Birds Eye View of Newcastle

Helicopter Ride over Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Financial Update In Newcastle

Some seats are still available to attend an information evening to learn about what's happening in the financial  markets at this time. With all the changes that are happening around the world this is a great way to get updated on the global overview of the financial markets. 

Australian equities will also be discussed and there will be another session to address issues of cash flow with  Newcastle Financial Advisor, Murdo Macleod. 

Venue: “Noah’s On The Beach” 
Time:  6:30 pm Tuesday 7 May

Light refreshments will be served after the presentation and to secure your seats, just call 4940 0488 or email newcastle@fiducianfs.com  

Newcastle Post Office With People

The Newcastle post office is an icon of Hunter Street. But architecture aside, we most often seem to see it without people! If you have any photographs of people inside using the post office, I'd love to know. 

Rally at Newcastle Post Office, Cnr Hunter and Bolton Streets, Newcastle, NSW

 - the banner on the side of the stand refers to "Recruiting Office" 

so the date of photograph is likely to be between September 1916 

Hunter Street Newcastle NSW   View looking toward the Post Office 

on corner of Hunter and Bolton Streets. undated.

Students dancing outside Newcastle Post Office, 

Newcastle Teachers' College, Australia - 1952

Newcastle Post Office, corner of Hunter and Bolton Streets. 

Soldiers’ Memorial Fountain is located in front. c1960s

Suz E Bee Candles Takes Out Prizes

Congratulations to Suzanne Blakestone and Suz E Bee Candles for taking out these prizes at the recent Sydney show!

Suz E Bee Candles are all handmade in Port Stephens, NSW using only the finest 100% Pure Australian Beeswax (from the Hunter Region of NSW) and pure cotton wick.  

As Suz says on her website, "They are not only a great gift for yourself or someone special, they are also beneficial in many other ways - to your health (by purifying the air you breath), to the environment (no toxic smoke) and to local beekeepers and their communities" 

2013 Sydney Royal Easter Show

Class 7: Two Moulded Candles, natural beeswax

1st Prize: Buzzing Bee Pillar

2nd Prize: Fern Pillar

Class 8: Two Rolled Candles, natural beeswax

1st Prize: 10cm Medium Pillar

2nd Prize: 10cm Large Pillar

The Suz E Bee range of handmade beeswax candles & products include:

• Tea Light candles (various sizes)
• Votive Candles & Votive Refills
• Rolled Pillar Candles
• Dipped Candles
• Moulded Candles (Angels, Buddha, Fern Pillars, Beehive Votives, Bee Pillars, Crystal Chip Candles and many more)
• Roll Your Own candle kits
• Natural lip balm and furniture polish
• Extensive range of handmade, colourful German glass candle holders & lamps.

I was shocked to learn that so many candles that look and smell nice are full of chemicals and artificial components, fortunately you don't have to settle for toxic fumes. 

Suz E Bee 100% Pure Australian Beeswax Candles and products are free from:

• Petro-chemicals
• Bleaches
• Colourings
• Added fragrances (unless specified)
• Hardeners
• Lead
• Mould release agents

Wholesale, corporate and special occasions are also catered for.  Contact Suzanne  for more details:  sales@suzebeecandles.com.au

Newcastle Writers Festival

Newcastle Writers Festival 2013  Something For Everyone!

Newcastle Writers Festival - Friday 5 to Sunday 7 April 2013

Newcastle's inaugural writers festival is on this weekend with a great program and some stellar visitors sharing their stories and insights as writers. 

Get the Progam

Access the program

Here's the lowdown and some background on the Newcastle Writes Festival from ABC 1233 

For more information about the festival, to download a program or to buy tickets to the sessions, go to the Newcastle Writers Festival website.

Looking Back: Sporty Women of Newcastle 1950s

Women's Softball, Newcastle Teachers' College, NSW, Australia - 1955

Women sporting club members with hula-hoops, Newcastle Teachers' College, Australia - 1955

Women's Cricket, Newcastle Teachers' College, NSW, Australia - 1955

Women's skipping rope race, Newcastle Teachers' College, Australia - 1956

Women's Netball, Newcastle Teachers' College, NSW, Australia - 1955

Back When Newcastle Had A Rail Service

The Herald reports today:



"Workers unearthed the old track, which appears to be part of a spurline used in the late 1800s known as the sand sidings, during works on John Parade .

