Footy Daze 2012

I still cant believe that 2012 rugby league season has been run and won! It doesn't seem all that long ago I was at the first National Rugby League (NRL) match of the season, played at the Hunter Stadium on Thursday 1st March to see the Newcastle Knights lose in a Golden Point shoot out to the St George Illawarra Dragons. 

So it looks as though my weekends will once again seem hollow without watching 'The Greatest Game of All' every weekend and my summer days will be spent counting down the days towards the first trial matches in February.

So lets take a quick recap on my 'season on the sidelines';

10 x Newcastle Knights NRL home matches. I missed only two home game this year, the Round 8 win against the Penrith Panthers and the Round 10 loss to the North Queensland Cowboys. The low point on the Knights season came with the Round 12 loss to the Gold Coast Titans (14 -24) and the high point was the Round 19 win against the Manly Sea Eagles (32 - 6). Overall the season was a bummer with the Knights only winning 10 from 24 matches and finishing a disappointing 12th on the ladder.

3 x Newcastle Knights NSW Cup home matches. The NSW Cup is the official Reserve Grade fixture for the NRL. The Knights won all three of the matches I attended, the wins were against the Auckland Vulcans, the Windsor Wolves and the Canterbury Bulldogs. All these matches were played at Townson Oval Merewether, which would have to be one of the coldest places in Australia to watch rugby league .... brrrr!

1 x Finals Week Two match. My son and I went down to ANZ Stadium at Homebush to watch the Canberra Raiders lose to the South Sydney Rabbitohs 38 - 16. Although I do live in Newcastle and I have season tickets to the Knights, my heart is still with the Raiders who I have supported since 1983.

1 x Newcastle Rugby League Grand Final. I had a great day watching the West Newcastle Rosellas have a gutsy win against the Cessnock Goannas at Newcastle's No.1 Sportsground. I was only going for the Rosellas because their club, situated at New Lambton, has a great bistro and puts on great entertainment. Mum is a Cessnock girl so I should have gone for the Goannas, however the club at Wests is closer!


Some other highlights of the season were taking my 6 year old grand-daughter to her first rugby league game, the NSW Cup match between the Knights and the Vulcans and also taking my father to the same match. So including my son as well, who also attended, we had four generations attending the same match! Another highlight, was also sitting in the same seats all season at Hunter Stadium, freezing our bums off, catching up with Footy Bob and his family, living out the sporting highs and lows in a tribal atmosphere, with either my son or my wife at my side.

All in all it was a great year.

To me the game I follow is not about wins or losses (however I do prefer the wins), it's about getting out in the community, bonding with strangers who support the same team and building great memories to look back on in years to come.

And I hope in the years to come my grand-daughter still remembers me taking her to a freezing footy ground to watch her first match of rugby league .... and that is better than any Grand Final win!             

Oh and by the way, when going to the footy, always take your camera, even a 'point & shoot' can capture the excitement of the day!

Wet Days & Wine

Ahhh, the vineyards of Polkolbin in the spring time can be quite picturesque with lush verdant vines thriving in the warm Australian sunshine. 


 .... What !!!

Well normally this would be the case, however springtime in Australia, especially in New South Wales, can be extremely temperamental, with wild swings in temperature and weather conditions, especially in the current La Nina conditions. And believe me this week certainly proved the point as to the changability of our weather. 


As the week started out it was hot and humid and quite uncomfortable. However, by Wednesday morning the heavens had opened up over the Hunter and dropped over 80 millimetres, which is over 3 inches in old speak, of much welcomed rain over the district. So while our summer is just around the corner, a cold snap such as the one we are experiencing at the moment, can have you wondering why you packed away your winter weight jumper and wet weather gear so early, brrrr

Although the dams can always use a much needed top up, working in the constant precipitation is not much fun and dodging the constant deluges can try the patience of a saint ... or an Australia Post transport driver. 


As Charles Dudley Warner famously said, although mistakenly attributed to Mark Twain,  "everyone complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it" 


However, I just think I'll just let Enya take us out with -


It's In The Rain


Every time the rain comes down,
close my eyes and listen.
I can hear the lonesome sound
of the sky as it cries.

Listen to the rain...
Here it comes again...
Hear it in the rain...

Feel the touch of tears that fall,
they won't fall forever.
In the way the day will flow,
all things come, all things go.

