CITY ARCADE

I recently went for a walk through the old City Arcade - a place that was quite magical for me when I was just a child.
It was a little corridor that weaved around from Hunter street and out to Newcomen Street in the Mall in Newcastle CBD.

I remember walking past on the way to our favorite and just about only coffee shop up that end of the street back in the 1980's with my mother - I was already a cappuccino freak in my early teens!
I remember the tobacconist who also sold a myriad of souvenirs and assorted wallets, and swiss army knives.

There were a few other shops that ran down the small arcade and it was always rather quiet and spooky. The Christian Reading Room has been there forever and there was also a florist for many years.
Everyone has their memories of the Arcade- it was one of those spots that made the Mall a special place. We no longer have Arcades in Newcastle although they are so very popular in Melbourne being a feature of the CBD. What have we lost? 

Paterson Cemetery

Last Friday, on the spur of the moment, I decided to take a drive to Paterson near Maitland.
The perfect warm winter's day made for a very pleasant journey and the valley is looking green and lush. Paterson is about an hour trip out of Newcastle and I wanted to visit the cemetery at St Paul's which sits close to the township's main corner.
A story in the local paper told of the need for a working bee to clean up and help save the deteriorating cemetery at the back.It was planned for the next day and I could not get there because of previous engagements.
When I arrived I firstly took a quick look inside the church and then headed out the back to walk through the site.
Gosh, were would you begin!
Not overly big but needing lots of work to clean this place  - I just hoped that there were some bodies who would turn up to lend a helping hand.
I am planning to head out again shortly to see what has been done.
It would be a shame for this last place of rest for our pioneer settlers to become just a memory.

Teralba Cemetery - Memories hidden under the earth

The original Teralba grave yard (now in Booragul) is located on Billy Goat hill on the southern (bush side) of the railway station. After you trek up the dirt track you will know whay they call it "Billy Goat Hill".

The picture above is what can be achieved in a very short period of time with a few hands clearing overgrown grass and bushes.

Notable locals such as James Cherry, accidentally killed at Teralba Colliery. (Cherry's Bridge at Barnsley is named after this family). 

One burial site bears a row of bits of the headstone lined up along one side of the graves site. Only small chunks remain - you can see the year of death - 1913.
Members of the Sager family are also buried in this cemetery. Very little remains of the cemetery today.

 This site does not have much of a future unless we do something now.
Families of those buried here still reside in local suburbs. Vandalism has stripped this resting place of its dignity.
Its such a shame.

Memories...