© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Mike Scanlon: history without cobwebs

It's disconcerting, but not really surprising, that very often as I sit down to write about some aspect of Hunter Valley history, I discover that Mike Scanlon has already been there and done that. Not surprising, because Mike has been working on Newcastle newspapers for more than 60 years with barely a break. Despite officially retiring 20 years ago, Mike keeps producing a weekly history column of remarkable verve and interest. By his own count he's produced about 1200 columns in his post-retirement career and he shows no sign of wanting to slow down. In conversation…

Continue ReadingMike Scanlon: history without cobwebs
Read more about the article A gallery of workplace photos: Part 1
Newcastle Herald staff picnic December 12, 1936

A gallery of workplace photos: Part 1

It's not so fashionable these days, it seems, but there was a time when group photographs of people at their workplaces were standard fare. Here is a gallery of workplace photos, mostly from Newcastle, NSW. A staff photo from Newcastle's BHP steelworks in 1935 - the company's jubilee year. The photo came from Mrs Jan Collins, whose mother, Esme Moodie, is in the picture. Esme married Christopher Windsor in 1933, but kept her maiden name at work. She left work in 1936 to raise her family. Her husband was a crane driver at BHP's open hearth…

Continue ReadingA gallery of workplace photos: Part 1

Milton Merrilees, Newcastle press photographic legend

Among numerous fine photographers to be employed over many decades by the Herald and Sun daily newspapers in Newcastle, NSW, the name of Milton Merrilees stands out among the best. An extremely dedicated newsman and a passionate photographer, Merrilees was popular with workmates and the public alike, establishing a reputation as a gentlemanly but tenacious photo-journalist. He began working as a cadet photographer in 1937 and was pictorial editor for the Herald and the Sun when he retired in 1979. With a career that spanned the years of World War 2 he saw tremendous changes in…

Continue ReadingMilton Merrilees, Newcastle press photographic legend
×
×

Cart