Listen to the rain...
(the rain...)
Here it comes again...
(a-gain...)
Hear it in the rain...
(the rain...)

Late at night I drift away
I can hear you calling,
and my name is in the rain,
leaves on trees whispering,
deep blue sea's mysteries.

Even when this moment ends,
can't let go this feeling.
Everything will come again
in the sound, falling down,
of the sky as it cries.
Hear my name in the rain.

'In The Rain' lyrics Roma Ryan courtesy 2005 EMI Music Publishing Ltd - www.enya.com

Walking Into The Past

In 1973 the Daily Mirror newspaper described Ingleburn as a "wasteland" dominated by "ugliness, lack of amenities and boredom". As a teenager growing up in the suburb at the time I was absolutely gobsmacked that anyone would describe my town in such vitriolic manner and also as a result of that article, I don't even think my mother has bought a Murdoch published newspaper for nearly 40 years! 

When I was a young kid growing up in Ingleburn in Sydney's south western suburbs, history was something that happened in more exotic locales. In the NSW school history syllabus during the 60's & 70's, we were taught about the great monarchs of the United Kingdom, the journey of Australia's discovery by Captain James Cook, Australia's convict transportation era, the explorations of the Australian continent, the deeds by our brave fighting men at Gallipoli (World War 1) and the defeat of the Japanese by the sons of Gallipoli at Kokoda (World War 2). All great historical events in their own right and it was probably deemed sufficient in the public school curriculum at the time, given the limited resources available to educators at the time.


However, history existed right under our noses if we cared to suspend our prejudices, remove our blinkers and just look at our own town.


The development of Ingleburn can be traced back to colonial botanist, George Caley, who in 1805 traveled from Prospect across to the upper reaches of the Georges River mapping its course near Ingleburn. Not long after the travels of Caley, settlers pushed out of the Sydney confines and into the area that is now known as Ingleburn. In 1809 four soldiers, William Hall, William Neale, Joshua Alliot and Timothy Loughin from the NSW Corps took up farm selections in the area that became known as Soldiers Flat, on the eastern side of Bunburry Curran Creek (according to Parish Maps of the late 1830's show that Bunburry is spelt with 2 r's and not with one 'r' as it is today). Although the southern railway came through in 1858, it wasn't until 1869 that a rail platform was built on the Neale property to service the growing rural industries and so a name had to be found for the new locality. The name chosen was Macquarie Fields, named after the large property located on William Redfern's land holdings to the north of the platform. The properties near the platform changed hands a few times up until 1881 when the area was purchased by Elias Laycock and the home he built on his new holdings  was called Ingleburn House. Also in 1881 William Redfern's former Macquarie Fields property was subdiivided and became the new village of Macquarie Fields. To save confusion over the names in August 1883 the railway authorities decided to adopt the name of the nearby Elias Laycocks house, so the name was changed to Ingleburn. When the area around the station was eventually subdivided, the area simply became known as Ingleburn as well.


As Ingleburn was basically a rural village, most of the early buildings were constructed using easily accessible building materials such as timber and iron. Even the local public school, which was relocated from Brooks Point near Appin and opened in 1887 was originally built as a timber and iron structure. The current brick building, including the teachers residence, that stands on the site today were constructed in 1892 at a cost of  £1097/9/0 ($1.6 million) which reflects the standing Ingleburn had achieved in it's very short history.


Ingleburn even managed their own civic affairs when they elected their own council and which first sat in1896. The first meetings were conducted in Alderman Smiths lounge room (as there was no council chambers at the time) with Mr Barff serving as Ingleburn's first Lord Mayor. Also serving were some old Ingleburian names such as Mr Percival and Mr Collins (the areas first Postmaster) who were elected as Alderman in the first local administration. Eventually the council was incorporated into the Campbelltown Council in 1948. One of the legacies of the Ingleburn Council was the development of Kings Park (now called the Georges River Reserve) in the late 30's as a recreation area and was popular spot for swimming on those hot summer days. It was also where a lot of local kids, myself included, learnt to swim, mainly thanks to the now heritage listed weir that made the conditions less treacherous by artificially slowing down the fast flowing water. The area was also used extensively by the Scouting movement for orienteering and bush related activities, a real asset to the early community before the age of swimming pools.   

