Newcastle, New South Wales

This article is about the metropolitan area in Australia. For the local government area, see City of Newcastle.

Newcastle New South Wales
Central Newcastle today, viewed from Stockton, across the harbour.
Newcastle The location of Newcastle in New South Wales
Population:	288,732 (2006)[1]
• Density:	1103/km² (2,856.8/sq mi)
Established:	1804
Coordinates:	32°55′S 151°45′E / 32.917°S 151.75°E / -32.917; 151.75Coordinates: 32°55′S 151°45′E / 32.917°S 151.75°E / -32.917; 151.75
Elevation:	9 m (30 ft)
Area:	261.8 km² (101.1 sq mi)
Time zone:  • Summer (DST)	AEST (UTC+10) AEDT (UTC+11)
Location:	162 km (101 mi) NNE of Sydney
Region:	Hunter
County:	Northumberland
State District:	Newcastle Cessnock, Charlestown Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens Swansea, Wallsend
Federal Division:	Newcastle Shortland Charlton
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 23 °C 73 °F 12.4 °C 54 °F 1,117.1 mm 44 in

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.^[2] It is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area which includes most parts of the Local Government Areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port Stephens Council.^[3][4]

Situated 162 kilometres (101 mi) NNE of Sydney, at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is presently the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting over 97 Mt of coal in 2009–10 with plans to expand annual capacity to 180 Mt by 2013.^[5] Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney basin.^[6]

History

Main article: History of Newcastle, New South Wales

Pre-European settlement

Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal People,^[7] who called the area Malubimba.^[8]

Founding and settlement by Europeans

In September 1797 Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European to explore the area. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized HMS Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove.^[9]

While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter.^[10] 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.^[10]

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.^[10]

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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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.^[8] The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies of the marine detachment on HMS Calcutta, then at Port Jackson, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.^[11]

The new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: HMS Lady Nelson, the Resource and the James.^[9][12] The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion.

The link with Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, its namesake and also 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.

Christ Church Cathedral dominates the skyline of Newcastle.

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.^[10]

Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming.^[13] 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.^[9]

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.^[10]

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 pioneer settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.

Early steamers

The PS Namoi gathers speed to leave harbour, c1920

Typical 'sixty-miler' enters harbour in ballast for a load of coal, 1923.

The formation during the nineteenth century of the Newcastle and Hunter River Steamship Company^[14] 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.

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.^[15][16]

World War II

See also: Shelling of Newcastle

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.^{[citation needed]}

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.^[17]

Economy

19th and early 20th Century

Coal

Coal mining began in earnest on 3 May 1833 when the Australian Agricultural Company received land grants at Newcastle plus a 31 year monopoly on that town's coal traffic.^{[citation needed]} Other collieries were within a 16 km (10 mi) radius of the town. Principal coal mines were located at Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington and the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company's collieries at Merewether (includes the Glebe), Wallsend and the Waratah collieries. All operations had closed by the early 1960s.

On 10 December 1831 the Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway, at the intersection of Brown & Church Streets, Newcastle, New South Wales. Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway^[18][19]

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.^{[citation needed]} The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc smelter was built inland, by Cockle Creek.

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.^[20] 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.^[10] 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

Recent history

Newcastle as a traditional area of heavy industry was not immune from the effects of economic downturns since the 1970s. These downturns were particularly hard hitting for heavy industry which was particularly prevalent in Newcastle. The early 1990s recession caused significant job losses across Australia and the Newcastle LGA experienced a peak unemployment rate of 17% in February 1993, compared to 12.1% in NSW and 11.9% across Australia.^[21] As Australia recovered from the early 1990s recession, the economy of Newcastle did too and the jobless rate rapidly fell. However, it consistently remained above that of NSW.

