New Lambton’s Super Sentinel Steam Lorry

When you’re in a time of technological change, it’s hard to know which innovations will last, and which will fade away. That’s a problem New Lambton council faced 100 years ago, when they moved to mechanised transport.

In August 1923 the council decided to sell their horses and drays and purchase a steam powered “Super Sentinel” lorry. Manufactured in Shrewsbury, England, the lorry was sent by ship to Sydney for final assembly. The council advertised for a driver, and with the economy still suffering a high rate of post-war unemployment, received 96 applications for the position.

With the truck’s arrival early in the new year, council arranged a public demonstration on 19 January 1924. The Newcastle Morning Herald reported “The Super Sentinel steam lorry purchased by the council for £1400 was given a very successful trial on Saturday afternoon, in the presence of the aldermen of the municipality and several visiting aldermen. The machine was driven by Mr. C. J. Robinson, and the various steep grades were easily negotiated with a 6-ton load of gravel.”

Despite the glowing appraisal of this new technology, reality did not measure up to expectation. The following year breakdowns regularly kept the lorry out of action. At a fiery council meeting in October 1925, some blamed the driver for operating the truck inappropriately. With continuing breakdowns, a motion was tabled in March 1926 to dispose of the lorry. The motion was defeated, but soon afterwards council decided to supplement the troubled steam machine by purchasing a petrol lorry, the first of many more to come. The “Super Sentinel” continued to be used until the amalgamation of suburban councils into Greater Newcastle Council in 1938. In June 1941 Newcastle council briefly brought the steam lorry back into service to assist the effort to conserve petrol supplies during the war. When war-time rationing ended, the age of steam powered road transport was soon over, and petrol and diesel power has dominated to this day.

The “Super Sentinel” steam lorry with a capacity of 6 tons, on Russell Road New Lambton, 19 January 1924.

The same location on Russell Road in 2023. Note that the bullnose verandah roof of the house on the right has been replaced at some time.

A Terex TA400 diesel powered truck with a capacity of 38 tons, at the Rankin Park to Jesmond bypass construction site.

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

Additional Information

Advertisement for driver for New Lambton’s steam lorry. Sydney Morning Herald, 25 August 1923.

In the article I wrote that the Super Sentinel was “manufactured in Shrewsbury, England” which seems to contradict a 17 October 1923 report on the imminent arrival of the “steam lorry which was ordered by the New Lambton Council from the makers in Scotland.” The apparent discrepancy is explained by the fact that the steam waggons were originally manufactured by the Allen and MacLellan company in Glasgow, Scotland, but with growing demand for their vehicles, in 1915 they opened a new factory in Shrewsbury, England, dedicated to the manufacture of steam powered vehicles.

