A Blast From The Past

The Last Session - Oran Park 1982

So I finally got around to sorting my old photo's the other day and I came across some pictures I took at Mt Panorama (Bathurst - 1982) and at other former racetracks at Oran Park Raceway (Cobbity, NSW - 1972 & 1982) and Warwick Farm, International Raceway (Warwick Farm NSW - 1972). 

Allan Moffat - Warwick Farm 1972 

These photo's, which were taken on my old 35mm and 128mm film camera's bought back some wonderful memories for me. Memories such as when I was a skinny 12 year old catching the train down to Warwick Farm on a winters Saturday just to watch the practice session of the ATCC (Australian Touring Car Championship), walking around the pit area looking at the cars and talking to my heroes, legends such as Bob Jane and Colin Bond. Or the photo's I took at the last practice session of the day at Oran Park while hanging over the pit wall in 1982, which was also the only time I got to personally meet the late legend of Australian motor sport, Peter Brock. These days there are thousands of fans that follow their idols and there is no way a fan these days could just wander up to the pit wall and take a photo without the ever present security guards whisking you away before you got anywhere near the pit apron! 

Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan - Oran Park 1972

 Also included in the old photo's were pictures from my first trip to the Bathurst 1000 in 1982. The race itself is held  at 'The Mountain' on the first weekend in October,  and this year the iconic track celebrated it's 50th year of hosting the Bathurst 500/1000 race, which was the impetus for me to go looking through my old photo's. Actually, my first trip to 'The Mountain' wasn't in 1982, but a decade earlier in 1972, for the now defunct Easter meeting, which included a round of the Australian Touring Car Championship. This race is considered by many to be the best sedan race held on the 'The Mountain' and was eventually  won by Ian 'Pete' Geoghegan in his highly  modified Ford Phase III GTHO over everyone's arch nemesis, Allan Moffat in his Boss 302 Mustang ... great days indeed!    

Bob Jane - Oran Park  1972

When going back through the old pics, it was a reminder of how basic the conditions were in the pit area during those days, there were no concrete pads, no fixed structures, no connected services, just a tent (if they were a major team) and a bit of grass. The Bob Jane Racing Team was one of the first to drag motor racing into the modern age and if you look closely behind the picture of Bob Jane and his Monaro, you'll see the transporter he was using in 1972 to bring his racing team to events, setting a trend that all professional race teams quickly adopted.         

Peter Brock - Bathurst 1982

Motor racing has changed considerably over the past 40 years, it has become ultra professional and the once undisputed king of Australian motor racing scene in the 70's and 80's, the Australian Touring Car Championship, has now been surpassed by the V8 Supercar Series. The old racetracks such as Warwick Farm and Oran Park (along with Amaroo & Catalina) have disappeared over the years taking with them my memories. All the old drivers, household names of Australian motor racing in the 70's, names such as Bond, Moffat, Grice, Jane, Geoghegan, Johnson have long since retired and now watch their sons and the new generation of drivers do battle on tracks. 

However the biggest loss of all to the Australian motor racing scene was the death of the Aussie legend ... Peter Brock in 2006. Brockie was a truly great guy, he was one of those sportsmen that dominated his sport so much that everyone in Australia could recognise his name and his fame will endure over time, joining other sporting notables like the mighty Phar Lap (horse racing) and 'The Don', Don Bradman (cricket). I consider myself lucky enough to go to Bathurst in 1982 and see Brockie win his 6th 1000 klm race at 'The Mountain', two mighty icons of Australian sport, The King and The Mountain.

These days I don't go to watch motor racing, it is too accessible on the TV and races that were basically gatherings, have now turned into major events ... perhaps one day the skinny kid that still lurks inside me may make me pick up the camera and head back out to relive the sight and smells of my youth, maybe in 2022!         

Brockie At BP - Oran Park 1982

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!

A Winter's Tale

Well the last of the Australian winter spread its frosty breath across the Hunter as August gave way to September and winter drifted back into our memories for another year.

Actually there was nothing remarkable about the 2012 winter, it wasn't exceptionally cold, no unseasonable warmth, we didn't get any miserable August wind storms, neither were we slammed by continual East Coast Lows (although we did get hit by a couple of these nasty weather events)  and so winter in the Hunter just petered out to Spring. Overall, according to the Bureau of Meterology, Australia had an extremely average winter, with temperatures close to normal and rainfall just a bit below the average, like I said ... nothing remarkable. 

One thing I was able to this year is photograph more Rugby League. This was due to a change in the national competition where the local team, the Newcastle Knights, decided to enter a Reserve Grade side in the NSW Cup and so I was able to brush up my sports photography.

