The Lost Post Offices of Australia - Stockton (2295)

In 1800 a gang of 15 convicts, escaping from Broken Bay in NSW, stole the colonial sloop 'Norfolk' and ran aground at the present day Stockton, thus giving the area it's first and more romantic name, Pirate Point. 

Situated less than 1 kilometre across the harbour from Newcastle, Stockton has its own unique history, which dates back to early Aboriginal occupation and was known as  "Burrinbingon" by the local Worrimi tribe. Stockton was known by the aboriginal as a gathering place of plenty as it was well stocked with oysters, pippies and plenty of fish species in the river. When Lt Shortland 'discovered' Newcastle in 1797 word got back to Sydney about the natural riches that could be found, especially the coal and cedar and it didn't take long before 18th century entrepreneurs came to take advantage to the abundant riches. One of the first  businessmen was Hugh Meehan, who in 1799 began operating a saw pit on Stockton's northern shore      

Following the establishment of the convict settlement at Coal River (Newcastle) in 1804, Stockton then became a horrendous place of punishment as convicts were sent over the river to work the lime kilns that were situated close to the former aboriginal middens that were scattered around the area.   


By 1823 the convict era had finished and so private settlements along the length of the Hunter River flourished, including Stockton. Large grants of land were issued in the 1830's and early industries quickly flourished, salt works and foundry in 1838, vitriol (sulphuric acid) works in 1853, tin smelter in 1872 and the colony's biggest textile factory (which burnt down in 1851). however the mainstay was shipbuilding, with at least six shipbuilders operating in the area by the 1860's.


With a population of over 150 permanent residents the first calls were made for the establishment of a Post Office on the peninsular in 1859, however the NSW government declined, mainly due to the high cost submitted by the contractors to convey the mail across the harbour, one tender was quoted as £60 ($10,000), which was considered to high of a cost at the time.


Not to be deterred, in November 1861 representations were once again put to the government, this time by local politician Mr James Hannell and in this instance they were successful. On the 1st February 1862, Mr Samuel Sterling became the first Postmaster of the new Stockton Post Office. A contract was also let to Mr Henry Plenglaze for £36.13.5 ($6,000) to provide a 6 day mail service from Newcastle to Stockton. According to the Parish Maps the first Post Offices seemed to be located off Fullerton Road, near what is now known as Punt St (formerly known as Factory St.). Several Postmasters followed Mr Sterling ... William Adams (1868), Edward Miner (1870) and then in 1873 the former contractor, Henry Penglaze, who held the position until his death in 1882,  then passing the running of the Post Office licence to his wife, Elizabeth.


As Stockton continued to grow, especially when the Stockton Coal Company commenced operation in 1882, so did the demands for better postal services, including the connection to the telegraph. Following an assessment by Postal Inspector Davies in 1886, it was decided to erect an 18 mile  telegraph line from Raymond Terrace to Stockton and amalgamate the Post Office and the Telegraph Office.



In 1887, Stockton at last had an official Post & Telegraph Office with Mr John Beckett appointed to the position with a salary of £124 p.a. ($130,000). On the day he opened Stockton's the new Post & Telegraph, the 27th June 1887, his first message as the official Post & Telegraph master was "I have opened the office here this morning, may I take on a Probationer to carry messages, no other person employed here but myself ", Postmaster Beckett was quick to realise the short comings of being the only employee at the Post Office! Not only was his plea for additional staff agreed to but he also gained a part time Postman as well, John Griffiths, who commenced his rounds on 1st September 1887, thus earning the distinction of being the first postman in Stockton .


In 1890 the Post Office also gained a lamp for the front of the Post Office and as this had to be lit and maintained by Postmaster Beckett, so he asked for and was granted an additional allowance of £4 p.a. ($670) to perform this task. Just another perk of the job that we have seemed to have lost over the years!  


By 1891 however calls were made by the Stockton Municipal Council for a public building be erected for a Post Office, instead of operating out of Mr Bruce's rented premises, so after much negotiating a site on Hunter Street was selected and on the 18th February 1901 at a cost of £1,219 ($815,000) , Stockton finally had a new purpose built Post Office to be proud of.


Over time technology moves on and the Post Office building in Hunter Street had outlived it's useful life which required extensive renovations just to make it habitable. So in the late 1930's it was decided to build a newer office in Clyde St (cnr Douglass St) and update the delivery and retail service. It was with little fanfare on the 6th December 1941 that the new £2,500 ($490,000) modernised Stockton Post Office opened for business. The old Hunter Street Post Office was then sold off and converted into residential flats, eventually the building was demolished and became part of the revamped Stockton foreshore. 


