Newcastle
News
Newcastle;
NSW - Publican In Hot Water Over Cash Loans To Punter
Patrons...
An
ex licensee of West Wallsends Museum Hotel has
been fined after admitting to giving $730 in cash
advancements to patrons but has defended other claims
of lending pub regulars thousands of dollars to spend
on alcohol and gambling. In a written decision last
month the Casino, Liquor, Gaming and Control Authority
fined Peter Francis Dobb $2920, after he admitted
a modest $730 in payments were unlawful cash advances.
However he rejected allegations from the Office of
Liquor, Gaming and Racing that a further $4455 of
transactions were loans or repayments of loans from
or to regular customers to spend on beer and "one
armed bandits" and other items. The complaint
to the authority was dated March 10, 2010, but grew
legs from a complaint to the office back in 2007.
Dobb was the licensee of the hotel from October 2006
to September 2008. For the record the current licensee
was not the subject of any complaint. The office submitted
that two inspectors visited the hotel to investigate
in October 2007. They reported finding and seizing
a number of TAB betting tickets and other pieces of
paper with names or nicknames written on them and
sums of money, what appeared to be records of payment
and a deposit book. The names included the fair dinkim
Aussie nicknames "Beryl", "Dapto",
"Chief", "Supa" and "Vinnie".
The inspectors advised they interviewed several parties
including "Beryl" who said she regularly
borrowed money before pension day to buy cigarettes
and "a couple of beers". Another punter
claimed he borrowed money to play the pokies because
he sometimes exceeded his key card limit. Mnn, some
folks said the pokies limit aka "mandatory"
wouldn't work, and one may speculate if this is the
first high profile case of proof. Or, is it a coincidence,
and its just beers and ciggies"? Dobb said some
records related to invoices the hotel had issued for
items including an 18th birthday function and two
beer kegs for a soccer final. Other records related
to patrons money that was held in the hotel
safe to mind. The office argued the invoices were
handwritten and may have been drawn up after the event.
It coughed up that a $55 record marked "roo chooks"
was paid to Red Lea Chickens before a chook raffle.
No, Pluka-Duke was not a witness to the events, nor
were they called to court. The authority concluded
it would need to hear from witnesses who lived out
of the area to discover the truth of the $4400. It
noted the "likely costs" of further investigations
and the amount in dispute then opted to rule on the
payments Dobb conceded. Dobbs solicitor Paul
Sullivan said yesterday his client now ran another
country hotel and had not been the subject of any
further matters. We challenge the readership to find
us a better regional Aussie yarn that this one ok
maties.
Newcastle
is both a region of New South Wales, Australia and
a region of the UK.
The
Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated
area in the state of New South Wales and includes
most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government
Areas. It is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area
which includes most parts of the Local Government
Areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie,
City of Cessnock, City of Maitland and Port Stephens
Council.
Situated
162 kilometres (101 mi) NNE of Sydney, at the mouth
of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within
the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle
is the largest coal export harbour in the world, exporting
80.2 million tonnes of coal worth AUD $5.3 billion
in 2005-2006. Beyond the city the Hunter Region boasts
massive coal deposits.
History
Pre-European settlement
Newcastle
and The Hunter Valley were traditionally occupied
by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal People.
Founding and settlement by Europeans
The
first European to explore the area was Lt. John Shortland
in September, 1797. His discovery of the area was
largely accidental; Shortland had been sent in search
of a number of convicts who had seized the Cumberland
as she was sailing from Sydney Cove. While returning
he entered what he later described as "a very
fine river" which he named after New South Wales'
Governor, John Hunter. Shortland also returned with
reports of the deep-water port and abundant coal in
the area. Over the next two years, coal mined from
the area was the New South Wales colony's first export.
Newcastle
was nicknamed "Hell" by the most brutal
convicts as it was a place where the most dangerous
convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh
punishment for their crimes.
By
the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River
was being visited by diverse groups of men, including
coal hewers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts.