In 1901, the original railway station burnt to the ground and so the government decided that it would be one of the first built in the contemporary style of the day, that is in what is known as the 'Initial Island' style. Ingleburn railway is one of the few remaining examples of the first attempts to implement this style of rail architecture into the Sydney metro area and is considered to be the prototype for many other railway station buildings that were erected in the 1910 -20  period using this style.

The Ingleburn School of Arts (Community Hall) is another example of pride in local community, built in the 1920's it is an example of the Art Deco style that was becoming in vogue around that time. The hall has survived during this time, however a recent redevelopment of the Ingleburn Arts Precinct, saw the old hall demolished and now only the facade remains.
   
It was during the 1970's that population of the former rural village exploded, when the Housing Commission and developers opened up vast tracts of farmland to housing and changed the face of my town forever, dragging the locals from a sleepy insular backwater, to a thriving Sydney suburb. However, what puts Ingleburn apart for other suburbs in south west Sydney is that Ingleburn has a very rich civic and architectural history  ... all you have to do is look.

N.B. - I'd like to thank the Campbelltown City Library, the online resources of the National Library of Australia, the late Ingleburn historian Mrs Genevieve Tregear & my 4th Form history teacher Miss Burrows, who gave me my inspiration ... better late than never!. 

Sisi Upendo Dubbo

If you lived in one of the many African countries that speak Swahili, "Sisi upendo Dubbo", may just be the phrase that would pass your lips if you came to visit the magical Taronga Western Plains Zoo. The zoo is located a few kilometres outside the New South Wales city of Dubbo and is just over 400 kilometres west of Sydney, on the Central West plains. I have also covered the history of the town and the surrounding area in my blog called  'The Lost Post Offices of  Australia - Dubbo (2830) '  


However, on this visit to this wonderful city I was not admiring the impressive architectural heritage, but I was there with the wife and grand-kids to check out the impressive 300ha open-range zoo.


Now I'm not going to judge on the pro's and con's of whether it is ethical to keep animals in zoo's, however it is quite a privilege to be able to photograph some exotic wild life up close and personal. Also, going to the Taronga Western Plains  Zoo give kids the opportunity to see these wonderful animals outside the confines of their lounge room (via the Nat Geo & Discovery Channels) and where they can learn about the conservation projects that are in place to ensure these beautiful animals are around for generations to come. 

Where is King Julian?

Being tall is not always an asset!

Dinner Time

Meerkats on alert

Looking for love

You look like a tasty treat

I'm the pretty one

The best are always just out of reach

While I would not recommend spending 4 hours travelling confined in a Kia with three children, a visit to the Taronga Western Plains Zoo is a highly rewarding experience for everyone and even if playing 'I Spy' for 400 kilometres may have you contemplating evil, the opportunity to photograph these wonderful animals without bars will make the trip a tad more bearable ... just!     

   

Sisi upendo Dubbo  ..... yes we do love Dubbo!

The Lost Post Offices of Australia - Teralba (2284)

"This now little township, which has sprung up like a mushroom, has some comfortable miners residences already built in it. Mr. T. Williams, late of Minmi, has just opened a new hotel there, which is situated close to the edge of the lake. He seems to be one of the right sort, and is doing a flourishing trade, as it is the only hotel within several miles. There are two butchers' shops, two stores, and a baker's shop to supply the people's wants, with a good school for the children." - The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser 13th December 1887.


It would seem that our good correspondent from the Maitland Mercury forgot to add that Teralba also had a Post Office, although the Post Office was known as Winding Creek at that time.

original letter/newspaper receiver  

Teralba is a small community situated on the northern edge of Lake Macquarie (about 20 kilometres from Newcastle) and is part of an area of 914 acres that was originally granted to Capt. James St. John Ranclaud in the 1830's. Upon his death in 1842 the title passed to James Mitchell, who combined the Ranclaud land with his existing Lake Macquarie holdings and the area became known as the Awaba Park Estate. Upon his death in 1896, the Mitchell estate was then bequeathed to his daughter, Margaret Quigley, who continued to develop the land for pastoral enterprises. 


