Commonage Street Alignment Stones

Often the artefacts of local history are plainly seen in old buildings or monuments around us, but sometimes history lies unnoticed at our feet. A few months ago, in the back streets of New Lambton, I spotted some old stones in the kerb. What at first appeared to be foundations for a corner shop veranda, turned out to be much more significant – rare examples of the 1888 Commonage street alignment stones.

The Commonage was reserved by the government in 1850 for the purpose of pasturing stock before shipping from the port of Newcastle. It consisted of 1600 acres stretching from Waratah to Adamstown, from Lambton to Hamilton. With the development of nearby collieries many miners erected homes on the Commonage even though it was Crown land. After decades of debate and confusion the government decided to pass legislation to allow people to purchase the land they were occupying.

Before land could be sold however, an accurate survey was needed to mark the alignment of streets and property boundaries. A municipal conference in February 1888 agreed “to use stone blocks for alignment marks instead of wooden posts, on account of the damage done to posts by white ants.” The survey work budgeted for 1400 stones to be placed at street corners, with the colonial government and local councils sharing the cost. Each stone protruded a foot above the ground, was 9 inches square, and had a small hole in the centre to position a surveyor’s pole. Over time most of the stones have been removed due to kerb upgrades or replaced with modern survey marks, and only 49 stones remain today. These are significant relics of an important turning point in Newcastle’s history, when a large tract of land close to the city was opened for private ownership and development. The Broadmeadow Place Strategy endorsed by Newcastle Council in 2025 aims to establish 20,000 new homes, mostly within the area marked out with alignment stones in 1888.

The 1600 acres of the Commonage (Newcastle Pasturage Reserve) where the streets were surveyed and aligned in 1888.

A few of the remaining Commonage alignment stones.

The article above was first published in the November 2025 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

I first encountered the alignment stones when walking down in New Lambton in July 2025, and noticed two stones on the corner of Wickham Road and Gwydir Road.

Stones on the corner of Wickham Road and Gwydir Road, New Lambton. July 2025.

My first impression was that they were the foundation stones for a street veranda of a corner store, as they looked similar to the veranda stones of the Lambton Cooperative Store. However my research drew a blank on there ever being a store at that location. The nature of these stones remained a mystery until some weeks later, when perusing reports of Lambton Council meetings I stumbled upon the following …

From the Department of Lands, respecting the payment of half cost of the alignment of the commonage. Alderman DENT moved, “That the letter be received and department informed that Council prefer stone alignment marks to wood, and are willing to pay half cost of same when the survey of the commonage could be utilised.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 26 January 1888.

Researching street alignment stones led me to an interesting paper by Fred de Belin presented to the Association of Public Authority Surveyors Conference in 2014 on “The Big Stone Alignment Posts of Ryde”. The paper contained an excerpt of an old map of Ryde that showed the position of some stones, which raised the question of whether old maps of Newcastle also had maps that showed alignment stones?

The University of Newcastle Living Histories site has a collection of old Water Board maps, and checking the map for New Lambton showed that the stones I had found in Wickham Road, were indeed marked with a dot annotated “A.S.”

The Wickham Road alignment stones marked on 1917 Water Board map, Sheet 256. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

In a custom Google Map I added a place-mark at each location where the water board maps had indicated an alignment stone in the Commonage area. Over the course of six weeks I walked the streets and verified where alignment stones still remained. Of the 958 alignment stones marked on the water board maps, I found only 49 remain – a survival rate of 5%.

In the map below, the stone locations are split into three separate layers …

Extant (green) – The stone still exists in place.
Remnant (yellow) – There is some evidence of where the stone once was, or there is a modern survey mark in its place.
Missing (red) – The stone has been removed or is not visible.

The numbering of the stone place-marks is in the form “SheetNumber-StoneNumber”. For example “211-14” is the 14th stone marked on sheet 211 of the water board maps.

It is not clear exactly how many alignment stones were placed in the Commonage originally. At a municipal conference in February 1888, a letter tabled from the Lands Department stated that …

… alignment posts should be put in their proper position at an estimated cost of 15s per post, equal to £1050 for the whole subdivision.

This costing implies that up to 1400 alignment points were planned. The fact that the water board maps have only 958 stones marked is probably due to some of the original 1888 stones having been removed by the time the maps were last updated in the 1910s.

The surveying and placement of the stones in the commonage in 1888 was not without incident. Ralph Snowball, who lived in Clarence Road New Lambton, wrote to the newspaper complaining of the surveyors’ work.

I wish, through the columns of your valuable journal, to draw attention to the manner in which a party of surveyors are executing their work on the New Lambton Commonage. The parties who previously surveyed went though the whole of the work in this particular district and unduly interfered with no fence, trees, etc. But it seems in the majority of instances that I have heard, and my own in particular, that surveyors must go straight through gardens and not have to enter by the usual mode, namely, by the gate, but take their feet or an axe and knock down palings, and leave them off when they go away for goats and pigs to have a parade, as they have done on three occasions at my place. On the 21st, when I arrived home at 7 p.m., I found a valuable Californian pepper tree lopped and mutilated on one side in a disgraceful manner, and, as I keep the branches clear on this of the roof of the verandah owing to wind blowing them, and so making a noise on the iron roof, and the height of the surveyor’s tripod, with theodolite, being not more than 5 feet 6 inches, or 6 feet when set, and also being set within 15 or 20 feet from said tree-I cannot see any reason why it had to be cut nearly to the top of the tree, which is 20 feet or more in height. It was not previously in the road of other surveyors. There is also the annoyance caused by their being two or three hours around close to the house talking, &c., and my wife lying very ill with typhoid fever. Had I been at home I should certainly have tried to get them to act in a more manly way, and leave the fences, &c., as they found them, especially when no one belonging to the house was there to replace the palings, &c.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 February 1888.

Lambton Council in a meeting in March 1888 also complained about the placement of stones.

The report of March 20 drew attention to the placing of stone alignment posts on the Commonage, some of them far into the macadamised roadway, and as they were placed a foot above the surface they ran the risk of being smashed. One of them was smashed on Saturday by a three-horse dray colliding with it. He suggested that a yard of broken metal be placed around the stones wherever so exposed.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 22 March 1888.

Alignment stones outside the Commonage

In addition to the commonage area, the municipality of Adamstown (incorporated 31 December 1885) was also surveyed at the same time, with alignment stones one foot high. This work was completed by December 1888, but not to everyone’s satisfaction.

The Mayor [of Adamstown] stated that the alignment posts had been placed in position by the surveyor. He expressed his displeasure at the way a number of the street ends had been left.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 24 December 1888.

Quite a few alignment stones still exist in Adamstown, south of Brunker Road.

A street alignment stone in Victoria Street, Adamstown.

New Lambton Council was incorporated on 9 January 1889, and subsequently set about getting their streets surveyed and aligned. There is a mention in September 1890 of “alignment posts” (presumably wooden) and then a mention of “alignment stones” in December 1892. There are still a few alignment stones in the streets of New Lambton, south of Russell Road.

A street alignment stone in Evescourt Road, New Lambton.

Waratah Council was incorporated on 23 February 1871 and had street alignment posts in place well before the Commonage was surveyed in 1888. Water board map Sheet 208 shows that survey marks in Waratah streets were labelled with “A.P.”, presumably meaning “Alignment Post”.

Alignment posts marked at the corner of High and Bridge Streets, Waratah.

Alignment posts at the corner of High and Bridge Streets, Waratah, c. 1885-1888. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
26 Jan 1888 24 Jan 1888	Letter to Lambton Council from the Department of Lands, respecting the payment of half cost of the alignment of the commonage. Alderman DENT moved, "That the letter be received and department informed that Council prefer stone alignment marks to wood, and are willing to pay half cost of same when the survey of the commonage could be utilised."
25 Jan 1888	"Surveyors are now busy at work on the commonages cutting it up into suitable allotments, with a probable view to early disposal. If the terms of sale are fixed at reasonable rates and present holders have preferential rights accorded them, then the satisfactory settlement of a long-standing trouble will be hailed with delight."
3 Feb 1888 2 Feb 1888	Municipal conference: "It is proposed that as the subdivision progresses, alignment posts should be put in their proper position at an estimated cost of 15s per post, equal to £1050 for the whole subdivision." (This costing implies that there were 1400 alignment posts. ) "The Councils interested recommend to the Minister for Lands the advisability, while aligning the streets of the Commonage to use stone blocks for alignment marks instead of wooden posts, on account of the damage done to the posts by the white ants."
10 Feb 1888 9 Feb 1888	Thomas Frith, candidate for Adamstown council elections "referred to the alignment of the streets on the Commonage, and said that if the Government had the power to sell the Common, they should pay for the alignment, and let the rates derived from the property go towards improving the streets of the Commonage."
10 Feb 1888	"The work of surveying the Commonage previous to its disposal to the present occupants is proceeding. The surveyors have, in many instances, laid the streets out so that they take the lines as at present occupied by the houses, and which, if carried out, will necessitate the removal of the structures."
11 Feb 1888 10 Feb 1888	"A deputation, representing a conference of delegates from Adamstown, Hamilton, Lambton, and Waratah Municipal Councils, waited on the Minister for Lands in connection with the alignment of streets." The minister "would agree to the erection of stone pillars instead of wooden posts.”
22 Feb 1888 20 Feb 1888	Waratah Council: Letter "from the Lands Department, stating that the district surveyor has been authorised to obtain about 350 alignment posts (stating dimensions), price not to exceed 3s each, for the alignment of streets in the sub-division of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve. Stone could be used instead of posts, if Council desired."
23 Feb 1888	Letter of complaint from Ralph Snowball about damage to fences and trees caused by the surveyors.
2 Mar 1888 1 Mar 1888	Adamstown Council meeting: "The clerk stated that he had been informed by one of the surveyors that he had been instructed to survey Adamstown along with the commonage."
22 Mar 1888 20 Mar 1888	Lambton council complaint about the positioning of the Commonage stone alignment posts.
12 May 1888 11 May 1888	Adamstown Council: “The Mayor reported having waited upon Mr. Surveyor Halworth re alignment marks, and submitted two designs for the consideration of the aldermen. After a deal of talk it was resolved, on the motion of Alderman Weir, that the alignment marks be stone, one foot high.”
24 Dec 1888 20 Dec 1888	Adamstown council: "The MAYOR stated that the alignment posts had been placed in position by the surveyor. He expressed his displeasure at the way a number of the street ends had been left."
15 Oct 1940	East Lambton Progress Association: "It was also decided to write to Newcastle Council asking that the alignment stones at the corner of Karoola and Durham Roads be removed and not placed back on the footpath as suggested by the council."

Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown

In 1862 Robert and Mary Love and their children migrated from Scotland to New South Wales. The family settled in Lambton, where Robert worked as a storekeeper. In July 1874 an advertisement placed by Robert invited tenders to construct a brick building in Adamstown, 30ft by 25ft by 20ft high. After obtaining a publican’s licence, in December 1874 he opened Adamstown’s second hotel, the Royal Crown, on the north-east corner of Victoria and Union St (Brunker Rd).

Three years later Robert Love died, aged just 46. Mary took on the hotel, assisted by her family. In the next four decades three of her sons-in-law were licensees of the hotel she owned. In 1904 Mary offered the hotel for sale at auction, however the reserve price was not met. The recent Local Options amendment to the NSW Liquor Act, which gave electors the ability to vote for liquor licence reductions, meant that owning a hotel was not as secure a business as it was previously. The Love family continued with the Royal Crown until Mary’s death in 1913. Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Brothers then purchased the hotel.