In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years operation and had employed about 50,000 in its existence, many for decades.^[22] The closure of the BHP steelworks occurred at a time of strong economic expansion in Australia. At the time of the closure and since the closure Newcastle experienced a significant amount of economic diversification which has strengthened the local economy.^[23] Despite this, the closure caused a deterioration of the employment situation in Newcastle where the unemployment rate rose rapidly to almost 12% from under 9% at the previous trough just prior to the closure.

Newcastle was hit particularly hard by recessions in the early 80s and early 90s. As of 2010 however, the region has experienced particular economic strength through increased diversification and high commodity prices.

Since 2003, Australia experienced the effects of the 2000s commodities boom as commodities prices for major export good such as coal and iron ore rose significantly. This provided a large incentive for investment in the Newcastle and Hunter region due to its status as a major coal mining and export hub to Asian markets. Large projects related to the coal industry helped to propel the Newcastle unemployment rate to 20 year lows and allow the Newcastle region to weather the effects of the late 2000s recession better than NSW as a whole.^[24]

As of 2009 the two largest single employers are the Hunter New England Area Health Service and the University of Newcastle.^[23]

Newcastle harbour foreshore and CBD from Stockton ferry wharf carpark

Disasters

1989 Newcastle earthquake

Main article: 1989 Newcastle earthquake

On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, 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') 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 following economic recession of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover. However, Beaumont St Hamilton, where many buildings sustained major damage, became a thriving cosmopolitan restaurant strip after the earthquake and is still going strong today. The earthquake helped to rekindle business in this suburban strip.

2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms

The MV Pasha Bulker became a local landmark when it was stranded on Nobbys Beach in 2007

Main articles: 2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms and MV Pasha Bulker

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.^[25][26] The Hunter and Central Coast regions were declared natural disaster areas by the state Premier, Mr Morris Iemma, on 8 June 2007 .^[27] Further flooding was predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology but was less severe than predicted.

During the early stages of the storms the 225-metre (738 ft) long bulk carrier ship, MV Pasha Bulker, ran aground at Nobby's Beach after failing to heed warnings to move offshore. The Pasha Bulker was finally refloated on the third salvage attempt on 2 July 2007 despite earlier fears that the ship would break up. After initially entering the port for minor repairs it departed for major repairs in Asia under tow on 26 July 2007.

Maritime

The most tragic maritime accident of the twentieth-century in Newcastle occurred on 9 August 1934 when the Stockton-bound ferry Bluebell collided with the coastal freighter, Waraneen, and sank in the middle of the Hunter River.^[28] The Bluebell Collision claimed three lives and fifteen passengers were admitted to the Newcastle Hospital, with two suffering severely from the effects of immersion. It was later found that the ferry captain was at fault.^[29]

The tragedy was but only one chapter in Newcastle's very long history of shipwrecks including the tragic sinking of the SS Cawarra in 1866 that claimed sixty lives, the 1974 beaching of the MV Sygna, and the 2007 beaching of the MV Pasha Bulker.

Aviation

On 16 August 1966, an RAAF CAC Sabre crashed into the inner city suburb of The Junction.^[30] The pilot, Flying Officer Warren William Goddard, experienced engine troubles and unsuccessfully tried to get the plane over the Pacific Ocean. The Junction is a highly populated suburb of Newcastle and most of the plane wreckage landed in the shopping area of the suburb. In 2007 a memorial plaque was unveiled for the killed pilot.^[30]

Geography

Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A 'green belt' protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank. The small town of Stockton sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry. Road access between Stockton and central Newcastle is via the Stockton Bridge, a distance of 20 km (12 mi). Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys around the port have merged into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake Macquarie.

Climate

Newcastle has a borderline oceanic/humid subtropical climate like much of central and northern New South Wales. Summers tend to be warm and winters are generally mild. Precipitation is heaviest in late autumn and early winter.

