© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

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…

Continue ReadingChrist Church Cathedral’s migrating gravestones
Read more about the article Hartley Spurr, legendary bait man
Hartley Spurr in 1943, photo by Ivan Ive. State Library of NSW

Hartley Spurr, legendary bait man

Quite a number of years ago my elderly next-door neighbour asked me what I knew about a man named Hartley Spurr. I told him I had never heard the name, and he asked me to help him find out. All he knew, he told me, was that the name "Hartley Spurr" had made its way into a saying among some of his acquaintances. "If you wanted some obscure tool or object, somebody would pipe up and say: 'Hartley Spurr had one of those'," my neighbour said. I assured him I would try to find out, and…

Continue ReadingHartley Spurr, legendary bait man

Norm Barney, history journalist left a great legacy

Norm Barney was a journalist with a passion for history and for the Hunter Region. Through his books, his newspaper articles and columns, he brought local history to life for thousands of people. But it was probably through his discovery, interpretation and preservation of a huge catalogue of historical photographs that he made his biggest mark – and not only in Newcastle. Born in Alton, England, in 1933, Norm came to Australia with his family in 1949, joining his ex-Royal Navy brother who was living at Coal Point, Lake Macquarie. An interesting article by Norm about…

Continue ReadingNorm Barney, history journalist left a great legacy
×
×

Cart