Learning History in Newcastle

Fort Scratchley is a historical site located in the West Newcastle o. It was built in 1882 top of Flagstaff Hill overlooking Tasman Sea and Hunter River. it was built in 1882 as a measure to defend the area against Russian attack. However, nothing was fired until 1942. The Australian Army left Fort Scratchley in 1972 and the site has been turned to museum.

Fort Scratchley is opened from everyday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. except Tuesday. There is entrance fee but visitors can donate certain amount of money to help the continuity of this amazing site.

Most of the buildings and chambers in Fort Scratchley can be accessed by visitors. Some buildings are reserved as it used to be such as the guard house, part of the barracks and cottages and servants quarters. Some buildings are turned into exhibitions and stores. There is one restricted area, which is the tunnel. The visitor shall follow the tour guide at certain planned timing to visit the tunnel, at certain fee.

Hello, Fort Scratchley

The path towards the fort

Fort Scratchley Hall & Workshop outside the entrance

Walk, walk, walk

Posing with the cannon in front of the entrance

The guard house

The guard???

Studying the plan, I am an engineer

The barracks, where the army slept

Artillery store is turned into souvenir shop

I have a soft spot for tunnels

Exhibits of weapons inside the first chamber of the tunnel

Not only guns and snipers are displayed

Servants' Quarter

The main exhibits of Fort Scratchley is at the main building of this complex, the cottages and quarters. It has been turned into a museum that display the historical timeline, memorial to the heroes, weapons and uniforms and any other stuffs from the past, old newspaper cutting on certain event, etc.

Missile

Historical timeline

Tribute to Commandant Scratchley

The uniform

Wall of honour to the heroes

The uniforms and the equipment

The machine used during that period

The biggest event in the history of Fort Scratchley was the attack by Japanese on 8 June 1942, a week after the attack of Sydney Harbour and a few hours after the attack of Sydney suburb. Japanese submarine I-21 bombarded Newcastle with 34 shells but caused very little damage and no casualties. Australian Army fired 4 shells but none hit the Japanese.

The newspaper cuttings of the event

The shells

The outside of the Commandant's Cottage

Can't lift it up

The stack is called the brass monkey, the most effective way to stack the cannon balls

The parade ground of Fort Scratchley

Battery Observation Post

The tunnel emerges here, a place to fire the cannon

One of the cannons that is still on display

Master Gunner's Cottage

One of the good things of going to Fort Scratchley is the view. It is directly overlooking Nobbys Beach and the famous Nobbys Lighthouse.

Nobbys Beach and Nobbys Lighthouse

That's exactly our next destination. By walking less than 5 minutes, we reached Nobbys Beach is the most eastern beach in Newcastle. The beach leads to Nobbys Head, where Nobbys Lighthouse is located.

Nobbys Head was originally called Nobbys Island because it was an island. It was first sighted by Captain Cook in 1770 and referred as a small round rock island. It was said that many ships had crashed on to Nobbys Island.

A project to connect the mainland and Nobbys Island was initiated by Governor Macquarie in 1818. Convict labours were utilised for this project and it took 38 years to complete. Many convicts were actually lost in the sea during the works. The height of Nobbys Island was trimmed from about 60m to 27.5m as seen now. The trimmed rocks were use to build the connecting pier.

Nobbys Beach

The path to reach Nobbys Head

Nobbys Head is at higher point

The view along the way

Family of humans and dogs

I was sitting on a precast concrete pile

The lighthouse could not be accessed during our visit

We walked further

And we looked back

Many stones

The end of the pier

View to rough Tasman Sea

Hello, Sea

A small observation tower

I officially heart Newcastle

Love is in the air,
Little Feet

Newcastle City, Here We Are!

Another out-of-town trip

Newcastle is located 162km north east of Sydney, at the same area as Hunter Valley. Newcastle's economy is driven by coal mining and tourism and it is the second most populated area in New South Wales.

