© 2018 Greg & Sylvia RAY

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Read more about the article Wilfred Hayler’s Newcastle Harbour photographs

Wilfred Hayler’s Newcastle Harbour photographs

Wilfred Hayler was in his late teens when he decided to photograph the ships and other activities around the busy harbour of his home town, Newcastle, NSW. Wilfred with one of his photograph albums. It doesn't seem as though young Wilfred had particularly sophisticated camera gear, but he did have a good eye for a picture. And at the time he was taking his hundreds of photos, the world of shipping in Newcastle Harbour was in a fascinating state of transition from sail to steam. The six-masted barquentine E.R. Sterling at the coal cranes, with the…

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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 The Wellen: Soviet ship in Newcastle, NSW, 1942

The Wellen: Soviet ship in Newcastle, NSW, 1942

A slowly evolving story, with some plot holes remaining to be filled. Why was the Wellen in Australian waters? And what about the Minsk, whose officers apparently visited the damaged Wellen in Newcastle? Why is information about that ship so hard to find? In May 1942 Japan and Russia were not at war. And yet in the opening salvos of Japan's submarine war against merchant shipping in Australian waters, it carelessly managed to attack a Soviet ship. This was the freighter Wellen, an elderly vessel of 5000 tons. It was apparently built in Britain, taken over…

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