Storybox Celebrates 1000 Hunter Stories

   

The Story Box in the Hunter.

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What's the Story Box? It is a small box with a phone inside that is passed from person to person across the region.

Anyone who has possession of it must answer the phone when it rings and tell their story to 1233 ABC Newcastle.

The chain of stories continues until someone breaks the chain and fails to be there for the call. 

It has been in the hands of some amazing people with remarkable stories.

Follow the Story Box on SoundCloud. For archived stories click here.

Original Story Box - The Red Tardis

Story Tellers gathering at the ABC radio carpark to celebrate 1000 stories

Follow ABC Radio 1233 on Facebook and Twitter

Rail Light On Parking In Newcastle

Visual of the way the light rail should look has been released.



Two hundred and eighty car parking spaces in Hunter Street are to go.  The spokesperson has suggested people should "leave their cars at home".

Rankin Park Hospital A War Idea

A strange factoid on Treasure Hunter on the ABC radio fascinated me, so I went did some digging on Trove. 
The hospital at Rankin Park being built in response to the threat from invaders during WW2 - with the Royal Newcastle hospital being on the shoreline and in firing range.
For some years this hospital served as a respiratory disease ward, with patients suffering from tuberculosis and other ailments. Now of course it is a rehabilitation centre associated with the John Hunter. 

Trove - Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate  Thursday 12 June 1947

Thursday 17 April 1947
And what do you know? Transport for visitors to the hospital was a contentious issue even in 1948!

Thursday 27 May 1948

Rankin Park Hospital 1950

The Headphone Project On Facebook

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• The Headphone Project is a community based group in Newcastle NSW designed to help local musicians be heard. 
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  The Headphone Project is a collaborative piece from:
  
  Architect - Mark Tisdell
  Fabricator - Tom Ireland
  Graphic Designer - Sean Bell
  Electronic Engineer - Adrian Garner 

You can support this group by Liking them on Facebook and sharing the love. 

Hunter Daytrip: The Drip Gorge Ulan

Looking for somewhere different to visit from the Hunter Valley? Check out The Drip, a sandstone gorge complete with ferns, moss, crevices and some Brett Whiteley rock painting! 

Government to purchase The Drip gorge

The Herald reports that The Drip is now back in government hands and will become part of the nearby national park, safe from coal mining. See details here 

From ABC

 "Water drips slowly onto rocks below, all along the sandstone gorge which lies next to the Goulburn River, near the New South Wales coal mining town of Ulan.

Locals regard The Drip as a national treasure: it has rich Aboriginal heritage, and is a popular picnic spot for residents and tourists."

The Drip Gorge Goulburn River: is a special place with a cathedral-like atmosphere. walk into The Drip Gorge through a riverside forest, past sculptured sandstone caves, honeycombed rocks and archways. ‘The drip’ or ‘Great Dripping Wall’ is a towering sandstone cliff-face dripping clear spring water into the clear pools of the rocky river bed. 

The Goulburn River National Park starts immediately down-river. A 1km walk along the river bed rock, brings to you the ‘Corner Gorge’. Travel 50km (30mins) north of Mudgee along the Ulan-Cassilis Road (37km from Gulgong) and 10km north of Ulan Mine. More information click here 

The Drip Gorge - Upper Hunter

Deep in the sandstone embrace of the Drip gorge, just north of Mudgee, is a painting - the work the result of a bush retreat in 1970 by internationally renowned Australian artist Brett Whiteley.

Campsite information at The Drip 

Day Trips: Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

Hunter Region Botanic Gardens

The Hunter Region Botanic Gardens cover an area of 140 hectares, much of which has been preserved as natural bushland.

2100 Pacific Highway, (20 mins north of Newcastle), Heatherbrae NSW 2324, Australia +61 2 4987 1655

 

 

 The Gardens, which were opened to the public in 1986, are designed, developed and managed by a non-profit company of volunteers. The development of the Gardens was recognised in 1999, with the winning of the 'Significant Regional Attraction' award in the Hunter Regional Awards for Excellence in Tourism.

Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Website

Hunter Region Ecology
The Hunter Region Botanic Gardens, through its Rare Plants Committee, is involved in research into the ecology of the Hunter Region of New South Wales, with a focus on Plant Biodiversity.
Technical Papers reporting this research and discussing Hunter Region Ecology are available in this section of the Gardens website, using the links below:
Hunter Region Ecosystems

• Ecosystems of the Hunter Region Botanic Gardens Site
• Vegetation of the Hunter Valley
• Vegetation History of the Hunter Valley

See more on Panoramia

Rally challenges mandate to cut railway: video | Newcastle Herald

Rally to save the rail in Newcastle NSW

 
Rally challenges mandate to cut railway: video | Newcastle Herald

Newcastle prostate cancer treatment will save thousands of lives

A NEW treatment for prostate cancer, which Hunter researchers administered, is predicted to save more than 1000 Australian lives each year.

University of Newcastle conjoint Professor Jim Denham described the new medication option as “the holy grail” to beating the most aggressive forms of the disease.

He said this was because it reduced the spread of localised tumours by 40 per cent.

In a trial called RADAR, men were put on a combination of testosterone-suppression therapy, a drug that’s used for osteoporosis, called zoledronic acid, and radiation therapy over 18 months.

See full article...

Newcastle prostate cancer treatment will save thousands of lives | Newcastle Herald:

Winners 2014 Hunter Wine Show

Congratulations to Drayton's Wines success at the recent Hunter Valley Wine Show

The Heritage Vines Liqueur Verdelho received the trophy for the best fortified at the Show while the Heritage Vines 1978 Tawny was the International Judge’s Wine of the show –  winner of “The Silver Bullet” both available at the Drayton winery, at 555 Oakey Creek Road, Pokolbin, at draytonswines.com.au and in wine stores.

As one of those that have attended Edgar’s Fortified Master Classes at Dayton's it's no surprise but it is nice to see Drayton's fine fortified wines get the recognition they deserve. 

For the full run-down on all the Hunter winners and their fine wines see the full list here Hunter Wine Show results 2014

Newcastle building heights capped to maintain skyline

Read full story...

Newcastle building heights capped to maintain skyline | Architecture And Design:

Justice NSW: Time lapse footage of Newcastle courthouse under construction

Newcastle Harbour Foreshore

Will Newcastle Views Be Sold Off To Appease Developers?

Will high rise developments ruin the view and the ambiance of this historical Australian city?

Could we find Newcastle reserved for the cashed up property investors from Sydney and
overseas, blocking sun to existing residents leading the way for our historic centre to be locked off from the visitors from outlying towns who and tourists to the region and reserved just for those with the cash to pay for our fabulous city views?

"While full details of the plan won’t be released until late March, the plan 
has already sparked strong debate over the city’s future, with many saying 
that views to and from the city’s iconic Christ Church Cathedral should 
be protected.

Dean of the cathedral the Very Reverend Stephen Williams said
he hoped the  views would be defended.

‘‘The cathedral community wants to be part of the renewal of Newcastle
and we welcome signs of fresh investment and energy coming into the city,’’
he said.

‘‘We share a hope that view corridors to the cathedral are not unduly
compromised, and that developments add, rather than detract, from
the liveability of a great city.’’ "

Herald story 

Ann Hardy writes an opinion piece on this that is well worth a read.

OPINION: No point cutting out city’s historic heart

By   Ann Hardy 

July 26, 2013

"This is the jewel in our crown.

 Increased building heights would seriously affect the city’s historic character and setting.

Other cities don’t target their historic hearts for increased development, especially when other solutions are available –  truly vibrant cities are those where there is a complex interplay of new and old – not just new replacing old as Cr McCloy is suggesting.

Planning in Newcastle must be carefully considered to respect its character and certainly the planning framework has for many years produced a variety of new buildings – all of which have maintained the views of the Cathedral.

In Newcastle, the visual landscape of our city is equally important as the rich mix of heritage buildings in the city centre." Read the full piece here 

Heartbreaking Loss Of Maddie Tippett

Touching articles on the life and loss of Maddie Tippett who died so suddenly this week from complications from two cold viruses.  Maddie was three years old.

