The Newcastle Industrial Girls’ School

(This post has been transferred from ‘Newcastle Government Domain’ WordPress site- originally posted 28 June 2013) The Newcastle Industrial Girls’ School, ‘…the little volcano slumbered’ The Newcastle Industrial School for Girls opened in 1867 and was the beginning of a new era at the Government Domain (James Fletcher Hospital). The story of the girls at … More The Newcastle Industrial Girls’ School

“Islands of the Insane” – our records, perceptions and the lost voices from the ‘asylum’

(This post has been transferred from ‘Newcastle Government Domain’ WordPress site- originally posted 4 December 2014) Paper presented at the Australian Archives Conference ‘Archives on the Edge’ University of Newcastle Tasmania, Australia 18-21 August 2015 ABSTRACT- This article examines the mental health records from the ‘Newcastle Asylum for Imbecile and Idiot’ (1871-1900) held at Archives … More “Islands of the Insane” – our records, perceptions and the lost voices from the ‘asylum’

“. . . here is an Asylum open . . .” Constructing a Culture of Government Care in Australia 1801 – 2014 now online

(This post has been transferred from ‘Newcastle Government Domain’ WordPress site- originally posted 1 August 2014) Dr Ann Hardy’s thesis  ““. . . here is an Asylum open . . .” Constructing a Culture of Government Care in Australia 1801 – 2014″ on the national significance of the former James Fletcher Hospital site is available … More “. . . here is an Asylum open . . .” Constructing a Culture of Government Care in Australia 1801 – 2014 now online

‘Empower a Women -Empower a Nation’ International Women’s Day – 2017

(This post has been transferred from ‘Newcastle Government Domain’ WordPress site- originally posted 14 March 2017) International Women’s Day was celebrated by the Newcastle Branch of the Union of Australian Women on 3rd March 2017 at Charlestown Bowling Club with a talk by Ann Hardy. The topic was the Newcastle Industrial Girls School (1867-71) an … More ‘Empower a Women -Empower a Nation’ International Women’s Day – 2017

Local Treasures – Newcastle’s King Edward Park

(This post has been transferred from ‘Newcastle Government Domain’ WordPress site- originally posted 22 April 2014) Newcastle’s King Edward Park Local Treasures ABC1233 radio Broadcast Notes April 2014 By Dr Ann Hardy A research team interested in the history of the Newcastle Government Domain and King Edward Park meet regularly to further research of this … More Local Treasures – Newcastle’s King Edward Park

“M.E.H.”, Rob the Ranter’s Adored Poet

  By Louise Gale In Ross Edmonds’ post of 14 May 2019 on “Rob the Ranter” (1), he discusses the anonymous “Rob’s” contribution to the cultural life of Newcastle in 1861, and mentions Rob’s literary fellows: three equally anonymous poets who used only their initials in their contributions to the Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River … More “M.E.H.”, Rob the Ranter’s Adored Poet

Life of George Muddle – Diary of an Ordinary Person in the Hunter Valley of the 1840s-1850s

  For the past twenty years, the Dudley Museum has held a xerox copy of a manuscript diary kept by George Muddle (1823-1889) documenting, in the main, his life as a servant worker on Charles Boydell’s estate Camerallyn, located between the Paterson and Allyn Rivers in the Hunter Region, on an almost daily basis from … More Life of George Muddle – Diary of an Ordinary Person in the Hunter Valley of the 1840s-1850s

“They sent me North: Female Convicts in the Hunter” – Book Launch

On Tuesday 31 July 2019, the publication “They sent me north: Female Convicts in the Hunter” compiled by Mel Woodford with Jan Richards, edited by Elizabeth James from the Newcastle Family History Society (NFHS) was launched at the Lovett Gallery, Newcastle Library. The book has many contributions by the descendants of female convicts and members … More “They sent me North: Female Convicts in the Hunter” – Book Launch