A map of the Burwood Estate Railway circa 1887 shows the sidings splitting from the Beach Railway in the vicinity.

The sidings then appear to stretch from near Merewether Surf Club towards Dixon Park.

Newcastle Herald historian Mike Scanlon said the rails’ location indicated they may have been part of those sidings.

‘‘This old railway line is likely to have been part of a once extensive sand removal operation that speared off from the present Watkins Street corner,’’ Mr Scanlon said.

‘‘There were once huge dunes around the Dixon Park area which were heavily exploited.’’

Mr Scanlon said the line appeared to have fallen out of use by 1900 and seemed completely gone following the Depression."



See the full story here  

Marcus Westbury at TEDxMoretonBay

Makers + Places: Marcus Westbury at TEDxMoretonBay

Some great old pictures of Newcastle NSW here too.

Marcus Westbury is the founder of Renew Newcastle and Renew Australia. His background is a broadcaster, writer, media maker and festival director who is responsible for some of Australia's more innovative, unconventional and successful cultural projects and events. He has worked across a range of media as a writer, producer, director and presenter, covering fields as diverse as culture, art, urban planning, media, sport and politics. In 2008, with his own funds and energy, Marcus founded Renew Newcastle, a low budget, not for profit, DIY urban renewal scheme that has brokered access to more than 30 empty buildings for more than 70 creative enterprises, artists and cultural projects in his hometown of Newcastle, NSW. In this presentation Marcus reveals a surprising discovery about his innovative work.

Macquarie Collector Chest Returning To Newcastle

Macquarie collector's chest, ca. 1818

Newcastle Art Gallery is partnering with the State Library of NSW to present the most historically important artefacts about colonial era Newcastle ever put together. Featuring the rare and beautiful Macquarie Collector’s Chest this is the first time the chest has been seen in Newcastle since it was created here two hundred years ago.

The chest will be the centrepiece of an exhibition called Treasures of Newcastle from the Macquarie era which will be on display at the Gallery from March next year.

The chest is constructed of a combination of Australian rosewood found from the Hunter River to the Port Macquarie region of NSW, and red cedar found in NSW coastal regions from the Illawarra to the north. It opens to present a wonderful array of artefacts, specimens, painted panels, and compartments. The artwork on the chest depicts colonial Newcastle and the surrounding areas. It is thought to be the work of Joseph Lycett - a noted convict artist of the period. Lycett was patronised by both Macquarie and Captain James Wallis, Commandant of the secondary penal settlement at Newcastle, north of Sydney.


More 

Newkulele - The Newcastle Ukulele Festival 2012 (Rocky Parody)

Well done!

Here's a great use of video for promotion.

Looks like a lot of fun too so check it out.

Newcastle's First Ukulele Festival

The pillars of the Newkulele Revolution...
The Ukulele + the nation's community uke groups + some of the world's best performers + our quest for excellence in ukulele learning + our beautiful beachside city = Newkulele!!!
Discover why Newcastle has the highest number of ukulele players per head population of any Australian city!
Discover why our city was voted Australia's most liveable city or why Lonely Planet nominated it as one of the most visitable cities in Australia!
Help Newcastle become Ukastle for a whole weekend.

View the official Website http://www.newkulelefestival.com/

Clip Proudly Made & Directed by Greg & Andy From Musos Corner (http://www.MusosCorner.com.au)
Ukulele Rocky Theme by John McMullen

Hunter Vineyards and Mines

Two videos. One with some great scenes of the Hunter Valley.

The second showing what the mining in this valley looks like.

Sydney Train To Newcastle In 13 Minutes

This may be the only high-speed rail journey we ever get!
Camera placed on driver's dashboard for an early morning run to Newcastle. 

See Newcastle on Panoramio

Customs House - Newcastle NSW

City of Newcastle Administrative Centre

Merewether Baths - Newcastle NSW

House in Cooks Hill - Newcastle

See Newcastle for yourself using Panoramia! 

Visit Newcastle and take a look around with Panoramia, a great web tool for location checking.

Newcastle Write-up In The Australian

Great to see Newcastle getting some press.

"The chat is loud, the vibe is lively and the tills are ringing. This is Newcastle but not as we have known it.
Australia's seventh-largest and second-oldest city is no longer all steel mills and coalmines, clubs and pubs. In has reinvented itself to offer a winning mix of spectacular coastline and surf beaches, a cosmopolitan cafe scene, great restaurants, smart bars, boutique shopping precincts and a diverse arts scene."

