NSW – Page 21 – Photo Time Tunnel

Sailor Bill saw the ghost of his old ship

Post author:Greg Ray
Post published:February 11, 2019
Post category:History Maritime and shipping Militaria Miscellaneous Newcastle, NSW, Australia Vintage Photographs and Photography
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Two boys on the Newcastle waterfront circa 1937 - with the ship Danmark in the background. SOMETHING about the photograph kept drawing Bill Lieb's eyes back. The picture was in our book, Recovered Memories, published in 2011 as a companion volume to our earlier book, Newcastle, the Missing Years. At first glance it was just a pleasant picture of two young boys sitting on the wharf at Newcastle Harbour, sometime in the 1930s. But after looking for some time at the photo Bill, then 87 and now deceased, felt his skin prickle with sudden recognition. Across…

Lost honour roll found its way home

Post author:Greg Ray
Post published:February 6, 2019
Post category:History Militaria Miscellaneous Newcastle, NSW, Australia
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WHEN I saw the dismantled timber honour roll leaning against the wall at a garage sale in Newcastle, I knew I had to buy it. Not because I wanted to own it, but because I wanted to put it back where it belonged. Honour roll from St Marks Islington, found at a garage sale. Photo by Greg Ray The owner of the board told me he had bought it, years ago, along with some pews and other items from St Mark's church, Islington. He was told at the time that the church was being remodelled and…

How many hopes lie buried here? Plague in Newcastle 1905

Post author:Greg Ray
Post published:January 21, 2019
Post category:History Miscellaneous Newcastle, NSW, Australia
Post comments:3 Comments

There is (or was?) an unofficial car park at the eastern boundary of the Stockton Centre where fishermen would leave their cars before walking to the beach. Beside the wooden barriers that marked the car park's edge stood a lonely tombstone. The inscription told of a teenager's untimely death on April 2, 1905, just one day before his 17th birthday. At the foot of the white marble monument is a century-old question that asks passers-by to reflect on the long-forgotten heartbreak of a Newcastle family: "How many hopes lie buried here?" The name on the tombstone…

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