© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Hunter River

Read more about the article When the system failed the river was life
Boatshed homes on the Hunter River at Hexham in 1941. Photo by R. Donaldson for Pix magazine. State Library of NSW

When the system failed the river was life

When the Great Depression hit in the early 1930s, people who had forgotten what hunger felt like were suddenly and forcefully reminded. Around Newcastle and the Hunter, desperate people without jobs or income walked away from homes when they couldn't afford rent or rates. They sold their bank accounts (many of them frozen) for pennies in the pound. Hundreds of families set up makeshift homes wherever they could find undisputed space. Camps of huts built of whitewashed hessian and tin sheets flattened from kerosene cans sprang up on the outskirts of the towns. Some people "went…

Continue ReadingWhen the system failed the river was life
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…

Continue ReadingTo Morpeth by steamer
Read more about the article Which “Awabakal” called the river “Coquun”? Re-thinking what I thought I knew about some indigenous words.
Biraban, also known to the whites as "M'Gill", collaborated with Lancelot Threlkeld in compiling a record of his people's language. Portrait by Alfred Agate, 1839.

Which “Awabakal” called the river “Coquun”? Re-thinking what I thought I knew about some indigenous words.

Like a lot of people, I am fascinated by the indigenous history of the part of Australia in which I live. I'm frustrated by the paucity of teaching of this important subject in our schools, and I often wish I had better access to real knowledge about the people who lived here before us. I have tried to read and learn, using the sources of information that are available to me. And very often, embarrassingly and frustratingly, I find that things I thought were dependable facts turn out to be not so certain, or perhaps misunderstandings,…

Continue ReadingWhich “Awabakal” called the river “Coquun”? Re-thinking what I thought I knew about some indigenous words.
×
×

Cart