A societal desire for curbing alcohol consumption led to further changes to the Liquor Act, and the eventual demise of the hotel. In January 1921 the Licence Reduction Board determined that 23 hotels in Newcastle would be closed, including the Royal Crown in Adamstown. The hotel ceased in July, and the property was advertised for sale.

Mary Love’s fourth son-in-law then purchased the property. Thomas and Janet Freeman owned the adjacent Kitchener Hall that they had built in 1915 “for picture show purposes”. Acquiring the former hotel allowed the Freemans in 1937 to rebuild and widen their picture theatre. The cinema operated until 1965, when it was sold and converted to shops. The art deco façade of the former cinema survives to this day. However next door on the corner block, the Royal Crown Hotel building was demolished sometime between 1967 and 1974.

Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown, 9 September 1902. Photo by Ralph Snowball. The University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The hotel’s location in 2024, corner of Brunker Rd and Victoria St, with the former cinema building behind the tree.

The article above was first published in the December 2024 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Licensees

Robert Love – December 1874 to February 1878 (death of Robert Love)
Mary Love – February 1878 to December 1888
William Russell (son-in-law of Mary Love) – December 1888 to April 1891
James Gray/Grey – April 1891 to October 1893
Mary Love – October 1893 to December 1898
Arthur Carnley (son-in-law of Mary Love) – December 1898 to November 1904
Adam Hogg (son-in-law of Mary Love) – November 1904 to March 1911
Arthur Carnley – March 1911 to May 1914
Charles Westbrook – May 1914 to August 1915
John Wood – August 1915 to February 1918
John W Hitchcock – February 1918 to March 1919
Joseph George – March 1919 to August 1919
Albert (Alfred?) Osland – August 1919 to February 1920
Horace Robert Cruickshanks – February 1920 to July1920
Edgar Condie – July 1920 to March 1921
Stanley Walter Barnes – March 1921 to closure in July 1921

There has been some confusion arising from Snowball’s photograph, because the sign above the door reads “William Russell”, suggesting that he was the licensee at the time.

Snowball on his listing for negative box 290, has also labelled the photo as “W. Russells Hotel Adamstown – Sept 9”

However records show that Arthur Carnley was the licensee between December 1898 and November 1904. Also the Federal Directory of Newcastle 1901, shows the licensee of the “Royal Crown” was “Carnley, A.”

The apparent discrepancy can be reconciled by understanding that both Arthur Carnley and William Russell were sons-in-law of Mary Love, whose husband Robert opened the hotel in 1874. William Russell had previously been the licensee from 1889 to 1891. A third son-in-law, Adam Hogg, became licensee in 1904. The hotel was owned and run by the same family from 1874 until 1914, the year after Mary Love died. The presence of the name “William Russell” above the door may be just an old sign that the family never updated, or an indication that William Russell still had a hand in running the hotel in the period when his brother-in-law Arthur Carnley was the licensee.

[Note that in the period April 1891 to October 1893, James Gray is named as the licensee. I have found no evidence that this was the undertaker James Gray who was Adamstown’s alderman and Mayor on several occasions. My strong suspicion is that it was another James Gray, or indeed a James Grey as he is spelled in the newspaper article in April 1891.]

When Mary Love died on 27 August 1913, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate printed the following obituary …

Mrs. Mary Love, proprietress of the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown, died yesterday, in her 81st year. During the past few months the deceased had been in declining health, and has not been able to leave her room. Mrs. Love, whose husband predeceased her 37 years, opened the Royal Crown Hotel 39 years ago. It was the second hotel opened in Adamstown. For many years she conducted a large business at the hotel, that was always noted for its respectability. The deceased lady, who was respected by all who knew her, was of a generous disposition, and contributed liberally to any movement that was for the progress of the district in which she resided. She left Scotland with her husband 51 years ago, and after spending a couple of years in New Zealand, carried on to New South Wales, and settled down in Lambton, where they lived prior to opening the hotel in Adamstown. Mrs. Love retired from the hotel business about 20 years ago, and the business has since been conducted by members of her family. She leaves a family of two sons and four daughters, 24 grandchildren, and 17 great-grand-children. Her oldest son, Mr. James Love, is in West Australia.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 28 August 1913

Other Photos

Newcastle Libraries Online Collections has an undated photo of the Royal Hotel in Adamstown. Their notes indicate that the photo with “Arthur Carnley, owner”. This suggests the photo was taken in the period 1899 to1904 when Arthur Carnley was the licensee.

The Royal Hotel, Adamstown. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 056 000044

Location

Although the hotel was licensed as the “Royal Crown Hotel”, it was often referred to as simply the “Royal Hotel”. This is somewhat confusing as there was another hotel very nearby named the “Royal Standard Hotel”.

The Royal Crown Hotel shown opposite the Adamstown Hotel, and the Royal Standard Hotel on the corner of Victoria St and Gosford Rd. 1890s Water Board map, The University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Photographs from the NSW Historical Aerial Imagery site show that the Royal Crown Hotel building was demolished between 1966 and 1974. A photograph of the adjacent picture theatre on page 3 of the book “Front Stalls or Back?” by K J Cork and L R Tod shows that the Royal Crown building was still there in 1967.

Aerial image, 1966. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

Aerial image, 1974. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

Arthur Carnley

In researching the Royal Crown Hotel and finding that Arthur Carnley, son-in-law of Mary Love was licensee for two periods, I wondered if there was any connection to Carnley Avenue in New Lambton, that runs beside Blackbutt Reserve. The answer is yes. In September 1904 Arthur Carnley purchased 7 acres of land in New Lambton. (See Vol-Fol 1733-192 and 1739-181.) Overlaying this land into Google Earth we can see that Carnley Ave

Carnley lodged a subdivision plan (DP20046) for his 7 acres of land in 1945 …

Plan lodgement for DP20046. HLRV

… and in 1949 land was resumed for the construction of Carnley Avenue through the middle of the subdivision. Carnley Avenue is first mention in Trove in January 1950.

Reservation for Carnley Ave in 1949, recorded on Vol-Fol 4748-83.

Interestingly, at the same time that Arthur Carnley purchased his 7 acres in 1904, his brother-in-law Thomas Freeman also purchased 7 acres, to the south of Carnley’s land, and there is now a Freeman St at that location.

Freeman St, New Lambton, now runs through the land purchased by Thomas Freeman in 1904.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
1 Jul 1874	"Notice to Bricklayers. WANTED, TENDERS for the BRICKWORK of a HOUSE, 30 feet by 25 feet, by 20 feet in height, situated in Adams' Town. For all information apply to ROBERT LOVE, Near Lambton Colliery Railway."
16 Dec 1874	Robert Love granted a license for "The Royal Crown Hotel" in Adamstown.
13 Feb 1878 14 Feb 1878	Funeral of Robert Love - "The procession to move from his late residence, the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown."
22 Dec 1888	"Mrs. Love, who has conducted the business at the Royal Crown Hotel so creditably and with so much respectability for the past fourteen years, has retired from business. During her proprietorship of the hotel, it has always been looked upon as a model establishment. Mr. William Russell, Mrs. Love's son-in-law, took charge of the hotel on Thursday." (Note that while Mary Love retired from running the hotel in 1888, she continued to own the property until her death in 1913, and held the hotel licence again during the period 1894-1898.)
4 Sep 1893	"FOR SALE, the Lease, License, Furniture, and Goodwill of the ROYAL CROWN HOTEL, Adamstown. For particulars apply to James Gray, on the premises, or to the Castlemaine Brewery and Wood Bros. & Co., Limited."
15 Dec 1908 14 Dec 1908	"The Royal Crown Hotel, or what is better known as Mrs. Love's hotel, at Adamstown, was offered for sale by public auction yesterday by Messrs. Goodman, Wright, Ltd. It was anticipated there would be keen competition amongst the brewers for the hotel, as it is a free house. Such, however, was not the case. The bidding started at £2000, and ran up to £3000, and at that figure the property was withdrawn. The sale has made it evident that the new Liquor Act has had its effect on hotel property, for it is almost certain that had the same property been offered for sale before the passing of the new Liquor Act it would have realised £5000."
28 Aug 1913 27 Aug 1913	Death of Mary Love, proprietress of the Royal Crown Hotel, Adamstown.
24 Jan 1914	Advertisement for the sale of the estate of Mary Love, deceased, including the Royal Crown Hotel.
9 Mar 1914 7 Mar 1914	"Messrs. Lang, Wood, and Co. report a very large attendance at the sale on Saturday last of the Adamstown properties belonging to the estate of Mrs. Mary Love, deceased, when as the result of spirited competition, every lot was sold. The most important item was the well-known RoyalCrown Hotel, for which there was some lively bidding; starting with £2000, bids came in quick succession until £4000 was reached, when by hundreds and fifties the price of £4350 was reached, at whichfigure it was knocked down to the local Castlemaine Brewery, the announcement being greeted with a hearty round of applause. "
14 Jan 1921 13 Jan 1921	License reduction board hearing for the Royal Crown Hotel.
29 Jan 1921 28 Jan 1921	Licenses Reduction Board announces its decision to close 23 hotels in the Newcastle electorate, including the Royal Crown at Adamstown.
20 May 1921	Licences Reduction Board awards compensation for hotels to be closed. For the Royal Crown hotel, £1640 to owner, but the licensee had no claim.
15 Jun 1921	Renewal of license to Stanley W Barnes. (Presumably the renewal was only to 28 July 1921, that being six months from the Licenses Reduction Board determination for closure made on 28 January 1921.)
24 Oct 1921	Advertisement for the sale of the Royal Crown Hotel property at Adamstown.
10 Feb 1947	Death of Isabella Carnley whose "parents, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Love, moved to Adamstown to build and establish Adamstown's first hotel, the Royal Crown. In 1894 she married Mr. Arthur Carnley, who in turn was licensee of the Royal Crown Hotel, the Commercial Hotel, Wickham, and the Commercial Hotel, Adamstown." (Note, the Royal Crown was actually Adamstown's second hotel.)

Adamstown Hotel

In 1869 Thomas Adam purchased from the government 54 acres of land south of the road running between New Lambton and Merewether. He soon resold the land to Thomas and Henry Bryant, who in 1870 submitted a plan for a 190-lot subdivision named “Adamstown”, including streets named “Thomas”, “Henry” and “Bryant”.

Matching the usual pattern of emerging mining communities, one of the first blocks of land sold was for a hotel. In June 1874 Edward Reay purchased the north-west corner of Union Street (Brunker Road today) and Victoria Street. In September 1874, 150 years ago this month, Reay obtained a publican’s licence and opened the “Adamstown Hotel”. Just two months later Adamstown’s second hotel opened across the road, and in 1902 the town reached its peak of four hotels, a notably abstemious total compared to neighbouring suburbs.

In 1905 when John Court was the licensee, Tooheys Limited bought the hotel. They demolished the original building and erected in its place a modern brick structure at a cost of £2200. After the hotel re-opened in November 1906, the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate noted that “the design of the hotel is entirely different to the usual run of these buildings, there being no colonnade or balcony over the footpath, but in place of them there are large verandah and balcony arcades in the central part of the main front.” Ralph Snowball photographed the crisp new building one week after its formal re-opening. However, this second incarnation of the hotel did not last long. In 1927 increased motor traffic necessitated widening of the main road. All the properties on the west side of Union Street including the Adamstown Hotel, had eighteen feet shaved off their front, and required major renovations and rebuilding. Two more alterations were to affect the hotel. In 1947 its address ‘changed’ when Union Street was renamed Brunker Road, and then in the 1980s the pub’s name changed to the “Nags Head Hotel”.

Court’s Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown, NSW, 26 November 1906. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories

The Nags Head Hotel in Adamstown marks 150 years of operation in September 2024.

