© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Read more about the article Memories of Rhondda Colliery

Memories of Rhondda Colliery

Ernie Eade started work at Rhondda Colliery, Teralba, on January 27, 1927 at the age of 14. He was paid six shillings and sixpence a day, a rate that increased each year by one shilling and ten pence until he reached the adult rate of 17 shillings and sixpence. He worked from 7am to 3pm with a half hour break from 11am. Ernie Eade in December 1930. Photo courtesy of Alan Mitchell. At that time Rhondda was owned by William Laidley and Co, along with the Co-operative mine at Wallsend. The company’s chief clerk came to…

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Read more about the article Dinny O’Brien’s legendary Newcastle pawnshop
Dinny O'Brien's pawnshop in Hunter Street, Newcastle.

Dinny O’Brien’s legendary Newcastle pawnshop

DINNY O'Brien was a Newcastle legend in his lifetime, and even today his name conjures memories for many who recall his landmark pawnshop on Hunter Street. He and his wife Margaret had five sons and a daughter. I interviewed Tom O'Brien some years ago, when he was aged 94 and the last survivor of Dinny's children. Tom was deeply proud of the business his father built, and which sustained generations of the extended family in good years and bad. One of very few photos of Dinny O'Brien. Dinny lived originally at Largs, and his first business…

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Read more about the article When Newcastle went with Jayes

When Newcastle went with Jayes

Jayes Travel Service was an iconic Newcastle business through a large part of the 20th century. The founders, John and Lottie Jenkins (pictured below), came to Newcastle in 1928, having emigrated from Scotland in 1920. Their first business in Newcastle was in accountancy and collections. John and Lottie Jenkins, circa 1920 The Depression made business hard to come by, and Lottie started helping Katoomba guest houses find staff to run their operations, trading as Jayes Employment Agency.John Jenkins had served in World War 1, but signed up again to fight in World War II. Lottie kept…

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