastle was a Mr John Henry. Mr Henry made it his business to visit some of Newcastle's bigger industrial plants and he wrote some accounts of his visits in the bank's staff journal, Bank Notes. Mr Henry visited Electric Lamp Manufactures Australia (ELMA) in 1933, when the factory - in Clyde Street, Hamilton - was just two years old and regarded as the peak of modernity. Notably, the major light bulb manufacturers decided to set up the factory as a joint venture, simply…

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