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Hunter Street

Read more about the article Spero Davias’s Hunter Street project
The front page of Spero Davias's Hunter Street website

Spero Davias’s Hunter Street project

Businessman, electronics whiz, ham radio enthusiast, Greek culture aficionado, family man and keen historian of Newcastle's Hunter Street. With so many passions no wonder the recent passing of Spero Davias caused such a reaction in his home city of Newcastle, NSW. He'd been on my long list of people I had wanted to interview for a blog post on this website and when I heard he'd gone I kicked myself for missing the chance to talk to him about his remarkable life and, especially, the extraordinary website he created to document the history of Hunter Street,…

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Read more about the article Robert Sneesby’s eyewitness account of old Newcastle
Newcastle, NSW, in 1886

Robert Sneesby’s eyewitness account of old Newcastle

Some years ago Mrs Margaret Thompson was visiting an elderly aunt to gather information for some family history research. A request for old photographs brought to light an old black exercise book in which the elderly lady's father, the late Robert Sneesby, had recorded many of his recollections of Newcastle in the late 1800s. Recognising the treasure, Mrs Thompson and her husband Stuart transcribed the document, added numerous photos from various sources and made a handful of copies. Some months ago she kindly loaned me a copy to scan. A copy of her transcribed document was…

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Read more about the article 300 diamond rings a year: Caldwells jewellers

300 diamond rings a year: Caldwells jewellers

WHEN Geoff Caldwell left Newcastle Boys High School in the 1930s, he told his father he wanted to be an engineer. His father laughed at the idea. "Dad told me I should just join the family business and help him run the jewellery store," Geoff laughed. He took his father's advice. The fledgling Caldwells jewellery business was launched at the end of the Great Depression years, survived World War II and went on to enjoy an extraordinary period of prosperity during the era when a prime location on thriving Hunter Street, Newcastle, was money in the bank. "We used to sell 300 diamond rings a year," Geoff…

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