By the late 1990's, the Post Office structure was once again under review and as a result the retail business became an LPO (Licensed Post Office) and is now located in the newsagency at 29 Mitchell St. The old 1941 Post Office building was retained for a few more years before it  too was also sold off and in June 2001, the remaining postal staff and contractors were moved out to Heatherbrae, near Raymond Terrace. 


Next year marks the sesquicentennial (1862 - 2012) of Post Office operations in Stockton, a Post Office that has had quite the history of being moved, updated, downsized, revamped and hopefully, will continue to serve this local community well into the future.


As for the 15 pirates from the Norfolk? Eleven of them stole another boat, but eventually all were recaptured and two of the ringleaders executed ... perhaps they just should have opened a Post Office! 

N.B. I'd like to thank the staff at the Newcastle Library, the National Archives of Australia, The National Library of Australia & the residents of Stockton for their help in compiling this blog.

A walk to Whibay Gamba

view to Nobbys Beach & Fort Scratchley

On the 10th May 1770 Captain James Cook whilst sailing up the east coast of Australia on his journey of discovery, sailed close enough to the coast to notice, what he described in his journal as, "A small clump of an island lying close to shore...". It was in fact Nobbys Head, the former island that marks the entrance to what we know today as Newcastle harbour and provides Newcastle with an iconic natural landmark.


Now the history of this little island goes way back further than James Cook and was also part of the local Aboriginal Dreamtime stories, with the island which they named Whibay Gamba. The local Aborigines, the Awabakal tribe, tell the story of how  a kangaroo was chased from the mainland by the Wallaby clan after disobeying their laws and under the cover of a heavy fog, swam to Whibay Gamba to hide under the rocky outcrop. The Wallaby clan believed that the mischievous kangaroo had drowned, however, he survived his ordeal and is still hiding there to this very day, hiding under the island. Apparently the kangaroo lets us know that he is still there by thumping his tail, which causes the occasional earthquake around the Hunter region. 


The island itself has changed since the time of Captain Cook with the island now being less than half of its original  height, now standing at 27.2 metres. Although there is now evidence from the Coal River Working Group that the island wasn't as tall as the officially accepted height of 62 metres and was more like 43 metres, which is about the height of the current signal station. What we do know is that changes began to take place as far back as 1818 when Governor Macquarie started work on a pier to link the island with the mainland with convicts using rock from the island to construct the breakwall. Then again in the early 1850's  the height was reduced  another 10 metres to assist navigation, as the island took the wind out of the sails of the sailing ships entering the harbour and then to aid the construction of the lighthouse (completed in 1858) another 2 metres were taken off the top of the island. 

the 1858 lighthouse 

Now due to the isolation of Nobbys and especially since the erection of the Signal Station and Lighthouse, public access to the site has been very limited, however a change in the use of the former island is allowing public to enter the site through a series of limited open days.


I was lucky enough to join many other Novocastrians on one of those days and walked up to the site that offers a different perspective on our wonderful city. The day was another perfect Newcastle day, fine, sunny and with a nor' easterly keeping the edge off the heat. Also taking advantage of the carnival atmosphere were the anti coal protest group Rising Tide, who decided to form a  mini blockade of the harbour in their canoes and other energy efficient water-craft to make their point known. Newcastle Ports, which knew of the protest, just rescheduled the port operations for that day and so no coal loading was hindered that day. While I don't agree with all the aims of Rising Tide, I do appreciate that they give the community a conscience, that there may be another way to live our modern lives and to me, that isn't a bad thing.


So next time Nobbys is open to the public, make sure you grab your best walking shoes, some water to keep hydrated and of course your camera to make the one of Newcastle's most unique photographic locations.


I just hope that the kangaroo who is still hidden beneath Nobbys doesn't get to upset with all the activity above his rock home and start thumping his tail!  

           

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!

Fading Into Night

One the magical things you can do on Newcastle Harbour is to organise a dinner cruise and take in a different perspective of our wonderful city.


I've been on a few of these type of cruises before, one on Lake Macquarie and a couple on Sydney Harbour, but what really sets Newcastle apart is the fact that it is a working harbour. While some may scoff at the idea of cruising a working port, Newcastle is spectacular as you wend you way along the row of ships loading/unloading all kinds of products and produce, although coal is still our main export.


Although I was aching to take the Canon 400D, once again I had to content myself with the Sanyo 1275s, as I correctly predicted that the boat would be pretty full of diners and the bulkiness of the Canon would restrict where I would be able to move around. So armed with the compact Sanyo 1275s we departed Newcastle Marina at Wickham just before sunset. The day itself wasn't a typical Newcastle summers day, which is normally warm and clear and usually tempered with a nor' easterly in the late afternoon, this day had a lot of cloud, with a light southerly, which was, initially, a bit disappointing..


