Sharing Weekends

After our dismal summer, it has been great to actually get out and about, doing things that make the week at work bearable.


What is even better when you get to share those moments with people you love.


Saturday dawned to a fine and warm early autumn day, not scorching hot, but still warm enough to visit Nobbys Beach. It was made even better because my grand-daughter was visiting and so we headed down to make the most of the last of the sun, surf and sand. The temperature was still around 25 deg. and the water temperature was still around the low 20's, which made a late, late season swim quite pleasant experience ..... something I missed out on during our summer of sorrows.


Sunday was also a copy of Saturday, fine and mild. So it was off to a community planting day, organised by the local council to help stabilise a local creek that has recently been reclaimed from invasive non native plants. So for two hours, we dug, planted, mulched and watered new plants to help our local environment and our local community.


After our free breakfast, it was then off to Kurri Kurri and to wander around the 9th Annual Nostalgia Festival. Rock 'n' Roll music, classic cars, Rock 'n' Roll music, hot rods, Rock 'n' Roll music, market stalls, Rock 'n' Roll music ... all combined to make the day a wonderful adventure, a real step back in time to the 50's and 60's era ... oh and did I mention the Rock 'n' Roll music?

Sometimes it is great to get some 'me' time on the weekends, however it is better when you can share your weekends with family, community .... and Rock 'n' Roll music.   

 

Living the steam dream

The first signs are quite evident in the cool autumn morning, it starts with the unmistakable sound of 'choof, choof, choof', then in the distance the first clouds of steam and smoke gather over the Main Northern Line, which can only mean one thing .... the Hunter Valley Steamfest is upon us once again.

Sooty

Although not generally known, the Hunter Valley region was virtually built on the ribbons of steel, which finally reached Maitland in 1880 (or West Maitland as it was known until 1949). This enabled local produce to be taken directly to the important Sydney markets without having to rely on the vagaries of river transport and the cost associated with the multiple handling of goods. For over 100 years steam trains were a familiar sight on the tracks around the Hunter Valley, with the last steam engine ceasing operations on the South Maitland Railway (SMR) in 1983, which makes the SMR the 2nd last railway to use steam haulage in Australia.

36 Class locomotive

The Hunter Valley Steamfest just isn't about trains, a significant focus is also on the various steam engines that played a huge part economic development of the area. The bigger traction engine were used extensively in the farming, forestry and road construction industries, but also there were multiple uses for smaller steam engines to power generators, water pumps, shearing rigs and almost anything else that required a stable power source.

So this year I decided that I would attend this wonderful Hunter Valley festival for the first time and so arming myself with Canon 400D, I headed off to Warabrook railway to catch the local train to Maitland. Now the Steamfest is unique in that steam trains operate continually throughout the weekend and so even as I waited for my local train, one of the historic steam trains passed through, the beautifully restored 1902 built C-32 class 'Hunter'  No. 3265 locomotive. The 3265 still holds a special place in the hearts of Hunter train buffs, as it is last of the 32 class locomotives still operational and still carries the Hunter nameplate.




Once at the rally grounds there were so many excellent examples of steam propulsion it is nearly impossible to know where to begin to describe the displays. However, what I'll do is give a very short overview of just some of the examples of a technology that once dominated the landscape of 20th century Australia.

McLaren No . 1170

The J & H. McLaren No.1170 - This Traction Engine or 'road locomotive' as they were commonly known), is a great example of the type of equipment that would have been found working around the Hunter region around the start of the 1900's. Typically they were single cylinder of around 7 - 8 horse power capacity and would have been in great demand around harvest and  shearing time.

Christina

Christina - Unlike the McLaren, this John Fowler & Sons model, plate No. 16770 appears to had a life in the road construction industry as a road roller. Although very similar to the J & H. McLaren Traction Engine models the road rollers had a wider front track and  smooth rear wheels for compacting the road surface. Both factories were located in the English town of Leeds and the two competing factories even shared a common boundary. At the height of their manufacturing heyday the John Fowler Steam Plough Works occupied a 15 acre site and employed over 2,500 workers.