Greg and Silvia Ray’s Photo Time Tunnel website has a couple of photographs of the Sentinel steam lorry from 1941, when Newcastle Council brought it back into service to assist with the conservation of petrol supplies during World War 2.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
24 Jul 1908 22 Jul 1908	After many years of relying on contractors for the carting of material, New Lambton council "decided to purchase a horse and tip dray for general carting, and the Mayor, along with Alderman Mitchell and the council clerk, were appointed a sub-committee to purchase material for the erection of stables and sheds in the yard of the council chambers."
5 Oct 1921	Detailed description of the Sentinel Steam Waggon, manufactured in Shrewsbury, England.
31 Aug 1922	Another detailed description of the Sentinel Steam Waggon.
3 Aug 1923 1 Aug 1923	New Lambton Council - "At a special meeting held during the week, to consider the transport, it was decided to purchase a Sentinel steam lorry at cost of £1160, and the existing plant (horses and drays) be sold, and, further, that applications be called for driver under conditions fixed at a wage of £6 per week."
17 Aug 1923 15 Aug 1923	New Lambton Council meeting - "M. Whylie, asking council's opinion re applications to be called for driver for proposed Sentinel steam lorry. As driver of the present plant, he claimed preference to the position, if proficient, and able to pass necessary test. This he would be prepared to do at his own expense."
25 Aug 1923	Advertisement for the position of Steam Lorry Driver at New Lambton.
14 Sep 1923 12 Sep 1923	"Ninety-six applications were received for the position of driver for the steam lorry ... it was decided to hold a special meeting to finalise the position of driver on Monday night week."
28 Sep 1923 26 Sep 1923	"Alderman Cameron moved that as the motion in connection with the appointment of driver for steam lorry was for consideration of local applicants firstly, and seeing that Mr. Scowcroft was not a resident, the resolution passed at the special meeting of the council held on 24th September appointing him to the position, be rescinded, and that a fresh ballot be taken at the next ordinary meeting of the council. He contended that the method adopted was not fair, as it allowed a minority to exclude any applicant. The motion was carried."
12 Oct 1923 10 Oct 1923	After having his appointment as steam lorry driver rescinded, a fresh vote by the aldermen results in Scowcroft appointed again.
17 Oct 1923	"The Super Sentinel steam lorry, which was ordered by the New Lambton Council from the makers in Scotland, at a cost of £140, is expected to arrive next month. The machine is fitted with a three way tipping waggon, allowing of the material to be deposited on either side or from the back. It will have a capacity of from five to six tons. The steam lorry will replace the council's present plant of three horses and three drays, and it is anticipated will effect a material saving in time and expense."
10 Dec 1923	"New Lambton Council has accepted a tender of £190 for the erection of a garage to house the council's Sentinel steam waggon. The Mayor (Alderman Brown) will supervise the erection of the building."
3 Jan 1924	"W. Adams and Company, Limited, advised New Lambton Council that the Sentinel steam waggon would be delivered in the second week in January. The council decided that the driver be sent to Sydney for instruction on the waggon, and that the test of the machine be made from Greta-road to Evescourt-road, via Russell-road, then up Rugby-road to Brett-street and Carrington parade."
11 Jan 1924	The Sentinel steam lorry which was ordered by New Lambton Council some time ago arrived at Sydney by the steamer Tairora on January 3, and it is being assembled. It is expected that the lorry will be handed over to the council on Saturday, January 19, when it will undergo a test, to which representatives of the various Newcastle district councils are being invited.
15 Jan 1924	"We are advised by the local house of Wm. Adams and Co., Ltd., that the first super-Sentinel model to arrive in Newcastle will be delivered to the New Lambton Council on Saturday afternoon next, 19th, at 3 p.m., when official trials by the council will take place. After the official trials, the waggon will be on view at the park, where the fireman's gala is being held."
21 Jan 1924 19 Jan 1924	"The super Sentinel steam lorry purchased by the council for £1400 was given a very successful trial on Saturday afternoon, in the presence of the aldermen of the municipality and several visiting aldermen. The machine was driven by Mr. C. J. Robinson, and the various steep grades were easily negotiated with a steam pressure of 190lb, the machine being gauged to 230lb, and carried a 6 ton load of gravel. On reaching the highest point an exhibition of the machine's three-way trip was given. It ran very smoothly, silently on route of trial, and was driven to the sports, where the general criticism passed was more rates'." - Newcastle Morning Herald
21 Jan 1924 19 Jan 1924	" 'Jump on the waggon, boys, and we'll all have a ride.' This was the Mayor's injunction on Saturday to the aldermen and visitors who assembled to witness the trial of the new Super-Sentinel waggon purchased by New Lambton Council. The test was a severe one, and fully demonstrated the capabilities of the 'super.' With a load of six tons of gravel (irrespective of the human contingent) the Sentinel climbed Russell road and then backed down, demonstrating the brake control. Then it went along Regent street and up to Evescourt road, a test good enough for anything in New Lambton. Afterwards it proceeded to Rugby-road, where the unloading facilities of the waggon were demonstrated. Either side may be tilted, also the back. All present were satisfied with the demonstration." - The Newcastle Sun
22 Oct 1925 21 Oct 1925	"New Lambton Council possesses a motor lorry. It is used for carrying road-making material about the municipality; but it is out of action at present. This was tho subject of a long, and at times angry, discussion at last night's council meeting. The council must try to prevent the constant stoppages of the lorry for repairs, because these were a drain on the funds."
30 Nov 1925	"At the beginning of 1924 the old system of carting by horse and dray was changed and mechanical transport by a steam waggon substituted. This has proved an economical method of traction, hauling quarry metal over a distance of three miles, and enabling a road to be completed at less cost than the metal could be purchased either at Broadmeadow or at Adamstown. Carrying out the same work under old conditions would have been prohibitive."
3 Dec 1925 2 Dec 1925	"A report on the lorry was placed before the council, and created considerable discussion. Alderman Brown gave a verbal report of his interview with Mr. Parsons, which substantiated the written document. It referred to several matters of repairs, which could have been done by the driver."
17 Dec 1925 16 Dec 1925	"The detailed report of an engineer on the lorry was then considered. The Mayor reported the synopsis of the whole question, and the resignation of the driver, with its subsequent withdrawal. The driver was given an opportunity of making a statement. The assistant driver was also given the opportunity of stating his case, in which he said that both drivers had been made scapegoats, which was an unfair proposition. No action was taken."
25 Mar 1926	"New Lambton Council some time ago purchased a steam lorry for traction work on the streets. Great things were expected, but expectations have not been fulfilled. At last night’s meeting of the council Alderman Auckett tabled a motion to dispose of the lorry by tender.” Alderman Auckett: "The lorry has not been satisfactory to any one. It has cost a considerable sum for repairs, and as it has not given satisfaction we should get rid of it."
8 Apr 1926 7 Apr 1926	"In a report submitted to the council, the engineer (Mr. Williams) recommended that a light type of motor lorry, from two to two and a half tons, be purchased for street and gravel work, and that the present steam lorry be retained for a further period. During the winter months, the engineer stated, to carry on satisfactorily, the council would be compelled either to employ drays continually or purchase some lighter vehicle to carry gravel to places where the heavy steam lorry could not go."
6 May 1926 5 May 1926	"Why is the steam lorry not giving satisfactory work, and what is the cause? These questions were put to the New Lambton engineer, Mr. Williams, at the local council meeting last night. In reply, the engineer said that the driver was the cause. He said he was old, and his nerves were not good, and he could not do the work. He recommended getting another driver to do the work for a month. The recommendation was adopted."
17 Jun 1926	"The council has added to its road making plant by the purchase of a 2½ ton motor lorry. The council possesses a 6-ton steam lorry. The lighter machine has been acquired for maintenance work, and it will do away entirely with horses and drays."
22 Jul 1926 21 Jul 1926	New Lambton Council - Mr. R. Lathlean was appointed motor lorry driver. There were 102 applicants for the position.
14 Jul 1927 13 Jul 1927	"The acting foreman reported that the steam lorry was again in commission after the overhaul, and, according to the driver was giving satisfaction."
9 May 1936	New Lambton council "has the most modern and comprehensive plant of any municipal council in the district. The plant comprises four motor-lorries, a steam lorry, two steam rollers, a footpath roller, a road grader, four concrete mixers, and scores of subsidiary roadmaking tools."
10 Feb 1938 9 Feb 1938	"A resident of Mackie-avenue complained that the council's steam lorry damaged a water-pipe leading to his property."
20 Jun 1941	"An old steam waggon which has been lying idle in Corlette-street depot for several years is to be brought back into service again by Greater Newcastle Council to haul metal and gravel. This is one step in the council's programme to assist the Government in conserving supplies of petrol."

New Lambton Quarry Tramways

“There are at present no streets that can lay any claim to the name – they are simply cart tracks and foot tracks and when one of these becomes too bad to travel on owners of vehicles simply go and pick out another.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 29 March 1886.

Such was the state of roads in New Lambton in 1886 some 18 years after the town began. The need to improve the streets was a major impetus for formation of New Lambton council and was extensively discussed in their very first general meeting in March 1889. To turn rutted dirt tracks to solid roadways the council needed gravel, and as they owned no land, they sought assistance from the local collieries.