The article above was first published in the September 2024 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The original building

Lot 5 of Section 15 of DP60, purchased by Edward Reay in June 1874. Vol-Fol 189-153.

Water Board map overlaid into Google Earth, showing location of Adamstown Hotel, and the Royal Hotel. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

The 1906 Building

The new Adamstown Hotel, erected for Toohey’s, Limited, contains 20 large rooms, bar, parlours, dining, billiard, lodge, and bed rooms, cellar, bathrooms, etc., providing every convenience necessary for the working of a modern hotel. The buildings throughout are of brick on concrete foundations, and no wood partitions are used in any part. All the public, rooms are on the ground floor, from which a bold and handsome stairs leads to the upper, floor, on which the bedrooms, parlour, lodge, and bath rooms are placed. Separate access is given to each room from corridors or passages. The ceilings and cornices of ground-floor rooms are of stamped steel from the Wunderlich Co. The design of the hotel is entirely different to the usual run of these buildings, there being no colonnade or balcony over the footpath, but in place of them there are large verandah and balcony arcades in the central part of the main front to Victoria-street. The building, being on a corner block, at the intersection of Union-street and Victoria-street, has two fronts. the design for which has been well thought out architecturally, and it has, with its bands, tuck-pointed front, bold block cornices, pediments, finials, and central arcade treatment an imposing effect. Mr. Thomas W. Silk, of Bolton-street, Newcastle, was the architect, and Mr. B. G. Pearce, of Hamilton, the builder.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 December 1906.

Advertisement for newly re-opened Adamstown Hotel. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 December 1906.

The Nags Head Hotel

I have not been able to find concrete evidence of exactly when the hotel’s name changed to The Nags Head. It was still called the Adamstown Hotel in 1977. Page 8 of Ed Tonks’ book “No Bar To Time” says that “reportedly the name change to Nags Head occurred during 1989.”

Licensees of the Adamstown Hotel

Edward Reay – 1874 to 1884
James Taafe/Taffe/Taffee (1885 to July 1889)
John Reay/Rae (July 1889 to Oct 1890)
Richard Simmons/Simmonds (August 1891 to August 1894)
Edward Reay (August 1894 to February 1898)
- The August 1894 article states that the transfer was to John Reay, but that is probably an error. John Reay was in Africa from 1893, and the 1895 gazette shows the licensee to be Edward Reay.
Septimus Turnbull (February 1898 to February 1903)
John Court (February 1903 to April 1907)
John Probert (April 1907 To March 1912)
James Edward Connor/O’Connor (March 1912 To July 1914)
Robert Everson/Emerson (July 1914 to approx. Feb 1923)
William John Mills (approx. Feb 1923 to April 1923)
Robert Everson (April 1923 to April 1925)
Edward Fitzlan/Fitzallen (April 1925 to May 1925)
John Albert Dalton (May 1925 To January 1928)
R H Everson (January 1928 to March 1938)
Edward Mark Bird (March 1938 to Jul 1949)
Henry Bonomini (1950 to at least 1955)

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
12 Sep 1874	"At the police court, Newcastle, on Wednesday, a publican's license was granted to Mr. Edward Reay, on the application of Mr. C.W. Rendett, solicitor, for an hotel he is about starting at Adamstown."
5 May 1906	"The Adamstown Hotel, erected over 33 years ago by Mr. Edward Reay, and purchased recently by Toohey and Co., is being demolished to make room for a modern and up-to-date building. The hotel was the first erected in the locality."
11 Sep 1906	"The new hotel, erected by Toohey and Co., on the site of the old Adamstown Hotel, is drawing near completion. The building is of a substantial character and design, and is a striking contrast compared with the buildings in Union street. The new hotel will be completed early next month, and the cost exceeds £2000. The structure contains 22 rooms."
22 Nov 1906 19 Nov 1906	"A free smoke concert to commemorate the completion and opening of the Adamstown Hotel took place in the new building on Monday last. Mr. John Sheedy presided over a fair attendance, and several toasts and complimentary speeches followed. The hotel was erected by Toohey, Limited, at a cost of £2200, and is of an attractive appearance."
1 Dec 1906	"The new Adamstown Hotel, erected for Toohey's, Limited, contains 20 large rooms, bar, parlours, dining, billiard, lodge, and bed rooms, cellar, bathrooms, etc., providing every convenience necessary for the working of a modern hotel."
16 Jan 1919 14 Jan 1919	"Mr. Edward Reay, one of the first to settle in Adamstown, died at the residence of his grandson, Mr. J. Court, in Sydney, on Tuesday. His funeral took place yesterday. Mr. Reay built the Adamstown Hotel, the first in the locality, about 45 years ago. He was 78 years of age."
2 Feb 1927	"John Albert Dalton was given permission to make material alterations to the Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown. Mr. J. Griffiths appeared for the applicant. The police reported that, due to the Main Roads Board wanting to widen the street, the hotel, among other buildings, would have to be moved back. This would mean that practically a new building would be erected, which would greatly improve the locality. Twelve months was allowed in which to complete the building."
14 Mar 1927	"TENDERS Invited, closing Noon, MONDAY, 28th MARCH, for erection and completion of the Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown, for Tooheys, Limited."
14 Nov 1947	Union St renamed to Brunker Rd.
7 Aug 1953	"Proposed alterations to the Adamstown Hotel, Adamstown, estimated to cost £3000, were approved. Mr. A. Nathan, supporting the application, said the alterations would include a portion of the building previously excluded from the premises. The work is to be completed within nine months."

Newcastle to Sydney telephone line

Prior to 1860, communication between Newcastle and Sydney required either a sea voyage or an arduous road journey. It could take days or weeks to receive a reply to a message. That situation changed radically in January 1860 when the electric telegraph service to Newcastle was inaugurated. The telegraph line was erected along the Great North Road, running through Wisemans Ferry, Wollombi and Maitland, and enabled short messages to be instantly transmitted using Morse code.

In 1883 Newcastle’s first telephone exchange opened with 25 private and commercial subscribers. The local telephone network gradually expanded and in 1896 the government allocated funds to provide a trunk connection between Newcastle and Sydney. Arthur Espley of Hamilton won the tender to supply 3000 ironbark poles, and John Elder was contracted to install the poles and wiring along the rail line from Milson’s Point to Newcastle. Construction commenced in March 1897 and by September had reached Gosford.

While constructing the northern part of the line, Elder’s workmen set up camp for four months at Adamstown near the railway level crossing. Ralph Snowball photographed the camp on 30 December 1897, four days before the service commenced on 3 January 1898. The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported that “Mr. Arthur Fenwick was the first person to use the new telephone line … the gentleman spoken to in Sydney could not at first believe that a resident of Newcastle was speaking to him.” Calls to Sydney could only be made by attending the telegraph office in Hunter Street Newcastle, and just one person could use the line at any time. At a cost of 3 shillings for a 3 minute conversation, and with miners earning 6 shillings a day at that time, it is somewhat astonishing to consider that a phone call to Sydney cost half a day’s wages! Amid our current inflationary pressures, it’s worth remembering how ridiculously cheap phone calls are today compared to 125 years ago.

Telephone line contractors camp adjacent to the rail line at Adamstown, 30 December 1897. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The same location 125 years later, when phone calls to Sydney are 125,000 times cheaper.

The article above was first published in the December 2022 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Ralph Snowball, on his negative listing for Box 158, incorrectly labelled the photo as the “telegraph” camp when it was the *telephone* wiring contractors camp. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Advertisement for the opening of the Sydney to Newcastle telephone line. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 January 1898.

The cost of phone calls

In the article I wrote that a three minute phone call from Newcastle to Sydney 125 years ago cost half a day’s wages, and that today the same phone call is 125,000 times cheaper.

In considering the average wage in Newcastle 125 years ago I chose the occupation of miner, as this was the dominant employment at the time. The average wage of miners could differ considerably depending on the mine being worked, the various kinds of mining jobs, and the productivity of the individual miner, as noted in this article from 1896 showing daily earnings of a miner as low as 3s 10d per day, and up to 13s per day. Despite this spread of earnings, report on strike action by miners during 1896 consistently mention a push for earnings around the 6s per day mark. Thus a 3s phone call to Sydney would have been half a day’s wages.

12 Mar 1896 – Glebe colliery wheelers asking for an increase of 6d on their current rate of 5s 6d per day
19 March 1896 – Borehole wheelers asking for an increase to 6s per day.

When it comes to the cost of phone calls today, the comparison is somewhat muddied in that basic phone plans today are fixed cost per month and include unlimited and untimed phone calls within Australia. Notwithstanding that difficulty, let’s do some maths …

If we take an average wage today to be $92000 per annum, that translates to $353 per working day. If we assume that a person is awake for a maximum of 18 hours in a day, then there about 32400 minutes in a month they could be making a phone call. Thus a 3 minute phone call is 0.0000926 of the usable phone minutes in a month. As a basic phone plan can be obtained for $15 a month, a 3 minute phone call evaluates to just 0.14 cents $15 x 0.0000926). This correlates to 0.0000039251 of the average daily wage (0.14 cents / $353).

Comparing the relative costs of a 3 minute phone call (0.5 of daily wage in 1898, and 0.0000039251 of daily wage in 2022) we arrive at a ratio of 127384 times cheaper in 2022, which rounds out to 125 thousand to nicely match the 125 year time span!

Now I realise that some of the assumptions I made above are a bit arbitrary (and I may have even chosen some assumptions to get me to a nice round figure), however the point is still clear – phone calls today are vastly and almost unimaginably cheaper today than 125 years ago. Are there any other consumer services whose price has decreased so dramatically in the same time?

Newcastle telegraph office

In Newcastle, the trunk telephone line from Sydney was connected to the Telegraph Office in Hunter Street, near the intersection of Watt Street.

The Newcastle Telegraph Office (left) in 1891. The Sydney to Newcastle telephone service commenced here on 1 January 1898. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 003517

The old Telegraph and Post Office buildings in Hunter Street. 21 April 2023.

Evolution of the telephone service

The original telephone service installed between Sydney and Newcastle in 1897 and inaugurated on 3 January 1898, consisted of 4 wires, allowing for two complete circuits. The reports at the time do not explicitly say so, but I get the impression that one circuit was used for phone calls initiated from Newcastle to Sydney, and the other circuit for the opposite direction. The advertisement for the service on 1 January 1898 speaks of “the line” (singular) and says …

In cases where the line may be engaged applications will be registered and connection will be made in the order of priority of application.

This queuing of applicants would be more easily managed with one circuit dedicated to each direction.

Snowball’s 1897 photograph shows four telephone wires.

By 1907 the limitations of the initial service were being felt.

Numerous complaints have been made by business houses in the city of the frequent congestion which occurs on the telephone trunk lines between Newcastle and Sydney. There are at present only two direct lines connecting Newcastle with the metropolis … tenders have been called for the supply of material for the construction of another line.
Sydney Morning Herald, 26 August 1907.

Four more lines were added, but their capacity was soon used up. In 1919 it was noted that …

There are six lines at present in use, but the congestion that occurs in the business almost every day of the week is becoming intolerable. The Postal Department hopes to begin immediately the erection of two new telephone trunk lines.
The Newcastle Sun, 17 May 1919.

In 1924 the Postal Department expressed their intention to “put all telephone and telegraph cables between Sydney and Newcastle underground”. However like a number of other Newcastle infrastructure projects in the last century, this was the first of a series of announcements followed by nothing being finshed.

In October 1928 bushfires exposed the vulnerability of the overhead telephone wiring system …

The raging inferno, along the Sydney railway line played havoc with the Sydney-Newcastle telephone lines. Suddenly, late yesterday afternoon, 15 trunk lines between Newcastle and Sydney went out, and Newcastle was completely isolated. This morning subscribers were told that there was no possibility of communication with Sydney by phone.
The Newcastle Sun, 8 October 1928.

