© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Sad tales of lost babies

In years long gone by childbirth was far more dangerous - to mother and baby - than it is in rich countries today. Not only was birth hazardous, but the early years of childhood were fraught with risk. Diseases now preventable ran rife. Without antibiotics, infections of all kinds could be extremely dangerous. Fire was used in heating, food storage and hygiene could be questionable and youngsters were often expected to do chores and tasks that exposed them to potential hazards. The first few years were the riskiest, it seems. According to Newcastle City Council (NSW),…

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Christ Church Cathedral’s migrating gravestones

Quick facts about Christ Church graveyard Newcastle's first formal burial ground Sporadic burials from as early as 1802 Officially proclaimed by Commandant Wallis in 1817 Estimated number of burials: 3300 38 per cent of the total burials were infants under three years of age Burials ceased in the early 1880s but some "illegal" burials took place after the official closure in 1884 From at least 1958 Newcastle City Council lobbied to take control of the site for conversion to a park as part of a trade-off to facilitate the construction of the King Street parking station…

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How many hopes lie buried here? Plague in Newcastle 1905

There is (or was?) an unofficial car park at the eastern boundary of the Stockton Centre where fishermen would leave their cars before walking to the beach. Beside the wooden barriers that marked the car park's edge stood a lonely tombstone. The inscription told of a teenager's untimely death on April 2, 1905, just one day before his 17th birthday. At the foot of the white marble monument is a century-old question that asks passers-by to reflect on the long-forgotten heartbreak of a Newcastle family: "How many hopes lie buried here?" The name on the tombstone…

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