In the 1880's the NSW Government decided to extend the railway from Homebush to Newcastle and so it was from this great engineering achievement that the town of Teralba (or Tirelbah, as it was known to the local aborigines) began to rise from the scrub. The site was chosen by the contractors because of the access to a fresh water stream and that they were able to quarry the much needed ballast from a site that was known as 'Big Hill'

Teralba PO - 1920's  (NLA C4076)

As men sought employment on the railway, a town quickly established around the quarry and by 1885 there were over one hundred men employed in the quarry. A lot of these workers were accompanied by their families, living in rudimentary accommodation, mostly tents and dealing with the harsh environment of the Australian bush. It should also be remembered that at the time there were also over 45 children living in the fledgling camp as well ... hard days indeed!    

As the camp expanded the needs of a Post Office were required and so on the 1st January 1885 the Winding Creek Post Office opened, with Mr S.G. Hooper appointed as the first Postmaster. Who Mr Hooper was I can't ascertain, however, as most of the business owners can be identified, Mr Hooper could have been a mine manager at the  Amos & Co. gravel quarry, which was not uncommon in the early days of the Post Office. The mail was initially conveyed from Wallsend to Teralba (Winding Creek) three times per week via horse/coach and was incorporated into the existing Wallsend to Cooranbong mail run.

Street Posting Box circa 1870's

Luckily for the residents of Teralba a viable coal seam was also opened up in 1886, so once the railway reached Teralba in August 1887, the little township continued to thrive. Also coinciding with the arrival of the railway, the postal and telegraph operations were transferred to the railway station on the 1st January 1888 with the Officer in Charge Mr H.F. Nesbitt appointed the new Postmaster, his remuneration for performance both tasks was £150 p.a. ($115,000). The arrival of the railway also provided Teralba with a direct link to Sydney with the mail now arriving daily at 4.30pm without it having to come via Newcastle and Wallsend. The Teralba Post Office continued to grow, becoming a Money Order Office  (3/6/1889) and then a branch of the Government Savings Bank (1/10/1895). 
   


The growth of the Post Office was forcing more and more people to cross the busy main north railway so calls were made to find a more suitable location for the Post Office. The site that was eventually chosen on the western side of William St (possibly at 61 William St ) and the 'new' £700 ($85,500) non official Post Office was eventually opened on the 12th August 1904 with Miss M. O'Shannessy  appointed Postmistress.


According to the Sydney Morning Herald, on the 4th October 1924 the Postmaster-General called for tenders for the "Removal and re erection of post office building, repairs and painting, and installation of electric light". Who accepted the tender and when the work was actually done is still unclear, however we do know that the Post Office, including of the original building,  were moved from it's William St location to 42 York St in 1924/25. In 1996 Teralba became a Licensed Post Office (LPO) and then the current owners, Llynda & Peter Cleary, finally moved the Post Office from the cramped 100 year old building to combine the Teralba Post Office with their newsagency next door.


So it doesn't matter if it is called Tirelbah, Awaba Park Estate, Fresh Water Creek, Winding Creek, Big Hill, Glen Mitchell, Gravel Pits, Ballast Pit, Billy Goat Hill, Hillsborough, Quigley Estate or even Monkey Town .... the present day Teralba is still being served by Australia Post, as it has been for over 125 years!  

I would like to thank the NCC Library, LMCC Library, Trove Australia, Newcastle Family History Assoc. and Llynda & Peter Cleary for their assistance in compiling this blog.  

Teralba Update -  Teralba no longer has a Post Office. A few weeks ago the newsagency ceased to be an LPO & the licence has been downgraded to a CPA (Community Postal Agency).


P.S. I mentioned in an earlier blog about how I come across some interesting side stories during my research. However, some of those stories are tragic and with the railway running through the middle of town, some of those stories are truly heart wrenching. On the 17th December 1911, one week prior to Christmas, two young girls were killed in a terrible tragedy. Below this is the SMH report from Monday 18/12/1911 -

“A double fatality occurred line near Teralba yesterday, when two little girls were dashed to death by a passing train

At about 3.15 yesterday afternoon Ada Duncan, aged 10 years and 9 months; Clara Duncan, aged 8 years; and Gladys Duncan passed through tho wicket-gates about half a mile north of the Teralba railway station. They were about to cross the rails, when they noticed an empty ballast train travelling from Teralba towards Newcastle. As their attention was directed towards this train, they   failed to notice the Tamworth mail, which was dashing along towards Sydney. When the ballast train had passed, the children attempted to cross, but Ada and Clara were struck by the englne of the Tamworth mail. Ada was dragged about half a dozen yards, and was killed instantaneously. Clara was thrown clear of the rails, but was badly injured. She was brought on to Newcastle, and taken to the Newcastle Hospital, where she died at 17.30 last night.