Philip Gidley King, Governor of New South Wales from
1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit
the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
Besides
coal, vast cedar forests covered a huge tract up the
Hunter, a source of urgently needed building timber
for the infant Sydney colony.
Governor
King decided to establish a small post at the river
mouth, however this first settlement was short lived.
It was headed by one Corporal Wixtead, who was then
suddenly replaced by Surgeon Martin Mason. Surgeon
Mason's rule ended in a mutiny, and Governor King
closed the settlement early in 1802.
A
settlement was again attempted in 1804 as a place
of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement
was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then re-named
Newcastle, after England's famous coal port. The name
first appeared by the commission issued by Governor
King on March 15, 1804, to Lieut. Charles Menzies
of the Royal Marines, appointing him superintendent
of the new settlement.
The
new settlement comprising convicts and a military
guard, arrived at the Hunter River on March 27, 1804,
in three ships, the Lady Nelson, the Resource and
the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804
Castle Hill convict rebellion, also known as the second
Battle of Vinegar Hill.
The
link with Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, its namesake and
also from whence many of the 19th century coal miners
came, is still obvious in some of the place-names
- such as Jesmond, Hexham, Wickham Wallsend and Gateshead.
Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north
of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
Newcastle
remained a penal settlement for nearly 20 years. The
military rule was harsh, and there was possibly no
more notorious place of punishment in the whole of
Australia than Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side
of Stockton peninsula, where incorrigibles were sent
to burn oyster shells for making lime.
Under
Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818,
the convicts' conditions improved, and a building
boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of
the town, built the first church of the site of the
present Christ Church Anglican Cathedral, erected
the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the
breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head to the mainland.
The quality of these first buildings was poor and
only (a much reinforced) breakwater survives.
For
these works, and for his humane rule in the convict
colony, Captain Wallis earned the personal commendation
of Governor Macquarie. In the governor's opinion the
prison colony was too close to Sydney and in any case
the proper exploitation of the land was not practical
with prison labour. Therefore, in 1823, military rule
in Newcastle ended. The number of prisoners was reduced
to 100 (most of these were employed on the building
of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent
to Port Macquarie. Between 1826 and 1836, however,
the convict-built Great North Road established the
overland link with Sydney.
Freed
for the first time from the infamous influence of
the penal law, the town began to acquire the aspect
of a typical Australian pioneer settlement, and a
steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.
Early steamers
The
formation during the nineteenth century of the Newcastle
and Hunter River Steamship Company saw the establishment
of regular steamship services from Morpeth and Newcastle
with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters
as well as several fast passenger vessels, including
the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The latter vessel's
first-class cabins had the latest facilities and overnight
passage to Sydney, where passengers would arrive fresh
for the new day, was considered preferable to the
long and arduous railway journey right into the inter-war
period.
Because
of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle
and Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, carrying
coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways.
These were commonly known as "sixty-milers"
based on the nautical journey between Newcastle and
Sydney, and continued in service until recent times.
Coal and other industries
Coal
mining began in earnest in the 1830s, with collieries
working close to the city itself and others within
a ten-mile radius. Most of Newcastle's principal coal
mines (Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington, the Australian
Agricultural Company, the Newcastle Coal Mining company's
big collieries at Merewether (includes the Glebe),
Wallsend, and the Waratah collieries), had all closed
by the early 1960s, being steadily replaced over the
previous four decades by the larger coal mining activities
further inland at places such as Kurri Kurri and Cessnock.
On
December 10, 1831 the Australian Agricultural Company
officially opened Australia's first railway. On December
10, 2006 a plaque was unveiled on the southern shore
of Newcastle Harbour celebrating this event.
Copper
About
1850 a major copper smelting works was established
at Burwood, near Merewether (now a suburb), an engraving
of which appeared in the Illustrated London News on
11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper
Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow
circa 1890, and in that decade a zinc smelter was
built inland, by Cockle Creek.
