© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Church Walk Park: a Newcastle inner city haven

For decades, as I drove most days along King Street to work in Newcastle city, I'd stop at the lights at Darby Street and admire the wild-looking piece of steep land on the south eastern side of the intersection, wondering who owned it and hoping it would never be torn apart. Although I admired this little piece of land, I never bothered to find out anything about it, and I never tried to walk through it, assuming it was probably a private garden. Recently I discovered that this lovely spot is actually a public park. Its…

Continue ReadingChurch Walk Park: a Newcastle inner city haven

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…

Continue ReadingFrank Wainman, Cooranbong’s intrepid aviator
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…

Continue ReadingTo Morpeth by steamer
×
×

Cart