In June 1929 the Deputy Postmaster-General announced that work had commenced on the laying of underground cable between Sydney and Newcastle, at a cost of £500,000. The length of the cable required was 117 miles, and the first cable to be laid would provide more than 120 pairs of wires, with each circuit allowing telephone conversations and telegraphic messages simultaneously.

Very little was done and by 1935 it was time for another announcement that …

Preliminary work has begun on the laying of an underground telephone cable between Sydney and Newcastle. Conduit to carry the cable has already been laid between Sydney and Peat’s Ferry, it was stated this morning, and survey work along the main Newcastle-Sydney highway is in progress.
The Newcastle Sun, 10 January 1935.

Progress must have been slow, because four years later there was opportunity for yet another announcement when …

The Deputy Director of Posts and Telegraphs Mr Butler at Gosford yesterday afternoon turned the first sod for the laying of the underground telephone and telegraph cables which will link Sydney, Newcastle and West Maitland.
Sydney Morning Herald, 1 April 1939.

By mid 1941 the underground cabling had been completed, and ancillary equipment was being installed at the exchanges. Mr. E. S. Butler, senior mechanic attached to the Taree Post Office, in addressing the Taree Rotary Club on the development of telephone communication, stated that …

The [underground] cabling from Sydney to Newcastle has been completed, and the equipment is being installed. To date the test results have exceeded the requirements of the contract. The completion of this work will be a boon, especially in summer, when storms and bushfires will no longer work havoc on the overhead wiring system, with the consequent interruption to traffic. There is provision in this cable for 28 systems of 17 channels — a total of 470 plus 4 programme relay lines, but equipment is only being provided for a portion of this, and can be added to us required. Both systems are based on frequency or tuned circuits, as we know it on our radio, the difference being that the radio is transmitted at a much higher frequency and with a high power. The frequencies used on the telephone systems are much, lower, and do not radiate from the wires unless excessive current is used. Even then it could not be picked up by the commercial radio.
The Northern Champion, 26 July 1941.

Although the cables installed between Sydney and Newcastle potentially allowed for up to 470 channels, war conditions delayed the delivery of the carrier wave equipment needed to make use of that potential. In May 1945 there were only 42 channels available on the intercity trunk line. After the war, additional modern carrier wave equipment was installed as telephony needs increased.

One of the most significant advances in inter-city telephony occurred in 1967, when Subscriber Trunk Dialing (STD) became available in Newcastle. This allowed users at home to dial direct to a destination number in another city without having to get a telephone operator to manually connect them.

Brunker Road Buildings

In Snowball’s photograph of the workmen’s camp, there is double story shop and a church on the horizon at the right hand side.

Church and shop on Brunker Road, Adamstown.

These buildings are on Brunker Rd. The church is the original wooden building of St Stephens Church of England located at 191 Brunker Rd.

Saint Stephen’s Church of England, Adamstown, not dated. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 003739

The shop in the photo is the tailoring business of Anthony Shaw, whose premises were located opposite the Post Office, at 208 Brunker Road. (See also Vol-Fol 1051-29 for Portion 1651 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve.)

Vol-Fol 1051-29, portion 1651 sold to Anthony Shaw, Master Tailor, 18 July 1894.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
8 Mar 1859	Tenders invited "for the supply of material (wire excepted), and for the workmanship necessary for the erection of line of Electric Telegraph from a point upon or near the Blacktown Road to Windsor, and thence via Wiseman's Ferry, Wollombi, West Maitland, and Maitland to Newcastle."
5 Dec 1859	"The [telegraph] line to the Hunter was commenced on the 6th June last ; starting from the Blacktown road it passes through Windsor and Richmond via Wiseman's Ferry to Wollombi and West Maitland, and thence to Morpeth, and along the railway line to Newcastle."
11 Jan 1860	"The electric circuit between Maitland and Newcastle was tested yesterday. Mr E. C. Cracknell came hither to effect the experimental process, and a message was successfully transmitted through the Northern telegraph line. We believe the working of the line will not come into active operation until some slight arrangements have been considered relative to the general telegraphic line from Newcastle to Sydney from each intermediate station. In the course of the week we believe all will be prepared for the sending of telegrams."
26 Jan 1860 22 Jan 1860	"On Monday last communication with Sydney by electric telegraph was opened to the public of Maitland." This article has some interesting details on the technical implementation of the telegraph service.
24 Jan 1860	"On Tuesday last, a ball took place at the Caledonia Hotel in this city, in commemoration of the establishment and the opening of telegraphic communication between Sydney and the Hunter River district."
18 Sep 1877	"The Contractor for the Newcastle Telegraph Office additions having completed his work, the building now presents a very neat and creditable appearance, and will, we understand, be occupied in the early part of next week."
26 Oct 1883	"Operations in connection with the Newcastle Telephone Exchange are now, we are glad to learn, on the eve of completion. Yesterday the contractor (Mr. Kinshela, of Parramatta) commenced the operation of "wireing," and has so far made very satisfactory progress with his work. Half a dozen large ironbark poles, forty feet high, have been set up; and when finished, there will be upwards of fifty wires in use, connected with the various subscribing offices and private residences."
6 Dec 1883 5 Dec 1883	"The new Telephone Exchange of Newcastle was formally opened at noon yesterday in the presence of a few influential citizens ... There are at present twenty five subscribers, and the system of working is an excellent one."
5 Aug 1896	"During the past few weeks Messrs. Dick and Fegan, Ms.P., have had several interviews with the Postmaster-General concerning the advisableness of providing immediate telephonic communication between Newcastle and Sydney. As a result of their representations the Minister has instructed his officers to prepare specifications at once."
19 Nov 1896	"Since Parliament voted £20,000 for connecting Newcastle, Maitland, and Bathurst by telephone with Sydney an advertisement is said to have appeared in the Government Gazette calling for tenders for 3000 poles, to be laid between here and Sydney. This looks as if the proposal is to become an assured fact sooner or later."
27 Nov 1896	Tender accepted : "Mr. A. B. Espley, Hamilton. 3,000 Wooden Telegraph Poles (ironbark), 30 feet long (to be delivered along the railway line from Milson's Point to Newcastle), 6s. 8d. each."
1 Dec 1896	"A little time ago the Postmaster-General decided to establish certain trunk lines for telephonic purposes between Sydney and some of the larger inland towns. Already the department has accepted a tender for the 3000 wooden poles necessary to carry the wire between the metropolis and Newcastle, and the work is to be put in hand at once."
8 Mar 1897	"The work of establishing telephonic communication between Sydney and Newcastle is being rapidly proceeded with, and will be completed within the course of a few months."
12 Apr 1897	"In connection with the construction of a telephone line between Sydney and Newcastle, Mr. W. T. Dick, M.L.A., has been advised by the Postmaster-General that the poles, as far as Hornsby, are up, and ready for the wires, and on arrival of the latter the work will be pushed on expeditiously."
19 Jun 1897	"The Newcastle telephone line, which is under construction, has reached Peat's Ferry. Some trouble has been experienced with the cumbersome wooden posts being used."
7 Sep 1897	"The Sydney to Newcastle telephone line is now completed to the Gosford Post-offioe. Overseer Elder and men are now camped at Ourimbah, and the poles have been erected past Narara."
30 Sep 1897	"The work of connecting Newcastle by telephone with Sydney is now being pushed on with, the poles having been erected some distance beyond Gosford."
20 Oct 1897	"By the end of next month telephonic communication between Sydney and Newcastle will have been established. The work is now well on, and the question of what the charge shall be for its use is engaging the attention of the Postmaster-General."
25 Dec 1897	"In order to avoid the influences of the earth, the wires are being so arranged as to form a complete circuit. To do this, it has been necessary to have a double wire right through ... The communication has been found to be most complete, Mr. John Elder, the constructing overseer at this end, hearing distinctly the voice at the Sydney Telephone Exchange … Those who are not subscribers will be provided with a little room, at the end of the general room at the telegraph office, in which to carry on their limited conversation."
29 Dec 1897	"A gang of men under Mr. John Elder, constructing overseer, were engaged yesterday fixing up the aerial cable which is to carry the Sydney telephone wires through the city from the rear of Ireland's bond … Mr. Elder spoke to Sydney yesterday from the rear of Ireland's bond, and he says he could hear the replies to his questions just as distinctly as if the conversation was being held with a person only a few yards off."
30 Dec 1897 3 Jan 1898	"The Sydney-Newcastle telephone will be open to the public on Monday next. The charge will be 3s for the first three minutes, and 1s for each subsequent minute."
4 Jan 1898 3 Jan 1898	"Mr. Arthur Fenwick was the first person to use the new telephone line between Sydney and Newcastle. The gentleman spoken to in Sydney was surprised, and could not at first believe that a resident of Newcastle was speaking to him."
1 Mar 1898 3 Mar 1898	Advertisement for the opening of the Newcastle to Sydney telpehone service.
5 Mar 1898	"The gang of men who were employed laying the telephone line from Sydney to Newcastle have been camped at Adamstown for the past four months. During their residence in Adamstown they proved themselves a genial, well-conducted body of men and, consequently, gained the respect of the trades men and all they came in contact with. They broke up camp yesterday, and removed to Morrisett."
26 Aug 1907	"Numerous complaints have been made by business houses in the city of the frequent congestion which occurs on the telephone trunk lines between Newcastle and Sydney. There are at present only two direct lines connecting Newcastle with the metropolis ... tenders have been called for the supply of material for the construction of another line."
17 May 1919	"The commercial community of Newcastle, as well as many Sydney business firms, will learn with relief that the Postal Department 'hopes to begin immediately the erection of two new telephone trunk lines.' There are six lines at present in use, but the congestion that occurs in the business almost every day of the week is becoming intolerable."
26 Jun 1924	"It is the intention of the Postal Department to put all telephone and telegraph cables between Sydney and Newcastle underground. Conduits will be run along the railway line, and it is stated that the mid-way testing station will be at a point near Lisarow."
8 Oct 1928	Bushfires cut the Sydney-Newcastle telephone line.
12 Jun 1929	The Deputy Postmaster-General, Mr. Kitto, said to-day that work was commenced at the beginning of this week of laying the underground cable between Sydney and Newcastle. This will improve the telephone and telegraphic service. Mr. Kitto said the new 'system would cost approximately £500,000.' "
13 Jun 1929	"Preliminary work has been commenced in connection with the laying of underground telegraph and telephone cables between Sydney and Newcastle. It is anticipated that the estimated cost will be £500,000, and the length of the cable will be 117 miles. The first cable will provide for more than 120 pairs of wire, and there will be a circuit by each for telephone conversations and telegraphic messages simultaneously."
10 Jan 1935	"Preliminary work has begun on the laying of an underground telephone cable between Sydney and Newcastle. Conduit to carry the cable has already been laid between Sydney and Peat's Ferry, it was stated this morning, and survey work along the main Newcastle-Sydney highway is in progress."
1 Apr 1939	"The Deputy Director of Posts and Telegraphs Mr Butler at Gosford yesterday afternoon turned the first sod for the laying of the underground telephone and telegraph cables which will link Sydney, Newcastle and West Maitland. Two cables will be laid and although each will contain only 24 pairs of comparatively small gauge copper wires, special apparatus will enable more than 200 channels of communication to be provided. Repeater stations will be established at intervals of from 14 to 20 miles."
4 Dec 1939	"Already a cable was being laid between Sydney and Newcastle, and 408 people in Newcastle could talk simultaneously with the same number of people in Sydney."
26 Jul 1941	Mr. E. S. Butler, senior mechanic attached to the Taree Post Office, gave a speech to the Taree Rotary Club on the development of telephone communication, over the past two decades. There is a brief mention of the upgrade of the Sydney to Newcastle trunk line, including a few technical details.
3 Dec 1953	"Seven extra trunk channels will be available between Sydney and Newcastle from next Wednesday. The improved telephone service will follow the installation of a modern carrier-wave telephone system which shortly will undergo tests. When the carrier telephone equipment was connected to a trunkline two or more calls could be completed simultanously over one pair of wires without the callers overhearing other conversations. According to the type of equipment installed, up to 17 extra circuits could be provided on each pair of wires."
18 Nov 1967	Subscriber Trunk Dialling - Newcastle Exhange already upgraded and ready for the service.