But as they say, every cloud has a silver lining!


The cloud cover wasn't 100% and so as the sun sunk, the broken cloud reflected this wonderful event, changing from purple, to a spectacular golden glow, then finally to the most intense display of orange I have seen in quite some time. It was truly amazing and although I only had the little Sanyo, it picked up every colour nuance perfectly.  


As the sun slowly sunk away into the west taking its wonderful display with it, the harbour then took on a different perspective as the arc lighting begin to take effect and began reflecting off the water in shimmering hues of orange, red, silver and blue. As well as all this there were also the lights of Newcastle itself  including Christ Church Cathedral, Fort Scratchley, Nobbys, Queens  Wharf and the lights of the CBD all glittering like a thousand jewels on the shoreline.


So if you ever want to see a different side of my wonderful city, book a dinner cruise with either Moonshadow Cruises - http://www.moonshadow.com.au/ or Nova Cruises - http://www.novacruises.com.au/ and enjoy a wonderful night on our very special harbour.


Oh, and as I always say .... make sure you take your camera!  

Summer Holidays In Carrington

The Christmas/New Year breaks are pretty special, they give you time to relax, unwind and practice some photography in exotic locations .... such as Carrington. Now I will admit that Carrington doesn't have wonderful beaches where you can kick back to relax in the sun, neither does it have rolling acres of lush vineyards with fattened grapes that are ready for picking or wonderful cellar doors dispensing some of Australia's best vintage. Nope, Carrington is Carrington, an often much neglected industrial suburb on Newcastle Harbour, located on a narrow piece of land between the Hunter River and the shores of Throsby Creek.

When Newcastle was first settled, Carrington, as we know it  today, didn't exist. It was a low lying tidal island that was known to the local Aboriginals as "wuna - r tee" and was known to be abundant with fish, mud crabs and oysters. Originally named Chapmans Island during the convict era, then later Bullock Island, it rose from the mud from 1859 when extensive dredging commenced in Newcastle Harbour to help alleviate flooding (probably following the 1857 floods) with the spoil spread over the tidal flats gradually raising the island above the tidal influence. Then during the 1860's Bullock Island became a ballast dumping ground for the visiting coal ships and as the demand for coal continued to grow, more expedient methods were sought on the loading of the colliers with Mr. E O Moriarty, the Chief Engineer of the NSW Steam Navigation Board, expanding Bullock Island to accommodate the growing coal trade. In 1874 Mr Moriarty commissioned the British based  Armstrong Hydraulic Machinery Factory to design  a hydraulic crane delivery system for the Bullock Island site. James Barnet was commissioned to design  the Power Station to accommodate the new fangled  equipment and so in 1878 Newcastle led Australia when the £20,000 ($16 million) Carrington Hydraulic Power Station began operations with the first load of coal dispatched using this new system on the 18th March 1878. It wasn't until 1916 -17 that electricity replaced the steam pumps and in 1964 the last of the internal machinery were removed from building for scrap. Recently the building has been purchased by the NSW State Government which intends to restore this excellent example of 19th century industrial architecture to its former glory after nearly 50 years of disgraceful neglect.   

It was also during the 1860's that families first began to settle on the former mud flats and a town quickly established itself around the growing community, so much so, that the Municipality of Carrington was proclaimed in1887, with a brand new council chambers being completed one year later in 1888. The town continued to grow with over 2,000 residents by 1900 and when BHP opened, Carrington's future seemed assured. However, the 1930's depression proved disastrous for Carrington with 58% unemployment or those lucky enough to be working were on  reduced wages, so much so that a shanty town called 'Texas'  sprung up to provide struggling families with rudimentary accommodation


Carrington survived the Great Depression and continued to grow as a tough, no nonsense, Newcastle working class suburb with its proximity to the railway, wharves and associated industries providing workers with stable employment. This is also evident in the amount of pubs in Carrington, with nearly a pub on every corner! Even with the closure of BHP in 1999 and the relocation of many supporting business, Carrington, once again proved resilient and has since then become more gentrified as young families take advantage of the towns proximity to Newcastle.


Today Carrington is still an industrial suburb, dominated by the Hunter Port Corporation, however, it is still dotted with many historic buildings that are over 100 years old, including the Hydraulic Power House, Public School, Post Office, Council Chambers, hotels and numerous private houses that give the suburb it's unique rough diamond character. 


