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Read more about the article Any regrets? Joan Dawson looks back on rail fight.
Photo by Russ Hughes

Any regrets? Joan Dawson looks back on rail fight.

Joan Dawson is losing count of the people who've made a point of telling her they now believe she was right after all. She says it's nice to hear them say it, but it's small consolation to the woman who was, for years, the face of local resistance to the State-sponsored juggernaut intent on removing Newcastle's heavy rail line. Now, faced with the new reality of public transport in the second city of NSW, many Newcastle people are inwardly revisiting the furious debates over the railway line in the 1990s and 2000s, comparing the promises and…

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Read more about the article Motor buses in Newcastle, by Ken Magor
Buses of Emelin Bros, Swansea

Motor buses in Newcastle, by Ken Magor

This article was written by the late Ken Magor, probably in the 1960s, as part of a larger piece he titled "Destination Newcastle". Ken had a deep fascination for buses (and trams, trains and fire engines!) and a love of obscure detail. I've edited the article as lightly as possible. First motor bus records show that a Mr Gee commenced a service from the old Hamilton Council Chambers, Beaumont Street, via Tudor Street and Hunter Street to a spot near the Newcastle Hospital in 1918. George King operated the first motor bus to Tighes Hill and…

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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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