Gladys appears to have had a narrow escape. The little girl Ada, who was killed instantaneously, was a cousin to the two other girls. Ada had arrived from Dora Creek at about midday, and the three children were taking a walk when the accldent occurred. Clara and Gladys were sisters, and lived with their mother In Victoria Street, Teralba. Their father, Robert Duncan, died recently.

An inquest will be held at the Courthouse, Teralba, at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning"

site of the former wicket gates at Teralba

That makes this tragic accident 100 years old this year and so I plan to give reflection on the 17/12/2011 to the two young lives, Ada and Clara Duncan, who were snatched away well before their time.


   

When it's a ton in the sun, working ain't much fun

"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon; 

to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language"

It is quite apparent that Henry James, who is attributed to the above quote and one of the leading lights in19th century literary realism, never spent any of his summers in the Pokolbin vineyards during an Australian summer. I'm sure if he had, I bet he would not be so bloody fond of summer afternoons!

Once again I was tasked to work in what is generally a fairly good working outdoor environment, plenty of exercise, excellent photographic location and just a pleasant way to spend a working day. However, the first week of February this year saw the area gripped in an oxygen sapping heatwave with a high of around 47° Celcius (116.6° Fahrenheit) and low of 42°Celcius (107.6° Fahrenheit)   and just to add to the unpleasantness it was accompanied by a hot dry wind. Although the cab of the truck is air conditioned, the temperature in the cab remained at a blistering 37° Celcius and provided very little relief from the outside heat.

Everywhere you looked the landscape was listless, like it was conserving energy until a cooler change moved into the area to provide some relief, however that relief never came and by the end of the week the area surrounding vineyards was in heat distress, no rain came. Given the conditions, what I was trying to capture with the Sanyo S1275, were the fumes that are released by the native eucalypt trees and give the Australian bush that unique blue/purple haze. It is ironic that this beauty also provides the bush a highly flammable fuel during extreme bushfire conditions as the super heated fumes explode in the crown of the trees and is one of the reasons Australian bushfires are so destructive.

The hot, dry weather did provide the vignerons the opportunity to continue the fruit picking without being knee deep in glutinous red clay and remove the last of the grapes for harvest, hoping that it will make the 2011 Hunter vintage one of the best on record. 


While the weather was generally regarded as a boost for the harvest, the sweltering unrelenting heat must have effected tourist numbers, as visitors stayed closer to the coast to take advantage of the cooler weather and the perfect swimming conditions. And who could blame them! No such options for us tasked to work in those searing conditions, the fruit pickers still were out in the vines (albeit finished by midday), roadwork gangs were still out repairing roads, delivery drivers were still out on their rounds and of course there was Australia Post, picking up the wine, making sure it arrived secure and delivered on time, both for domestic and international consumption.


"It is said that as many days as there are in the whole journey, so many are the drivers and vehicles that stand along the road, each vehicle and driver at the interval of a day’s journey; and these are stayed neither by snow nor rain nor heat (even if its 47°) nor darkness from accomplishing their appointed course with all speed."  apologies to Herodotus, Herodotus, trans. A.D. Godley, vol. 4, book 8, verse 98, pp. 96–97 (1924).

So when the temperature hits a ton, working in the sun ain't much fun ... believe me!              

A week of winter wanderings at work

One of the distinct advantages of being employed as an Australia Post driver is the continual changing of the work environment. This week, whilst not typical of what I do every week, had me travelling from the Hunter Valley wineries, into Newcastles' peak hour traffic flows, to late afternoons around Raymond Terrace and over to the wonderful sunsets around east Lake Macquarie.

Of course, on these wonderful adventures, tucked safely away, but always ready, was my take anywhere friend, the Sanyo S1275.


On Monday I was taken off my shift and asked to cover a heavy truck run up to the wineries. The day itself was a cold blustery day that made any task outside totally miserable and was a day only suited for sitting in the cabin of the truck, no inspiration there I'm afraid!


On Tuesday, once again I was sent up to the wineries, only this time the weather was perfect and a great day to practice a bit of photography, so my S1275 was put to good use. However, I was fairly busy and really didn't have a lot to time to spare, so I was confined to short period of photography during my lunch break.
  