For the roads in the southern half of the town, the New Lambton Land and Coal Company allowed the council to obtain material from their quarry at the top of Addison Road. To transport the gravel down the hill, in 1890 the council constructed a 400-yard tramway down to Evescourt Road.

For the roads in the northern half of town, Thomas Croudace, manager of Lambton colliery and mayor of New Lambton, agreed in 1891 for the council to use the company’s quarry in the pit paddock hillside. As before, a tramway was constructed to get material down to the streets. Unsurprisingly, the combination of skips, rails, and a steep incline proved irresistible to local lads. In October 1891 a 13-year-old boy was severely injured when the skip he was riding down the hill left the rails.

After the initial construction of roads, the council does not appear to have used the Lambton colliery quarry again. The company sold the land to developers in 1956 and the location of the former quarry is now hidden by housing. In Addison Road the council purchased the quarry in 1896 and continued using it until the 1920s. The land is vacant today, but still has a few reminders of its past use lying amongst the undergrowth.

A 1906 view over New Lambton, with the Lambton colliery quarry in the hillside above. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

The Lambton colliery quarry is now obscured by housing.

At the top of Addison Road a drill hole in a fallen rock is a reminder of the site’s past use as a quarry..

Portion of Barrett’s 1910 map showing the Lambton colliery quarry, and the New Lambton Council quarry at the top of Addison Road. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

The article above was first published in the December 2023 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

New Lambton colliery began operations in June 1868 and a township soon formed around it. The following year The Newcastle Chronicle reported on the progress of the town, including the state of the roads …

As yet no streets have been formed, and, with the exception of a kind of a main road, leading through the mostly inhabited part of the township, there is no other thoroughfare, and from the multiplicity of the stumps that are still visible, even in close proximity to the houses, perambulating the village in a dark night must be a difficult undertaking. It would be most advisable for the residents to take early steps for making one or two tolerably passable streets, for the lack of this convenience in any township is a serious drawback.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 16 September 1869.

Despite this advice for better roads, seven years later the roads were still in need of much attention.

Bad roads are now the order of the day, and between Old and New Lambton they are in a very bad and almost impassable state, owing chiefly to the recent heavy rain.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 5 August 1876

Twelve years on, the lack of decent roads was a leading inspiration for the residents of New Lambton to press for the creation of a municipal council.

It is rumoured that an effort is to be made to have this town incorporated and proclaimed a municipality. There are at present no roads or streets other than the main road to Newcastle that can lay any claim to the name. They are simply cart tracks and foot tracks and when one of these becomes too bad to travel on owners of vehicles simply go and pick out another, which for a time suits them, and so on. If the place was incorporated, this state of things would soon become a thing of the past, because regular streets would be laid out, made, and maintained, and every traveller and resident would enjoy the benefit – a benefit which would far more than recoup the few shillings per year the inhabitants would pay in rates.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 29 March 1886.

Addison Road Quarry

Within a year of the council being formed in 1889, the Improvement Committee was seeking permission from Alexander Brown (managing director of the New Lambton colliery) to use their quarry for road making materials. At the council meeting of 12 March 1890 the committee recommended …

That a deputation wait upon Mr. A. Brown to see what terms he would allow the council to open out quarries upon lots 36 and 37, near Mr. Hincks’ house; also to see upon what terms he would allow the council the use of 400yds of rails and sleepers. 2. That a tramway be laid from the proposed quarries down to near Mr. Hilton’s place, a distance of about 400yds; also that a tip and shoot be erected.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 14 March 1890.

Lots 36 and 37, Section R, DP1949 – the location of the quarry referred to in the 12 March 1890 meeting of New Lambton council. SIX maps.

The 12 March 1890 meeting of New Lambton council refers to the quarry being “near Mr Hincks” house. Land title Vol-Fol 1468-110 shows that Richard Hincks’ property was at the top of Addison Rd, opposite the quarry. Sometimes the newspapers referred to the quarry as “Hincks quarry”, simply because it was near his house.

Property of Richard Hincks. Vol-Fol 1468-110.

The improvement committee’s report recommended that a tramway be laid “down to near Mr. Hilton’s place, a distance of about 400yds”. Land title Vol-Fol 992-68 shows that Matthew Hilton owned lots 22 and 23 near the bottom of Addison Rd.

Matthew Hilton’s property, Addison Rd, New Lambton. Vol-Fol 992-68.

We have no information on the exact route of the tramway, but a straight line of 400 yards in length (shown in yellow below) matches the distance between the quarry and Hilton’s property.

The quarry (left) and Hilton’s property (right), with the distance between them being approximately 400 yards.

The council’s request to use the colliery’s quarry proved successful. The council meeting of 26 March 1890 reported …

From the Mayor and Alderman Gray, who had interviewed Mr. A. Brown, when that gentleman offered to allow the council to work the gravel quarry on lots 36 and 37 on the New Lambton estate at the rate of 4d per yard, and the use of rails and sleepers for a tramway free of charge
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 28 March 1890.

The council then called for tenders to construct the tramway.

Four tenders were received, resulting in the tender of Hinton & Co., being accepted for the sum of £23 18s 6d. The tender of Hinton and Co. was also accepted for the construction of a tramway hopper, for the sum of £79 18s.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 16 May 1890.

Hinton completed the tramway, but being more work than he anticipated he asked the council for extra payment. The curt response was that …

… the contractors to be informed of the previous decision of the council to the effect that they cannot feel justified in paying extras, as the work for which extras are claimed was provided for in the specifications.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 16 August 1890.

In February 1896 the council resolved to “negotiate with the New Lambton Company for the purchase of lots 36 and 37, section S, near Hinck’s, for a quarry” and also “to place the tramline in order.” The Company agree to sell the the two lots for £15 each, but after a further inspection of the site the Mayor reported that …

… he was of opinion that the council would act wisely in purchasing four allotments from the New Lambton Co., as it was clear the gravel extended with a much larger face in the two allotments through from the present quarry. Alderman Williams moved, “That £50 be offered to the company for the four lots.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 21 February 1896.

