© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Read more about the article The mystery in the mine: lizard tracks deep below Catherine Hill Bay.
Lizard tracks on the ceiling of Wallarah Colliery, May 1979. Photo by Brian R. Andrews

The mystery in the mine: lizard tracks deep below Catherine Hill Bay.

MILLIONS of years ago, apparently, a large lizard or similar creature was taking a walk on some soft ground. Its feet sank into the mud, and it backed away. The ground hardened, preserving the tracks, which were later filled in with a different type of mud. The ground eventually turned into rock, and other layers formed on top, pressing those layers and the tracks of the creature deep below the surface of the earth. Deep underground at Wallarah Colliery in 1979. Photo used with permission of Brian R. Andrews. In 1979, miners working the coal seam…

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Read more about the article No girls, people with disabilities or sons of miners need apply: bad old days of banking in NSW
Hunter Street, Newcastle, in the 1920s. The Bank of Australasia is at the right-hand edge of the photo.

No girls, people with disabilities or sons of miners need apply: bad old days of banking in NSW

During World War 1, when the Newcastle branch of the Bank of Australasia was struggling to recruit the staff it needed to run its business, the organisation still couldn't see its way clear to hire girls, sons of miners or people with disabilities. Fascinating insights into the banking industry in Newcastle during the war years have emerged through some correspondence of William Miles Coverdale, the bank's Newcastle manager at the time. William Miles Coverdale Copies of the letters were kindly loaned by William Coverdale's granddaughter, Pam Parsons, who received them as a gift from a banking…

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Read more about the article By steamer overnight to Sydney

By steamer overnight to Sydney

Before the railway crossed the Hawkesbury River, the sea route was an obvious choice for intercity travellers, and the steamer wharf in Newcastle Harbour had a busy passenger terminal. A 1930s brochure invites passengers to “take the cheaper and more comfortable route to Newcastle or Sydney, ensuring a complete night’s rest in passenger accommodation comparing favourably with that of steamers employed in deep sea trades”.The brochure promised “up-to-date bath and lavatory accommodation” and “refreshments and moderate rates”. Steamers left both cities at 11.30 each night, except Sundays. Passengers could buy single or return tickets as well…

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