Editing Newcastle, New South Wales (section)

==History==

===Aboriginal history===
Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the [[Awabakal]] and [[Worimi]] Aboriginal people,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hvrf.com.au/pages/hrf/hunter_history_highlights.php|title=Hunter History Highlights|publisher=Hunter Valley Research Foundation|access-date=14 January 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071225012441/http://www.hvrf.com.au/pages/hrf/hunter_history_highlights.php <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date = 25 December 2007}}</ref> who called the area Malubimba.<ref name=womens_weekly>{{cite journal|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article55185386|title=Place Names|journal=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]]|page=61|publisher=National Library of Australia|date=13 May 1964|access-date=22 February 2011|archive-date=27 March 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110327163310/http://www.trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/55185386|url-status=live}}</ref>

Based on Aboriginal-language references documented in maps, sketches and geological descriptions, eight landmarks have been officially dual-named by the NSW Geographic Names Board with their traditional Aboriginal names.<ref name="NSW Geographic Names Board">{{cite web |title=Dual naming – Geographical Names Board of NSW |url=http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/dual_naming |access-date=19 December 2018 |website=Gnb nsw Government Australia |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219134300/http://www.gnb.nsw.gov.au/place_naming/dual_naming |url-status=live }}</ref> They include [[Nobbys Head]] also known as Whibayganba; Flagstaff Hill also known as Tahlbihn; Pirate Point also known as Burrabihngarn; Port Hunter also known as Yohaaba; Hunter River (South Channel) also known as Coquun;
Shepherds Hill also known as Khanterin; Ironbark Creek also known as Toohrnbing and Hexham Swamp also known as Burraghihnbihng.<ref name="NSW Geographic Names Board"/>

===British colonisation===
[[File:Captain John Shortland.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Lieutenant [[John Shortland]], British explorer of the Newcastle region]]

In June 1796, a group of fishermen from the British convict outpost at [[Sydney]], were driven by bad weather into a harbour at what is now Newcastle. They found considerable amounts of [[coal]] laying on the ground near the beach, some of which they brought back to Sydney. The fishermen had "conducted themselves improperly" while ashore and gotten into conflict with the local Aboriginal people. Two of the fishermen were wounded, one of them fatally.<ref name="collins">{{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=David |title=An Account of the English Colony of NSW |date=1798 |publisher=Cadell & Davies |location=London |url=https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks/e00010.html}}</ref>

Over a year later, in September 1797, Lieutenant [[John Shortland]] explored the area and named the [[Hunter River (New South Wales)|Hunter River]]. This was largely accidental, as he had been sent to the region in search of a number of convicts who had seized a vessel called ''Cumberland'' while it was sailing from [[Sydney Cove]].<ref name="newc">{{cite web|url=http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/discover_newcastle/visit_our_libraries/discovery_and_founding_of_newcastle|title=Discovery and founding of Newcastle|publisher=[[Newcastle City Council]]|access-date=24 September 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724032922/http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/discover_newcastle/visit_our_libraries/discovery_and_founding_of_newcastle|archive-date=24 July 2008}}</ref> Leiutenant Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor [[John Hunter (Royal Navy officer)|John Hunter]].<ref name="smh">{{cite web|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/new-south-wales/newcastle/2005/02/17/1108500198331.html|title=Newcastle|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=8 February 2004|access-date=24 September 2008|archive-date=8 June 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140608064059/http://www.smh.com.au/news/New-South-Wales/Newcastle/2005/02/17/1108500198331.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the [[New South Wales]] colony's first export.<ref name="smh"/>

Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.<ref name="smh"/> By the start of the 19th century, the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. [[Philip Gidley King]], the [[Governor of New South Wales]] from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the [[Hunter Valley]].<ref name="newc"/> In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after the governor) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.<ref name="smh"/>