Soap
What
was said to be the largest factory of its kind in
the Southern Hemisphere was constructed in 1885, on
a 22 acre site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill
and Port Waratah, by Mr Charles Upfold (1834-1919),
from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company,
to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap
products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions,
and at the Sydney International Exhibition they won
a bronze medal "against all-comers from every
part of the world", the only first prize awarded
for soap and candles. Following World War I the company
was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Lever
Bros), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.
Steel
After
a major steel strike in the Sydney basin, the New
South Wales State Government encouraged BHP to build
a vast modern steel producing industry with much American
expertise. The land put aside was prime real estate,
on the southern edge of the harbour. At one stage
the idea of a Botanical Garden was considered because
of the waterfront location and proximity to the wealthy
suburb of Mayfield. In 1915 the BHP steelworks opened,
beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the
steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the
suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity
because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming
the region's largest employer.
In
1999, the steelworks closed. Many workers, having
spent their entire working lives there saw Australia's
largest industrial shutdown complete as the last blast
furnace went out. As the former workforce began to
deal with the economic and emotional impact, Newcastle
began to experience a new image as less of an industrial,
smoke stack city.
World War II
Attack on Sydney Harbour
During
the Second World War, Newcastle was an important industrial
centre for the Australian war effort. Consequently,
it was considered to be a potential Japanese target
during the Second World War. On the 31st of May, 1942
three midget submarines crept into Sydney Harbour
and killed 21 sleeping sailors on an accommodation
vessel at Garden Island, east of the Harbour Bridge.
By this time, there was a great fear among the Australian
people of a full-scale Japanese invasion and cities
and towns along the eastern seaboard were forced into
strict wartime regulations.
In
the early hours of 8 June 1942 the Japanese submarine
I-21 briefly shelled Newcastle. Newcastle was one
of the most prepared cities in the country and the
people of Newcastle acted with composure. Given the
distance between the submarine and the browned-out
city, there was little precision in the attack. Among
the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the
steel works, Parnell Place in the city's now affluent
East End, the breakwall and Art Deco ocean baths.
There were no casualties in the attack and damage
was minimal.
Disasters
The
most tragic maritime accident of the twentieth-century
in Newcastle occurred during 1934 when the Stockton-bound
ferry Bluebell collided with a coastal freighter and
sank in the middle of the Hunter River. The Bluebell
Collision claimed three lives and caused fifteen passengers
to be admitted to the Newcastle Hospital, two suffering
severely from the effects of immersion. However, the
tragedy was but only one chapter in Newcastle's very
long history of shipwrecks including the 1974 beaching
of the Sygna, the 2007 beaching of the MV Pasha Bulker
and the tragic sinking of the SS Cawarra in 1866 that
claimed sixty-lives.
Earthquake
1989 Newcastle earthquake
On
December 28, 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake
measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale which killed 13
people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged
a number of prominent buildings which had to be subsequently
demolished. These included the large George Hotel
in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow,
the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star') at Merewether,
and the majority of The Junction school, also at Merewether.
Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue,
was also damaged but later restored. The following
economic recession of the early 1990s meant that the
city took several years to recover.
2007 storms
2007 Hunter region and Central Coast storms
MV
Pasha Bulker
On
8 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were
battered by fierce storms which resulted in extensive
flooding throughout the areas. Nine people eventually
lost their lives in what was described as being the
worst series of storms to hit New South Wales in 30
years.
During
the early stages of the storms the 225m long bulk
carrier ship, MV Pasha Bulker, ran aground at Nobby's
Beach after failing to heed warnings to move offshore.
On
9 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were
declared natural disaster areas by the state Premier
Mr Morris Iemma. Although further flooding was predicted
by the Bureau of Meteorology this never eventuated
to the extent predicted.
