© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

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Read more about the article Success: the convict ship that wasn’t
A 1915 San Francisco newspaper advertisement for the Success

Success: the convict ship that wasn’t

Falsely touted as a former convict transport, the Success was a giant marketing fraud. But as a fake it was a commercial success in Britain and the USA, earning good money for its owners. Fakery aside, the career of the Success was certainly remarkable. Recently I saw an article posted on-line that discussed the convict ships that brought the first unwilling European residents to what became Australia. A photograph that accompanied the article confused me, since it showed a row of prison-cell-style doors below decks on the ship which somehow didn't match my understanding of how…

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Read more about the article Nine decades of memories

Nine decades of memories

In recent times I've taken the opportunity to sit down with some nonagenarians - that's people aged in their 90s - to hear a sampling of their recollections. What follows is a selection shared by Leonie Leben and Ken Watt, who grew up in Merewether and Cooks Hill, respectively. Leonie Leben. Photo by Greg Ray Leonie Leben grew up in the Newcastle suburb of Merewether and was a schoolgirl during the years of World War 2. Her father, Leopold "Bob" Hay, spent most of his working life on Newcastle Harbour, on dredges and tugs operated by…

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Read more about the article James Fletcher, by Dulcie Hartley. Chapter 3

James Fletcher, by Dulcie Hartley. Chapter 3

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. Fletcher the employer and capitalist During the early 1870s James Fletcher…

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