Newcastle- Photographs of the 1870s

Local Treasures - Newcastle- Photographs of the 1870s              28 January 2014
Presenter: Carol Duncan
Interviewees: Ann Hardy

The Holtermann Collection featured in The Greatest Wonder of the World exhibition at the State Library of NSW in 2013. The Holtermann Collection contains photographs of NSW between 1873 and 1875, the American and Australian Photographic Company involved in taking photographs for this collection may have visited Newcastle in the early 1870s.

Bernhardt Holtermann commissioned photographers from the American and Australian Photographic Company to take images of the expanding townships of NSW. Holtermann had made his fortune in the goldfields at Hill End in 1872 when miners of his company found the 'Holtermann Nugget', this helped him finance the photographic project. Beaufoy Merlin and Charles Bayliss were partners in the American and Australian Photographic Company and the primary photographers of images in the Holtermann Collection.

The photographers took glass negatives of high quality capturing much development in early NSW rural towns. The majority of the photographs are of rural NSW including Hill End, Gulgong, Mudgee and Bathurst, and Sydney and Melbourne. Unfortunately it does not seem scenes of Newcastle were part of the collection. 

The recent exhibition of the Holtermann Collection was held at the State Library of NSW, many taken by the American and Australian Photographic Company. In a separate album held at the library there are some photographs of Newcastle from the early 1870s. These photographs are not available on the library’s website, and have been tucked away not in general public view. The State Library of NSW have kindly given permission for these images to be publicly available on-line.

In September 2013 I visited the library to look at some of these "Newcastle" photographs, with no further description of what was available I was interested in which parts of Newcastle were shown. What I found were images taken from the usual aspects, from Nobbys Road towards Nobbys, from Christ Church overlooking the harbour, Gaol Hill across Newcastle Beach, and a view looking east towards the city. What I didn't expect and took me by surprise were how early the photographs were taken, most likely some time between 1870 and 1874. I decided to digitally photograph images as they appeared in the album because I knew they were historically significant and contained important information for future research. I also knew there would be of interest to some in the local Newcastle community.

These Newcastle photographs were taken by the American and Australian Photographic Company, and although not part of the Holtermann Collection have a close association because of the same photographers involved. This company flourished as there was extensive interest in documenting the growth of the State of NSW and progress of industry and manufacturing, the philosophy of the American and Australia Company is reflected in the following newspaper article:-

"The A. and A. Photographic Company desire further to remind the public that these negatives are not taken for the mere immediate object of sale, but that being registered, copies can at a all times be had by or of those parties residing in any part of the colonies wherever the company's operations have extended, thus forming a novel means of social and commercial intercourse. Sydney Morning Herald, 5 September 1870."

 The company's photographs of Newcastle are of landscapes and city views, much different to those in the Holtermann Collection that show individual shop fronts, residential houses and men at work. These ones of Newcastle document what was there at the time in terms of rail, other infrastructure, housing density and the general landscape before it become more heavily built on.
The most startling image in the album is that of the Sand Hills seperating Nobby's road and the main town. There were significant problems with sand drift, probably because much of the vegetation had been taken out. The sand appears to be encroaching on the former Lumber Yard and the area towards where Customs House was later built. Houses at Newcastle East have not yet been built and there is a pathway across the sand dune. Fences are erected possibly to stabilise the sand.
The photograph of Newcastle Beach is also a fascinating one, as it shows the area before any beach amenities, there is dilapidated fencing and an interesting fenced in area.
Enlarged sections of the images show a lot more detail of built environment to be seen in the photographs. Such as the coal company offices that were located at lower Watt Street where the Newcastle Railway Station now exists.  Some of these were the ‘Lambton Colliery Office’, ‘Waratah Coal Company’ and the ‘Co-operative Colliery Office’. This detail can help date images, for example the photograph showing the rail yards at the bottom Watt Street does not show Customs House that was built in 1877, or Newcastle Railway Station constructed in 1878.