On
2 July 2007 the Pasha Bulker was finally refloated
on the 3rd salvage attempt despite earlier fears that
the ship would break up. After initially entering
the port for minor repairs it departed for major repairs
in Asia under tow on 26 July 2007.
Geography
Newcastle
is located on the southern bank of the Hunter River
at its mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand
dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A 'green
belt' protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city
from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north
where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Because
of this, urban development is mainly restricted to
the hilly southern bank. The small village of Stockton
sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth
and is linked by ferry. Much of the city is undercut
by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin,
and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located
in the hills and valleys around the port have merged
into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake
Macquarie.
Demographics
The
metropolitan area of Newcastle spreads over several
Local Government Areas. The estimated population of
the City of Newcastle at June 2004 was 145,633 (Australian
Bureau of Statistics), but its neighbour, the City
of Lake Macquarie, was actually larger, with an estimated
189,196 residents as of June 2004 (ABS). The combined
population of the Newcastle area at the 2001 census
was 470,610. This includes Newcastle, Lake Macquarie,
Maitland, Port Stephens and Cessnock local government
areas.
Modern
times
The
Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre
for the resource rich Hunter Valley and for much of
the north and northwest of New South Wales. Newcastle
is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's
oldest and second largest tonnage throughput port,
with over 3,000 shipping movements handling cargo
of 85.6 million tonnes per annum, of which coal exports
represented 80.2 million tonnes per annum in 2005/06.[5][6][10]
The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase
coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups.
Newcastle
has a small ship-building industry, which has declined
since the 1970s due to failure to win government contract
tenders.
With
the closure of the steel works in 2000 the era of
extensive heavy industry has passed. Many of the remaining
manufacturing industries have located themselves well
away from the city itself, focusing on cheap land
and access to road transport routes and lack the concentrated
social impact of BHP on the city's life.
Newcastle
has claim to one of the oldest theatre districts in
Australia, with its still standing Victoria Theatre
on Perkins Street the oldest purpose-built theatre
in the country. Sadly, the theatre district that occupied
the area around what is now the Hunter Street Mall
vanished during the 1940s when much of Newcastle's
cultural appreciation disintegrated in the very industrial-oriented
city.
The
city's population is growing. The old city centre
has seen some new apartments and hotels built in recent
years, but the rate of commercial and retail occupation
remains low as alternate suburban centres have become
more important. The CBD itself is shifting to the
west, towards the major urban renewal area known as
"Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for
another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the
shift of business and residents to the suburbs.
The
old central business district, located at Newcastle's
eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic
buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat
of the (Anglican) Bishop of Newcastle. Other noteworthy
buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths,
the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s
Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building
in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House
(formerly NESCA House, recently seen in the film Superman
Returns). Residents of Newcastle refer to themselves
as "Novocastrians".
Domestic architecture
A
heritage area to the east of the Central Business
District, centred around Christ Church Cathedral,
has many fine Victorian terrace houses, embedded in
architecturally "sympathetic" later housing
developments.
Education
The
University of Newcastle (formerly established in 1951
as part of the University of New South Wales) obtained
its autonomy in 1965 and now with a student population
of just over 20,000, it offers over 150 undergraduate
and graduate courses.
Together
with six major city universities (Macquarie University,
La Trobe University, Flinders University, Griffith
University and Murdoch University) The University
of Newcastle, with the identity of the only regional
university, formed IRU Australia (IRUA) in 2003, one
of the major university groupings in Australia. The
University of Newcastle is also one of the first universities
in Australia to provide Master of Business Administration
courses.
The
University of Newcastle was ranked 127 in the world
by the UK Times in 2005.
One year after, both Melbourne institute of The University
of Melbourne and the Shanghai Jiao Tong University
recognised The University of Newcastle as one of the
top ten universities in Australia. Within the same
year, Newsweek international ranked the University
of Newcastle one of the top 100 universities in the
world. The University is one of the only eight, as
well as the only regional Australian Universities
to have achieved this status.