Sooty - Another John Fowler & Sons road locomotive, built in Traction Engine configuration, plate designation No. 16605 . 

Aveling & Porter Type D

The Aveling & Porter Type D Road Roller - This is great example of the road rollers that were imported into Australia in their 1,000's during the 1920's as road construction became a priority as more and more vehicles began using the roads after World War One and demand was high for better construction techniques. A lot of these 8 ton, 6 horse power road rollers were imported by Noyce Brothers in Sydney and were sent throughout the state. The cost of one of these machines was apparently around £1321, or around $360,000 today! 

Hazel

Hazel - This is a very rare example of a Traction Engine built by Wm. Allchin of Northhampton in England. The Allchin plant was very small when compared to others of the period and they only produced around 220 machines by the time they stopped building in 1925. Out of the 220 machines produced today it is believed that there are only 20 left in existence and of these 17 are in England, with three believed to be in Australia ... Hazel being one of them.

Marshall Traction Engine

1905 6 horse power Marshall, Sons & Co Traction Engine - Marshall, Sons & Co, located in Gainsborough, England   was one of Englands largest agricultural machinery manufacturer and were one of the early adopters of the internal combustion engines for tractors, which ironically sounded the death knell for steam operated tractors.

1920's Super Sentinel

1920's Super Sentinel Steam Waggon -  At least 100 Sentinel Steam Waggons were imported into Australia between 1921 to 1927 from the Shrewsbury factory in England and there is believed to be only 15 examples of these unique vehicles still surviving today. These odd looking trucks found a niche in our early motoring history, being able to haul over 6 tons and had an achievable top speed of around 20kph from their two cylinder engines, making them more powerful than the horse drawn drays of the time. However, by the 1930's they had all but disappeared off our roads as the petrol engine began to be more readily available to the transport industry. The slow, cumbersome Sentinels were no match for the newer technology and 'choof, choofed' into automotive history.

Vernier Tractor

While it is nostalgic to look back on the age of steam as representative of a gentler era, it must be remembered that this form of propulsion was dirty, high maintenance and very inefficient. An example of this were the early steam wagons that used around 200 kilos of coke, 150 litres of water and had an operational time of around 3 hours which made them very energy inefficient. Also, the steam trains were filthy, smelly and had a bad habit of setting fire to the Australian bush from their embers.


So well it may have been a bit of fun to have a tactile engagement with the past, but I think the age of steam has past and is best left to the industrial romantics. 

Australia Day The Newcastle Way

Australia Day is so big in Newcastle these days is that they have to hold it over two days ... unfortunately we still only get one day off!

This Australia Day the Newcastle City Council decided to combine our national holiday with our annual Maritime Festival, which in some ways is a great idea, like having heaps more activities around the harbour, however it does rob us of another weekend festival on our wonderful harbour later during the year! 


So starting on Australia Day Eve, the harbour came alive as all types of water craft assembled on the harbour, from  the Police vessel 'Intrepid' right through to riders on stand up paddle boards to participate in the 'Harbour Lights Boat Parade'. Then at 9pm the sky erupted as a spectacular fireworks display from Dyke Point showered Newcastle with an awesome light display. One of the local cruise operators decided to offer a supper cruise for less than $100 to those who wanted to take advantage of the festivities but didn't want jostle with the crowds. I love harbour cruises, so I decided to spend the dollars and take part in a unique Australia Day experience on the harbour.


Australia Day itself was another picture perfect Newcastle Day and although some may contend that it was a bit on the warm side, long you kept hydrated, with plenty of sunscreen applied, there were plenty of activities to enjoy and participate in such as;


* Beach Volleyball,
* Ski Boat racing,
* Tugboat Ballet,
* Maritime Naval Salutes,
* Aerobatics,
* F/A-18 flyovers,
* Boat building competitions &
* various multi cultural stalls and displays that highlighted our unique Australian culture.