Many thanks to the State Library of NSW for kindly giving permission to have these photographs publicly available.

Source: State Library of New South Wales, (PXA 365 / vols. 1-4PXA 365 VOL 4)
Title: Photographs of Sydney, Melbourne and regional New South Wales and miscellaneous personal photographs from B. O. Holtermann , ca 1870- ca 1880
Date of Work ca 1870- ca 1880
Holtermann http://www.acmssearch.sl.nsw.gov.au/search/itemDetailPaged.cgi?itemID=825705

 Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking N.E'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from Captain Allan's Hill'

Enlarged section of above photograph

Enlarged section of 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from Captain Allan's Hill'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from the Old Gaol'

Enlarged Section of  'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from the Old Gaol'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of lighthouse "Nobby's" Newcastle, N.S.W

Enlarged Section - 'View of lighthouse "Nobby's" Newcastle, N.S.W

Enlarged section of Continuation of 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from the Old Gaol'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- continuation of  'View of Newcastle, N.S.W Looking West from the Old Gaol' caption

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking S.E. from Queen's Wharf'

Enlarged Section - 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking S.E. from Queen's Wharf'

Enlarged Section - 'View of Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking S.E. from Queen's Wharf'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of Lake Macquarie Road, Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking S.S.W. from Church Street'

Source: State Library of New South Wales- 'View of  Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking N.W.'

Enlarged Section- 'View of  Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking N.W

Enlarged Section- 'View of  Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking N.W

Enlarged Section- 'View of  Newcastle, N.S.W. Looking N.W

Don't Sell Historic Courthouse in a Whim

Ann Hardy                  26 January 2014
Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust
Why the rush to sell the Newcastle Court House? It was quite a surprise this week when State Member Tim Owen announced that Newcastle Court House will go on the market in a few weeks. It appears discussions have already taken place with developers, however, the wider community and heritage authorities have not been consulted. The Court House is part of the city’s Government Domain, which was nominated for National Heritage Listing in 2013. The Domain is linked to Newcastle’s original settlement, where Government House and other administrative infrastructure were situated in 1804. The precinct contains the first working coal shafts in Australia, the magnificent military buildings built by imperial forces in 1842 and retains a significant cultural landscape.
The National Trust of Australia (NSW) listed the Newcastle Court House on its Register in 1976 and believes it is a heritage asset inextricably linked with its use and government ownership. Like the Post Office, the Court House is a landmark building, sited within a historic area of Australia's second oldest city. While the Trust supports the concept of  "adaptive reuse"  to fund ongoing maintenance, any development proposal must be sympathetic. 
The building is not yet redundant. It continues to function as a Court House and may be needed for public use in the future. It doesn’t make sense to sell the building before the new court house is completed.
Buildings at the Domain have a long history of government use, assisting authorities when there is overflow from other government services. The military buildings, originally used for this purpose for only 12 years, went on to accommodate public servants, the volunteer militia, girls at the Industrial School and, finally, a mental health use. The Family Court and related services in the precinct may require additional building space in the future or the building could provide space in times of need for other public services.
Is this sale what the community wants? The Trust believes that, as the ultimate owners of publicly-owned heritage places, the community must be able to comment on their future. The community needs to be informed about any proposed disposal at an early stage in the process, before decisions are made. The Trust supports redevelopment of the Newcastle Court House if its heritage values are retained; if this cannot be assured, then this building should remain in government hands. There are many other questions, such as: Will the building be sold or leased? What is the area of land proposed for sale? What are the conditions of sale? What protective measures will be in place ensuring cultural heritage is retained? 
The Court House should not be sold on a whim!  Further assessment is urgently needed to explore whether it is in the public interest to keep this heritage asset publically-owned and to maintain public accessibility.
More discussion is needed before selling this important landmark building.
The community must be enabled to oppose alienation on the grounds that a publicly owned asset should be retained in public ownership as it is in the public interest to do so.