On Wednesday I was finally on my normal run which takes around much of the local area and involves a lot of driving through the afternoon traffic, which isn't much fun. However, if you push really hard, you can sometimes grab a 15 minute break at Toronto on the east side of Lake Macquarie and use the time to relax. Unfortunately due to traffic delays it meant that I didn't have any time to stop and reflect on the beauty of the area.       

On Thursday I was back out to Toronto in the afternoon, only this time I managed to work in 15 minutes of camera time and so as soon as I could I had the camera out, marvelling at the beauty of a late winters afternoon on Lake Macquarie.


On Friday I was asked to cover a shift that incorporated the Raymond Terrace area and to me this was a real bonus. I had been wanting to photograph King Street in Raymond Terrace for some time, not only for it's time capsule streetscape and 1850's feel, but it was also used as a location for the current Australian movie "Tomorrow, When The War Began". So utilising my lunch break, I was able to wander around King St and the Hunter River, photographing one of the most wonderful film locations in the Hunter Valley.


So that was a week of my winter wanderings at work ... now I can't wait for Spring! 

The Lost Post Offices of Australia - Singleton (2330)

Singleton Post Office holds one of the most unique claims to fame in Australian postal history, it was the first country Post Office to have Private Letter Boxes installed. The new 40 box installations were supposed to be installed in time for the opening of the new Singleton Post Office, however, construction delays denied this event for nine months, and eventually they were ready for use on the 7th August 1879. These boxes were based on an American design, which had a copper alloy frame and doors to ensure security and according to the Maitland Mercury each of the boxes had an individual key and "that the little locks are marvels of ingenuity". So how much would you pay to have access to your mail 24/7, how about £1 per year (plus 5s key security)!


The delay in the Private Letter Boxes did not dampen the enthusiasm of the Patricks Plains community when their purpose built Post Office was finally completed at 25 -27 George St (the New England Hwy) Singleton and officially opened on the 16th November 1878.


I doubt whether Singleton had ever witnessed such a pompous and officious affair than this auspicious occasion and when the Postmaster, Mr Joseph Kelf, officially declared the Post Office open for the business at 12pm, the speeches commenced. The longest of course went to the local MP, Mr W.C. Browne MLA for Patricks's Plains, who was deputising for the Postmaster-General and during his sonorous speech declared -


"The people of the district of Patrick's Plains would appreciate the conveniences provided for them in this commodious building, which was an ornament to this important and rising town, and a credit to the architect who had designed it."


The architect was of course James Barnet, who designed this Post Office in his usual ' Victorian Italianate' two storey design, which featured beautiful arched colonnades and slate roof. The interior of this wonderful building was also enhanced with solid cedar tables, cedar cupboards, leather upholstered stamping table, ten hanging pendant lamps and various table lamps. The total cost for this wonderful building, including the land, was £3,670 ($3.2 million), which was an extraordinary amount for any similar designed Post Office of the period (e.g. Campbelltown PO was built for £2400).


Through the years there were various additions or alterations to the building as the community continued to  grow and prosper. Then, in 1924, for some inexplicable reason Walter Vernon was commissioned to design a new front verandah and he came up with the ugliest design ever imagined. Walter Vernon did not show any empathy at all for Barnet's original design and came up with a Federation style verandah and roof line, that totally destroyed the flow of Barnets Italianate architectural beauty.


The poor citizens of Singleton were burdened with this monstrosity for another 50 years, until on the 26th August 1974, after two years of construction and $191,200, the current Post Office was completed in John Street. This new building once again heralded a new lease of life for Australia Post as the ugly old George Street building had become cramped and being right on the highway, it was difficult for customers to access due to the increasing traffic flows. This was such an important event, the local paper, The Singleton Argus, even dedicated a 4 page spread to the official opening, which was quite an honour indeed.


Part of the newspaper supplement included the history of postal services in the Singleton area and highlighted the area's rich postal history. This history dates as far back as 1829 which was when the first Post Office was established at Darlington on Benjamin Singleton's property and located in The Plough & Horse Inn with Mr Alfred Glennie appointed Postmaster (Alfred Glennie also served as Clerk to the Patrick Plains Chamber of Magistrates at the same time).