Read the full article here  The new Newcastle

by: DESTINATION AUSTRALIA: Sue Milne
From: The Australian
July 28, 2012

Bank Corner Where There Is No Bank Newcastle NSW

Newcomers to Newcastle are often puzzled to be given directions to places that seem to have no relationship to their name. I would guess it is at least 30 years since there was a bank at bank corner.

Bank Corner Hunter Street Newcastle NSW. 

 Opposite Doc's Pharmacy, diagonally across from Spotlight, and 

National Park Street (Musos Corner)

 

 Dairy Farmers Corner Hunter Street Newcastle NSW has not seen a milk delivery for many a year yet we still refer to it as this. You'll find this at the end of Hunter Street as a T intersection with Tudor Street.

Do you have any other favourite places like this?

Tourists & Visitors Need A Welcome

Newcastle NSW Australia - Train Station.  "Where's The WiFi?"

Tourism is a huge industry for the Newcastle and Hunter Region. And yet as we discovered at the recent Lunaticks event on Tourism and Technology, we have a long way to go.

Tourism isn't the only industry that needs good access to facilities to streamline communications. So what are some of the elements that need to improve and what's happening in other locations that we can see is becoming a trend we need to be tuned into?

 The Need For Speed
Reliable high-speed connections across the whole region is vital. Many areas are still reliant on slow broadband that is too slow and too inconsistent in transmission capacity. All the mobile apps in the world are useless if there is poor reception and black spots. Bear in mind we are spitting distance to the coast even from the Hunter Valley, we're not in out the back of Beyond!

Wired For Sound ... And Internet
Hotels and accommodation needs to provide quality high speed internet that works and is able to be accessed by mobile devices like iPads and Tablets and these should be freely available as a part of the room rental. Tourists are visiting from a drive away, some from overseas and everyone wants to be able to plan their next adventures and keep in touch with their business and family while they are away. Charging extortionate rates and providing inadequate access is like renting a hotel room and telling customers to bring their own sleeping bag. Just not on. In a recent tourism forum in Bermuda one minister observed  "It was very clear that destinations that do not embrace the latest trends in technology, which are here to stay, will get left behind”. We are competing not just with domestic tourist areas, we need to be competing at the level that meets the expectations of our visitors from around the world.

Content - What's Up Doc?
It's no use if we have great broadband facilities and apps if there is no good and cohesive information on all of our business, to be found online. This is the responsibility of every business in the region to get their best foot forward and their party face on and findable online. If I come to Newcastle and want to find something to do - I can't find it if you didn't put it there and tell me all that I can possibly know about your offer. I want to be able to do a casual  search in general terms and know what's around in Maitland if I go to the art gallery, what else can I do while I am there? Where can I have lunch? Who has good coffee? Where can I get a full breakfast at 6am or supper if I get in late and am looking for something to eat at 10 PM.  If I am planning a trip to the Vineyards, where can I stop on the way and have devonshire tea?  Where can I drop off my dry cleaning and get it back overnight? If my car is suddenly making a weird noise, who can I get to look at it over the weekend? How the hell do I get to the airport without a car?

These are all fundamental basic, basic issues that don't even begin to be innovative. Let's see what something new looks like.

The Future of Media: Social Networking for Travel

http://irclay.hubpages.com/hub/The-Future-of-Social-Media-for-Hotel-Marketing-Travel-and-Tourism

How To Treat YourConference Speakers Like Rock Stars

Guess what? Speakers at conferences get paid a lot of money to turn up and talk. What do you want them to be saying about your town?

Here's what one presenter said about their experience.
Are you doing this for your presenters?

Photoboxi

TweetingSeat: The Park Bench That Tweets

Tuesday May 1, 2012

TweetingSeat is an interactive park bench designed to explore the potential for connecting digital and physical communities. Each time someone takes place on the bench, the TweetingSeat takes two photos and uploads these to Twitter. One camera is focused on the bench, capturing sitting people. A second camera is placed on the bench and takes a picture from the point of view of the people who sit on it.

 

 Read more: http://popupcity.net/2012/05/tweetingseat-the-park-bench-that-tweets/#ixzz1zROZhyw1

Tours By Locals 

I loved this idea.