Climate data for Newcastle
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	41.4 (106.5)	40.9 (105.6)	39.0 (102.2)	36.8 (98.2)	28.5 (83.3)	26.1 (79.0)	26.3 (79.3)	29.9 (85.8)	34.4 (93.9)	36.7 (98.1)	41.0 (105.8)	42.0 (107.6)	42.0 (107.6)
Average high °C (°F)	25.5 (77.9)	25.4 (77.7)	24.7 (76.5)	22.8 (73.0)	20.0 (68.0)	17.5 (63.5)	16.7 (62.1)	18.0 (64.4)	20.2 (68.4)	22.1 (71.8)	23.5 (74.3)	24.9 (76.8)	21.8
Average low °C (°F)	19.2 (66.6)	19.3 (66.7)	18.2 (64.8)	15.3 (59.5)	12.0 (53.6)	9.7 (49.5)	8.4 (47.1)	9.2 (48.6)	11.4 (52.5)	14.0 (57.2)	16.1 (61.0)	18.0 (64.4)	14.2
Record low °C (°F)	12.0 (53.6)	10.3 (50.5)	11.1 (52.0)	7.4 (45.3)	4.7 (40.5)	3.0 (37.4)	1.8 (35.2)	3.3 (37.9)	5.0 (41.0)	6.5 (43.7)	7.2 (45.0)	11.0 (51.8)	1.8 (35.2)
Precipitation mm (inches)	89.5 (3.524)	108.0 (4.252)	120.8 (4.756)	116.6 (4.591)	117.4 (4.622)	117.4 (4.622)	94.9 (3.736)	74.8 (2.945)	73.5 (2.894)	73.3 (2.886)	70.4 (2.772)	81.5 (3.209)	1,139.5 (44.862)
Source: Bureau of Meteorology[31]

Demographics

The metropolitan area of Newcastle is the second most populous area in New South Wales, and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas as well as Fern Bay, a southern suburb of Port Stephens Council.^[2] At the 2006 census it had a population of 288,732.^[1] As of 30 June 2009 the population of the city of Newcastle itself was estimated to be 154,777 while Lake Macquarie was actually larger with a population of 199,277.^[32]

Newcastle is often quoted as being the seventh largest city in Australia. This is misleading as the area represented extends well beyond both the City of Newcastle and the Newcastle metropolitan area. The area, officially the Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and, as of 30 June 2009, has an estimated population of 540,796.^[3][4][33] Despite their proximity, all of the LGAs in the region maintain their own individual identities, separate from Newcastle. Newcastle remains the regional hub for most services.

Modern times

A tram halts outside the AMP building at the top end of Hunter Street, 1947

The Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource rich Hunter Valley and for much of the north and northwest of New South Wales. Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's oldest and second largest tonnage throughput port, with over 3,000 shipping movements handling cargo of 95.8 Mt per annum, of which coal exports represented 90.8 Mt in 2008–09.^[34] The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups.^[35][36]

The MV Princess of Tasmania (4700 tons) designed and built at Newcastle State Dockyard at a cost of £2,000,000 in 1957.

Newcastle has a small shipbuilding industry, which has declined since the 1970s.^[37] In recent years the only major ship-construction contract awarded to the area was the construction of the Huon class minehunters.^[38]

The era of extensive heavy industry passed when the steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing industries have located themselves well away from the city itself.

Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in Australia. Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street is the oldest purpose-built theatre in the country. The theatre district that occupied the area around what is now the Hunter Street Mall vanished during the 1940s.

Ron Morrison's classic photo of a bustling Hunter Street, 1968. British Leyland buses have replaced the trams.

The old city centre has seen some new apartments and hotels built in recent years, but the rate of commercial and retail occupation remains low while alternate suburban centres have become more important. The CBD itself is shifting to the west, towards the major urban renewal area known as "Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the shift of business and residents to the suburbs.

Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural renaissance. There is a vibrant arts scene in the city including a highly regarded art gallery,[1] and an active Hunter Writers' Centre [2]. Recent fictional representations (for example Antoinette Eklund's 'Steel River' See http://www.scholarly.info/fiction.htm) present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction.

