History of Newcastle, New South Wales
Encyclopedia
This article details the history of Newcastle, New South Wales
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
, Worimi
, Wonnarua
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
mined from the area was the New South Wales
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
of the Royal Marines
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
, the Resource and the James
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
, Hexham
, Wickham
, Wallsend
and Gateshead
. Morpeth, New South Wales
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Under Captain James Wallis
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
The formation during the nineteenth century of the Newcastle and Hunter River Steamship Company saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
, Melbourne
and Adelaide
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Coal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
On 8 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were battered by the worst series of storms to hit New South Wales
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.
This article details the history of Newcastle, New South Wales
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
, Worimi
, Wonnarua
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
mined from the area was the New South Wales
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
of the Royal Marines
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
, the Resource and the James
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
, Hexham
, Wickham
, Wallsend
and Gateshead
. Morpeth, New South Wales
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Under Captain James Wallis
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
The formation during the nineteenth century of the Newcastle and Hunter River Steamship CompanyAn Early Link with the New South Wales Railways Wylie, R.F. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin
, October, 1954 pp126-128 saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
, Melbourne
and Adelaide
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Coal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
On 8 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were battered by the worst series of storms to hit New South Wales
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.
This article details the history of Newcastle, New South Wales
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
, Worimi
, Wonnarua
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
mined from the area was the New South Wales
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
of the Royal Marines
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
, the Resource and the James
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
, Hexham
, Wickham
, Wallsend
and Gateshead
. Morpeth, New South Wales
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Under Captain James Wallis
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
The formation during the nineteenth century of the Newcastle and Hunter River Steamship CompanyAn Early Link with the New South Wales Railways Wylie, R.F. Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin
, October, 1954 pp126-128 saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
, Melbourne
and Adelaide
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Coal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
On 8 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were battered by the worst series of storms to hit New South Wales
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.Wikinews,
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
Pre-European Settlement
The lower Hunter Region was originally inhabited by the AwabakalAwabakal people
The Awabakal are an Indigenous Australian people of coastal New South Wales.Awaba is the word for Lake Macquarie – Awabakal therefore meaning people of Lake Macquarie...
, Worimi
Worimi people
Worimi people are Indigenous Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester...
, Wonnarua
Wonnarua
The Wonnarua people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose territory is located in the Hunter Valley of Australia.-External links:* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 16 May 2010...
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Darkinjung people
The Darkinjung are the in the Wyong and area and is a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal joint management of some areas of state forest in the region. It represents over 450 local Aboriginal residents...
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
Founding and settlement by Europeans
The first European to explore the area was Lieutenant John ShortlandJohn Shortland
John Shortland was a naval officer, the eldest son of John Shortland. Shortland joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and went to Quebec in a transport commanded by his father. From 1783 to 1787 he served in the West Indies. In 1787 he was master's mate in the Sirius when the First Fleet sailed...
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1774)
HMS Cumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 March 1774 at Deptford Dockyard.She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, and in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783....
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mined from the area was the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
Charles Menzies (commandant)
Sir Charles A. F. N. Menzies was born at Bal Freike, Perthshire, Scotland.Although he became a respected soldier with the Royal Marines, fighting with Horatio Nelson in the Napoleonic Wars and later rising to the rank of general before becoming aide de camp to the Queen, Charles Menzies is best...
of the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
Lady Nelson
The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...
, the Resource and the James
James (ship)
The ship James made several trips during the early 17th century Great Migration out of England to the New World. It is unclear how many ships were named James during the Great Migration, as the name James was very popular in England during the reign of James I of England .-1621-1622 voyage:From...
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
Castle Hill convict rebellion
The Castle Hill Rebellion of 4 March 1804, also called the Second Battle of Vinegar Hill, was a large-scale rebellion by Irish convicts against British colonial authority in Australia...
