
This is a beautiful acquisition of the University of Newcastle’s Special Collections in the Auchmuty Library.
This hand coloured plan shows the Port of Newcastle as it looked in 1882.
Many thanks to David Threlfo who produced this promotional video as Episode 11 of his 4 Local Stories of Us series.
Maps of the Port of Newcastle
It forms a unique part of a series known as the “Knaggs maps”.
These plans, published by R.C. Knaggs & Co. in the The Newcastle nautical almanac, directory and guide to the Port of Newcastle came out during the 1880s to 1890s.
Digital scans of these plans that are held in the University’s Special Collections can be found here: https://hunterlivinghistories.com/2018/11/05/knaggs-maps/
What Can They Tell Us?
These maps record the topography of the city of Newcastle, and how Newcastle and Stockton changed over the years.
These plans are also important in understanding Aboriginal history.
They show the position of the wetlands, where Aboriginal people hunted for food, and the dune system where Aboriginal people lived, worked and buried their dead.
Gionni Di Gravio, OAM
University Archivist & Chair, Hunter Living Histories
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