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 renamed Newcastle, after [[Newcastle upon Tyne|the English city]].<ref name="womens_weekly"/> The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant [[Charles Menzies (Royal Marines officer)|Charles Menzies]] of the [[Royal Marines|marine detachment]] on {{HMS|Calcutta|1795|6}}, then at [[Port Jackson]], appointing him superintendent of the new settlement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/archives/coalriver/pdf/sg25thmarch1804.pdf |title=Sydney Gazette |date=25 March 1804 |access-date=24 September 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725070335/http://www.newcastle.edu.au/service/archives/coalriver/pdf/sg25thmarch1804.pdf |archive-date=25 July 2008 }}</ref> The new settlement, comprising [[convict]]s and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: {{HMS|Lady Nelson|1798|6}}, the ''Resource'' and the ''[[James (ship)|James]]''.<ref name="newc"/><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7509|title=The Logbooks of the Lady Nelson by Ida Lee|author=Ida Lee|publisher=[[Project Gutenberg]]|access-date=2 January 2008|archive-date=7 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007221408/http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7509|url-status=live}}</ref> The convicts were rebels from the 1804 [[Castle Hill convict rebellion]]. The link with [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], England (its namesake) and also whence many of the 19th-century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names—such as [[Jesmond, New South Wales|Jesmond]], [[Hexham, New South Wales|Hexham]], [[Wickham, New South Wales|Wickham]], [[Wallsend, New South Wales|Wallsend]] and [[Gateshead, New South Wales|Gateshead]]. [[Morpeth, New South Wales]] is a similar distance north of Newcastle as [[Morpeth, Northumberland]] is north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Under Captain [[James Wallis (British Army officer)|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 Cathedral, Newcastle|Christ Church 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 the (much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the [[Christ Church School (Colony of NSW)|first school]] was built in Newcastle.<ref name="smh"/>

Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/north-road/information.html|title=Old Great North Road more information|publisher=[[Government of Australia|Australian Government]]|access-date=24 September 2008|archive-date=18 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080818051627/http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/north-road/information.html|url-status=live}}</ref> As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of [[Stockton, New South Wales|Stockton]] peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime.<ref name="newc"/> Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to [[Port Macquarie]].<ref name="smh"/>

===Civilian government and onwards===
{{See also|Shelling of Newcastle}}
[[File:Hunter St West, Newcastle, 1908.jpg|thumb|A parade of mounted soldiers along [[Hunter Street, Newcastle|Hunter Street]], {{circa|1908}}]]

After removal of the last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneer settlement, and a steady flow of free [[settler]]s poured into the hinterland.

During the nineteenth century the formation of the [[Newcastle & Hunter River Steamship Company]]<ref>''An Early Link with the New South Wales Railways'' Wylie, R.F. [[Australian Railway History|Australian Railway Historical Society Bulletin]], October 1954 pp126-128</ref> saw the establishment of regular steamship services from [[Morpeth, New South Wales|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 ''Namoi'' had first-class cabins with the latest facilities.

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-miler]]s, referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.{{when|date=June 2016}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/newcastle.html|title=Ships And Shores And Trading Ports|publisher=NSW Maritime|access-date=11 July 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080720023338/http://www.maritime.nsw.gov.au/newcastle.html <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date = 20 July 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=630&print=1&S=shopProductInfo&T=shopProductInfo&PRODUCTID=227 |title=The Sixty Miler |publisher=[[Australian National Maritime Museum]] |access-date=11 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070907084254/http://www.anmm.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=630&print=1&S=shopProductInfo&PRODUCTID=227&T=shopProductInfo |archive-date=7 September 2007 }}</ref>{{wide image|Newcastle Rae 1849 SLNSW FL4652760.jpg|750px|Panorama of Newcastle, Australia, 1849, by John Rae}}

