Fighting the fire. Image by Ron Morrison.
The Goldsmith’s shoe store fire in Newcastle
Goldsmith's shoe store had been a landmark business in Newcastle, NSW, for decades before a fatal fire in September 1961 dreadfully seared the name into local consciousness. The fire cost three lives - a woman and two of her children. At the time of the fire Ron Morrison was operating his photo agency in Newcastle, and his series of images captures the drama of the firefighting effort. The store Goldsmith's traced its beginnings in Newcastle to December 13, 1897, when Bristol-born Frank Goldsmith first set up a shoe store in Hunter Street. The business thrived, and…