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
Jesmond, New South Wales
Jesmond is a suburb of the City of Newcastle LGA, located about west of the Newcastle CBD in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is both a commercial centre and residential area catering to Newcastle residents including Australian and international students attending the University...
, Hexham
Hexham, New South Wales
Hexham is a suburb of the city of Newcastle, about inland from Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia on the bank of the Hunter River.Settlement occurred at Hexham in the 1820s when the land was granted to Edward Sparke...
, Wickham
Wickham, New South Wales
Wickham is an inner suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district.-Origin:Wickham which was a Misspelling of Whickham, a suburb of Newcastle-on-Tyne in the north of England. Means village by the creek...
, Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
and Gateshead
Gateshead, New South Wales
Gateshead is a southern suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The suburb is also home to a number of primary and high schools and a...
. Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
James Wallis
James Wallis may refer to:*James Wallis , writer, games designer and publisher*James Wallis , New Zealand politician*Jim Wallis, Christian writer and activist*Jimmy Wallis, English field hockey player...
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
Nobbys Head
Originally called Coal Island, Nobbys Head is a headland on the south side of the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of Nobbys Head Lighthouse, the third lighthouse built in New South Wales after the Macquarie Lighthouse in 1818 and the Hornby Lighthouse...
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
Stockton, New South Wales
Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is the only suburb of Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River.-Geography:...
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
Civilian government
After removal of the last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneerSettler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
Early steamers
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
World War II
During the Second World War, Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. Consequently, it was considered to be a potential Japanese target during the Second World War.In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
Japanese submarine I-21
was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of . I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking...
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Economic history
CoalCoal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
Merewether, New South Wales
Merewether is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district with a population of around 10,000. The suburb stretches from Merewether Beach in the east to Adamstown in the west.- Establishment :...
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
Cessnock
Cessnock can refer to:*Cessnock, New South Wales** Electoral district of Cessnock, an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, based around the area** City of Cessnock, the Local Government Area...
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo New South Wales.The smelter was built in by Sulphide Corporation Limited in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using the Ashcroft Process began in 1897 and was abandoned shortly...
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold , Justice of the Peace , was an English soap manufacturer of great prominence in Australia.-Family & background:...
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
1989 Newcastle earthquake
On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scaleRichter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.
This article details the history of Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
Pre-European Settlement
The lower Hunter Region was originally inhabited by the AwabakalAwabakal people
The Awabakal are an Indigenous Australian people of coastal New South Wales.Awaba is the word for Lake Macquarie – Awabakal therefore meaning people of Lake Macquarie...
, Worimi
Worimi people
Worimi people are Indigenous Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester...
, Wonnarua
Wonnarua
The Wonnarua people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose territory is located in the Hunter Valley of Australia.-External links:* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 16 May 2010...
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Darkinjung people
The Darkinjung are the in the Wyong and area and is a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal joint management of some areas of state forest in the region. It represents over 450 local Aboriginal residents...
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
Founding and settlement by Europeans
The first European to explore the area was Lieutenant John ShortlandJohn Shortland
John Shortland was a naval officer, the eldest son of John Shortland. Shortland joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and went to Quebec in a transport commanded by his father. From 1783 to 1787 he served in the West Indies. In 1787 he was master's mate in the Sirius when the First Fleet sailed...
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1774)
HMS Cumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 March 1774 at Deptford Dockyard.She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, and in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783....
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mined from the area was the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
Charles Menzies (commandant)
Sir Charles A. F. N. Menzies was born at Bal Freike, Perthshire, Scotland.Although he became a respected soldier with the Royal Marines, fighting with Horatio Nelson in the Napoleonic Wars and later rising to the rank of general before becoming aide de camp to the Queen, Charles Menzies is best...
of the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
Lady Nelson
The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...
, the Resource and the James
James (ship)
The ship James made several trips during the early 17th century Great Migration out of England to the New World. It is unclear how many ships were named James during the Great Migration, as the name James was very popular in England during the reign of James I of England .-1621-1622 voyage:From...
