Editing Newcastle, New South Wales (section)

===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
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| image1            = Newcastle 1950.jpg
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| 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
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| 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'').