===1920s to present===

During [[World War II]], Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. In 1942, the Japanese planned to [[attack on Sydney Harbour|attack Sydney Harbour]]. On the early hours of 8 June, the Japanese submarine {{ship|Japanese submarine|I-21|1940|2}} briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the [[Newcastle Steelworks]], Parnell Place in the city's East End, the breakwall and Art Deco Ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/japsubs/japsshell03.htm|title=Newcastle shelled by a Japanese submarine|date=31 October 2000|access-date=10 November 2010|archive-date=10 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110610054510/http://home.st.net.au/~dunn/japsubs/japsshell03.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Princess of Tasmania.jpg|thumb|The {{MS|Princess of Tasmania}} prior to being launched at the [[State Dockyard]] in November 1958]]The Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource-rich Hunter Valley and for much of the north and north-west 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 95.8 Mt per annum, of which coal exports represented 90.8 Mt in 2008–09.<ref>{{cite web |title=Trade Statistics |url=http://www.newportcorp.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=111694 |access-date=15 July 2010 |publisher=Newportcorp Australia |archive-date=4 November 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104053834/http://www.newportcorp.com.au/site/index.cfm?display=111694 |url-status=live }}</ref> The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups including Newcastle-based [[Rising Tide Australia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page68?oid=56671&sn=Detail|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130111045146/http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page68?oid=56671&sn=Detail|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 January 2013|title=Green groups block world's largest coal export terminal|agency=Reuters|publisher=Mineweb|date=14 July 2008|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.risingtide.org.au/peoplesblockade|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909122447/http://www.risingtide.org.au/peoplesblockade|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 September 2012|title=The People's Blockade of the World's Biggest Coal Port|publisher=Rising Tide Australia|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> These have undertaken various protests targeting the export of coal from the city, such as in 2023 when 3000 people took part in a water based blockade and 109 were arrested.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gulliver |first=Robyn |date=2024-02-18 |title=Climate Activists in Australia are Learning How to Protect their Protest Rights |url=https://commonslibrary.org/climate-activists-in-australia-are-learning-how-to-protect-their-protest-rights/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU |archive-date=1 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240401123809/https://commonslibrary.org/climate-activists-in-australia-are-learning-how-to-protect-their-protest-rights/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
Newcastle had a shipbuilding industry with the [[Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works]], [[State Dockyard]] and [[Forgacs Shipyard]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA19970415020|title=Hunter Region Funding Cutbacks|publisher=[[Parliament of New South Wales]]|date=15 April 1997|access-date=10 July 2008|archive-date=5 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605101743/http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/HansArt.nsf/V3Key/LA19970415020|url-status=dead}} (see Mr PRICE (Waratah) [4.13 p.m.])</ref> In recent years the only major ship-construction contract awarded to the area was the construction of the [[Huon-class minehunter|''Huon''-class minehunter]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/18/2220459.htm|title=Defence forum to focus on Newcastle ship building|newspaper=[[ABC News (Australia)|ABC News]]|date=18 April 2008|access-date=11 July 2008|archive-date=22 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080622182247/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/18/2220459.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The era of extensive [[heavy industry]] passed when the steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing industries have located themselves well away from the city itself.
{{multiple image
| align             = right
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| total_width       = 250
| image1            = Newcastle 1950.jpg
| width1            = 1650
| height1           = 2207
| caption1          = A [[Trams in Newcastle, New South Wales|tram]] halts outside the AMP building at the eastern end of [[Hunter Street, Newcastle|Hunter Street]], 1947.
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| image2            = Newcastle 1968.jpg
| width2            = 1185
| height2           = 1529
| caption2          = A bustling [[Hunter Street, Newcastle|Hunter Street]], 1968
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}}

Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in Australia. [[Victoria Theatre (Newcastle)|Victoria Theatre]] on Perkins Street is the oldest purpose-built theatre in the country.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2012/03/07/3447685.htm|title=Victoria Theatre, Newcastle|first=Carol|last=Duncan|publisher=[[ABC Newcastle]]|date=3 April 2012|access-date=2 August 2017|archive-date=5 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171105192004/http://www.abc.net.au/local/photos/2012/03/07/3447685.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The theatre district that occupied the area around what is now the [[Hunter Street, Newcastle|Hunter Street Mall]] vanished during the 1940s. 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 while 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. Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural renaissance. There is a vibrant arts scene in the city including a highly regarded art gallery,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/nag|title=Newcastle Art Gallery|access-date=29 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150331180143/http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/nag|archive-date=31 March 2015}}</ref> and an active Hunter Writers' Centre.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hwcentre.com/|title=Hunter Writers Centre|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092924/http://hwcentre.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Recent fictional representations (for example Antoinette Eklund's 'Steel River') present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction.

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 (Australia)|Anglican Bishop of Newcastle]].<ref>Elkin, A.P., ''The Diocese of Newcastle: a history of the Diocese of Newcastle'', Australian Medical Publishing Co: Glebe, NSW, 1955. (Privately published)</ref> Other noteworthy buildings include [[Fort Scratchley]], the Ocean Baths, the old [[Newcastle Customs House|Customs House]], the 1920s [[Newcastle City Hall (Australia)|City Hall]], the 1890s Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building in the colony) and the 1930s [[art deco]] [[University House (Newcastle)|University House]] (formerly NESCA House, seen in the film ''Superman Returns'').