© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

Building the Hexham Bridge over the Hunter River

Long before anybody considered building a bridge across the Hunter River at Hexham, people crossed by punt. A convenient crossroads and staging point between Newcastle, Maitland and Port Stephens - and between Sydney and Brisbane - Hexham was settled by Europeans in the 1820s. It soon had a railway station, a handful of industries and facilities for loading coal aboard small ships. Hexham punt, 1904. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Early photo, circa 1910, of a car leaving the steam punt at Hexham. Photo by Ernest Docker According to the December 1946 issue of the NSW Department…

Continue ReadingBuilding the Hexham Bridge over the Hunter River

Bridging the Hawkesbury River: Part 3

In the early days of European settlement in the colony of New South Wales, the only way to travel from Sydney to the "Coal River" - later to be Newcastle - was by sea. And that was fine by the colonial government, since the northern settlement was chiefly valued as a remote prison camp for the worst of the colony's convicts. Escaping overland from the Coal River was at first dangerous and often fatal. Newcastle was a punishment camp for the worst prisoners Over the years some convicts did manage to find their way back to…

Continue ReadingBridging the Hawkesbury River: Part 3
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