So if you are looking for something to do during your next summer holidays, grab your camera and take a stroll back through time in Carrington.   
    

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!

Things That Go Squish

One of the wonderful things about Australia is the extremes of weather that we can be sometimes be subjected to and this year our Spring is continuing this wonderful tradition. A tradition that was immortalised in verse by Dorothea Mackellar - in her poem 'My Country' with a stanza that is transcribed into every Australians soul 

I love a sunburnt country, 

A land of sweeping plains

Of ragged mountain ranges

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons 

I love her jewel sea,

Her beauty and her terror

The wide brown land for me!

Last Spring was so dry on the Australian east coast we were hearing of houses cracking as the clay based soil under the houses dried up so much, due to the lack of moisture, it was causing the houses to shift on their foundations and the repairs were costing owners many thousands of dollars in remedial work to fix the cracked walls.


This Spring we are blessed as persistent showers continue to soak the ground, filling the dams and watering the gardens. However, as much as the wet weather is appreciated it does kind of make outdoor activities problematic, activities such as photography.


One of my big problems during these rain events is keeping the equipment dry and out of the wet weather. This means every shot has to be planned and executed, no 'point & shoot' in persistent rain. One of the advantages is consistent (if low) light levels, which negate shadows on the subject and funnily enough, reduces the use of the flash.

Newcastle itself,  is a city that prides itself on it's beach culture, with a central business district that is within a ten minute walk of some of Australia's best surf beaches and a wonderful dining culture along the harbour foreshore, the city does tend to recede into its shell during periods of continual wet weather. People tend to hustle along, avoiding the rain and not stroll along soaking up the wonderful views that are usually afforded by the harbour and beaches.


Even so, it was during one of our recent wet weather events, on a lazy Sunday afternoon, that I grabbed my good friend, the Sanyo S1275 camera and took a sodden stroll through our wonderful city and quite enjoyed the isolation that was afforded to me. Only the hardy and the foolish were to be seen on our beautiful city streets


Sometimes it is worth taking the camera out on days that are challenging, however, I must admit, the best part of the day was getting out of the rain and having a wonderful hot cup of coffee before heading home.   

When The Rain Is A Pain That Can Drive You Insane

As I mentioned in my last blog 'A State Of Origin Story'  about the troubles I had when trying to photograph around the North Sydney area during a torrential downpour, well that didn't stop me from at least attempting to capture some of the essence of Australia's number one city.


My walk started around the North Sydney area and would you believe there is a James Barnett designed North Sydney Post Office, completed in 1888 at a cost of  £4,500 (that was the cost for the Post Office only, today that would be around $4million!) sitting on the corner of the Pacific Highway and Mount Street , it is now swamped by the larger office towers. Now what is also interesting is that the clock tower wasn't added until 1895, when Walter Liberty Vernon was the NSW Government Architect and so if you look closely at the clock tower you'll notice that it is not of the same design of the main building, showing a more 'baroque' architectural style, than Barnett's original 'Italianate' design. The cost of adding that clock tower was £965 (around $800,000). Also prior to 28th August 1890, North Sydney was known as St Leonards (now a suburb located further up the Pacific Highway) and so it will, or should be, celebrating 120 years of service to the good citizens of the area this year. 


The Post Office wasn't the reason for my photographic adventure, although it did it did prove to be an interesting diversion. My walk continued down to Lavender Bay, which has wonderful views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge from the west and then around to the iconic Luna Park. It was here that rain was pelting down so hard that I didn't even bother to photograph that wonderful Sydney landmark, I just ran for the relative cover of the Sydney Harbour Bridge approaches at Milsons Point.



Now if you are looking for one of the best vantage points for trying to photograph the Sydney CBD skyline or the Opera House, I would suggest there is no other better spot than just at the park located under the pylons of the bridge at Milsons Point, even during a torrential downpour, the shots are spectacular.


Unfortunately as the weather became worse, with the wind starting to blow the rain horizontal and making it even harder to do any photography without damaging my Sanyo S1275 camera, I reluctantly gave up. Also, by this stage I was utterly soaked through, especially the shoes and socks, so with discretion being the better part of valour, I headed towards drier destinations.


I will definitely be heading back to that area of Sydney, to not only to photograph some of Australia's most iconic structures, but also to check out some of the history of the area, such as the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

I just love it.

             

If You Ever Get The Chance, Come & See The Tugboats Dance

One thing that Newcastle does well & that is we put on events that showcase the fabulous harbour location. Whether it is New Years Eve, Australia Day, the Mattara Festival & even

Truck Awareness Day is held next to the glittering jewel that showcases all the beauty of this wonderful city.