Adamstown Fire and Police Station

The building featured in this month’s article was constructed in 1922 as Adamstown’s upgraded fire station. Although 100 years old now, it was used as a fire station for less than a quarter of that time.

In 1891 Adamstown’s first fire station was erected at 67 Narara Rd near the public school. A simple wood and corrugated iron shed, with a tall lookout and bell tower alongside, it served the needs of the local firefighters for the next 30 years. But when NSW fire brigades began introducing motorised fire engines a larger station was needed. Adamstown Council considered several alternate locations for a new station but found none better than the current site.

So, in 1922 the existing wooden building was picked up and moved to the adjacent block of land to allow for the erection of a larger brick fire station in its place. The new building was officially opened on 17 November 1922. In October 1925 Adamstown brigade received their first motorised fire engine, a Garford-Hale type 15 pumper, assembled at the Fire Brigade workshops in Sydney.

The station closed in July 1946, as part of the fire service’s transition to having fewer and bigger stations. Within months of the closure the Education Department stated their intention to use the site to extend the playground of the nearby public school. The land was officially gazetted for education use in April 1950, but if it was ever used by the school is unclear. We do know that in 1951 Newcastle Council was leasing the building, to store crates of library books as they waited for the construction of the public library in Laman Street, Newcastle. In 1970 the use of the site changed yet again, when the land was reserved for police purposes. Adamstown Police Station operated there until the mid-1990s when the station closed, and the property sold off. The building is now a private residence, albeit one with a very unusual past.

Adamstown Fire Station and the Garford-Hale motor fire engine acquired in 1925. Photo courtesy of Museum of Fire.

Adamstown Police Station 1974. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 104 008394

The article above was first published in the November 2022 edition of The Local.

Additional Information – Fire Station

Adamstown’s first Fire Station, opened 1891. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Location of Adamstown Fire Station, on Water Board Map circa 1901. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The Garford-Hale motor fire engine that Adamstown received in 1925 was a big advance on the horse drawn fire engine previously used. The features of the new engine are well described in the Glen Innes Examiner when that town received their new engine.

The new motor is a Garford-Hale, of 20 horsepower, with three speeds and reverse, electric light, and self starter. A large warning bell is fitted in a convenient position for the driver to operate. The pumps have a capacity of 300 gallons a minute and are fitted with a safety valve that blows off with 1501b. pressure, and which can be adjusted to increased pressure if necessary. One of the greatest advantages which the Garford-Hale has over other makes is the expeditious way in which the pumps can be brought into action. From the pump it is possible to get four hoses to work, two on either side. The pump is fitted so that it can be operated by the three speeds, in the same way as the motor itself is operated, according to the power required. It is not possible for the pumping operations to be hung up owing to clogging, as the gear can be thrown into reverse, and any obstruction removed. Accommodation is provided for eight men, and a scaling ladder is carried on either side. The hose box is situated at the back of the engine, and accommodates 1500 feet of hose, together with all the necessary tools.
Glen Innes Examiner, 8 September 1924

Further details of the Garford-Hale engine are described when the Windsor brigade received their unit.

The new motor fire engine is known as the Garford-Hale pump, and is capable of pumping 300 gallons of water per minute. It is similar to the one just installed at Richmond, and they were both assembled in the Fire Brigades’ workshop in Sydney. The engine can attain a speed of 35 miles an hour when travelling to a fire. The engine is 21 h.p. A.S.E rating, with self starter and electric flight- system. There is a large hose box capable of carrying 1500 feet of hose, and a first aid kit is carried, together with all other appurtenances. The whole thing complete cost approximately £900.
Windsor and Richmond Gazette, 7 August 1925

Just a few months before Adamstown fire station was closed, Captain Francis Elson Kimber at age 83 retired from the brigade after 45 years of voluntary service.

He joined the Adamstown Fire Brigade as a volunteer in June, 1901, and was elected as Captain engine keeper in 1906, a position he retained until January 1, 1944, when his son, Mr. William G. Kimber, was apppointed Captain and Fireman A. Ure as engine-keeper. Mr. Kimber still recalls the hard work the volunteers had to do when it was mostly necessary for them to run with the fire reel to the fires. He says that in the early days they attended a large number of house fires, but their greatest worry was the large number of bush fires. The first engine provided at Adamstown was a turbine motor that had to be drawn by horses and it was while, this engine was in use that they assisted at Cohen’s fire under District Officer Hillier. The turbine was replaced by a motor-driven engine on September 28, 1925, and Mr. Kimber secured a driving licence for the vehicle. He drove this engine to a fire at Jones’s bakery on December 18, 1944, when he was 81 years of age. Although he had been relieved as captain of the district, he continued to do the clerical work. He was on duty at the station when the alarm was given and as no drivers were available, he drove the engine. This was the last fire Mr. Kimber attended.
The Newcastle Sun, 30 May 1946

Newspaper articles – Fire Station

Article Date Event Date	Notes
31 Jan 1891 29 Jan 1891	Adamstown Council meeting: "From Mr. W. Brown, secretary of the Fire Brigade, requesting the council to endeavour to secure a portion of the proposed reserve for the purpose of erecting a fire station."
28 Feb 1891 26 Feb 1891	Adamstown Council meeting: Alderman FAIRFULL moved, "That the Mayor and one of the firemen meet the district surveyor when convenient, and select a piece of land on the Commonage for a fire station."
29 Jun 1891	"Tender of Mr. G. Turner, of Waratah, for £93 10s was accepted, for the erection of the new fire-station. It was resolved to allow the contractor six weeks to complete the building. The building will be 30ft by 18ft, and, when completed, will be somewhat similar to the Honeysuckle fire-station. It is to be erected on a piece of land near the public school, from where a good view of Newcastle, Lambton, and other parts of the district may be obtained."
29 Aug 1891	Government Gazette - portion 2395 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve at Adamstown, reserved for fire brigade station.
3 Sep 1891	"The new fire brigade station is almost completed, and the brigade committee are devising means to pay the cost. They have suficient in hand to meet the contractor, but to pay for the bell which is ordered, 266lb weight, and other necessary things, they have to appeal to the public."
5 Oct 1891 3 Oct 1891	Official opening of Adamstown's first fire station.
12 Oct 1891 11 Oct 1891	First fire attended by Adamstown fire brigade. " Too much credit cannot be given to Messrs. J. Bullerwell and W. Dixon, captain and lieutenant respectively, and all the members of the Adamstown Fire Brigade, for the prompt and efficient way in which they extinguished the fire."
23 Sep 1920	Adamstown council is not in favour of the idea of closing small local fire stations and establishing a large central fire station. "Mr. Shepherd, municipal representative on the Fire Board, wrote that a new fire station is absolutely necessary before a motor engine can be placed in the town, as the under structure of the present building is not strong enough to hold a motor, and there is danger of fire if a motor is placed in a wooden building."
18 Nov 1920	"Adamstown Council have been notified by the secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners that the board will be pleased to receive suggestions from the council as to suitable sites for the proposed new fire station. The council decided that information be obtained in regard to a site opposite the local police station, and that it be forwarded to the board for consideration."
21 Apr 1921	"Adamstown Council has been notified by the Board of Fire Commissioners that it has considered the site brought under notice in Brunker road, owned by Mrs. Smith. Up to the present none of the sites available is as suitable as that upon which the fire station at present stands."
3 Sep 1921	"The Mayor stated that Adamstown was rapidly progressing, and that the need for a new station was urgent. The council had for some considerable time been agitating for one, and he hoped that the members of the board would favorably consider the request."
19 Jun 1922	"The secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners has informed Adamstown Council that the board has accepted the tender of Mr. William Southon, of Waratah, for the erection of the new fire station at Adamstown."
23 Jun 1922	"A commencement will shortly be made with the erection of a new fire brigade station at Adamstown, on the site of the old building, which has done duty for a number of years, adjoining the council chambers. It will be a brick building, containing an engine-room, a recreation room, single men's quarters, and watch, bath, and store rooms. The contract has been let to Mr W. Southon, and the cost will be about £1300. The present structure will be removed to the Adamstown Council's adjoining land, and do service until the new building is completed, in three or four months' time."
20 Nov 1922 17 Nov 1922	"The new fire station erected in Narara road was officially opened on Friday night by Mr. F. Jackson, Chief Officer of the New South Wales Fire Brigades, in the presence of a large and representative gathering, over which the Mayor, Alderman J. Arthur, presided."
6 Mar 1924	"The secretary of the Board of Fire Commissioners intimated to Adamstown Council that the board cannot give, a definite date when a motor fire engine will be installed at Adamstown. The board was doing all it could to supply motors, but the output was limited."
8 Sep 1924	A good description of the Garford-Hale motor fire engine received by the Glen Innes brigade. Adamstown received the same model of fire engine the following year.
7 Aug 1925	Further details of the Garford-Hale engine. (This one received by Windsor brigade.)
12 Oct 1925 10 Oct 1925	"The installation of a motor fire engine was celebrated at the Adamstown Fire Station on Saturday night."
12 Oct 1925 10 Oct 1925	"A social, to celebrate the installation of a new motor fire engine, took place in Adamstown Fire Station on Saturday night. The Mayor said Adamstown had been agitating for a motor fire engine for a considerable time, and they were glad their hopes had been realised."
30 May 1946	Retirement of volunteer Francis Elson Kimber aged 83 years, after 45 years service with Adamstown fire brigade. He drove the fire engine to a fire in 1944, at age 81!
13 Jul 1946 12 Jul 1946	Closure of Adamstown and Lambton fire stations .
23 Jul 1946	Protest against the closure of Adamstown and Lambton fire station: The board closed down the two fire stations on July 12. Mr. Smith claimed that fast and powerful fire engines and good roads had "annihilated" distance, making it no longer, necessary for each suburb to have its own fire-fighting service. Centrally placed stations could cover the area efficiently. Mr. A. Ure said this suggestion was ridiculous. "On the afternoon the stations were closed, there was a fire in Adamstown," he said. "It took Cook's Hill brigade 14 minutes to get there. The Adamstown brigade could have been there in four."
16 Sep 1946	"The Greater Newcastle Council has made a reasonable proposal in requesting that the Adamstown and Lambton fire stations should be reopened until the new services are in operation. No doubt the reorganisation planned by the Board of Fire Commissioners is sound. It envisages bigger stations, additional and more highly-trained officers, and high-powered equipment at central points. But until these safeguards have been provided, it is premature to say that the day of the single-engine station has passed."
31 Oct 1946	"To relieve congestion at Adamstown School, the Education Department intends to extend the playground to include the land now occupied by the disused Adamstown Fire Station."
2 Nov 1951	"About 20,000 books, catalogued ready for issue to the public, are stored in the clock tower of the Newcastle City Hall. Because the clock tower is full, the books are now being taken in crates to the former Adamstown fire station, which Newcastle City Council holds on lease."

