© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

NSW

Read more about the article Postcards from the Past, by Greg and Sylvia Ray

Postcards from the Past, by Greg and Sylvia Ray

I've long been fascinated by postcards - especially old ones. They speak of a time when communication was a more leisurely business than it is today, and yet they symbolise the desire of people for quick and snappy means of staying in touch. Printed in vast numbers in the early years of last century, postcards were a collecting craze too, and many families still have old albums full of these intriguing ambassadors from the past. Our 13th book, Postcards from the Past, is a collection of cards depicting Newcastle, NSW, and its Hunter Region hinterland. The…

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Read more about the article Accidents, prangs and crashes, Part 4

Accidents, prangs and crashes, Part 4

Our Ken Magor collection of negatives contains many press photos, a large proportion of which were never used in the newspaper. In the cases where they have been filed in labelled envelopes, it is possible to link them with the events they illustrate by searching the marvellous Trove website. This sample shows some accidents involving trams on the streets of Newcastle. Henry Russell, 61, of Brunker Road, Adamstown, got a nasty shock on the morning of Friday, August 10, 1935. He was driving his horse-drawn cordial delivery cart in Hunter Street, Newcastle, near Wheeler Place, when…

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Read more about the article Hello hansom! Cabs in old Newcastle
Hansom cab on the corner of King and Perkins Streets, Newcastle. Photo by Ralph Snowball.

Hello hansom! Cabs in old Newcastle

At first hearing, in the 21st Century, you might imagine that "hansom cab" is a name for a pleasant-looking taxi. In fact, hansom cabs were the horse-drawn forerunners of more modern motorised taxis, and in the mid to late 1800s and early 1900s, the presence of hansom cabs in your city or town was a good sign of civilisation. Where did the name come from? Well, "cab" just meant "cabrioloet", which was a type of carriage designed to be pulled by a single horse. It usually had a retractable roof, making it a convertible. Some modern…

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