Wishing her family and community around them condolences for this tragic loss.

Read Maddie's story here
Sydney Herald 
Daily Telegraph

UPDATE:  You can help remember Maddie by contributing to this fund to buy a park bench in Maddie's name. Monies raised above that needed will be donated to John Hunter Hospital.

 March 2015 Update: The Mourning After

You can find the memorial bench for Maddie that was built with money donated via crowdsourcing  here  

Technology And Passion Unlocks History of Newcastle

A fabulous project is unfolding that uses technology, historical documents and a lot of hard work from some passionate individuals to create a world of yesteryear to explore from our earliest days of white settlement - and aboriginal history.  Carol Duncan speaks with Gionni di Gravio on how it is progressing. 

17 February, 2014 

Virtual Newcastle 1818 - 1830

It may soon be possible to take a 'virtual walk' through the Newcastle of 1818, thanks to a project underway by the University of Newcastle and Coal River Working Party.

See more pictures and read the story here 

War Stories BHP Newcastle - Can You Help?

From the ABC a great local history story

"BHP's Newcastle steelworks were wired with explosives during WWII with the order to destroy the plant to be given in the event of a Japanese invasion. But were explosives placed in other parts of the city and what happened to the remnants of Japanese shells that landed in Newcastle? Newcastle Museum wants your help!"

See what happened when the producer of the next series of Tony Robinson's history programs contacted 1233's Carol Duncan for assistance with stories - this time the theme is '100 Years of War'.

 See more on the story here 

Raymond Terrace Street Flowers

Nice to see Raymond Terrace shopping district brightened up with some flowers - one might almost think they were in country France! (they do it so well there).

This near the site of our first #raymondterracecoffee tweetup for 2014. If you would like to come to the next one just let me know. And no, you don't need to be on Twitter to come along, but if you are interested in finding out more about social media then we can answer your questions.

@lindyasimus

Oldest Photographs Of Newcastle NSW

Are these photographs of Newcastle taken some time between 1873 and 1875  the earliest in existence? Very possibly.

Thanks to Ann Hardy for finding these, and to Carol Duncan for broadcasting this story on ABC radio @1233Newcastle 

"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."  

See the full story and more photographs at ABC Open

New Road Opens To Bypass Sandgate

A shot of the new bypass from Maitland Road to Shortland Twitter by @nicholasgerber of the ABC

Regal Ready With A Digital Revamp And A Little Help From Friends

Okay I was late to the party when it came to discovering how much fun it was to go to the flicks at The Regal at Birmingham Gardens. I went for the first time and liked it so much took a friend visiting from the US back the next day for another session.

The orange cordial dregs in the machine were a bit of a worry but what a fun place to go and step into the olden days with the old chair and sad old interior. Take a blanket and have a picnic seemed like an idea.  Then a short time later it was 'curtains' for the Old Dear.

The story was told on ABC 1233 this morning and what a fairy tale it was. Maybe this is a story with a happy ending that will be a movie itself one day.

From the ABC website:

"Despite the best efforts of a loyal band of supporters, the Regal has been unable to find a way to re-open.

But thanks to an Academy Award winning Australian movie director the fate of the cinema has changed.

George Miller who created and successfully delivered Happy Feet 2, the sequel to Happy Feet, came to the rescue.

The director of the musical adventure featuring a penguin colony needed a state of the art digital cinema for his film - but once the movie was delivered it was set to be sold."

See the full heartwarming story here.

The upshot of course is that the Regal is set to reopen next month. Not just reopening, but this time with the latest digital equipment. 

Now that's a happy ending!


The Cinema Regal from Brett Piva on Vimeo.

The Cinema Regal from Brett Piva on Vimeo.

 Related:

Friends of The Regal 

Friends of The Regal Facebook Page

http://www.theherald.com.au/story/2034908/regal-cinemas-gift-from-happy-feet-2-crew/?cs=305

Find The Regal Map