Additional Information – Police Station

Constable John Anderson was Adamstown’s first police officer. According to his remininscences at celebrations of Adamstown’s jubilee in 1936, he arrived in the town in August 1885. No permanent police station was built at that time, but a house was rented for Constable Anderson in Victoria St, and in 1886 the police authorities erected a temporary lock-up at the rear of the house.

Adamstown’s first police station, in Victoria St. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 March 1936.

Location of Adamstown’s first Police Station in Victoria Street. Water Board map, circa 1901. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

As early as November 1886, two acres of land near the public school had been reserved for police purposes, and for the erection of a permanent police station. In the ensuing years portions of that land was set aside for the Post Office and the council chambers. In 1902, portion 2499 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve (65 Narara Rd) was reserved for the erection of a police station, and in 1910 the government awarded L Saunders the contract for the construction of a new police residence and lockup, for a sum of £1450. The building was completed and occupied in July 1911.

Curiously, the new building had no office space, Like the ‘temporary’ quarters in Victoria St used for the past 26 years, it was just a residence and a lockup.

The new building is constructed on the same lines as Hunter-street West, Newcastle, police station, with the exception that it has no official quarters in the front of the building. There are two large cells for the accommodation of prisoners, and the residential quarters of the constable in charge are up-to-date.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 July 1911.

1944 aerial photograph showing location of police and fire station buildings in Adamstown.

In 1970, the former fire station (67 Narara Rd) adjacent to the police residence and lockup was dedicated for police purposes. I assume that both 65 and 67 Narara Rd were being used by for police purposes at that time, that the acquisition of the neighbouring 67 Narara Rd was an extension of facilities rather than a relocation.

1960s street directory showing the Police Station located in Narara Rd Adamstown.

Adamstown Police Station, circa 1983-1992. Photo courtesy of Col Manual and Paul Zuljan.

Adamstown Police Station circa 1996. From Newcastle City Council Wide Heritage Study 1996.

I have not found exact dates for when 65 and 67 Narara Rd ceased to be used by the police, however the Land values and property sales map indicates that the Deposited Plan for these sites (which is required for the land to be sold into private hands) was created in 1996. Presumably the police station was closed around that time.

Newspaper articles – Police Station

Article Date Event Date	Notes
24 Jan 1885	"Sir, Allow me a space in your valuable columns to comment on the injustice done to Adamstown by the authorities not complying with a petition sent some time ago, with reference to having a policeman stationed in this township. There is not a township in the district in so much need of police protection as Adamstown, for it is not safe for respectable people, especially females, to go out of their own houses, and it is quite dangerous for children to be away from their homes."
15 May 1886	Adamston council "met in their new council chambers on Thursday evening. The building is situated in Victoria street, near the Post-office, and directly opposite the police station."
20 Jul 1886	"There is a piece of land on the commonage, near the Public school, resumed by the Government for a police station, but nothing has yet been done by the townspeople towards having the police station secured."
1 Nov 1886	"The police authorities have decided to erect a temporary lock-up at the rear of our local constable's residence. In whatever spirit the residents will hail it, there is one thing certain, that Constable Anderson will receive it with joy. There are two acres of land reserved for a police station near the Public School."
15 Nov 1886	"The municipal council have resolved to apply for half an acre of land on the commonage, near the Public School, for the purpose of erecting a council chamber and post and telegraph office. The land referred to is a portion of the two acres reserved by the Government for police barracks, and is a capital site, having a full view of the city. I fail to comprehend why they are applying for this land for council chambers and post and telegraphic office, and making no mention of the police barracks-a building for which the land was solely reserved."
22 Nov 1902	Government Gazette: Portion 2499 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve (65 Narara Rd) reserved from sale for police purposes.
10 Mar 1910	"Some months back the Adamstown Council was notified that the sum of £1450 had been placed on the estimates for the erection of a new police station in Adamstown. It is now learned that plans are being prepared for the same."
16 Aug 1910	Tender of L Saunders received for erection of Adamstown police station.
14 Mar 1911	"It is six months ago since a start was made with the erection of the Adamstown police station, on a site adjacent to the first station. The work has been progressing slowly ever since, and by the present rate of progress Constable Robertson will be able to remove to his new quarters some time approaching Christmas."
18 Jul 1911	"For 26 years the Government paid rent for premises in Victoria-street for a police station. A new building has now been erected, and on Thursday last Constable Robertson received notice to move to the new premises, which he at once did. The new building is constructed on the same lines as Hunter-street West, Newcastle, police station, with the exception that it has no official quarters in the front of the building. There are two large cells for the accommodation of prisoners, and the residential quarters of the constable in charge are up-to-date. The station is situated in Narara-road, adjoining the fire brigade station and council chambers."
20 Mar 1936	Reminiscences from Adamstown's jubilee celebrations … "Mr. J. Anderson, now of Sydney, who was the first policeman in Adamstown, said it would be 51 years next August since he arrived there. He found it then much different from what it was to-day. The police station which he had first entered when he arrived was still standing. The municipality was incorporated about six months after his arrival."
4 Dec 1970	Government Gazette: Portion 2395 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve (67 Narara Rd) reserved for police purposes.

Ebbw Vale Colliery

Many of the early mines in Newcastle delved downwards to reach their coal via a vertical shaft, with an iconic poppet head structure overhead to haul men and materials up and down. In contrast, other mines were much simpler affairs, tunnelling sideways into a hill to reach a coal seam. Such was the Ebbw Vale Colliery, photographed by Ralph Snowball 125 years ago on 12 June 1897. Named after the mining district in Wales, this tunnel was located south of Adamstown, in the valley between present day Northcott Drive and Brunker Road.

From 1884 the New Lambton Land and Coal Company had been operating their “C” pit in that location, working a seam of coal below the valley via a 243 feet deep shaft. About 1886 the company opened new workings by driving a tunnel into the valley side. This sister mine, leased out under the tribute system, was initially known as “New Lambton Tunnel” but was renamed “Ebbw Vale” in 1889. It was a small enterprise. When Snowball photographed the tunnel entrance in 1897 there were just 24 employees, including two under the age of 16. The miners extracted coal by manual labour, loading it into skips to be pulled up the incline of the tunnel by a winch cable.

After New Lambton “C” pit closed in 1903, the adjacent Ebbw Vale mine expanded, the workforce reaching a maximum of 211 employees in 1908. With more men came more accidents, and in 1911 the mine acquired a hand wheeled ambulance on which a stretcher could be placed.

Although a number of accidents had caused serious injuries to miners over the years, it wasn’t until 1921 that the first fatality occurred, when a fall of stone from the roof crushed William Adamthwaite. Two more fatalities occurred before the mine ceased operation in 1931.

In 1945 the rail tracks from the mine down to Adamstown station were removed, and in the 1960s the area was subdivided. Streets and houses now hide all trace of the former Ebbw Vale colliery.

Ebbw Vale Colliery, Adamstown, 12 June 1897. Photo by Ralph Snowball.
University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The hillside at Adamstown Heights, in the vicinity of Westwood Ave, where the Ebbw Vale tunnel was located.

The article above was first published in the June 2022 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The University of Newcastle Living Histories site has a photograph by Ralph Snowball of a tunnel of the Ebbw Vale colliery. At the time of writing the photograph is titled as “Ebbw Vale Colliery, New Lambton”, This is somewhat misleading as it suggests the mine was in New Lambton when in fact it was geographically located in Adamstown Heights.

The attribution to New Lambton is derived from Ralph Snowball’s listing on negative box 140, where he has recorded the photograph as “Ebbw Vale Tunnell New Lambton”. Note also that the next two entries are for “New Lambton Colliery”.

Ralph Snowball’s list for negative box 140. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

In 1897 the New Lambton Coal Company was operating their “C” Pit in Adamstown Heights. The Ebbw Vale colliery was adjacent to this pit, but the connection to it was more than just one of physical proximity.

The New Lambton “C” pit was commenced in 1884 with the opening of a 243 feet deep shaft to work the Borehole seam of coal. By 1886 the company had also opened a tunnel in the adjacent hill.

“The tunnel is near the New Lambton C. Pit, and the coal from both places goes over the same screens. The proprietors of the tunnel have leased the property of the New Lambton company …”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 October 1888.

This tunnel is described in an 1889 newspaper report …

Close to the shaft and going into the hill at the outcrop is a tunnel, by which the top or Burwood seam is worked. This tunnel is driven in a south-western direction for a distance of some twenty chains [400 metres], the seam being 8ft 10in in thickness, including a band of indurated clay 16in thick. It is worked on the pillar and bord system for about 5ft of its height, and is good steam coal. Owing to the dip of the seam which is 1 in 30 to the south ; the tunnel goes in at a good inclination, the empty skips finding their way to the end by gravitation, the full ones being hauled to the receiving floor, also used for the coal from the shaft by a wire rope con trolled by a 16-horse power engine.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 November 1889.

This new working seam was initially known simply as the “New Lambton Tunnel”, and was worked under the tribute system, where the owners of the mine (New Lambton Coal Company) leased it out to a third party to extract the coal. In 1889 the tunnel was being leased to Charles Pemberton and John Williams. Tribute mines by their nature were small and cost-cutting, which tended to lead to industrial disputes. Most of the newspaper reports on the New Lambton Tunnel in the years 1886 to 1889 relate to disputes between miners and management.

In 1889 the workings became known as Ebbw Vale colliery, although it was often subsequently still referred to as the New Lambton Tunnel. The Department of Mines annual report for the year 1889 lists it as “Ebbw Vale (late New Lambton C)”. In subsequent annual reports “New Lambton C” and “Ebbw Vale” are listed as separate entities, but they both had the same owner, the New Lambton Coal Company.

The 1903 Department of Mines annual report notes that “Mr. L. H Lewington, legal manager, New Lambton Land and Coal Co. (Limited), gave notice of the appointment of Mr. Alexander McLeish as under-manager of Ebbw Vale Colliery.
A newspaper report from 29 December 1905 refers to “Ebbw Vale pit, on the New Lambton Estate”
A newspaper report from 1 July 1907 refers to “Ebbw Vale, formerly known as New Lambton”

A newspaper report from 1921 gives a brief description of the workings of the colliery at that time …

The Ebbw Vale colliery at Adamstown, about four miles from Newcastle, is owned by the New Lambton Coal Company, Ltd., and managed by Messrs. Dalgety and Company. The holding is 1017 acres, 640 acres free hold, 90 acres leased from private owners, and 287 acres held under mining act tenures.

It is a tunnel mine and is working the Victoria Tunnel seam, with a section of 5ft. 7in. about 4in. of which is stone and inferior coal. It is a good third-rate coal containing about 9 per cent of ash.

During 1920, 198 persons were employed, the output being 105,094 tons, put out in 246½ working days. The working is bord and pillar, the bords and pillars being eight and six yards wide respectively. Large areas of pillars have been worked, and at present, more than half the output is coming therefrom. Two small furnaces are ventilating the mine with about 50,000 cubic feet of air per minute. No gas has been met with and naked lights are used. The principal items of plant are: — 3 hauling engines, 3 boilers at 40lb. pressure. 1 rope driven pump, 175 railway waggons.

Associated with this mine is the New Lambton colliery close by. It has two shafts about 250 feet deep to the Borehole seam, but no work has been done therein for more than 20 years. Steps are now being taken, however, to sample test one of the seams lying between the Victoria tunnel and Borehole, probably the so called dirty seam, with the view of working the cleaner part of it.
The Newcastle SUn, 15 November 1921

By extracting data from the Department of Mines annual reports, we can graph the number of employees, injuries and fatalities during the lifetime of the Ebbw Vale colliery. Note the rapid growth in employees from 1903, following the closure of the adjacent New Lambton “C” pit.

