© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

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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…

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Read more about the article Adolphe, Newcastle’s most enduring shipwreck

Adolphe, Newcastle’s most enduring shipwreck

For well over a century, residents of the port city of Newcastle, NSW, have lived with the wreck of the French barque Adolphe, lost on September 30, 1904. The remains of the once-proud steel four-masted ship have been steadily rusting away over the decades, and the ruined bow - which now forms part of the northern breakwater at the harbour's entrance - is still an appealing subject for weekend photographers. Adolphe in the 1980s. Photo by Greg Ray. The story of the famous wreck has been written many times. One of the most comprehensive accounts I…

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Read more about the article Colonial photographer Charles Kerry’s Aboriginal images, in his own blunt words

Colonial photographer Charles Kerry’s Aboriginal images, in his own blunt words

"The decadence of the aboriginal races of Australia and the absolute certainty of their utter extinction in the Colony of New South Wales (and that at an early date) lend a mournful and pathetic interest to the movements of the few scattered remnants which are all that remain to tell of the past glories of the powerful tribes who ruled this old weather-beaten continent until the advent of the pale face a few generations back." That's how businessman and photographic entrepreneur Charles Henry Kerry introduced his article, in the December 1903 issue of English magazine The…

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