Festivals
Newcastle
holds a variety of Cultural Events and Festivals,
many of which attract national and some even international
attention.
This
Is Not Art is a national festival of new media and
arts held in Newcastle each year over the October
long weekend. Since its humble beginnings in 1998,
it has become one of the leading arts festivals in
Australia dedicated to the work and ideas of communities
not included in other major Australian arts festivals.
The umbrella program includes the independent festivals
Electrofringe, the National Young Writers' Festival,
National Student Media Conference, Sound Summit and
other projects that vary from year to year.
The
Shootout Film Festival, first started in Newcastle
in 1999. This is the film festival where film-makers
come together in one place to make a short film in
24 hours. It is run annually in July.
Mattara,
founded in 1961, is the official festival of Newcastle
with a more traditional 'country fair' type program
that combines a parade, rides, sporting events, band
competitions and portrait and landscape painting exhibitions.
Rainbow
Visions holds its annual Festival in October for the
local Gay and Lesbian Community. Set over 10 days
the festival ends with annual Picnic day where up
to a thousand Gay and Lesbians gather together with
their family and friends.
The
Newcastle Jazz Festival is held across three days
in August, and attracts performers and audiences from
all over Australia.
The
Newcastle Regional Show is held in the Newcastle Showground
annually. There are a mixture of typical regional
show elements such as woodchopping displays, showbags,
rides and stalls and usually fireworks to compliment
the events in the main arena. Arguably, the Newcastle
show has experienced a period of decline ever since
the turn of the century, when an industrial dispute
arose between the event organisers and the showman's
guild who travel the country providing services for
such regional events. The separation of the two parties
resulted in a sharp decline in the size and popularity
of the event.
The
Newcastle Entertatinment Centre, located inside the
Newcastle Showground is a popular venue for regular
events including wrestling, concerts and monster truck
shows.
Music
Newcastle
has an active youth music culture, as well as a Conservatorium
of Music which is part of the University of Newcastle.
It continues to support local bands and has a large
underground music scene. Silverchair, the highly successful
Australian band, hail from Newcastle, as does the
Australian band The Screaming Jets.[12] It has a fertile
punk and hardcore scene in, and over the past 15 years
has spawned many successful local acts. The pioneering
hardcore techno and gabber group Nasenbluten also
came from Newcastle and spawned a vibrant and influential
local scene and record label Bloody Fist.
The
percussionist of the Australian rock band The Screaming
Jets is also teaching music industry studies at Tighes
Hill TAFE[citation needed]. Several Newcastle musicians
have collaborated with widely known Australian bands
such as The Whitlams (Nick Cecire) and Machine Gun
Fellatio (Kim Pink - Current music teacher at Hunter
School of Performing Arts).
Popular
music venues in Newcastle are The Queens Wharf Brewery,
The Lucky Country, The Lass O'Gowrie, The Cambridge
Hotel, The Bar on the Hill at the University, The
Civic Theatre, The Newcastle Panthers and The Newcastle
Entertainment centre.
Visual arts and galleries
Noted
Australian artists John Olsen and William Dobell once
lived in Newcastle and today the city Newcastle is
home to a wide range of public, commercial and private
galleries.[12] The Newcastle Regional Art Gallery
(located in Laman Street, just off Darby Street) is
home to an extensive collection of works by contemporary
and historical Australian visual artists. It regularly
presents local exhibitions from its collection and
hosts touring Australian exhibitions. Gallery Director
Nick Mitzevich is the youngest gallery director in
Australia and has given the gallery a much more contemporary
focus since he took over in 2002. The gallery is currently
planning a major redevelopment which is the subject
of an architectural design competition.