Location of the Ebbw Vale tunnel

A BHP Coal Geology map shows that Ebbw Vale colliery was to the south of Adamstown, adjacent to the New Lambton C Pit. It was to the east of the Redhead railway (now the Fernleigh Track), which I have highlighted in red below. The black and white dashed line to the east of the colliery is Brunker Rd.

BHP Coal Geology map. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

A 1953 map from the NSW Government DIGS site shows two annotations for “Ebbw Vale Tunnel”.

Overlaying the map into Google Earth, shows the approximate location of the Ebbw Vale tunnels in Adamstown Heights.

Looking from north to south we can see that the two tunnels were in either side of the valley where Claremont Avenue Reserve is now.

Brian Robert Andrews in his book “Coal, Railways and Mines, Vol 1” has a diagram on page 421 that indicates that the Ebbw Vale tunnel in the 1887 era was located on the western side of the valley, and that the rail track exiting from the tunnel ran down a slope towards the buildings and infrastructure of the New Lambton “C” pit. Given that the photo of the Ebbw Vale tunnel is looking down from a height, it is highly likely that Snowball photographed it from the top of the New Lambton “C” pit shaft poppet head.

New Lambton “C” pit, September 1888. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
29 Jun 1883	Advertisement for the sinking of a shaft, probably the New Lambton "C" pit at Adamstown. "To Sinkers and Others. TENDERS will be received until SATURDAY the 30th inst., from parties willing to sink a SHAFT on the New Lambton Colliery Estates. Specifcatitons and particulars may be seen by applying to the undersigned. JAMES THOMAS, New Lambton Colliery Office, New Lambton."
29 Sep 1886	"THE NEW LAMBTON DISPUTE. The latest phase of this dispute was placed before the delegates last week, and has reference to the management letting what is known as 'the tunnel' on tribute."
1 Oct 1888	"The [New Lambton] tunnel is near the New Lambton C. Pit, and the coal from both places goes over the same screens. The proprietors of the tunnel have leased the property of the New Lambton company ..."
20 Nov 1888	"THE NEW LAMBTON PIT AND TUNNEL. YESTERDAY morning an interview took place at the office of Mr. Alexander Brown, J.P., between that gentleman, with Messrs. Charles Pemberton and John Williams, lessees of the New Lambton tunnel, now working on tribute, and Mr. R. Goundry, with Mr. Ridings, N. Lambton, on the subject of cavilling. Mr. Thomas, the manager of the N. Lambton Colliery, was also present."
8 Nov 1889	A description of the Ebbw Vale tunnel in 1889 … "Close to the shaft and going into the hill at the outcrop is a tunnel, by which the top or Burwood seam is worked. This tunnel is driven in a south-western direction for a distance of some twenty chains ..."
24 Jun 1890	In a report on work in the various pits, "New Lambton" and "Ebbw Vale" are listed as separate pits.
8 Nov 1893 6 Nov 1893	First recorded injury at Ebbw Vale colliery. "On Monday afternoon a miner named James Hall met with an accident in New Lambton Tunnel by which his left thigh was broken. Hall was engaged filling a skip, when a piece of top stone fell." Note that this report refers to the mine as the "New Lambton Tunnel" - the Department of Mines annual report for 1893 makes it clear that this was the Ebbw Vale colliery.
22 Apr 1898 20 Apr 1898	"On Wednesday evening the employees of the New Lambton and Ebbw Vale Collieries met in the long room of Thomas' Hotel for the purpose of making a presentation to Mr. James Thomas, colliery manager, who is about to take a trip to Europe for the benefit of his health."
12 Jan 1903	"On Saturday evening, at the Commercial Hotel, the officials and employees of the Ebbw Vale Colliery (New Lambton Tunnel) met for the purpose of making a presentation to Mr. Wm. Humphreys, underground manager, who is leaving the company's employ."
29 Dec 1905 27 Dec 1905	Death of Mr. Francis T. Filby. "Fourteen weeks ago the deceased, while working in the Ebbw Vale pit, on the New Lambton Estate, met with an accident, from the effects of which he ultimately succumbed."
1 Jul 1907	"Ebbw Vale, formerly known as New Lambton, miners, will resume work today, after being idle exactly half a year."
5 Jul 1921 23 Jun 1921	First fatal accident at Ebbw Vale colliery. William Adamthwaite was killed instantly having been struck by a fall of stone from the roof.
15 Nov 1921	Brief description of the Ebbw Vale Colliery.
24 Jan 1924	"In consequence of the inflow of water into portion of the workings of the New Lambton, or Ebbw Vale Colliery, at Adamstown, yesterday, work had to be suspended. The water gained access to the colliery through an old disused tunnel, which had been sealed off."
15 Apr 1924 31 Mar 1924	Second fatal accident at Ebbw Vale colliery. Joseph Lewis suffers spinal injuries from a fall of stone and coal on 31 March 1924, and subsequently dies of his injurues in Newcastle Hospital on 6 April 1924.
2 Oct 1926 20 Sep 1926	Death of David Waugh while working at Ebbw Vale colliery. "The coroner returned a verdict of death from fatty degeneration of the heat, in all probability accelerated by a strain received while at work." [As the death was due to illness and not an accident, it was not recorded as a workplace fatality in the official statistics.]
29 Aug 1927 18 Jun 1927	Third and final fatal accident at Ebbw Vale colliery. John William Liptrot was injured at the mine on 18 June 1921, when a collision with a runaway skip caused a file in his pocket to sever his knee. He survived this initial accident, but died in hospital of blood poisoning some 7 weeks later.
12 Feb 1931	"Approximately 150 men will be affected by the closing down of New Lambton Colliery. The decision was notified to the officers of the Miners' Federation by the secretary of the New Lambton Lodge to-day. The miners' northern president (Mr. T. Hoare) said this evening that the pit had not worked for three months, but that the definite announcement of the closure would remove hopes of renewed employment from the minds of the New Lambton men."
10 Mar 1945	"TENDERS are invited for the Purchase, for removal, of all Track Material contained in our private railway line extending, from near Adamstown Station to the site of the late Ebbw Vale Colliery. Full particulars from the office of the company, 31 Watt-street, Newcastle. NEW LAMBTON LAND & COAL CO. PTY. LTD."

Adamstown Railway Station and Crossing

There are a number of quintessential activities to do in Newcastle – walk Nobby’s breakwall, swim in the Bogey Hole, picnic at Blackbutt Reserve. But one of the most enduring of Novocastrian pastimes has to be complaining about the Adamstown rail crossing. “The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown and New Lambton road is most annoying.” This quote from the Newcastle Herald, is not from the recent past, but from August 1898!

The Newcastle to Gosford rail line opened in 1887, with passengers bound for Sydney needing to travel 14 miles on a steamer from Gosford to the south bank of the Hawkesbury River to continue their rail journey. Initially Adamstown had only a platform and a paltry office described as “large enough only for a dog kennel”. After vigorous campaigning by Adamstown residents, new station buildings were erected in 1891 including ladies and gentlemen’s waiting rooms, and a ticket and parcels office.

By 1891 the rail line at Adamstown had become exceedingly busy. The tracks had been duplicated from Hamilton to Teralba, and just south of the station was the junction of two private branch lines, to the New Lambton C Pit and Redhead Colliery. A number of near accidents at the level crossing north of the station led to the introduction in 1892 of a signal interlocking system, which ensured that trains could not pass until the gates were closed.

The gates and signals were manually operated, and while improving safety, they did not ease traffic congestion. In 1939 the manually operated swing gates were replaced with power operated boom gates, but complaints about traffic delays were ever recurring, as were suggested solutions. A reporter for the Newcastle Herald stated: “Probably, the day is not far distant when an overhead bridge will have to be erected.” Sadly, this nugget of wishful thinking was written 112 years ago in 1910. It seems the chances of this idea being realised now, are as forlorn as back then.

Adamstown Railway Station 1898. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The article above was first published in the April 2022 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

A useful reference source when preparing this article was “Adamstown Station. Something of a Chronology” by Ed Tonks, and available on the Australian Railway History Society of NSW website.

First official train crossing the first Hawkesbury River rail bridge at its opening on 1 May1889. Image from the ARHS Collection courtesy of University of Newcastle, Living Histories..

Advertisement for the official opening of the Hawkesbury River rail bridge. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 May 1889.

Portion of a Hunter Water Map from 1909, showing thorough details of Adamstown railway crossing and station. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Advertising poster from 1908, for freehold suburban land near Adamstown Station. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 32300023896240

Adamstown Rail Crossing, July 1977. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 104 009528

Adamstown stationmaster’s house

One little sidetrack in researching this article was finding the location of the Adamstown stationmaster’s house. In January 1901 the newspaper reported …

During the past eleven and a half years Mr. W. Hall has been the officer in charge of the Adamstown railway station. Mr. Hall recently made application for a change, and his request has been acceded to. In about a week’s time he will take his departure from Adamstown and take charge of Guildford station, on the Southern line.
Newcastle Morning Herald and miners Advocate, 2 January 1901.

This would imply that W Hall had been appointed stationmaster around July 1888. Given that this is only a year after the rail line opened, and that Adamstown station began as only a platform beside the tracks, it is probable that W Hall was the first stationmaster appointed at Adamstown.

A newspaper article from 1898, reporting on a dispute as to whether the stationmaster’s house was liable for council rates, noted that …

The building is situated in Victoria-street on the Waratah Company’s subdivision, and is about 100 yards from the railway.
Newcastle Morning Herald and miners Advocate, 28 AUgust 1898.

Records from Historical Land Records Viewer, show in Vol-Fol 1066-135 that the Railway Commissioners of NSW purchased lots 1 and 2 of Sec H of DP2347 in August 1893.

Note that the map showing the location of the lots, only has streets labelled with numbers as per the in the DP2347 subdivision map. 2nd Street on this map was an extension of Victoria St and became known by that name, but 6th St persists to this day. A 1944 aerial photograph shows that the stationmaster’s house was situated at 151 Victoria St. The Railway Commissioners sold the house and property into private hands in May 1956.