The old central business district, located at Newcastle's eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat of the Anglican Bishop of Newcastle.^[39] Other noteworthy buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths, the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House (formerly NESCA House, recently seen in the film Superman Returns). Residents of Newcastle refer to themselves as "Novocastrians".

Domestic architecture

A heritage area to the east of the Central Business District, centred around Christ Church Cathedral, has many Victorian terrace houses.

• 

  Victorian Terrace Streetscape

• 

  Very Rare Weatherboard Terrace Houses

• 

  Modern 'Sympathetic' Development

• 

  Honeysuckle Lee Wharf Modern Development

Education

The Medical Sciences Building of the University of Newcastle

The University of Newcastle (formerly established in 1951 as part of the University of New South Wales) obtained autonomy in 1965 and offers over 150 undergraduate and graduate courses to a student population of more than 32,000, including 7,300 international students from more than 80 countries. There are three selective schools in the region. Hunter School of the Performing Arts is a fully selective performing arts K-12 public school. Acceptance into the school is by audition. Merewether High School is a fully selective academic high school for years 7–12. A test is used for acceptance. Finally, Hunter Sports High is a partially selective sporting high school. The school accepts around half its students from the local area and around half by audition.

Culture

Festivals

Newcastle holds a variety of cultural events and festivals.

The Newcastle Regional Show is held in the Newcastle Showground annually. There are a mixture of typical regional show elements such as woodchopping displays, showbags, rides and stalls and usually fireworks to complement the events in the main arena.^[40]

The Mattara festival, founded in 1961, is the official festival of Newcastle with a more traditional 'country fair' type program that combines a parade, rides, sporting events, band competitions and portrait and landscape painting exhibitions.^[41]

The Newcastle Jazz Festival is held across three days in August, and attracts performers and audiences from all over Australia.^[42]

The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival, first started in Newcastle in 1999. This is the film festival where film-makers come together in one place to make a short film in 24 hours. It is run annually in July.^[43]

This Is Not Art is a national festival of new media and arts held in Newcastle each year over the October long weekend. Since its humble beginnings in 1998, it has become one of the leading arts festivals in Australia dedicated to the work and ideas of communities not included in other major Australian arts festivals. The umbrella program includes the independent festivals Electrofringe, the National Young Writers' Festival, Critical Animals, Sound Summit, Crack Theatre Festival and other projects that vary from year to year.^[44]

The Newcastle Entertainment Centre, located inside the Newcastle Showground is a popular venue for regular events including wrestling, concerts and monster truck shows.

Music

Newcastle has an active youth music culture, as well as a Conservatorium of Music which is part of the University of Newcastle. It continues to support local bands and has a large underground music scene. The members of Silverchair, the highly successful Australian band, hail from Newcastle, as does the Australian band The Screaming Jets.^[45] It has a fertile punk rock and hardcore scene, which has spawned successful local acts and national acts.^{[citation needed]}

Visual arts and galleries

Noted Australian artists John Olsen, Margaret Olley and William Dobell once lived in Newcastle and today the city Newcastle is home to a wide range of public, commercial and private galleries.^[45] The Newcastle Art Gallery is home to one of Australia's most substantial public art collections outside a major capital city, and its extensive collection of works by contemporary and historical Australian visual artists presents a comprehensive overview of Australian art. Due to an ongoing space issue, the gallery is currently planning a major redevelopment.

Theatre

Newcastle has a variety of smaller theatres, but the main theatre in the CBD is now the Civic, at Wheeler Place, (seating capacity about 1500), one of Australia's great historic theatres built during 1929 in Art Deco style. It hosts a wide range of musicals, plays, concerts, dance and other events each year. Newcastle previously boasted several large theatres, among them the oldest purpose-built theatre in Australia, the Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street (built 1876, capacity 1750), saw touring international opera companies such as the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and other troupes, and played host to some of the greatest stars of the age, such as Dame Nellie Melba, Gladys Moncrieff, and Richard Tauber, (it is now closed and derelict); the Century, Nineways, Broadmeadow, (built 1941, capacity 1800) although largely used as a cinema was a popular Symphony orchestra venue (demolished 1990 after being severely damaged by the 1989 earthquake); the Hunter (capacity 1000) at The Junction, had advanced modern stage facilities, but was eventually sold and demolished to make way for a motel that was destroyed by the 1989 earthquake. The decline in theatres and cinemas from the 1960s onwards was blamed on television.

