Fortress Newcastle: Life Under Threat, the latest film in the Stories of Our Town Series, is now free to view from Remembrance Day, Thursday 11 November 2021. What was “Fortress Newcastle”? The “Newcastle Fortress” is the official term used to describe the Australian Government’s defence installations, established to protect Newcastle from enemy attack during the … More Fortress Newcastle Film (2021)
The Owen Gun Films The extensive testing and real world service scenarios that the Owen Sub Machine Gun underwent to ensure it was an effective weapon are portrayed in this film. The Owen Gun Private Evelyn Owen of Wollongong invented the Owen Sub Machine Gun prototype in July 1939. It was manufactured in the … More Service Tests of Modern Sub Machine Guns’ (1941) and other Historic Films on the Owen Gun (1940s)
Here are two digital copies of G.B White’s 1844 Plan of the Hunter Region from the Port Hunter (Newcastle) to the Maitland Falls. Title Plan of the River Hunter from Port Hunter to the Falls at West Maitland Surveyed in October 1844 by G.B White. Lithographed by J. Allen 81 King St. West. 1844 … More 1844 Plan of the Hunter Region
The Castanet Club Story A newspaper in Scotland once described The Castanet Club as: “12 people playing tennis, all of them serving at once” To witness a concert was to be bombarded with joy. This “joy” started an hour before the show, and stopped you getting any sleep hours after the show had finished. Who … More Stories of Our Town: The Castanet Club Story
Kooragang Island is the name, now given, to what was once a number of Islands that made up the Hunter River estuary. Ash Island was one of these Islands, there were many more. Local Radio ABC 1233 Local ABC Radio 1233 asked what was the difference between Ash Island and Kooragang Island? University Archivist & … More Kooragang Island
Hunter Living Histories Zoom Meeting Hunter Living Histories Meeting held over zoom on Monday 11 October, 2021. 1:00pm – 3:00pm Acknowledgement to Country The Chair delivered an acknowledgement of country. This work is conducted in memory, and respectfully honours the First Australian People, the Aboriginal People of this land. Hunter Living Histories – Presentations and Updates Archaeological … More Hunter Living Histories Meeting – 11 October 2021
First Complete Aerial Coverage for Greater Newcastle 1944 A team working through Transport NSW and Spatial Services NSW have successfully digitised a complete set of aerial photographs of Newcastle as it looked in 1944. The Department of Main Roads (DMR) commissioned the aerial photography during World War II, as part of its aerial surveys. This … More Newcastle and Suburbs Aerial View, 1944
A possible missing piece to a historic panorama of glass negative plate photographs taken in 1906 by renown Newcastle photographer Ralph Snowball has come to light in Melbourne after 115 years. Robert Watson noticed the set of images posted on the Lost Newcastle Facebook Group by a retired Associate Professor from the University of Melbourne, … More Missing Piece of Historic 1906 Newcastle Panorama Found After 115 Years
One of the more bizarre episodes in the history of aerial photography occurred during World War I with the use of “squadrons” of homing pigeons, each equipped with a single shot camera on a time-fuse. The photograph (above) illustrates 3 different types of cameras used by the ‘pigeon squad’. History of Aerial Photography and the … More The History of Aerial Photography
For Mental Health Week 2021 we are sharing photos from Special Collections at the Univerity Library of a mental health site in Newcastle. The James Fletcher Hospital commemorates 150 years in October 2021. It is the longest established mental health site in continuous use in NSW. We acknowledge the traditional Aboriginal owners of the lands … More Mental Health Milestone – 150 years