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
Castle Hill convict rebellion
The Castle Hill Rebellion of 4 March 1804, also called the Second Battle of Vinegar Hill, was a large-scale rebellion by Irish convicts against British colonial authority in Australia...
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
Jesmond, New South Wales
Jesmond is a suburb of the City of Newcastle LGA, located about west of the Newcastle CBD in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is both a commercial centre and residential area catering to Newcastle residents including Australian and international students attending the University...
, Hexham
Hexham, New South Wales
Hexham is a suburb of the city of Newcastle, about inland from Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia on the bank of the Hunter River.Settlement occurred at Hexham in the 1820s when the land was granted to Edward Sparke...
, Wickham
Wickham, New South Wales
Wickham is an inner suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district.-Origin:Wickham which was a Misspelling of Whickham, a suburb of Newcastle-on-Tyne in the north of England. Means village by the creek...
, Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
and Gateshead
Gateshead, New South Wales
Gateshead is a southern suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The suburb is also home to a number of primary and high schools and a...
. Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
James Wallis
James Wallis may refer to:*James Wallis , writer, games designer and publisher*James Wallis , New Zealand politician*Jim Wallis, Christian writer and activist*Jimmy Wallis, English field hockey player...
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
Nobbys Head
Originally called Coal Island, Nobbys Head is a headland on the south side of the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of Nobbys Head Lighthouse, the third lighthouse built in New South Wales after the Macquarie Lighthouse in 1818 and the Hornby Lighthouse...
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
Stockton, New South Wales
Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is the only suburb of Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River.-Geography:...
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
Civilian government
After removal of the last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneerSettler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
Early steamers
Australian Railway History
Australian Railway History , is the premier magazine covering railway history in Australia...
, October, 1954 pp126-128 saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
World War II
During the Second World War, Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. Consequently, it was considered to be a potential Japanese target during the Second World War.In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
Japanese submarine I-21
was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of . I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking...
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Economic history
CoalCoal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
Merewether, New South Wales
Merewether is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district with a population of around 10,000. The suburb stretches from Merewether Beach in the east to Adamstown in the west.- Establishment :...
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
Cessnock
Cessnock can refer to:*Cessnock, New South Wales** Electoral district of Cessnock, an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, based around the area** City of Cessnock, the Local Government Area...
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo New South Wales.The smelter was built in by Sulphide Corporation Limited in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using the Ashcroft Process began in 1897 and was abandoned shortly...
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold , Justice of the Peace , was an English soap manufacturer of great prominence in Australia.-Family & background:...
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
1989 Newcastle earthquake
On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scaleRichter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.
This article details the history of Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
from the first human activity in the region to the 20th century.
Pre-European Settlement
The lower Hunter Region was originally inhabited by the AwabakalAwabakal people
The Awabakal are an Indigenous Australian people of coastal New South Wales.Awaba is the word for Lake Macquarie – Awabakal therefore meaning people of Lake Macquarie...
, Worimi
Worimi people
Worimi people are Indigenous Australians from the eastern Port Stephens and Great Lakes regions of coastal New South Wales, Australia. Before contact with settlers, their people extended from Port Stephens in the south to Forster/Tuncurry in the north and as far west as Gloucester...
, Wonnarua
Wonnarua
The Wonnarua people are an Aboriginal Australian people whose territory is located in the Hunter Valley of Australia.-External links:* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 15 May 2010* Accessed 16 May 2010...
, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung
Darkinjung people
The Darkinjung are the in the Wyong and area and is a major landowner on the Central Coast, participating in formal joint management of some areas of state forest in the region. It represents over 450 local Aboriginal residents...
Aboriginal tribes until the first European settlement in 1797.