The sale of 4 lots of land totalling 1.2 acres was completed in September 1896.

Sale of land from “The New Lambton Land and Coal Company” to “The Borough of New Lambton”, September 1896. Vol-Fol 1203-130.

In October 1896, the newspaper reported that

A boy named Benjamin Taite met with a painful accident yesterday morning. He was walking along the rails of the Quarry line, and somehow or other slipped and fell on his arm, breaking both bones near the wrist.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 26 October 1896.

It is not absolutely certain which “Quarry line” is referred to, but I strongly suspect that it is the Addison Road quarry line, as this is the quarry recently purchased by the council and which they had expressed their intention earlier in the year “to place the tramline in order.”

There are various references to the quarry in the ensuing years. At a 1924 council meeting, correspondence was received from “S.A. Mining Company, granting permission to council to remove gravel from Hincks’ quarry.” At first glance, this appears a little odd, as the council owned Hincks’ quarry, so why would they need permission from the Scottish Australian Mining Company? This can be explained by viewing the extent of the quarry in a 1944 aerial photograph, and overlaying land boundaries, and noting that the quarry extended into Scottish Australian Mining Company land holdings. Presumably this extension westwards was because that was where good gravel could be obtained.

A 1944 aerial photograph overlaid with council’s 1896 purchase of land for a quarry (white) and the extension purchased in 1925 (purple), which shows that the quarry also extended westwards into the land holding of the Scottish Australian Mining Company.

In October 1924 New Lambton Council …

… on the recommendation of the Mayor, decided to increase its quarry property. The council will acquire two blocks of land at a cost of £25 each. This land adjoins Hinks’s quarry, and includes another block. The land contains gravel for street construction and repairs.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 October 1924.

This land purchase (lots 3 and 25 of Section S of DP1949) was completed in April 1925. Vol-Fol 3735-122.) There is a brief mention of Hincks’ Quarry in 1926.

The steam lorry had been engaged for the fortnight in street patching with gravel from Fern Quarry. The motor lorry arrived on July 8, and was being used in carting gravel from Hincks’ quarry, and was doing good work.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 15 July 1926.

After this date there are no more mentions of this quarry being actively used, presumably because the council was now sourcing its gravel requirements from the larger Fern Quarry (located on Peatties Road Kotara) that they purchased in August 1926. (Vol-Fol 3808-23)

Lambton Colliery Quarry

A note on street names: The Lambton colliery quarry was used for the construction of streets in the northern part of New Lambton, on the Commonage. Due to a mix up many of these streets were given one name by the council, and a different name by the Lands Department in Sydney. Eventually the council had to give way to the Lands Department names. Hence a number of street names mentioned below in council reports are now known by a different name. See the article “Sadly Bungled Street Names” for further details.

In June 1890, Thomas Croudace, alderman on the New Lambton council and also manager of the Lambton Colliery …

… offered on behalf of the company, to allow the council to quarry chatrock on the Lambton Company’s estate at a price to be fixed at a future date.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 7 June 1890.

Chatrock is gravel smaller than pea gravel, but larger than sand. In April 1891 the council made formal moves to request use of the Lambton colliery quarry.

Alderman THOMAS moved, that a deputation, consisting of Aldermen Capewell, Lonsdale, and Hitchcock, wait upon Mr. Croudace, and ask his permission to use the colliery quarry for Dent and Gibson streets contracts.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 24 April 1891.

The Mayor (Thomas Croudace) intimated that he would do his utmost as regards letting the council have gravel to make Dent and Gibson-streets.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 May 1891.

The request was granted and the council then called for tenders for the extracting gravel from the quarry. In July 1891 the contractors, Messrs Friel and Curran, wrote to the council …

… stating that the gravel in the colliery quarry was much heavier than in Russell-street, and asking for consideration; the means of conveying it would also be inconvenient and costly.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 3 July 1891.

Although no formal resolution of the council regarding the transportation of gravel is recorded in newspaper reports, the council decided that a tramway down the hill was required, and sought the co-operation of the Lambton Colliery in its construction. In October 1891 the council resolved …

… That Aldermen Lonsdale and Capewell wait upon Mr. F. Croudace in regard to the speedy completion of the quarry tramway … The MAYOR and Alderman DEAN reported that Mr. F. Croudace had promised to provide rails and sleepers for the tramway in Dent-street.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 October 1891.

With a lack of worksite security combined with the lure of adventures, soon afterwards the paper reported that

ON Tuesday evening a serious accident happened to a boy, aged 13 year, son of Mr. Simeon Davies, New Lambton. It appears the boy, with a companion, was riding on some full skips, which were being brought down a steep incline from the quarry in the Lambton Colliery paddock. The skips left the rails and threw the boys off, injuring the boy Davies severely. He was at once conveyed home and medical assistance procured, when it was found that his arm had suffered a compound fracture, and his leg was fractured above the ankle. It is feared the injuries to the arm will necessitate amputation. The boy at present is in a critical condition.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 29 October 1891.

It is unclear when the council ceased using the Lambton colliery quarry as a source of gravel. The last mention in the newspapers is in June 1892 where the Mayor is permitted to engage men “in quarrying gravel in Russell-street, also in the colliery quarry.” Presumably after the council purchased the Addison Road quarry in 1896, there would have been little need to use the Lambton colliery quarry.

Portion of Parrott’s 1893 map, that shows the Lambton colliery quarry, the tramway leading down to Wickham Road, with the words “Tram” and “Quarry” colourised for emphasis. National Library of Australia.

Close up view from 1906 of the Lambton colliery quarry and the path of the former tramway down to the streets of New Lambton. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

In a 1938 aerial photograph the path of the quarry tramway can be clearly seen leading from the former quarry near the intersection of Croudace St and Russell Rd, down to Wickham Rd. Newcastle University, Living Histories.

The land on which the quarry was located was sold by the Scottish Australian Mining Company in July 1956 (Vol-Fol 7114-143) and by the mid 1960s suburban development of the area was well underway.

