© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Intercity memories and the lure of the railway

A vintage brochure extolling the virtues of the express service. I never knew it like this. I recently received, as a reward for services to ageing, my coveted Gold Seniors Opal card. Armed with this precious token it may be that soon I will be riding the rails - on the cheap - to the four corners of NSW. In anticipation of this delightful possibility I've taken a ride down memory lane and present also some musical tributes to the fabled Newcastle to Sydney rail service. I was 18 or 19, and studying in Canberra. Many…

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James Fletcher, by Dulcie Hartley. Chapter 2

My late friend and amateur historian Dulcie Hartley published several books during her lifetime, but one book she was very proud of never made it into print. This was her book about James Fletcher, Newcastle's famous "miners' advocate" - the only man in the city to be commemorated with a statue. Miner, politician and newspaper proprietor, Fletcher was immensely popular and influential, and Dulcie was fascinated by him. After Dulcie's death, her daughter Venessa entrusted me with the manuscript, and I have slowly transcribed it. The following second chapter, concerning Fletcher's involvement with The Newcastle Morning…

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The statue of James Fletcher at the Lower Reserve, Newcastle, in 1976

James Fletcher, behind the legend, by Dulcie Hartley

My late friend and amateur historian Dulcie Hartley published several books during her lifetime, but one book she was very proud of never made it into print. This was her book about James Fletcher, Newcastle's famous "miners' advocate" - the only man in the city to be commemorated with a statue. Miner, politician and newspaper proprietor, Fletcher was immensely popular and influential, and Dulcie was fascinated by him. After Dulcie's death, her daughter Venessa entrusted me with the manuscript, and I have slowly transcribed it. What follows are the preface and first chapter of Dulcie's six-chapter…

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