Adamstown Stationmaster’s House, 1944 aerial photograph.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
10 Jul 1886 9 Jul 1886	"A meeting of the inhabitants of Adamstown was held last evening for the purpose of petitioning Government for a railway station at Adamstown."
8 Apr 1887 7 Apr 1887	Opening of the Hornsby to Hawkesbury River (Brooklyn) rail line.
13 Aug 1887	Detailed description of the Hawkesury River to Newcastle rail line, to be opened soon. "Adamstown station is reached at 97 miles 75chains, where there is only a platform 264ft x 15." Interestingly, it appears that Broadmeadow station was originally called Lambton station.
16 Aug 1887 15 Aug 1887	Official opening of the Newcastle to Gosford railway.
18 Nov 1887	"The Government road from Union-street to the railway platform is drawing towards completion …a siding is necessary at the platform, so that trucks containing goods for Adamstown can be shunted where carts can be taken conveniently to receive the goods."
16 Mar 1888 15 Mar 1888	At Adamstown Council meeting, a motion is passed regarding "the great need of a station at Adamstown platform on the Homebush and Waratah Railway" and "to ask for a funeral train."
13 Apr 1888 12 Apr 1888	Council's request for a funeral train for Adamstown has been refused. A petition to be raised.
2 Jul 1888	"The traffic manager this morning granted the request made to him to run a funeral train from Adamstown on Sundays whenever required."
24 Apr 1889	"The Railway Commissioners have prepared a new time-table for the Northern line, which will come into operation next month, when the Hawkbesbury bridge is open for passenger traffic. The journey to and from Sydney will be very much shortened ... doing the whole journey in 3 hours 20 minutes, saving no less than 2 hours 22 minutes."
2 May 1889 1 May 1889	Opening of Hawkesbury River rail bridge.
25 Jun 1889	"About two hundred men from the unemployed in Sydney arrived yesterday to commence the earthworks required for the duplication of the railway line between Adamstown and Teralba."
3 Sep 1889	"The Redhead Company are now constructing a branch railway line from Adamstown to their Burwood Extended mine."
8 Nov 1889	"The firm [New Lambton Coal Company] have a branch line, one mile in length, connecting the colliery [C Pit] with the Sydney-Newcastle railway at Adamstown."
30 Jun 1890	"The stationmaster's office is a place large enough only for a pigeon ducket or a dog kennel, and in such a place the whole of the work of the station has to be performed."
3 Jan 1891	Tender accepted from J R Rodgers for erection of station buildings at Adamstown
12 Jan 1891 10 Jan 1891	There is a suggestion that Adamstown station is to be moved from its present location to closer to Broadmeadow. A public meeting is held to discuss the issue, with opinions sharply divided.
20 Jan 1891	"It will be a consolation to those who are opposed to the removal of the railway station, to know that such is not to be carried into effect; and the station buildings are to be erected forthwith on the present site. The contractor is prepared to proceed with the work immediately, so the people can rest content that they will before long have the accommodation they have so long agitated for."
22 Apr 1891	"Adamstown. The erection of the station buildings are progressing slowly. With the exception of the goods-shed, they are all that is required for the present. The goods-shed is very small, and not nearly so large as was promised."
19 Oct 1892	"After a deal of writing on behalf of the council the railway authorities have commenced the work of interlocking the points and gates at the railway station: By the installation of the interlocking system the safety of the traffic will be improved considerably. Indeed, the system in vogue is dangerous in the extreme and daily accidents of a serious character have been narrowly averted."
19 Nov 1892 18 Nov 1892	"A new interlocking apparatus was opened at the Adamstown railway station yesterday. Since the opening of the double track to Teralba, the department have gradually introduced the interlocking system at the various stations. Adamstown is now an important junction, as the Redhead and New Lambton lines branch off the Government railways near the station. The new apparatus consists of a bunch of 29 levers, which work the various semaphores, the points, and the gates which guard the different crossings."
27 Jul 1897	"With respect to vehicular traffic, on the Adamstown-New Lambton road there is a grievance, and one that is not likely to be remedied till a man is placed at that important junction to attend to the signals and crossing-gates, which work is ample for one person. The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown New Lambton road is frequently most annoying, and the testimonials the station officials are daily made the recipients of are anything but gratifying."
28 Aug 1897	"At the railway station the gates are kept closed as much as possible to prevent any of the unlimited stray horses getting on the railway."
6 Aug 1898	"There are great complaints at times of the great delay caused to traffic at the Adamstown railway crossing. The delay to the traffic on the Adamstown and New Lambton road is most annoying, and the verbal testimonials presented to the railway officials are anything but complimentary."
2 Jan 1901	"During the past eleven and a half years Mr. W. Hall has been the officer in charge of the Adamstown railway station. In about a week's time he will take his departure from Adamstown and take charge of Guildford station, on the Southern line. He leaves Adamstown with the good wishes of all."
4 Oct 1910	"A lot of shunting is done at the station, and trouble is caused by the delay to road traffic through this cause. Probably, the day is not far distant when an overhead bridge will have to be erected."
5 Jun 1929	"When the Railway Commissioners visit Newcastle on June 23, strong argument will be put forward for the electrification of the railway from Sydney to Newcastle. It is stated by those urging the installation of the new system that the cost would not be very great."
3 Sep 1937	"Extensive alterations are contemplated at Adamstown railway station. The improvements will include enlarged platforms, boom gates to replace the existing swing ones, a new signal box and an overhead bridge to connect the two platforms." "Ald. Williams said that an overhead bridge should be constructed for pedestrians and vehicular traffic. With an overhead bridge for vehicular traffic delays at the gates would be obviated."
1 Mar 1938	"I would desire to direct attention to the delay and inconvenience caused at the Adamstown gates. As one who would very much like to see an overhead bridge at this intersection, not only for business traffic but the public traffic also. There have been times when I have waited with traffic streamed along behind me for close on 20 minutes."
8 May 1939 7 May 1939	"A new railway signal box and power operated boom gates were opened yesterday at St. James-road, Adamstown, by the Railway Department. The old hand operated gates have been replaced by an electrically operated device."

Hartley Vale Colliery, Newcastle

The naming of coal mines is often ambiguous and confusing, especially when a locality name is used for a mine in a completely different region. Such is the case with the short lived Hartley Vale Colliery in Newcastle in the 19th century.

Today when we hear “Hartley Vale” we think of the Hartley Vale on the western side of the Blue Mountains, near Lithgow. A form of coal called kerosene shale was found in this location in 1865, and by 1874 the NSW Kerosene Shale and Oil Company had a substantial mining operation there. But 150km away in Newcastle there was another “Hartley Vale” colliery, with no connection to the Blue Mountains.

In 1862 the brothers James and Alexander Brown were operating a colliery at Minmi, west of Newcastle. In late 1862 they issued a prospectus for a new company, called the Melbourne and Newcastle Minmi Colliery Company, and by February 1863 had sold their mine to the newly floated company. Around the time they were divesting themselves of the Minmi colliery, the Browns acquired the coal lease on a 310 acre block of land in the Broadmeadow area adjacent to Hamilton. This new venture they named “The Hartley Vale Colliery” (sometimes spelled “Hartly Vale”) and commenced to develop it, including plans to build a rail line from the pit to the Great Northern Railway

THE HARTLY VALE COLLIERY. This new colliery which has been in the course of development for several months, having bared a good seam of coal and began to open it out, is now also about beginning the formation of a railway to connect the works with the Great Northern Line, to come in somewhere about the spot where the Waratah and Lambton junction is formed. This line has been surveyed and cleared, and in the course of a few days it is anticipated that the formation will be commenced.”
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 13 August 1863.

By June 1864 the Browns had reportedly spent £12,000 developing the mine which was nearing completion.

The works at the Hartley Vale Colliery have proceeded so far as to be ready for coming into market, with the exception of the completion of a small portion of the branch line intended to form a junction with the Lambton. In consequence of a dispute between the two companies, the progress of this line has been retarded.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 25 October 1864.

The completion of the rail line from the Hartley Vale mine was prevented because of a dispute with a competitor, the Lambton colliery. To remedy this impasse the Browns petitioned the government to to pass an Act of Parliament to give them the right to construct their railway. The Bill was brought before the Parliament in October 1866, but ongoing disputes and opposition from competing interests meant that the bill was not passed until December 1867.

Plan of the Hartley Vale Railway, 4 October 1867. State Library of New South Wales.

Having finally obtained the legal right to build their railway, it was of no consequence, for by this stage, after spending £18,000 the mine had already proved to be unprofitable.

No sooner was the Minmi Company floated (1863) than the Browns took up land at Hartley Vale, sunk their shaft, erected their winding gear, and other appliances ; but found the seam run out so shallow as to be unprofitable to work, so that was dismantled and abandoned, with a loss of £18,000.
Report on the death of Alexander Brown, Australian Town and Country Journal, 7 July 1877.

About the same time that the Hartley Vale Colliery railway Bill was passed in December 1867, the Browns acquired a new coal mining lease in the adjacent area of New Lambton, and within a few months were pushing ahead with the development of the New Lambton Colliery, including a branch rail line that was to use materials from the failed Hartley Vale venture.

The greater portion of the [New Lambton] line will be constructed with the material used in the formation of the old line to the Hartley Vale colliery, which turned out such a lamentable failure, and through which the Messrs. Brown lost such an enormous sum of money.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 27 June 1868.

The location of the failed Hartley Vale colliery can be identified by the Hartley Vale Colliery Railway Bill and accompanying map. The Bill describes the railway as passing through …

“… fifty-four and three hundred and ten acres leased to the said James Brown and Alexander Brown and known as the Hartley Vale Colliery.”
NSW Government Gazette, 27 December 1867.

The 54 acre block was the area eventually sold to Thomas Adam in 1869 to form Adamstown. The 310 acre block stretches from Adamstown to Broadmeadow, with the approximate location of C and D pits as shown in the Google Earth overlay below.

Location of C and D pits of the Hartley Vale colliery.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
4 Jul 1863	A passing remark in a parliamentary discussion about Reserves, indicates that the the Browns had acquired a mining leases in Newcastle by July 1863. "The Government, however, had leased portions of it [Newcastle Pasturage Reserve] to the Australian Agricultural Company, James & Alexander Brown, and the Waratah Coal Company."
13 Aug 1863	"The Hartly Vale Colliery.-This new colliery which has been in the course of development for several months, having bared a good seam of coal and began to open it out, is now also about beginning the formation of a railway to connect the works with the Great Northern Line, to come in somewhere about the spot where the Waratah and Lambton junction is formed."
25 Aug 1863	"The Co-operative, Wallsend, the Hartley Vale, and the Australian Agricultural and Coal Company, are contemplating running onto" the Great Northern Line.
8 Jun 1864	"I may mention that a rumour gains ground here that some desire is evinced by the Messrs. Brown to connect the projects of the Co-operative Company and the Hartley Vale Colliery. On the Company's property it is said that £10 000 have been expended, and £12,000 on the Vale." [There is no evidence that this rumoured joint venture proceeded.]
18 Jun 1864	"A report was in circulation a short time ago, that Messrs. J. A. Brown had some intention of working the seam of coal which exists on a property of theirs, called Hartley Vale, adjoining the Co-operative Company's pits."
25 Oct 1864	"The works at the Hartley Vale Colliery have proceeded so far as to be ready far coming into market, with the exception of the completion of a small portion of the branch line intended to form a junction with the Lambton. In consequence of a dispute between the two companies, the progress of this line has been retarded, which, however, is now in a fair way of being completed in a few weeks."
22 Apr 1865	"Towns have sprung up and forests have been cleared with surprising rapidity. A dozen years ago no one know of the Glebe, of Wallsend, Minmi, Lambton, or Hartley Vale … But notwithstanding all the improvements in the town, and all the facilities for trade, one cannot help feeling that there is a sort of lassitude about the movements of people-a sort of 'hanging on' appearance … Lambton and Waratah doing only about quarter-time, and Wallsend, which is, perhaps, best off, not doing more than half its capabilities. Minmi, Tomago, Hartley Vale, and the Lake Macquarie pits doing nothing."
20 Aug 1867	"Mr COWPER presented a petition from certain persons of Waratah against the passing of the Hartley Vale Colliery Bill."
20 Aug 1867	Notice by James and Alexander Brown and Stephen Foyle to petition parliament to enable then to construct the Hartley Vale railway.
3 Dec 1867 28 Nov 1867	Partial opening of the Hartley Vale Railway. The descripton of the piece of line just opened suggests that it was the branch line from the Hartley Vale line that went eastwards to the Dog and Rat pit, and in 1868 to the New Lambton colliery.
27 Dec 1867 23 Dec 1867	Passing of the Hartley Vale Colliery Railway Bill in NSW parliament.
27 Jun 1868	"The greater portion of the [New Lambton Colliery] line will be constructed with the material used in the formation of the old line to the Hartly Vale colliery, which turned out such a lamentable failure, and through which the Messrs. Brown lost such an enormous sum of money."
17 Nov 1875	"NEW LAMBTON. The old Hartley Vale pit, which has been standing open for several years without any protection, is now being covered over by the employees of the Messrs. Brown."
7 Jul 1877	In a report on Alexander Brown's death … "No sooner was the Minmi Company floated than the Browns took up land at Hartley Vale, sunk their shaft, erected their winding gear, and other appliances ; but found the seam run out so shallow as to be unprofitable to work, so that was dismantled and abandoned, with a loss of £18,000."