The town of Singleton was proclaimed in 1835 and blocks of land were quickly snatched up for £13.13.5 ($19,500). With the increasing population came the pressure for better postal facilities and so on the 1st December 1841, the Darlington Post Office was then renamed Singleton, with  local Singleton shopkeeper, Mr G. Lloyd, appointed Postmaster. This was a trend that was continued until 1st September 1862 when the Singleton Post Office was at last to become an Official Post Office, although it still was still separate from the Telegraph Office (which had arrived in 1861).

The Post Office continued to move, much to the dismay of the locals and when the Telegraph and Post Office were finally combined in January 1870 the Post Office was moved from Campbell Street to John Street, which caused a flurry of Letters To The Editor, complaining of  "this thoughtless proceeding on the part of the Government - a proceeding on a par with the rest of the pettyfogging retrenchment transactions of the Robertson Administration". Mr John Nesbitt was then appointed the Postmaster, a position he held until Mr Joseph Kelf assumed the position after a fire nearly destroyed the Singleton Post Office on the 20th June 1876. Mr Kelf proved to be a very popular Postmaster with the local community and they were saddened when he left to take up a new position in Bourke in June 1901. Their gratitude was so great that they gave him a proper farewell (attended by 50 guests), a silver tray and hand drawn certificate to show their appreciation.


Today the former 1878 James Barnet/Walter Vernon designed George St Post Office is still standing, however, it wasn't renovated to its former glory and is now used as low cost accommodation with all the ambience that goes with a building located on a major highway. This heritage listed former icon of the Hunter Valley can never be restored to reflect it's former Barnet inspired beauty as the indignities inflicted by Walter Vernon make that a thing of the past and today his federation inspired alterations make it a sad sight to behold.

I'd like to thank the Singleton Council Library and The Newcastle Family History & Historical Society for all their assistance in compiling this blog.

A Winters Day In The Bay

June in Newcastle can be get rather cold, so it is tempting just to sit inside, put the television on and wait for the warmer weather to arrive, however some winter days can be just magical.


This Saturday was just on of those special mid winter days, the sun was shining, the temperature hovered around 19° and so Jude and I decided to head off to Port Stephens for lunch at Shoal Bay. Shoal Bay is a wonderful little hideaway and has one of the best takeaway shops that can be found in the area, Aussie Bobs.So making sure I packed my Canon  400D we headed off on the 30 minute drive to the Bay. As well as lunch, since it is also whale migration season (June - October) it is sometimes possible to spot the whales from the headlands and so that is why I preferred the 400D, with its 75 - 300mm telephoto lens as it is ideal for bringing long distance shots into focus.

After our big lunch we decided that it might be a good idea to go for a walk along the bay and just see what we could find on our little adventure, plus walk off those calories. What we did find was the entrance to Tomaree National Park and the walking trail around to the old WWII gun emplacements at Fort Tomaree.


Since it was only a 1 kilometre walk we were well kitted out for our bushwalk, camera, check, a three quarters full bottle of Coke, check, one packet of chewy, check ... so off we went.


The old emplacements are accessed by a relatively easy walk and are well worth the effort. The guns were two 6" Mk.VII BL guns (the same as Fort Scratchley) and were installed in 1942 to cover the entrance to Port Stephens to deny the Japanese Navy easy access to a deep water anchorage, from where they could launch an invasion on Newcastle. The guns, unlike those at Fort Scratchley, were never fired in anger and while the guns have long since been removed, there are still the emplacements, plus other remnants of Australia's WWII history that are still in place and are worth exploring.


On the return journey I noticed that there was a track that led up to the 155 metre summit and it was only a 260 metre walk to the top. Now, this isn't mountain goat country, as it is a well formed path with steps and walkways that allow easy access to the summit, however it still requires a bit of effort to make it all the way to the top. Once you make it to the summit (which was also the WWII radar site), the vista is spectacular, with uninterrupted views north to the Myall Lakes, south to Newcastle, and along the Karuah River that  lazily meanders westward.


The Tomaree Headland is also a great spot to do some whale watching and we were lucky enough to see a couple of these wonderful mammals putting on quite a display as they continue their migration northward to the warmer waters around The Great Barrier Reef (especially The Whitsundays). There is always something special about these displays which can captivate you for hours and makes you wonder how that we humans nearly hunted these wonderful mammals nearly to extinction early last century!


It certainly was a great way to spend a winters day, only next time I go on one of our walking adventures I think I'll pack something a bit better than a bottle of Coke and some chewing gum ... not exactly the best way to bushwalking!