© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY
Read more about the article On a hot Australia Day in 1945
A broken water main on the corner of King and Darby Streets, Newcastle, NSW, January 26, 1945.

On a hot Australia Day in 1945

Believe it or not, this photograph was taken at the corner of King and Darby Streets, Newcastle, on Australia Day, 1945. A lug on a King Street hydrant had snapped off and for about 15 minutes some local children took advantage of the cooling spray. The photo is somewhat disorienting, since the buildings have long gone and the land they stood on is now part of Civic Park. Even the Salvation Army People's Palace in the background has gone, making way for the Conservatorium of Music. The now-demolished buildings can be seen bottom left in this…

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Read more about the article Maitland’s “double-headless” murders of 1960.
Police at the scene of the murder at East Maitland, 1960

Maitland’s “double-headless” murders of 1960.

On Saturday, April 23, 1960, Maitland reeled in shock when news broke of a gruesome double murder in a small isolated hut off Turton Road, not far from the East Maitland brickworks. Sydney Shelley, 34, and his 21-year-old wife Elva had been killed and their heads cut off and removed. The couple’s baby was found alive but distressed in a cot in the house. A post-mortem revealed that Elva had been pregnant with a second child at the time of her death. Sydney and Elva Shelley were murdered and decapitated When news of the murders broke,…

Continue ReadingMaitland’s “double-headless” murders of 1960.
Read more about the article Pet emu ate the engine nuts: a guided tour of 1920s Swansea
Swansea Bridge, NSW, as it was

Pet emu ate the engine nuts: a guided tour of 1920s Swansea

Nearly every weekend and holiday from the mid-1920s to 1930, Maitland boy Neville Chant spent at Swansea with his family in their weekender on Black Neds Bay. More than 100 years old when I met him in 2019, Neville retained vivid memories of his beloved childhood haunts, and could paint an evocative word-picture of the people and places he saw. I asked him to take me on a tour of the Swansea of his distant memory. Here is what he told me: Neville Chant, sharing his memories of Swansea in the 1920s You have to understand…

Continue ReadingPet emu ate the engine nuts: a guided tour of 1920s Swansea
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