Aerial photography from 1966 shows ongoing suburban development in the former Lambton colliery pit paddock and quarry area. NSW Historical Imagery.

Other New Lambton quarries

The reports of the meetings of New Lambton council mention numerous other local quarries in the period 1899 to 1938. Some of these are named by location. Some are named after a person, although it is often not clear whether the person is the owner of the quarry, the main worker in the quarry, or just someone who lived nearby as was the case with Hincks’ quarry.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
16 Sep 1869	Report on the first year of New Lambton's development, including the state of the roads.
5 Aug 1876	Bad roads between Lambton and New Lambton.
29 Mar 1886	Report on the state of New Lambton, and the desire for a municipal council to improve the roads.
14 Mar 1890 12 Mar 1890	Council requests use of the New Lambton colliery quarry, and the erection of a tramway down the hill.
28 Mar 1890 12 Mar 1890	Council's request to use the New Lambton colliery quarry granted by A. Brown.
11 Apr 1890 9 Apr 1890	New Lambton Council decides that "tenders be invited for the formation and laying of about 400 yards of a tramway."
16 May 1890 14 May 1890	New Lambton Council - tender for construction of quarry tramway and hopper awarded to Hinton and Co.
7 Jun 1890 4 Jun 1890	"Alderman CROUDACE offered, on behalf of the company, to supply the ashes and to allow the council to quarry chatrock on the Lambton Company's estate at per yard; the price to be fixed at a future date."
16 Aug 1890 14 Aug 1890	“From Messrs. Hinton and Co., contractors for the quarry tramway and hopper, asking for extras”
4 Jul 1890 2 Sep 1890	"the matter of obtaining eight skips for the tramway connected with the quarry be left in the hands of the supervising committee and Alderman Thomas"
24 Apr 1891 22 Apr 1891	"The foreman reported verbally that the Mayor had promised to allow the council to obtain gravel from the colliery quarry. Alderman THOMAS moved, that a deputation, consisting of Aldermen Capewell, Lonsdale, and Hitchcock, wait upon Mr. Croudace, and ask his permission to use the colliery quarry for Dent and Gibson streets contracts."
8 May 1891 6 May 1891	The Mayor (Thomas Croudace) "intimated that he would do his utmost as regards letting the council have gravel to make Dent and Gibson-streets."
5 Jun 1891 3 Jun 1891	New Lambton council resolution that "the matter of calling tenders for quarrying gravel in the Lambton Colliery quarry be left with the Mayor."
3 Jul 1891 1 Jul 1891	"From Messrs. Friel and Curran, stating that the gravel in the colliery quarry was much heavier than in Russell-street, and asking for consideration; the means of conveying it would also be inconvenient and costly."
23 Oct 1891 21 Oct 1891	New Lambton council, seeking co-operation from "Mr. F. Croudace in regard to the speedy completion of the quarry tramway."
29 Oct 1891	A 13 year old boy is injured while riding the skips down the tramline from the Lambton Colliery quarry.
17 Jun 1892 15 Jun 1892	"That 1s 4d per cubic yard be paid to any men the Mayor may engage in quarrying gravel in Russell-street, also in the colliery quarry."
7 Feb 1896 5 Feb 1896	New Lambton council seeks to purchase the Addison Road quarry.
21 Feb 1896 19 Feb 1896	"From Mr. Alexander Brown, managing director of the New Lambton Company, offering lots 36 and 37, section R, for £15 each as a quarry, the council to pay cost of transfer."
19 Mar 1896 17 Mar 1896	Motiona at New Lambton Council "That the managing director of the New Lambton Land and Coal Co. (Mr. A. Brown) be requested to dedicate and align Carrington Parade and Addison-road for the purpose of enabling the council to form and make the roadway to the quarry in a proper manner."
26 Oct 1896 25 Oct 1896	"A boy named Benjamin Taite met with a painful accident yesterday morning. He was walking along the rails of the Quarry line, and somehow or other slipped and fell on his arm, breaking both bones near the wrist."
22 May 1913 21 May 1913	"The recent rains had caused the hill on the Addison-road to slip away, and blocked the road to the gravel quarry."
11 Sep 1924 10 Sep 1924	Correspondence from "S.A. Mining Company, granting permission to council to remove gravel from Hinck's quarry, at the same royalty and conditions applicable to Fern quarry, until such time as the latter quarry was again available."
9 Oct 1924 8 Oct 1924	Decision by New Lambton council to extend the Addision Rd quarry by purchasing two adjoining blocks of land.
15 Jul 1926 14 Jul 1926	"The steam lorry had been engaged for the fortnight in street patching with gravel from Fern Quarry. The motor lorry arrived on July 8, and was being used in carting gravel from Hincks' quarry, and was doing good work."
24 Aug 1950	"A landslide in Addison-road, New Lambton, was not due to mine subsidence, according to an expert's report. An inspection of a nearby disused gravel quarry indicated the underlying strata consisted of about four feet of clay shale sub-soils lying on a bed of hard conglomerates."

History in 3D

Thanks to Ralph Snowball’s extensive archive of glass plate negatives, we have thousands of clear views into our city’s past. But Snowball also dabbled in one of the photographic crazes of the 19^th century, stereoscopy.

Our perception of a three-dimensional world comes from having two eyes, each seeing the same scene from a slightly different point. Our brain combines the images to give us sense of how close or far away objects are. Stereoscopic photography mimics this by using a camera with two horizontally separated lenses, that capture two images of a scene. Prints can then be mounted on a stereoscopic viewer, a goggle like apparatus that uses lens to combine the two images to give us the impression of a three-dimensional view.

Newcastle University’s Living Histories collection contains eight stereoscopic images by Snowball, including views of New Lambton, Newcastle harbour and the beach. The negatives have varying degrees of damage, with the best-preserved example being of a Chinese market garden vendor at the foot of the steps of Snowball’s home in Clarence Road, New Lambton.