Before European settlement in 1797, Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal people inhabited this area. Upon discovery by the British, many convicts were sent to Newcastle to mine the coal as punishment to the crimes that did. This continued until 1823.

Newcastle took part in World War II during the attack of Japanese on 08 June 1942. There were no casualties as a result of that attack.

Today, Newcastle becomes one of the major tourist destinations in New South Wales. It can be reached by driving approximately 3-4 hours drive from Sydney or by taking train on Newcastle Line from Central to Hamilton Station and transferring to shuttle bus to Newcastle Station. The journey takes approximately 3.5 hours and costs AUD 5.81 (~SGD 6.5). The train interval is approximately 30 minutes apart.

Newcastle Station

Alighting at Hamilton Station and boarding the shuttle bus to Newcastle Station is not a problem. The station officer guided the passengers to the bus stop. The journey from Hamilton Station to Newcastle Station is only 15 minutes.

After arriving at Newcastle Station, we walked to the Christ Church Cathedral by passing the centre of the area. The buildings there could be considered antique and it felt so laid-back.

One of the building in the city centre

The house

Christ Church Cathedral is a gothic church designed by John Horbury Hunt. This cathedral is the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle and was built to replace the previous church. The original designers of the church were Terry and Speechley, who won the design competition in 1868. However, the cost was apparently being underestimated during the design. Joh Horbury Hunt's more feasible design was then adopted to be the new face of Christ Church Cathedral.

The foundation stone was laid in 1892. It took 43 years to complete the nave of the church without the tower and transepts. In 1974, a severe storm damaged a large part of the roof. The repair was completed in 1979 and the Christ Church Cathedral was consecrated in 1983.

However, another damage was undergone by the church again in 1989 due to earthquake. The second repair was completed in 1997. Besides the main cathedral, the church has the Caphel of Saint Nicholas, the Chapel of Saint Michael, the Chapel of Our Lady and the Chapel of Saint Christopher. There are also many ornaments in the church worth admiring. When we moved into the church, a lady passed us an A4 paper full of information.

The first glance of Newcastle Christ Church Cathedral

Front of the church

Side entrance

Selfie time!

Magnificent, right?

The entrance is from the side 

The main chamber

Organ

The Window of Rose

The Chapel of St. Nicholas

At the back of the Cathedral

A memorial garden at the backyard of the church

After spending some time in the cathedral, we continued our journey on foot to Darby Street. Darby Street is known as a food street of Newcastle where the cafes and shops flock. Another good thing about Newcastle CBD is the free shuttle bus. From 9:00 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. weekday and 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekend, the free shuttle buses run in 20 minute interval on a one-way loop from Newcastle Station to Scott Street, Hunter Street, Honeysuckle Precinct, Wickham Interchange, City West, Donald Street, Hamilton Cafe Precinct, Tudor Street, TAFE, Market Town Shopping Centre and King Street. Later than those hours, the buses are operating as per normal but the passengers should pay for the rides.

Junction of Hunter Street and Darby Street

The tower there is Newcastle City Hall

Darby Street

It is true that Darby Street is the food street of Newcastle. The whole road is full of nice looking cafes and restaurants. We walked a few rounds before deciding the place where we should have our lunch. We chose Monkey Monkey Monkey cafe which had many customers inside. We chose the right one.

Al-fresco dining

The bar

Inside seatings

The coffee is reaaaally nice, bold and bitter!

The best mushroom meal I have ever eaten

Crispy chicken burger

We also went into a dessert cafe called Coco Monde and bought some chocolates. The chocolates are delicious and all other desserts looks so tempting!

Coco Monde

The dessert cafe

The desserts

The chocolates

After having the satisfying lunch, we took the free shuttle bus back to Newcastle Station. At the back of Newcastle Station, there lies Foreshore Park. With the view of Newcastle Harbour, Foreshore Park is one of the best places to have your picnic lunch.

Customs House Hotel

Newcastle Harbour

Pretty Foreshore Park

At the end of the park

Love is in the air,

Little Feet