Newcastle has also been home to noted Australian actors, comedians and entertainers, including Sarah Wynter, John Doyle (part of comic act Roy and HG), Susie Porter, Celia Ireland, Yahoo Serious and Jonathan Biggins. The cast of the Tap Dogs show also come from Newcastle.^[45]

Media arts

Newcastle is home to the Octapod Association, a New Media Arts collective established in 1996. Octapod presents the annual This Is Not Art Festival and is also home to the Podspace Gallery.

Sport

Merewether Bowling Club.

Cricket

Newcastle's No.1 Sports Ground was for many years a stopover on the tour itinerary for visiting international teams as they faced the Northern New South Wales XI.^{[citation needed]} In 1981–82 the ground was allocated a Sheffield Shield match when the SCG was unavailable, and healthy crowds saw No.1 then become host to at least one first-class fixture featuring the New South Wales Blues each year.

Horse racing

Newcastle Jockey Club Limited races 35 times annually at Broadmeadow, a spacious 2,000 m (6,562 ft) turf track with a 415 m (1,362 ft) home straight. It is the venue for three Group 3 races. In March is the 1400 metre Newcastle Newmarket Handicap and in September the 1400 metre Cameron Handicap and the 2300 metre Newcastle Gold Cup.

Ice hockey and skating

The Newcastle North Stars are Newcastle's representatives in the Australian Ice Hockey League championships. Originally based in Newcastle West in the 1970-80s, the North Stars now play out of the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Warners Bay.

Netball

The Hunter Jaegers (Commonwealth Bank Trophy – Netball) are based at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. Officially opened in June 1992, the Centre offers 5,000 square metres of clear span floor space and is capable of catering for capacities from 2,000 to 6,500 for entertainment style events. The Centre was built to house the now defunct Newcastle Falcons National Basketball League team and was also home to the Hunter Pirates before a lack of sponsorship forced them to relocate to Singapore after the 2005–06 season, where they were renamed the Singapore Slingers. The Slingers played one home game at the Centre during the 2006–07 season.

EnergyAustralia Stadium, looking across at the Western grandstand and grass seating

Rugby League

Main article: Newcastle Knights

Newcastle sports teams playing in national competitions include the Newcastle Knights, a team that plays in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League. The Knights play at Ausgrid Stadium, situated in the suburb of New Lambton. After a recent upgrade, the stadium now has capacity for almost 27,000 spectators. In May 2008, the NSW state government agreed to provide a further $20 million for further upgrades to increase the crowd capacity to 40,000 by end of 2010.^[46] The stadium is the only sports venue of its class in New South Wales that is north of Sydney.

Soccer

Main article: Newcastle United Jets FC

The Newcastle United Jets soccer team, which plays in Australia's highest level competition, the A-League, also play at Ausgrid Stadium. The Newcastle United Jets won the A-league competition in their third season, defeating local rivals the Central Coast Mariners FC in the grand final. The Jets are currently playing in the 2011/12 A-League season, and their tenth in the Australian National Competition.

Bar Beach, south of the Newcastle CBD, is a popular swimming and surfing beach

Water sports

Newcastle has an abundance of beaches and surf breaks for which the city is internationally well known. Newcastle hosts the annual surfing contest 'Surfest' on the world professional surfing tour. Four time world champion surfer Mark Richards grew up surfing at Newcastle's Merewether Beach, and is a local icon, appearing at many local functions, and supporting local charities. Nobbys Beach is a very popular kitesurfing spot, especially during the warm summer months when there are northeasterly sea breezes.