Not many people have an antique stereoscopic viewer lying around the house, but YouTube, that modern purveyor of DIY solutions has an alternative. A video (https://youtu.be/jIh8zetHB9E) demonstrates how to create your own viewer using a few tools, cheap plastic reading glasses from a bargain store, and a small threaded bolt.

I achieved best viewing results when photos were printed with each image 7cm wide. I placed the images on a well-lit horizontal surface with a gap of a few centimetres between them. With the connecting bolt of the glasses against my nose, and at a viewing distance of about 40cm, I used my left eye to focus on the left-hand image and slowly moved the right image inwards until the two images merged. It can take a while to master the technique, but when you do, the effect is both startling and enchanting to suddenly see history in 3D.

Chinese market garden vendor at Ralph Snowball’s residence, Clarence Road New Lambton, September 1886. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The DIY 3D glasses viewer, with examples of Snowball’s stereoscopic images.

The article above was first published in the August 2023 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The Living Histories site at the University of Newcastle contains eight stereoscopic photographs by Ralph Snowball.

Greg Ray, on his Photo Time Tunnel website, has written several excellent blog articles on stereoscopic photography:

Sadly bungled street names

We tend to think of street names as unchanging. But curiously in New Lambton, there was a time when the streets in half the town got renamed.

After the coal mine opened in 1868, the streets of New Lambton went un-named for the next 20 years. In the south, land was owned by the colliery, more interested in digging coal than developing a town. In the north was the Commonage, government land reserved for cattle pasturage, but on which many miners settled anyway.

Three factors then contributed to a rapid change in the streets. Firstly, with the passing of legislation in 1889, occupants of the Commonage began buying the land they lived on. Secondly, as coal production declined, mine owner Alexander Brown transitioned to selling land for residential development. Thirdly, New Lambton Council formed in 1889, and with the power to levy rates on landowners began to make and improve the streets.

South of Russell Road, the streets appear to have been named by Brown’s “New Lambton Land & Coal Company.” North of Russell Road, streets were named by the new council, mostly after aldermen and employees. But in 1891 the council was dismayed to learn that the Lands Department in Sydney had drawn up a new plan with new street names. The council objected to the expense and inconvenience of having to update their records. At an 1892 council meeting, the clerk reported “having met with the Under-Secretary for Lands, on the subject of the alteration of names of Commonage streets, when it was found that the matter had been sadly bungled by the department, and could not be remedied now, and that the council must adopt the names as they appeared on the departmental plans.” Probably the only maps marked with the 1889-1892 street names were destroyed when the New Lambton council chambers burned down in 1931. However, reports from early council meetings contain enough information to match them to the department’s ‘bungled’ street names we know today.

The short-lived street names of 1889-1892 on a 1938 aerial photograph of New Lambton. Living Histories, Newcastle University.

The current street names of New Lambton.

The article above was first published in the June 2023 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

I have not seen any maps that show the 1889-1892 street names, and as mentioned in the article it is probable that all such maps were destroyed when New Lambton Council Chambers burned to the ground on 16 April 1931. Identifying which streets had which names is a matter of trawling through all mentions of the street name in contemporary newspaper reports in Trove.

Some streets can be matched by reference to buildings or infrastructure. e.g. Church St, Tramway Rd
Some streets are clearly identified when named by the council e.g. “That the street commencing at the road near the Primitive Methodist Church, bearing north west to the street following the Lambton Company’s fence be called Dean street.” NMH 16 August 1889
Some streets can only be identified by a process of logical reasoning. e.g. the council resolution from 15 July 1891 “that Capewell-street be formed, from Gray street to Baker-street” tells us how these streets intersect. With enough references like this, the map can eventually be reconstructed.

A summary of the references to the old street names can be viewed in this spreadsheet. Cells with a yellow background show the first time a street name is referenced. The spreadsheet shows that the transition from the 1889-1892 names to the current names mostly happened in a three month period from July 1892 to October 1892. This lines up with the August 1892 report of the edict from the Under-Secretary of Land that the council must adopt the new names.

Of the 13 old street names annotated in the map accompanying this article, the probable inspiration for the name can be reasonably guessed for most of them.

Street	Probable source of name
Bourke St	Thomas Bourke, valuer for New Lambton Council, 1890
Camp St	?
Capewell St	William Capewell, New Lambton alderman 1890-1892.
Church St	The Primitive Methodist Church and Lay Methodist Church were located on opposite sides of this street.
Croudace St	Thomas Croudace, New Lambton alderman 1889-1894.
Dean St	John Dean, New Lambton alderman 1889-1891.
Dent St	William Dent, auditor for New Lambton Council.
Gibson St	Samuel Gibson, New Lambton alderman 1889.
Gray St	Michael Gray, New Lambton alderman 1889-1890.
Johnson St	William Johnson, New Lambton alderman 1889-1892.
Oldham St	Joseph William Oldham, New Lambton alderman 1889-1890, works foreman 1891-1893.
Railway St	Adjacent to New Lambton colliery railway.
Tramway Rd	Newcastle to Wallsend tramway ran along this road.

To add to the confusion of street names in New Lambton, the Historical Records Land Viewer site has a parish map from 1884 with a yet another set of names for the streets north of Russell Rd. The street names listed on this map are

Railway St
Lewis St
Cable (?) St
Crozier St
Parnell St
Parkes St
Owen St?
Bridge St
Thomas St
Cross St
Hannell St
Stockton St
Stevens St
Brown St

An 1884 Parish map from the Historical Records Land Viewer site shows a different set of names for New Lambton’s streets north of Russell Rd.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
18 Jul 1891	"The Government had altered the names of the streets upon the new plan, and he recommended that they be asked to reconsider the question, as it would necessitate the council's books and plans all being altered."

Corner Commerce

Many readers will have memories of the iconic corner shop, selling groceries and daily necessities in the midst of suburban housing. But it was not only the mixed businesses that set up on the prominent and prized corner blocks.