Personally, one of the saddest aspects of Winter 2012 is that due to a change to my work structure, I won't be spending as much time in the Hunter vineyards, so my ability to get out and photograph the continual changing scenery in and around the vineyards will be curtailed in the short term. I will still be able to visit the Polkolbin and Lovedale area, however my time will be limited to the weekends, not during the week, as I was able to do in the past. Although the disappointing, the changes at work does open up more opportunites to photograph some different aspects of the Hunter region that I may have missed out on in the past, so change may end up being a good thing!  

So as winter slipped away into Spring the changing seasons has already bought the warmer weather and so it won't be long till we are complaining about the heat, the drought and uncomfortable nights lulled to sleep by the 'swish-swish' of the ceiling fans.

 Maybe we will look back on winter 2012 with a fondness in January! 

The Perfect Stillness

"It was about eight minutes to six when the balloon quitted her moorings, and in twenty minutes she had become a mere speck, a homeopathic globule in the far distance, serenely and steadily sailing onwards, as though native to and rejoicing in the buoyant element." - Melbourne Argus 2nd February 1858 

The above newspaper report describes the first manned balloon flight in Australia which occurred in Melbourne the previous day, 1st February 1858. The new fangled flying machine was piloted by Mr Joseph Dean in a gas-powered balloon 'Australasian', imported and own by Mr George Coppin. The balloon which rose to a height of 3,000ft (915 metres) and lasted for about half an hour, landed safely on Heidelberg Road was watched by thousands of spectators crammed around Cremorne Gardens.

This was such an important event in Melbourne society that even a special medal was struck to commemorate this outstanding achievement.

Even though ballooning has now been occurring in Australia for over 150 years, when you come across these beautiful machines ,it can still be as awe inspiring to the casual observer as it was to the crowds that lined Cremorne Gardens to watch Aeronaut Joseph Dean make his first Australian flight. and secure his place in history. 

And so it was for me.

I was working in the Hunter Valley near Branxton the other morning when I noticed in the distance that a hot air balloon was operating over the Lovedale vineyards and while I thought it look spectacular rising above the early morning mist I never gave it much more thought. As I drove out of Greta, I noticed that the balloon was closer than I anticipated and as I continued to drive the balloon began to descend rather rapidly. I couldn't pass up such an opportunity, so I pulled safely off the highway and took out my go everywhere camera, the trusty Sanyo S1275. Luckily the position I selected to stop also coincided with the flight path of the fast descending aircraft and I as soon as I was able to get the camera out of the bag the balloon crossed directly overhead and landed safely in a nearby paddock..

Once again the little portable 'point & shoot' Sanyo digital camera proved its worth and I was able to capture the image of a hot air balloon in very close proximity. 

I have often thought about going up in a balloon, so my next task is to actually book a flight on one of the worlds most endearing aircraft and experience ballooning over some of Australia's most picturesque landscapes, the Hunter Valley. If you want to give ballooning a try, I'm sure locally based Balloon Safaris will be more than happy to scratch that itch, you can find more info at http://www.balloonsafaris.com.au/

I'd like to thank the online resources at National Library of Australia, Museum Victoria and Balloon Safaris for providing the unique photographic opportunity

       

16 In A Box

“I am not guilty of the crime with which I was charged, and I told the judge so, but he would not believe me. May the Lord have mercy on our souls. Goodbye all.” - were the last words muttered on this earth by Charles Hines before the hangman, Robert  'Nosey Bob' Howard, pulled the bolt securing the trapdoor at Maitland Gaol May 21st 1897 at 9.07am, making Charles Hines the last man hanged at Maitland Gaol.

I could think of no better place to visit on a cold blustery June weekend than a mid 19th century penal establishment, so armed with my compact Sanyo S1275 camera, rugged up against the biting winds, I ventured through the gates of Maitland Gaol, entering into a world of confinement, razor wire, barred windows and surveillance.


The Maitland Gaol, which is actually situated in East Maitland (at the time the old Government/Administrative part of the Maitland district), along with Court House, sits along the grand axis of the Sir Thomas Mitchell town plan which was drawn up in 1829. The foundation stone was laid in 1844 and the reception of the first prisoners occurred in December 1848 (although some records indicate that this didn't happen until 1st January 1849). The first stage of the prison was designed by the NSW Colonial Architect Mortimer Lewis, which makes Maitland Gaol the only remaining "Inspector's Gaols" and it is also the oldest substantially intact prison in NSW


The prison was constructed using local sandstone from quarries at Morpeth and Farley, with Messrs. Brodie & Craig awarded the contract (Maitland Mercury 11/3/1846). The cost of the first stage of construction is hard to ascertain, however it would seem that the initial contract cost £2,500 and was awarded  in 1846 (Maitland Mercury 2/9/1846), down from an initial estimated cost of construction of £6,327 (Sydney Gazette 19/6/1841) .      