This time it was the 2009 Maritime Festival, celebrating 210 years of Newcastle being Australia's 1st commercial port & although the weather was as co-operative as it could have been, the day was still spectacular.

There were skydivers, The RAAF Roulettes Flying Team, RAAF Hornets flyovers, stunts planes,heaps of stalls, free music & heaps more to see. Of course most of the action was centered around the harbour, where you could step aboard the HMAS Parramatta or the James Craig tall ship, watch the jet ski or wakeboard racing & watch the Newcastle Port Corporation tugboats perform their very special ballet routine.

Late in the afternoon the 292 mtr, 91,373 GRT (gross registered tonnage) bulk carrier Genco

London left port bound for Taiwan fully loaded with Hunter coal. This ship is one of the largest bulk carriers that visit Newcastle & can only leave on the highest tide due to the fact that she only has 1.5 mtrs clearance under her keel, which doesn't leave much room for error! If you look closely at the attached photo, you'll notice

the fisherman in the runabout trying desperately to start their engine to get out of the way of the wash from this huge vessel.

It was a really highly entertaining day & the best part part was that most activities were free. Yep, Newcastle really knows how to turn on a special day.

When the big ships come to town

There is really something special about standing at Fort Scratchley & watching the big ships glide into our magnificent harbour.

Today was one of those days.

The weather was an absolutely perfect example of late winters morning in Newcastle, the day heralded a brilliant cloudless sky, the breeze was from the north-west, cool, but not cold & it was able to bring life to the signal flags that gaily signalled the arrival of the HMAS Newcastle, our ship of the Royal Australian Navy.

To celebrate this special occasion the Fort (& the City of Newcastle) welcomed the ship, the Commanding Officer (Commander Justin Jones), the 184 other Officers & crew with a 4 volley salute from our No.2 Mk.VII 6" gun. This is the same gun (along with No.1 gun) that fired on & repelled the Japanese submarine, I - 21, during WWII.

The HMAS Newcastle (Pennant No. FFG06), is a 42,000 tonne 'Adelaide' class frigate, was commissioned in 1993 & has been deployed in support of peacekeeping operations in East Timor

and the Solomon Islands and Operation Catalyst in the Persian Gulf. Today, however, they were here to launch a campaign to raise $50,000 towards the Hunter Orthapaedic School, by aiming to run, swim, row and walk the distance between Newcastle Australia and Newcastle England.

The HMAS Newcastle is the first Royal Australian Naval vessel to be named after our wonderful city & we certainly hope that this is the start of a tradition that will continue for many years to come.

When April showers go on for hours

I decided to set myself a bit of a challenge this week, given that we have had some very nasty weather,  so I thought I'd grab the trusty 400D & head out to get some shots in some decidely bleak conditions.

Now to photograph Newcastle in perfect weather conditions is easy, just point & shoot basically 

& let the beauty of the environment fill the view finder. However, the weather I encountered 

was atrocious, pouring rain, howling winds that made  taking 'that' shot so much harder. 

The weather was that bad that Newcastle Port was actually closed to all shipping, bar the Stockton ferry. The pictures around Newcastle were taken a 3pm in the afternoon & shows just how dark & gloomy the conditions were. The picture of the lake at Valentine were taken this morning at 9am, still gloomy, but not as bad as yesterday.

For some extra effect, in post production, I added some 'raindrops' to the images using the 'IrfanView 4.2' photo programme. I just done it for some effect, as there is no way I would subject my 400D to such wet conditions. IrfanView is freeware & you can download it at http://www.irfanview.com/

So sometimes its worth setting yourself a challenge, you just never know what will find on your journey of discovery.

View From A Fort

I do tend to spend a lot of time at Fort Scratchley these days, mainly because I'm now  a Fort Scratchley guide & so, now most weekends I can be found doing conducted tours of the Fort Scratchley tunnel complex (at only $8.00 it is the best darn value for money tour in the Hunter Valley!).

Not only is it great value for money, but the view is spectacular & the best part ... the million dollar views are free!

Now, the other day when I went up it was a stinking hot summers day with the temperature hovering around the mid 30's, however, in the blink of an eye a southerly storm front blew into Newcastle & cooled the afternoon off. However, as quick as the storm arrived it had passed, luckily not causing too much damage (unless you count the poor soul that was drowned at Port Stephens or the sailor that got struck by lightning on Lake Macquarie!)    

So if you want to see a storm roll in, take in a unique view of Nobby's (Whibay Gamba), or just watch the activity on a real Australian working harbour, take the time to stroll up to Fort Scratchley.

And if you see me ... say hello!