Media

Newcastle is served by a daily tabloid, The Herald (formerly The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate and then The Newcastle Herald), several weeklies including the Newcastle Star, The Post and the bi-monthly The Hunter Advocate.

Other alternative media in the city include the university's student publication Opus, and Urchin (a zine published by the media and arts organisation Octapod).

The city is also served by several local radio stations, including those owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and SBS.

• AM stations
  • 2HD (commercial)1143 AM
  • 1233 ABC Newcastle (ABC Local Radio)
  • 2HRN (off band commercial) 1629 AM
• FM stations
  • KOFM (commercial) 102.9
  • NXFM (commercial) 106.9
  • New FM (commercial) 105.3
  • 2NUR (community) 103.7
  • Rhema FM 99.7 Newcastle (Christian) 99.7
• Government broadcasters
  • Australian Broadcasting Corporation
    • 1233 ABC Newcastle AM local radio 1233 AM
    • ABC Radio National 1512 AM
    • ABC News Radio 1458 AM
    • Triple J (youth station) 102.1 FM
    • ABC Classic FM (classical music) 106.1 FM
  • SBS Radio (foreign language service) 1413 AM
• Other stations
  • 2KY Racing Radio (as part of state-wide network) 1341 AM

Newcastle is also served by 5 television networks, three commercial and two national services (which include new sub-channels that started in 2009 for the commercial networks and in recent years from the national services). These new channels are available on digital TV only. These networks are listed as follows:

• NBN Television, GEM (digital only) and GO! (digital only) : (Nine Network affiliate, incumbent station, (NBN TV) established 1962).
• Southern Cross Ten, One (digital only) and Eleven (digital only) : (Network Ten affiliate, Southern Cross Ten (formerly known as TEN Northern N.S.W. and NRTV) was established as a result of aggregation on 31 December 1991).
• Channel Seven (formerly known as Prime Television), 7Two (digital only) and 7mate (digital only) : (Seven Network / Prime affiliate was established as a result of aggregation on 31 December 1991 but swallowed).
• ABC Television including ABC1, ABC2/ABC 4 Kids (digital only), ABC3 (digital only) and ABC News 24 is owned by the government. The ABC TV service was established in the 1960s.
• SBS Television including SBS ONE and SBS Two (digital only) is owned by the government. This service was introduced in the 1980s.

NBN Television produces an evening news bulletin combining local, state, national and international news screening nightly at 6.00 pm.

Subscription Television service Foxtel is also available via satellite.

Transport

Newcastle vista

Like most major cities, the Newcastle metropolitan area has an extensive system of both road links and road based public transport services (bus, taxi etc.) which cover most areas of both Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and which extend beyond the metropolitan area itself. Rail transport, however, is accessible to only a relatively small percentage of the population along the major rail transport routes and ferry services are restricted to those commuting between Newcastle and Stockton. Within the metropolitan area the car remains the dominant form of transportation. At the time of the 2001 Census, less than 4% of the population caught public transport, of which around 2.5% travelled by bus and 1% used the train or ferry to commute to work. On the other hand, over 72% of the population travelled by car to and from work. Newcastle, like all major Australian urban centres, had a tram system, but it was closed in 1950.

Road

Newcastle is connected to surrounding cities by the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway (South), New England Highway (West) and the Pacific Highway (North). Hunter Street, the main shopping street in the Newcastle CBD, is the major link to the Pacific Highway from the CBD.

Bus

Newcastle's City Bus Interchange

Main article: Newcastle bus routes, New South Wales

Bus services within Newcastle are operated by Newcastle Buses & Ferries, a subsidiary of the State Transit Authority of New South Wales. Trips within a designated area of the Newcastle CBD on State Transit-operated bus services are fare-free under the Newcastle Alliance's Free City Buses programme.

The network radiates from a bus terminal near CityRail's Newcastle station, on the waterfront of Newcastle's CBD. Major interchanges are located at the University of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown, Westfield Kotara and Broadmeadow Station.