The second stage of construction (1861 - 1887), which included the 3 storey 'B' Block and the  East Wing or 'C' Block (commenced in 1883) was designed by James Barnet, who was also responsible for the design of a lot of the regions Post Offices, including East Maitland, West Maitland (Maitland), Lambton and Singleton. 


In 1896 the prison also became listed as one of the Colony's principle prison for women inmates and they were housed in 'C' Block. 


It is a truly terrifying image as you wander around the site and note the harsh conditions that greeted all the inmates that were transported through the massive main gates. 


In 1972 the gaol was upgraded (electricty was added to 'B' Block around this time!) and from 1977 it became a Maximum Security institution, which eventually housed some of NSW's most notorious criminals including Darcy Dugan, Ray Denning, Ivan Milat, Neddy Smith, the Anita Cobby and Janine Balding murderers. 


The most chilling section, besides the Gallows (located at the front gate), is the clinical high security 5 Wing, which  was opened in 1993 to house the states worst prisoners and would have to be the most soul destroying part of the tour, with its segregation, the use of stainless steel and minimal human contact makes it  truly awful experience for casual observers And we were only there for 10mins, not 10 years! 5 Wing had all the charm of a dog pound and the ambiance of a morgue and although the other cell blocks were constructed in the 19th century, I would prefer to spend time in the notorious 'B' Block than be confined to the odious 5 Wing.           


The Maitland Gaol continued as a fully functioning prison up until its closure in 1998, then after 150 years of service it ceased its function as a prison as the cost of maintaining and securing a 19th century prison close to a heavily populated area was becoming prohibitive, so without fanfare the prisoners were transferred to other prisons in the system. The prison was then handed over to the community, which besides providing tourists a real insight into the history NSW's penal system, the prison also caters for a variety of events from Laser Skirmish to theatre groups and  ghost tours. 


If you do intend to visit Maitland Gaol, try and do the tour with a guide (self guided tours are available) for it is the stories that add real depth to the tour. Our guide was Peter Fraser, an ex-inmate, who was quite authentic in his descriptions of the day to day existence of prisoners at Maitland Gaol during latter part of the prisons life and his recollections of those days were enough to convince me that prison is not the place for me!


As for the '16 In A Box'  title for this post, well 16 prisoners were hanged in the prison and their mortal remains left in a box ... however it would seem that some of the departed souls decided to 'hang' around a bit longer!         
           

I'd like to thank the staff at Maitland Gaol, the online resources of the National Library of Australia & the NSW Office of Heritage and Environment for their assistance in my research for this blog. 

The Low Blow

When storms are approaching, most sensible people take cover, however, some less stable individuals grab their camera's and head out into the maelstrom.

Living in Newcastle we are fairly lucky with the weather,  we have a fairly temperate climate with hot summers and mild winters, all in all it is a pretty nice place to live, no cyclones, no hurricanes, no tornadoes, no ice storms, we don't even get snow!


This isn't to say that Newcastle isn't totally immune from extreme weather events and recently  we had our brush with our most unpredictable climatic visitor ... the East Coast Low (ECL). Now ECL's seem to feature on the Australian east coast around the start winter when warmer waters in the Tasman Sea (prior to this years event the sea surface temperature was around 21°) form eddy's off the coast and mix with a cold front moving through southern Australia. Although an ECL can form any time of the year, in my opinion, they seem to occur between April and late June.(more info on ECL's  can be found at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology )  

Our latest ECL occurred on the 5 - 6 June, when a low deepened off Victoria and then moved up Australian east coast bringing with it 7 mtr swell, wind speeds of 94 kp/h and 20 mm of rain. In terms of severity this storm was only a minor weather event and quickly blew itself out over two days. Which kind of makes  this latest ECL a baby when compared to the 2007 'Pasha' Storm, where Newcastle had a 14 mtr swell, wind speeds of 124 kp/h, over 200 mm of rain and caused the grounding of the 76,000 tonne bulk carrier the Pasha Bulker, or the 1974 'Sygna' Storm which had wind speeds of 165kp/h recorded at Nobbys Head! 


Since I was holidays, I like a lot of other hardy fools, braved the howling wind and driving rain to head down to Newcastle to capture what was unfolding along the coastline.


Although the conditions were nowhere near the intensity of the '07 'Pasha' storm, the conditions were spectacular, especially around the southern breakwall to Newcastle Harbour, where waves continually pounded over the walkway, quite a sight. Another rare event that was occurring  were surfers were taking advantage of perfect sets that were entering the harbour on the lee side of the breakwall and were making the most of this unique opportunity! Unfortunately  even getting as close as you could to the pounding surf the camera could not capture the awesome beauty of 7 metre white crested waves that were being continually pushed up the coastline by the intense low pressure system.


So next time you are on the Australian east coast and you hear about an East Coast Low forming in the Tasman Sea, grab the camera, clear the memory card, charge the batteries, prepare the wet weather gear and head out Although you will be cold and wet, to get this close to nature at its unpredictable fury, is truly an unforgettable event.  