Theatre
Newcastle
has a variety of smaller theatres, but the main theatre
in the CBD is now the Civic, at Wheeler Place, (seating
capacity about 1500), one of Australia's great historic
theatres built during 1929 in Art Deco style. It hosts
a wide range of musicals, plays, concerts, dance and
other events each year. Newcastle previously boasted
several large theatres, among them the oldest purpose-built
theatre in Australia, the Victoria Theatre on Perkins
Street (built 1876, capacity 1750), saw touring international
opera companies such as the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company,
and other troupes, and played host to some of the
greatest stars of the age, such as Dame Nellie Melba,
Gladys Moncrieff, and Richard Tauber, (it is now closed
and derelict); the Century, Nineways, Broadmeadow,
(built 1941, capacity 1800) although largely used
as a cinema was a popular Symphony orchestra venue
(demolished 1990 after being severely damaged by the
1989 earthquake); the Hunter (capacity 1000) at The
Junction, had advanced modern stage facilities, but
was eventually sold and demolished to make way for
a motel that was destroyed by the 1989 earthquake.
The decline in theatres and cinemas from the 1960s
onwards was blamed on television.
Newcastle
has also been home to noted Australian actors, comedians
and entertainers, including Sarah Wynter, John Doyle
(part of comic act Roy and HG), Susie Porter, Celia
Ireland, Yahoo Serious and Jonathan Biggins. The cast
of the Tap Dogs show also come from Newcastle.
Media arts
Newcastle
is home to the Octapod Association, a New Media Arts
collective established in 1996. Octapod is one of
Australia's most innovative regional arts organisations
and presents the annual This Is Not Art Festival as
well as a diverse range of local festivals and projects.
The arts web sites Object Not Found and Art Crimes
were also produced in Newcastle.
Sport
Newcastle's
sports culture is centred on the Newcastle Knights,
a team that plays in Australia's premier rugby league
competition, the National Rugby
League. The Knights play at EnergyAustralia Stadium,
situated in the suburb of New Lambton. After a recent
upgrade, the stadium now has capacity for almost 27,000
spectators. The stadium is the only sports venue of
its class in Northern New South Wales.
The
Newcastle United Jets soccer team, which plays in
Australia's highest level comp the A-League, also
play at EnergyAustralia Stadium, and is starting to
fast gain popularity in the town. The Newcastle United
Jets are a highly regarded team throughout Australia,
in its first two seasons, they have made back-to-back
finals. Nick Carle, one of their most prestigous players,
won the A-League player of the year in the 06-07 season.
The Newcastle United Jets finished 4th in their first
season, and 3rd in their second season. In the 06-07
season, they bowed out in the Prelimenary Final against
Adelaide United, who eventually lost to Melbourne
Victory in the Grand Final 6-0.
Other
major spectator and participant sports include Netball,
Basketball, soccer, Australian rules football, Rugby
Union, Lawn bowls, Hockey and Surfing.
The
Hunter Jaegers (Commonwealth Bank Trophy - Netball)
are based at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. Officially
opened in June 1992, the Centre offers 5,000 square
metres of clear span floor space and is capable of
catering for capacities from 2,000 to 6,500 for entertainment
style events. The Centre was built to house the now
defunct Newcastle Falcons National Basketball League
team and was also home to the Hunter Pirates before
a lack of sponsorship forced them to relocate to Singapore
after the 2005/06 season, where they were renamed
the Singapore Slingers. The Slingers will play one
home game at the Centre during the 2006/07 season.
In
Cricket, Newcastle's No.1 Sports Ground was for many
years a stopover on the tour itinerary for visiting
international teams as they faced the Northern New
South Wales XI. In 1981/82 the ground was allocated
a Sheffield Shield match when the SCG was unavailable,
and healthy crowds saw No.1 then become host to at
least one first-class fixture featuring the New South
Wales Blues each year. Newcastle also hosts a suburban
competition of its own and has been the birthplace
of many New South Wales and Australian representative
cricketers.
Newcastle
Jockey Club Limited races 35 times annually at Broadmeadow,
a spacious 2000m turf track with a 415m home straight.
Broadmeadow Racecourse is only a few minutes from
the city centre, and is acknowledged as one of the
finest provincial racetracks in Australia.