Rail

Main article: Newcastle and Central Coast railway line

Newcastle railway station, New South Wales

Newcastle is serviced by two CityRail lines providing local and regional commuter services. The Newcastle & Central Coast Line has hourly train services to Sydney and more frequent services to the Central Coast. The Hunter Line has twice-hourly services to Maitland and less frequently to Scone and Dungog. Countrylink (an intercity/interstate rail service) operate two lines through the Newcastle area using Broadmeadow Station. These provide services to Moree, Armidale, Brisbane and Sydney.

Newcastle once had rail passenger services to Belmont and Toronto, on Lake Macquarie, Wallsend, Kurri Kurri and several towns and villages between Maitland and Cessnock, but these lines have today been closed. Since the late 1990s, there had been intense debate about the viability of the rail line into central Newcastle. The New South Wales government had planned to cut the line at Broadmeadow, ceasing rail services into the city and to sell the land where the railway ran for development. The state government has subsequently decided against this decision.

Water

The Stockton Ferry

Main article: Newcastle Port Corporation

The Port of Newcastle is crucial to the economic life of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region beyond. Over 90 million tonnes of coal is shipped through the facility each year – making it the largest coal exporting port in the world. The Port of Newcastle claims to be Australia's first port. Coal was first exported from the harbour in 1799.

Newcastle Buses & Ferries operates a ferry service across the Hunter River between Newcastle's CBD and Stockton.

Air

Main article: Newcastle Airport (Williamtown)

Newcastle Airport is located 15 km (9 mi) north of the Newcastle CBD (27 km (17 mi) by road). The airport, which is a joint venture between Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council, has experienced rapid growth since 2000 as a result of an increase in low cost airline operations. The airport is located at RAAF Base Williamtown, a Royal Australian Air Force base on land leased from the Department of Defence.^[47] Newcastle Heliport operates alongside the lower section of Newcastle Harbour.

The suburb of Broadmeadow is home to the base of the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service.^[48] The Helicopter service is one of the longest running services of this type in the world. Two helicopters operate out of this base and operate 24 hours a day.

The closure of Belmont Airport, commonly referred to as Aeropelican, in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Marks Point has caused Williamtown to become Newcastle's only major airport and residents in the south of the Newcastle metropolitan area must commute up to 55 km (34 mi) by car to reach Williamtown.

See also

• Crime in Newcastle
• List of suburbs in Greater Newcastle
• Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union
• Newcastle Grammar School
• Newcastle High School
• Merewether High School

References

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    "Lease Term Extended For Newcastle Airport At RAAF Base Williamtown". Bob Baldwin. 24 June 2006. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080611183934/http://www.patersononline.com/cgi-bin/engine.pl?Page=page.html&Rec=653. Retrieved 11 April 2008. 
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• Docherty, James Cairns, Newcastle – The Making of an Australian City, Sydney, 1983, ISBN 0-86806-034-8
• Susan Marsden, Coals to Newcastle: a History of Coal Loading at the Port of Newcastle New South Wales 1977–1997 2002
• Marsden, Susan, Newcastle: a Brief History Newcastle, 2004 ISBN 0-949579-17-3
• Marsden, Susan, 'Waterfront alive: life on the waterfront', in C Hunter, ed, River Change: six new histories of the Hunter, Newcastle, 1998 ISBN 0-909115-70-2
• Greater Newcastle City Council, Newcastle 150 Years, 1947.
• Thorne, Ross, Picture Palace Architecture in Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, 1976 (P/B), ISBN 0-7251-0226-8
• Turner, Dr. John W., Manufacturing in Newcastle, Newcastle, 1980, ISBN 0-9599385-7-5
• Morrison James, Ron, Newcastle – Times Past, Newcastle, 2005 (P/B), ISBN 0-9757693-0-8

External links

• Newcastle City Council
• Newcastle Visitor Centre
• Newcastle travel guide from Wikitravel
• Newcastle Beaches Guide
• Newcastle Region Art Gallery