If you couldn't find something to please you in Newcastle on Australia Day, you are very hard to please.


Of course if you are planning to visit Newcastle for Australia Day next year, if possible utilise the wonderful public transport system, make sure you bring plenty of water, wear some very comfortable walking shoes and of course ... make sure you bring the most important item, your camera!      

Australia Day the Newcastle way is a unique way to celebrate everything that is great about our wonderful country ... see you next year!

Balmy Nights & Red Lanterns

Over the past few years Newcastles Hunter Street Mall has fallen on hard times as major retailers left the CBD to go seek their fortunes in the glitzy suburban mega malls that are become part of the urban landscape. As each retailer departed the CBD it left another vacant shop along what was once reputed to have been one of the longest main streets in the southern hemisphere. This was especially evident in the Hunter Mall area, where shop fronts had all the ambience of a gapped tooth smile and also being closed off to traffic, also made it look lifeless.

While some in the community stood around pointing fingers and looking for culprits to lay blame on, the Newcastle City Council (NCC) and some of the more civic minded citizens buckled down to come up with some workable solutions. One of the most controversial decisions made by the NCC was to spend $330,000 to reopen the Hunter Mall to vehicular traffic, which had been closed since 1981. Another step was the establishment of the Renew Newcastle group to reopen vacated shops by finding artists, cultural projects and community groups to use and maintain these buildings until they become commercially viable or were redeveloped. The third part of the revitalisation process was involving Newcastle Live Sites (a partnership between NCC, Hunter Development Corp. & Arts NSW) in bringing live entertainment into the Mall during the Xmas build up. 

free puppet show for the kids

As result for the past two years the Hunter Mall and Newcastle itself is being transformed into a vibrant arts orientated centre.with one of the main focal events being the Red Lantern Markets which are generally held late November through till mid December. While there are a lot of food, art and craft orientated speciality stalls to choose from, (over 70 this year alone!) some of the more savvy boutique shops in the Mall are also open to take advantage of the passing trade, making it a unique shopping experience. Another advantage is that you can usually talk to the person that made the item and find out some background to that special gift, something you can't do at K-Mart or Toys 'R' Us!

The Red Lantern Markets are also an urban photographers dream with so much colour, people and movement around, sometimes it hard to know when to frame a shot, but it is a vast landscape to choose from!

There are very few places on earth where you can drive down to the city (or catch a train, ferry or utilise the excellent bus service) have lunch at a 5 star restaurant (Honeysuckle or Darby St), walk to beach to have an afternoon swim (Newcastle, Nobbys or Newcastle Baths), then do your all christmas shopping in a relaxed market style atmosphere and then if the mood takes you, go and watch a latest release movie at the King Street theatre, all this within an easy half hour walk of the Newcastle CBD. 

No wonder Lonely  Planet Guide recently listed Newcastle in its top 10 of places to visit in 2011!     

The last Red Lantern Market for 2010 will be held on Saturday 11th December 4pm - 10pm  ... don't miss it!

Mammals, Mustangs & Markets - A brief trip to Port

One of the advantages of being a 24/7 shift worker is how you can manipulate the system to suit your weekend activities. The other weekend was a prime example of using the system to my advantage, I finished work at 7am Friday and didn't have to be back at work 9.30pm Monday, virtually a long weekend! The lack of sleep and the longer term impacts of constant night shifts will be something for my doctors and my psychologists to deal with in the future .... I had 3 days off in beautiful Port Macquarie!


Unfortunately, one thing that I wasn't able to manipulate was the weather, with an intense low pressure system bringing gales force winds of up to 90kp/h and keeping maximum daytime temperatures down to a chilly 18° along the coast (the low even bought snow to the Central West!).