Newcastle
has an abundance of beaches and surf breaks for which
the city is internationally well known. Newcastle
hosts the annual surfing contest 'Surfest' on the
world professional surfing tour. Four time world champion
surfer Mark Richards grew up surfing at Newcastle's
Merewether Beach, and is a local icon, appearing at
many local functions, and supporting local charities.
Nobbys beach is a very popular kitesurfing spot, especially
during the warm summer months when there are North
Easterly sea breezes.
The
Newcastle North Stars are Newcastle's representatives
in the Australian Ice Hockey League championships.
Originally based in Newcastle West in the 1970-80s,
the North Stars now play out of the Hunter Ice Skating
Stadium in Warners Bay. The North Stars have won national
championships in 2003, 2005 and 2006 since joining
the league in 2002. The North Stars have also been
awarded Newcastle's Outstanding Senior Team of the
Year for 2003 and 2004.Newcastle
Golf Club is a championship 18-hole, par 72 golf course.
It plays to 6160m, and is regarded as one of the best
in Australia - consistently appearing in the top 15
best rated courses in Australia.
Media
Newcastle
is served by a daily tabloid, The Herald (formerly
The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate
and then The Newcastle Herald), several weeklies including
the Newcastle Star, The Post and the bi-monthly The
Hunter Advocate.
The
city is also served by several local radio stations,
including those owned by the ABC and SBS.
* AM stations
o 2HD (commercial)1143 AM
o 1233 ABC Newcastle (ABC Local Radio)
o 2HRN (community) 1629 AM
* FM stations
o KOFM (commercial) 102.9
o NXFM (commercial) 106.9
o New FM (commercial) 105.3
o 2NUR (community) 103.7
o Rhema FM 99.7 Newcastle (Christian) 99.7
* Nationally owned services
o Australian Broadcasting Corporation
+ 1233 ABC Newcastle AM local radio 1233 AM
+ ABC Radio National 1512 AM
+ ABC News Radio 1458 AM
+ Triple J (youth station) 102.1 FM
+ ABC Classic FM (classical music) 106.1 FM
o SBS Radio (foreign language service) 1413 AM
* Other stations
o 2KY Racing Radio (as part of state-wide network)
1341 AM
Newcastle
is also served by 5 television stations, three commercial
and two national services, and by Foxtel pay television.
*
NBN Television (Nine Network affiliate, incumbent
station, established 1962)
* Southern Cross Ten (Network Ten affiliate, established
as a result of aggregation on December 31, 1991)
* Prime Television (Seven Network affiliate, established
as a result of aggregation on December 31, 1991)
* ABC Television (owned by the government, established
in the 1960s)
* SBS Television (owned by the government, introduced
in the 1980s)
Wi-Fi hotspots and hotzones
There
are several free public Wi-Fi hotspots and hotzones
in Newcastle allowing the public and business to access
free broadband Internet using a Desktop, Laptop or
Mobile Device.
Currently,
there is free Wi-Fi coverage along Beaumont Street
in a hotzone that stretches between Tudor Street and
Maitland Road.
The
NSW Government plans to provide the Sydney CBD and
other major centres of NSW including Newcastle with
free Wi-Fi by early 2008
Transport
The
Newcastle metropolitan area has an extensive system
of both road links and road based public transport
services (bus, taxi etc) which cover most areas of
both Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and which extend
beyond the metropolitan area itself. Rail transport,
however, is accessible to only a relatively small
percentage of the population along the major rail
transport routes and ferry services are restricted
to those commuting between Newcastle and Stockton.
Within the metropolitan area the car remains the dominant
form of transportation. At the time of the 2001 Census,
less than 4% of the population caught public transport,
of which around 2.5% travelled by bus and 1% used
the train or ferry to commute to work. On the other
hand, over 72% of the population travelled by car
to and from work.