"Take a private tour with a knowledgeable local person as your tour guide! Reliable guides carefully selected and approved by ToursByLocals."  Read more here   

 

Back Home

What are you doing to prepare your business to meet the expectations of customers?

As a traveler, what do you need to make your stay as satisfactory as possible?

Update:

Here's Carol Duncan with the Lord Mayor visiting a tourist 'touch screen' that now greets our visitors (if they can find one), instead of a person. Classic radio.

"I took my friend to Newcastle Railway Station to find out more about where he met the coach, the timetable and how much it cost. With no information obvious to either of us, we used the touchscreen kiosk within the station booking office."

 Listen to what happened. 
 Newcastle Tourist Information Less Than Informative


Related

  Lunaticks Take On Tourism In Hunter

Lunaticks Take On Tourism

The topic this month for The Lunaticks Society event was Role and Impact of Technology in Tourism and Hospitality. This gave us a panel representing Newcastle Events, Hunter Wine Country and the developer of the Newcastle App, Andy Howard. 


Lots of figures produced on visitors (most are repeat visitors, so domestic travelers) and perhaps surprisingly that day trippers spend the most money on their visits. Or not such a surprise if they are leaving with a car full of great Hunter wines! 


In 2011, a total of 7.8 million visitors came to the Hunter and around 60 per cent of travelers now want to book online.  As was made clear by the panel, visitors expect to be able to book online immediately and this is no longer an optional service for business to provide, it is just part of the cost of doing business.

In this way we see that local tourist and businesses offering hospitality are being driven by the marketplace to adapt. Unfortunately for many small operators this is still not so well understood and the technological literacy in small business is lacking.

As is often the case with panel discussions like this there is a focus on statutory bodies, government grants and other political issues that relate to funding constraints and reference back to old thinking and how we've done things in the past but with a new website function or a bit of technology thrown in.  And still the distinction between Newcastle, other council areas and other established tourist areas keeps us from understanding this great place where we live, whether we are in the suburbs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Port Stephens and the wine areas, is one region. That parochial thinking prevents us consolidating efforts to attract more visitors for longer stays into the whole region.

 This is unfortunate as while it may be the reality of funding and scope of interest that these bodies deal with, it ignores the massive opportunity that we have to create engagements in new markets in new ways using personal networks and the potential for the whole community to be actively engaged and encouraged to be  promoting the area. Hey. This is Our Region.

What's clear is that small business operators need to lift not just their literacy with the new technologies, they need to be competent with them. Websites need to be made useful, (most that I see are not). Content in the form of articles, blogs, images and resources to download, needs to be created for every single business. This acts to improve visitors to a site and social media allows for social sharing of this material. This is the new marketplace and these are the tools that need to be understood and well-utilized. Multiplied across the region and we have a huge net to catch tourists with money to spend.

Local areas need to have access to good broadband and we need to work together to help businesses and the communities share ideas, opportunities and open the door to more collaborative open culture. Perhaps it is also time to wake up to our position in the world. For someone in Europe, or China or the US the Hunter region is the backyard of Sydney.  We should want people to know we are here, instead of them flying into Sydney and then out to Queensland and other well established destinations that are known by name to those overseas.  And to educate our local market to the full range of options that are available across the region. Together we have some critical mass. There is potential to make this region the best resourced, most effective and digitally savvy area in the country. Someone will do it first. It can be us.

For small operators who are not up to speed with the digital world there is help but those of us who can help cannot do so without knowing who needs it and who wants it and who is prepared to invest in their own business to bring them up to minimum standard at least. 

There is a lot of work to do.

 You can find Andy Howard's blog on the discussion last night here

Related:
Tourism Trends We Need To Be Up On In The Hunter

Now And Then Exhibition Opens Sydney

Now and Then exhibition at the Museum of Sydney from ABC Open Hunter on Vimeo.
More on this over on the ABC Newcastle site

Newcastle Now + Then

The ABC Open photography challenge is to take photos from the past and merge them with the same view now. Check out the Newcastle entries for Series 2.

Photo by @drdrdr09

Photo by @drdrdr09

Photo by @drdrdr09

See the full collection on ABC Open

Local Vintner Honoured as OAM - Wendy Lawson

Kudos to Wendy Lawson from Catherine Vale Wines at Broke NSW on her OAM on the Queen's Birthday long weekend. Full story here