In 1892 the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate in a feature article on the “rapidly-rising mining suburb of New Lambton” noted “a hairdressing saloon is kept by Mr. T. Griffiths.” In 1903 Ralph Snowball photographed Thomas Griffiths’ hairdresser and tobacconist shop, situated on the corner of Lambton Road and Rugby Road. The subsequent history of the business is somewhat difficult to determine, there being at least four different Thomas Griffiths in early New Lambton, two of whom lived on Lambton Road. Aerial photographs from the NSW Historical Imagery website show that the shop building was demolished sometime between 1966 and 1974.

The other end of Lambton Road, at the intersection with Railway Street, was another location of corner commerce. William Oldham originally intended to open a hotel there, and in 1876 he applied three times for a publican’s license, without success. Advertisements indicate that by 1878 he was running a butcher shop there, and when William died in 1889 his son Joseph took over.

However, it seems Joseph Oldham was more interested in civic service than continuing the family business. When New Lambton Municipality formed in 1889, Joseph was one of the nine aldermen first elected to the Council. In March 1890 he was elected as New Lambton’s second mayor.

After being narrowly defeated in the 1891 election, Oldham advertised the sale of his butcher shop building and equipment and took on the role of Works Foreman for the council. Griffiths and Oldham are but two examples of the many suburban businesses that have come and gone over the years. When the big corporate shopping centres arrived in Newcastle (Jesmond in 1964, Kotara in 1965) the competitive pressure forced the closure of many corner shops, and few remain today.

Thomas Griffiths’ residence and shop, corner of Rugby Road and Lambton Lane, 12 February 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

While suburban corner shops have mostly disappeared, town shopping precincts such as Regent Street in New Lambton have survived, despite the dominance of the corporate shopping centres.

The article above was first published in the May 2023 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Thomas Griffiths, hairdresser

Identifying the location of Thomas Griffiths hairdressing salon photographed by Snowball in 1903, was a tricky process, due to scant information, and there being more than one person named Thomas Griffiths in New Lambton at the time.

Personal notices in the newspaper on 5 February 1885 and 7 February 1885 show that Thomas and Mary Griffiths had a house “opposite the public school”, and that Mary, not Thomas, was the owner of the house. This area was part of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve, also known as the Commonage. After the government had passed legislation to allow residents of the Commonage to purchase the land they were living on, an application by Mary Griffiths to to purchase portion 1306 for £78 16s was accepted by the Land Board on 14 August 1890. On 13 September1892 there is a brief mention in a newspaper article on the progress of New Lambton that “a hairdressing saloon is kept by Mr. T. Griffiths.”

Mary’s purchase of land portion 1306 was later registered on 20 June 1901 in Vol-Fol 1365-3, with the purchaser shown as “Mary Griffiths, a married woman of New Lambton.”

Purchase of Portion 1306 by Mary Griffiths.

In October 1901, portion 1306 was subdivided into two halves, with the western half (on the corner with Lambton Lane) sold to “Thomas Griffiths of New Lambton, Hairdresser” in Vol-Fol 1377-2.

The northern half was retained by Mary Griffiths, however the land title Vol-Fol 1377-14 on 16 October 1901 now lists her as “Mary Griffiths of New Lambton, Widow“. This suggests that her husband Thomas had died sometime prior to October 1901, and that she had a son. also named Thomas, who was the hairdresser.

The Federal Directory of Newcastle and Districts in 1901, lists Thomas Griffiths as a barber in Lambton Road.

Ralph Snowball took a second photograph of Thomas Griffith’s residence and shop, from a different angle. 12 February 1903. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

A 1906 Snowball photograph shows Thomas Griffiths shop and house in Rugby Rd, with the shop now having an awning extending over the footpath. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

An aerial photograph from 1944 shows T Griffiths shop and house on the corner of Rugby Rd and Lambton Lane. NSW Historical Imagery.

I have not been able to determine how long Thomas Griffiths operated as a hairdresser at the Rugby Road site. Griffiths retained ownership of the land until 1955, when it was sold to “Glen Maloney of New Lambton, hairdresser.”

Transfer of land from Thomas Griffiths to Glen Maloney. Vol-Fol 1377-2

Although there’s no indication of where exactly in New Lambton the following photo of Glen Maloney was taken, as I hated having my hair cut as a kid I couldn’t resist including this photo.

Glen Maloney, barber in New Lambton. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 20 May 1950.

NSW Historical Aerial Imagery shows that the hairdressing shop building on the corner was gone by 1974,

Thomas Griffiths, Miner

Also living on Lambton Road, was another Thomas Griffiths, who was a miner. On 14 August 1890, Griffiths’ application for portion 1300 on the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve was accepted, and the purchase later registered on land title Vol-Fol 2141-172., when the land ownership was transferred to his wife Mary after his death on 7 March 1910.

Mr. Thomas Griffiths, an old and respected resident of New Lambton, died very suddenly yesterday … He followed the occupation of a miner, and worked in the old Borehole mine in its early stages and afterwards at the Lambton Colliery when first opening out. He continued at this mine until it temporarily suspended operations, some few years ago, after which he retired from active work.
Newcastle Morning herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 March 1910.

Portion 1300 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve. Historical Lands Records Viewer.

A miner’s cottage stood upon this block of land for many years until it was destroyed by fire on 30 March 2023.

Miner’s cottage at 305 Lambton Road. Google StreetView.

Thomas George Griffiths, mine manager

Yet another Thomas Griffiths associated with New Lambton, was Thomas George Griffiths, who managed various small collieries in the area.

Oldham’s Butcher Shop

The first mention of William Oldham as a butcher in New Lambton is on 14 September 1878, in a public notice advising that Oldham was taking sole control of the butchering business formerly conducted in partnership with Michael Fenwick. The exact location of the business is not stated in the notice, nor in subsequent advertisements.

Advertisement for W Oldham, butcher, New Lambton. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 December 1880.

The first time the location of Oldham’s butcher shop is revealed, is in an advertisement on 5 June 1886 where the premises are described as being “near New Lambton Bridge.” An 1887 article on tramway stops makes it clear that the bridge referred to was the Lambton Colliery bridge.