Road
Newcastle
is connected to surrounding cities by the Sydney-Newcastle
Freeway (South), New England Highway (West) and the
Pacific Highway (North). Hunter Street, the main shopping
street in the Newcastle CBD, is the major link to
the Pacific Highway from the CBD.
Bus
Newcastle bus routes, New South Wales
Bus
services within Newcastle are operated by Newcastle
Buses & Ferries, a subsidiary of the State Transit
Authority of New South Wales. Trips within a designated
area of the Newcastle CBD on State Transit-operated
bus services are fare-free under the Newcastle Alliance's
Free City Buses programme.
The
network radiates from a bus terminal near CityRail's
Newcastle station, on the waterfront of Newcastle's
CBD. Major interchanges are located at the University
of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont,
Charlestown, Westfield Kotara and Broadmeadow Station.
To reduce journey times, bus-only lanes are in operation
on certain major roads in Newcastle.
Rail
Newcastle and Central Coast railway line, New South
Wales
Newcastle
is serviced by two CityRail lines providing local
and regional commuter services. The Newcastle &
Central Coast Line has hourly train services to Sydney
and more frequent services to the Central Coast. The
Hunter Line has twice-hourly services to Maitland
and less frequently to Scone and Dungog. Countrylink
(an intercity/interstate rail service) operate two
lines through the Newcastle area using Broadmeadow
Station. These provide services to Moree, Armidale,
Brisbane and Sydney.
Newcastle
once had rail passenger services to Belmont and Toronto,
on Lake Macquarie, Wallsend, Kurri Kurri and several
towns and villages between Maitland and Cessnock,
but these lines have today been closed. Since the
late 1990s, there had been intense debate about the
viability of the rail line into central Newcastle.
The New South Wales government had planned to cut
the line at Broadmeadow, ceasing rail services into
the city and to sell the land where the railway ran
for development. The State government has subsequently
decided, since Premier Morris Iemma took power, and
at least partly in response to a huge public outcry,
to keep the rail service.
Water
Newcastle Port Corporation
The
Port of Newcastle is crucial to the economic life
of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region beyond.
Over 70 million tonnes of coal is shipped through
the facility each year - making it the largest coal
exporting port in the world. The Port of Newcastle
claims to be Australia's first port. Coal was first
exported from the harbour in 1799, 11 years after
the start of European settlement in Australia.
Newcastle
Buses & Ferries operates a ferry service across
the Hunter River between Newcastle's CBD and Stockton.
Air
Newcastle Airport (Williamtown)
Newcastle
Airport is located 15 kilometres (9 mi) north of the
Newcastle CBD (27 kilometres (17 mi) by road). The
airport, which is a joint venture between Newcastle
City Council and Port Stephens Council, has experienced
rapid growth since 2000 as a result of an increase
in low cost airline operations. It is served by Virgin
Blue, Qantas, Jetstar,
Brindabella Airlines, Norfolk Air, and Tiger Airways
(commencing 2008). The airport is shared with RAAF
Base Williamtown, a Royal Australian Air Force base.
The airport now has direct flights to Norfolk Island.
Broadmeadow Helipad is also in service as it is used
by the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service.
Newcastle Airport has direct flights to Sydney, Melbourne,
Brisbane, Gold Coast, Canberra, Port Macquarie and
Norfolk Island.
The
closure of Belmont Airport, commonly referred to as
Aeropelican, in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Marks
Point has caused Williamtown to become Newcastle's
only major airport and residents in the south of the
Newcastle metropolitan area must commute up to 55
kilometres (34 mi) by car to reach Williamtown.
Outside
of the Newcastle Metropolitan area a number of small,
mostly private, airports service the Greater Newcastle
region. (Credit:
Wikipedia).
Media
websites
Newcastle
Herald
Newcastle
Newspapers Online
ABC
Mid North Coast NSW
NBN
TV
MyTalk.com.au
- Newscastle
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Lake
Macquarie City Council
Newcastle
Public Library
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