Now the reason I was in Port, my wife was required  to attend the Campervan & Motorhome Club of Australia (www,cmca.com.au) 25th National Rally for work and I decided to tag along for the weekend. The rally itself was a huge event, with over 1,000 vehicles, of all shapes, sizes, combinations & condition, from the very new $500k rigs, down to the home built backyard jobs. However, the weather was windy and cold, so while we made a full day of it, I left my camera tucked away.


On the Sunday the weather cleared to an almost perfect Spring day and after losing Saturday, I was not going to let this opportunity pass by, so when we went out I made sure the battery in the the Canon 400D was fully charged.


Our first stop was the Ford Mustang 'Show & Shine' at Settlement Point, where every type of those iconic Pony cars from 60's, were on display, with their heavy use of chrome and V8 engines, it was a petrol heads paradise.   


After we had poked around the displays we decided to continue our early morning walk around to the marina and as it happened there were some quite good deals on whale watch tours, $25 per person! Now I've seen the whales, but it has always been from land, now this was the perfect opportunity to face these huge mammals of the sea on their own turf , so to speak!

It is really a spectacular sight to see these wonderful creatures up so close and luckily I had the Canon with the 300mm lens to take advantage of their frolics.


After watching the whales play, it was time to head home and so instead of heading out to the Pacific Hwy to race back home, we chose the more leisurely coast road that winds it way from Port Macquarie to Laurieton, taking in beautiful hideaway spots such us Bonny Hills, Lake Cathie and North Haven. We were even lucky enough to have lunch at the monthly Laurieton markets and wander around the stalls of local produce and  bric-à-brac on display. 


Sometimes it's best not to have a plan, only to 'Laugh More, Live Longer' the motto used by  CMCA members and travel around our beautiful country and take advantage of the quieter coastal retreats ....plus you can always drive to some better weather!  
     

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Fairground Attraction

One of the big events in Newcastle (NSW) is the Annual Newcastle Regional Show, an event that each year keeps on growing and gives support to the local rural industries and farmers from around the region. Also, much to the dismay of the local Newcastle Chamber of Commerce, the Friday is gazetted as a public holiday for residents within the Newcastle LGA (this was originally done so schools could organise excursions to the show and show city kids where our produce comes from). 

The show has been icon on the local calendar since 1902 (although the first  Newcastle and District Agricultural Horticultural and Industrial Association was formed in 1899) and except during 1916 (WW1, used as a Military Camp), 1919 (influenza) and 1941 - 45 (WW2 Staging Area), the show has been delighting Novacastrians with all the colour and excitement that a regional show can bring.  

This year the Newcastle Regional Show was once again a tremendous place to spend a day and enjoy the unique atmosphere. In fact I actually spent two days at the show, one day with the grand - daughter and the next with my wife (so we could visit all the boring exhibits, lol). The weather was perfect, the grounds were immaculate and the place had a real vibe, a real sense of community, something you don't seem to find in the bigger capital city Agricultural Shows.

Once again, for convenience, I armed myself with the go anywhere Sanyo 1275S camera and tried to capture some of the colour and excitement. It wasn't a hard task. In the main ring there was jousting, stunt motor bikes, the V6 Hi-Lux Heroes stunt drivers, there was cattle judging, the strength of the woodchoppers on display, the excitement of Sideshow Alley (with the spruiking call of the carnies), in the Hall of Industries there were displays of handicraft, cakes, paintings, wrestling demonstration, model train displays and of course the ubiquitous showbag concession stands, with their overpriced, tacky, tooth decay inducing offerings, which of course I had to buy! 

You could, if you so desired, have a Chinese massage or even get your future told in an area I called Shonky Alley and  this year, there was something that I had never seen before, dancing dogs, believe me a tacky, surreal, experience not to be missed! 

I really do hope that the Newcastle Regional Show continues to operate in its current format and continues to provide an important link between our rural and city communities.

See you again in 2011

2008 Newcastle Show

My visit to the 2008 Newcastle Show gave me plenty of opportunities to capture the colour & movement of a regional agricultural show