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Read more about the article Margel Hinder’s Newcastle Civic Park fountain
Civic Park Fountain, Newcastle. Photo by Barry Shoesmith.

Margel Hinder’s Newcastle Civic Park fountain

In these iconoclastic days, when statues are being hauled down and thrown into rivers, it's hardly surprising that some people have raised the question of whether Newcastle's Civic Park Fountain ought any longer to be named the "James Cook Memorial Fountain". In the days before the fountain . . . As a matter of fact, I'd be surprised if a very large proportion of Newcastle people even knew the famous fountain was named for the British explorer, whose reputation is now being revised in some quarters, mostly because of his negative attitude towards Australia's indigenous inhabitants…

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Read more about the article On a hot Australia Day in 1945
A broken water main on the corner of King and Darby Streets, Newcastle, NSW, January 26, 1945.

On a hot Australia Day in 1945

Believe it or not, this photograph was taken at the corner of King and Darby Streets, Newcastle, on Australia Day, 1945. A lug on a King Street hydrant had snapped off and for about 15 minutes some local children took advantage of the cooling spray. The photo is somewhat disorienting, since the buildings have long gone and the land they stood on is now part of Civic Park. Even the Salvation Army People's Palace in the background has gone, making way for the Conservatorium of Music. The now-demolished buildings can be seen bottom left in this…

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