      
A word of warning though, if you are silly enough to venture out in these conditions be very mindful of the extremely hazardous conditions that you are exposed to, especially near the coast       

The Lost Post Offices of Australia - Wollombi (2325)

"Last week we noticed that at the meeting of this body several communications from his Excellency the Governor were read over. We cannot forbear saying a few words with reference to one of these letters. It conveyed permission from his Excellency to the Council to hold their future meetings in a wretched looking hovel, bearing the dignified name of post office, with the proviso that their meetings should in no way interfere with the duties of that establishment. Now to us of the township, who know the building in question, this gracious offer with its stipulation appears highly ridiculous; and we will venture to say that this murky looking affair would never have been honored by the Governor's notice had he been rightly informed of its appearance and history. We will give both in as few words as possible. It is one of a group of old ruinous road-party huts, which have been allowed to remain, a standing disgrace to the township ; it is composed of slabs, with a mixed covering of thatch and bark, and it has served in its time for a constable's barrack, a bawdy house, and a gambler's hell. Such is the concern which no doubt misrepresentation induced the Governor to offer for the accommodation of the Council." - The Maitland Mercury & Hunter River General Advertiser 29 June 1844

It would seem that the locals at Wollombi were not happy with the state of their local Post Office in 1844!

Back in 1818 Governor Lachlan Macquarie decided it was time to open up the rich fertile land on the Hunter River around Wallis Plains (present day Maitland) and Saint Patricks Plains (later known as Patrick Plains or Singleton as we know it today) to free settlers. After several attempts, including a track that roughly followed the present day Putty Road through Bulga to Singleton, the route that was eventually selected by the government was a route that was surveyed in Heneage Finch in 1825 and roughly follows the present day Great North Road. This new 240 kilometre road was commenced in 1826 and using convict labour, was finally completed in 1836. The road, although better and easier to travel than the previous attempts was still steep and rocky in parts but it levelled out into rich pasture land at Wallumbi (Wollombi). Wollombi quickly became an important overland transport hub to the Hunter River port of West Maitland and an easy trek to Patrick Plains (Singleton).


The future of Wollombi seemed assured.


During the construction phase, as the road came north from Wisemans Ferry, various locations were sought to site the convict camps and one of those places happened to be on the banks of Wollombi Brook,  where soldier settlers (veterans of the Peninsular War), free settlers and emancipists had already began to take up allotments. The first sale of village allotments  took place in July 1838 and the first Post Office was established 1st January 1839 with a weekly mail service to West Maitland with Mr John McDougall appointed Postmaster.  Mr McDougall was an interesting choice as Postmaster as he was a former convict overseer on the Great North Road and was in charge of Iron Gang 7 from 1830 -1834. However his tenure as postmaster was quite brief as the it seems that Augusta Dunlop, eldest daughter of the new Police Magistrate, David Dunlop, took over the role of Postmistress in 1840.


As the town grew so did the services with the telegraph (3/3/1860), Money Order Office (1/7/1866), Government Savings Bank (11/12/1871) and then Wollombi finally gained official status (10/7/1882). Although the services provided expanded, it seems the building did not and there were many calls to upgrade the Post Office. In early 1892 tenders were called for for the erection of a new two storey building and in June 1892 the successful  tenderer was Elliot & Halliday who won the contract to construct the new Wollombi Post Office for £1852 (SMH 2/6/1892). Although no one seems to really know when the building was completed, it seems construction was well under way by September 1892 (The Maitland Mercury 13/9/1892) and seems to have been completed by September 1893 (Richmond & Windsor Gazette, 23/9/1893).          

Despite the boom years of the 1840's, the town was doomed by technology and it came in the form of the Sophia Jane, a steam powered ship that could do the run from Sydney to Newcastle in 8hrs and then travel up river as far as Green Hills (Morpeth). The next blow was the arrival of the Great Northern Railway at Maitland in the 1860's which meant that stock and produce ceased to use the old convict road to Sydney. The Post Office then lost it's official status in 1934, however the town still survived and the Great North Road served as an alternative road north. Then in 1945, with the building of the road bridge across Hawkesbury River at Peats Ferry, even vehicular traffic stopped using the winding hilly convict era road and this signaled the end of Wollombi as a vital transport hub. 


Today Wollombi is a quaint village, that is steeped in Australia's convict history, with many fine buildings that have stood the test of time, including the former Post Office, which is still standing after 120 years of service to the community and looks like doing so for quite some time to come.

I'd like to thank Newcastle Historical Society , Newcastle Library, The National Library of Australia & Neil Hopsons book 'The 'NSW & ACT Post, Receiving, Telegraph & Telephone Offices' for all their help and information