© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Vintage Photographs and Photography

Read more about the article Elva delivered the ice, rain hail or shine
Fred Princehorn's ice truck

Elva delivered the ice, rain hail or shine

During World War II Islington ice carrier Fred Princehorn had trouble getting employees to help him on his run. Not surprising, since most employable men were either in the armed forces or in protected industries. Luckily Fred had his 15-year-old daughter Elva at home, and she put up her hand to be his delivery assistant. It was a job Elva loved, despite the early mornings. Elva's dad would wake her at 1am, they'd have breakfast and hop on the truck for the trip to Dark's ice works in Newcastle where they would load up with blocks…

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Read more about the article The Sygna storm of May 1974
Aerial view of the Sygna aground in May 1974.

The Sygna storm of May 1974

If you ask most older Newcastle people where they were on the night the Norwegian bulk carrier Sygna went aground on Stockton Beach, they’ll probably be able to tell you. Since European settlement in Newcastle there have been three really big hurricanes that have left lasting impressions on those who experienced them. All three of these giant storms are known to many by the names of the ships they destroyed. The first was the Cawarra Gale, which lashed the NSW coast for days in 1866 and claimed dozens of lives – most of them on the…

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Read more about the article Building the Hexham Bridge over the Hunter River

Building the Hexham Bridge over the Hunter River

Long before anybody considered building a bridge across the Hunter River at Hexham, people crossed by punt. A convenient crossroads and staging point between Newcastle, Maitland and Port Stephens - and between Sydney and Brisbane - Hexham was settled by Europeans in the 1820s. It soon had a railway station, a handful of industries and facilities for loading coal aboard small ships. Hexham punt, 1904. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Early photo, circa 1910, of a car leaving the steam punt at Hexham. Photo by Ernest Docker According to the December 1946 issue of the NSW Department…

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