Founding and settlement by Europeans
The first European to explore the area was Lieutenant John ShortlandJohn Shortland
John Shortland was a naval officer, the eldest son of John Shortland. Shortland joined the Royal Navy as a midshipman and went to Quebec in a transport commanded by his father. From 1783 to 1787 he served in the West Indies. In 1787 he was master's mate in the Sirius when the First Fleet sailed...
in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized the HMS Cumberland
HMS Cumberland (1774)
HMS Cumberland was a 74-gun third rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, launched on 29 March 1774 at Deptford Dockyard.She participated in the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1780, and in the Battle of Cuddalore in 1783....
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove
Sydney Cove is a small bay on the southern shore of Port Jackson , on the coast of the state of New South Wales, Australia....
.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter
John Hunter (New South Wales)
Vice-Admiral John Hunter, RN was a British naval officer, explorer, naturalist and colonial administrator who succeeded Arthur Phillip as the second governor of New South Wales, Australia from 1795 to 1800.-Overview:...
. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
mined from the area was the New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King
Philip Gidley King
Captain Philip Gidley King RN was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He is best known as the official founder of the first European settlement on Norfolk Island and as the third Governor of New South Wales.-Early years and establishment of Norfolk Island settlement:King was born...
, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named Newcastle, after England's famous coal port
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies
Charles Menzies (commandant)
Sir Charles A. F. N. Menzies was born at Bal Freike, Perthshire, Scotland.Although he became a respected soldier with the Royal Marines, fighting with Horatio Nelson in the Napoleonic Wars and later rising to the rank of general before becoming aide de camp to the Queen, Charles Menzies is best...
of the Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.
The new settlement, comprising convict
Convict
A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". Convicts are often called prisoners or inmates. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: the Lady Nelson
Lady Nelson
The Royal Navy purchased Lady Nelson in 1799. She spent her career exploring the coast of Australia in the early years of the 19th century. She was the first known vessel to sail eastward through Bass Strait, the first to sail along the South coast of Victoria, as well as the first to enter Port...
, the Resource and the James
James (ship)
The ship James made several trips during the early 17th century Great Migration out of England to the New World. It is unclear how many ships were named James during the Great Migration, as the name James was very popular in England during the reign of James I of England .-1621-1622 voyage:From...
. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion
Castle Hill convict rebellion
The Castle Hill Rebellion of 4 March 1804, also called the Second Battle of Vinegar Hill, was a large-scale rebellion by Irish convicts against British colonial authority in Australia...
.
The link with Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
, UK, its namesake and also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names - such as Jesmond
Jesmond, New South Wales
Jesmond is a suburb of the City of Newcastle LGA, located about west of the Newcastle CBD in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is both a commercial centre and residential area catering to Newcastle residents including Australian and international students attending the University...
, Hexham
Hexham, New South Wales
Hexham is a suburb of the city of Newcastle, about inland from Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia on the bank of the Hunter River.Settlement occurred at Hexham in the 1820s when the land was granted to Edward Sparke...
, Wickham
Wickham, New South Wales
Wickham is an inner suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district.-Origin:Wickham which was a Misspelling of Whickham, a suburb of Newcastle-on-Tyne in the north of England. Means village by the creek...
, Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
and Gateshead
Gateshead, New South Wales
Gateshead is a southern suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The suburb is also home to a number of primary and high schools and a...
. Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth, Northumberland
Morpeth is the county town of Northumberland, England. It is situated on the River Wansbeck which flows east through the town. The town is from the A1, which bypasses it. Since 1981, it has been the administrative centre of the County of Northumberland. In the 2001 census the town had a population...
is north of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
James Wallis
James Wallis may refer to:*James Wallis , writer, games designer and publisher*James Wallis , New Zealand politician*Jim Wallis, Christian writer and activist*Jimmy Wallis, English field hockey player...
, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head
Nobbys Head
Originally called Coal Island, Nobbys Head is a headland on the south side of the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. It is the location of Nobbys Head Lighthouse, the third lighthouse built in New South Wales after the Macquarie Lighthouse in 1818 and the Hornby Lighthouse...
to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the oldest public school in Australia was built in East Newcastle.
Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton
Stockton, New South Wales
Stockton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is the only suburb of Newcastle that lies north of the Hunter River.-Geography:...
peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.
Civilian government
After removal of the last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneerSettler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
Early steamers
Australian Railway History
Australian Railway History , is the premier magazine covering railway history in Australia...
, October, 1954 pp126-128 saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth
Morpeth, New South Wales
Morpeth is a suburb of the City of Maitland Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the southern banks of the Hunter River at the border between the City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council LGAs...
and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Passengers on overnight passage to Sydney arrived fresh for the new day, and was preferable to the long and arduous railway journey.
Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as "sixty-milers", referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.
World War II
During the Second World War, Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. Consequently, it was considered to be a potential Japanese target during the Second World War.In the early hours of 8 June 1942, the Japanese submarine I-21
Japanese submarine I-21
was a Japanese Type B1 submarine which saw service during World War II in the Imperial Japanese Navy. She displaced 1,950 tons and had a speed of . I-21 was the most successful Japanese submarine to operate in Australian waters, participating in the attack on Sydney Harbour in 1942 and sinking...
briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.
Economic history
CoalCoal mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries working close to the city itself and others within a 16 km (10 mi) radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's big collieries at Merewether
Merewether, New South Wales
Merewether is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district with a population of around 10,000. The suburb stretches from Merewether Beach in the east to Adamstown in the west.- Establishment :...
(includes the Glebe), Wallsend
Wallsend, New South Wales
Wallsend is a western suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located from Newcastle's central business district. It is part of the City of Newcastle local government area.- Origins :...
, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed by the early 1960s. They had been replaced over four decades by the larger coal mining activities further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock
Cessnock
Cessnock can refer to:*Cessnock, New South Wales** Electoral district of Cessnock, an electoral district in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, based around the area** City of Cessnock, the Local Government Area...
.
On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company
Australian Agricultural Company
The Australian Agricultural Company is a company which serves to improve beef cattle production through responsible natural resource and land use...
officially opened Australia's first railway to carry export coal from near the Anglican Cathedral at Newcastle to the wharf area.
Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in the Illustrated London News
Illustrated London News
The Illustrated London News was the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper; the first issue appeared on Saturday 14 May 1842. It was published weekly until 1971 and then increasingly less frequently until publication ceased in 2003.-History:...
on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
smelter was built by Sulphide Corporation Limited inland, by Cockle Creek, known as the Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter
Cockle Creek Smelter was a zinc and lead smelter located at the northern end of Lake Macquarie near Boolaroo New South Wales.The smelter was built in by Sulphide Corporation Limited in 1896 and the first attempts to refine zinc using the Ashcroft Process began in 1897 and was abandoned shortly...
.
Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere
Southern Hemisphere
The Southern Hemisphere is the part of Earth that lies south of the equator. The word hemisphere literally means 'half ball' or "half sphere"...
was constructed in 1885, on a 8.9 ha (22 acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold
Charles Upfold , Justice of the Peace , was an English soap manufacturer of great prominence in Australia.-Family & background:...
, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
In 1911, BHP
BHP Billiton
BHP Billiton is a global mining, oil and gas company headquartered in Melbourne, Australia and with a major management office in London, United Kingdom...
chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.
In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.
1989 Newcastle earthquake
On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scaleRichter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow
Broadmeadow, New South Wales
Broadmeadow is the geographic centre of Newcastle city. Its main commercial hub is located at the “Nineways”.-Origins:Broadmeadow was originally part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve of 648 hectares...
, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star'), the Newcastle RSL in Perkins Street, and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The city and suburbs suffered significant property damage also. The following economic recession
Recession
In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction, a general slowdown in economic activity. During recessions, many macroeconomic indicators vary in a similar way...
of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover.
2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded and many were destroyed.Wikinews,