If the traffic manager would appoint a stopping place on the New Lambton side of the railway bridge near Mr. Oldham’s butcher’s shop, he would confer a boon on the large number of people living around.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 12 November 1887.

A 1906 real estate map shows the Oldham property near the Lambton colliery railway bridge over the tramway. University of Newcastle, Special Collections.

On 19 August 1890, the application by Joseph W. Oldham to purchase portion 1890 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve was granted by the Land Board, and the ownership subsequently registered on land title Vol-Fol 1061-30.

Portion 1290 of the Newcastle Pasturage Reserve purchased by Joseph W Oldham in 1890.

Advertisement for sale of Oldham’s butcher shop. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 28 February 1891.

Joseph Oldham died on 15 January 1929, with his obituary outlining a very varied career …

Born at Lambton in 1861, Mr. Oldham had a varied career. At one period he was a master butcher at New Lambton, but sold out, and was appointed works foreman of New Lambton Council. In addition, he was an alderman and was the second Mayor to occupy the chair of New Lambton Council. He occupied the position of works foreman for five years, and then became the licensee of the Commercial Hotel. The South African diamond mines next claimed Mr. Oldham’s attention, and he was away from Australia for nearly two years. Returning, he was engaged at the West Wallsend and Lambton collieries as a miner and check inspector. Mr. Oldham next accepted the position of town clerk of Lambton. He remained there seven years, and 18 years ago was appointed town clerk at Stockton. He occupied this position for 11 years, and resigned to again enter into business on his own account. Real estate claimed his attention, and he also assisted his sons with their butchery business.Mr. Oldham is survived by his wife, four sons (Messrs. Joseph, Leslie, Eric and Hiram Oldham), and six daughters (Mesdames J. Collinson, J. Webster, E. M. Hughes, H. Hutton, C. L. Sutton and Miss Jean Oldham). One son was killed at the war.
The Newcastle Sun, 16 January 1929.

Shopping Centres

The first modern shopping centre to open in Australia, was a Chermside in the suburbs of Brisbane, in May 1957. In Newcastle the first shopping centre was opened by Woolworths at Jesmond in 1964. Named the Jesmond Regional Shopping Centre, the 12 acre site on Bluegum Road Jesmond had 25 shops including a Big W store.

Jesmond Regional Shopping Centre. Woolworths advertisement in The Canberra Times, 9 November 1965.

Aerial photograph of Jesmond Regional Shopping Centre in 1966. NSW Historical Imagery.

In October 1965 Woolworths opened “Kotara Fair” shopping centre on a 17 acre site, with a supermarket, Big W, and 27 smaller shops for lease.

Aerial photograph of Kotara Fair Shopping Centre in 1966. NSW Historical Imagery.

Newspaper articles

Thomas Griffiths

Article Date Event Date	Notes
5 Feb 1885	"NOTICE TO BUTCHERS, STOREKEEPERS, AND OTHERS. I WILL not be responsible for any debts contracted by my wife Mary Griffiths, on and after this date. THOMAS GRIFFITHS, Opposite Public School, New Lambton."
7 Feb 1885	"CAUTION. THE public are hereby cautioned not to PURCHASE the HOUSE opposite the Public School, New Lambton, which was advertised for sale by Thomas Griffiths, as the house belongs to me. MARY GRIFFITHS."
13 Feb 1892	"A hairdressing saloon is kept by Mr. T. Griffiths. "
28 Jan 1893	"Thomas Griffiths, hairdresser, New Lambton", defendant in a case of alleged assault.
17 Jul 1900	"LOST, a Silver-plated Lamp Socket bebetween Young-rd. extension and Broadmeadow. Reward on leaving the same with Thomas Griffiths, Hairdresser, New Lambton."
12 Jul 1901	"A meeting of the friends Mrs. Parson, of Lambton-road, whose husband died a few weeks ago leaving her and 11 children in destitute circumstances, was held at Mr. Thos. Griffiths' hairdresser, last night."
8 Mar 1910 7 Mar 1910	Death of Thomas Griffiths, miner, of Lambton Road, New Lambton.
2 Apr 1965	Woolworths report on operations in 1964 ..."During the year , 63 new stores were opened in Australia, many of which were relocation of existing stores.. The most notable development was the establishment of the 25-unit Jesmond Regional Shopping Centre."
14 Jul 1965	"Woolworths Ltd would open a £2 million shopping centre at Kotara, Newcastle, in October, Mr Theo Kelly, chairman and managing director of the company, said today. It would be known as Kotara Fair and would be the firm's second drive-in shopping centre in the Newcastle district. "The Kotara Fair will provide one-stop shopping for a wide circle of suburbs, being readily accessible from all parts of Newcastle," Mr Kelly said. The shopping block covers 17 acres and has 170,000 square feet of trading space, comprising an air-conditioned 67,000 sq ft "Big W" department store, a 28,000 sq ft Woolworths supermarket and 27 smaller shops, available for leasing."

Oldham’s Butcher Shop

Article Date Event Date	Notes
5 Jul 1876	"PUBLIC-HOUSES. Mr. Oldham has also made some alterations to his house, and intends trying the Bench again."
12 Jul 1876	"William Oldham applied, for the third time, for a license for a house situated on the Commonage Reserve, near the Lambton Colliery." Application withdrawn after objections made.
16 Aug 1876	"Mr. W. Oldham, who three times applied for a publican's license, and each time was refused, chiefly through the opposition of Mr. Croudace, has now, I understand, applied for a colonial wine license. Mr. Croudace, determined not to be beaten, has commenced to erect a fence round Oldham's house, so that if he gets the wine no one shall go near to drink it. They seem determined to fight it out."
14 Sep 1878	William Oldham takes sole control of the butchering business that Michael Fenwick was formerly a partner in.
1 Dec 1880	Advertisement for W Oldham, butcher, New Lambton.
5 Jun 1886	"EDWARDS & TIGHE have received instructions from Mr. Oldham, to sell by auction, at his premises, near New Lambton Bridge …50 pigs, 2 double seated buggies …"
12 Nov 1887	"If the traffic manager would appoint a stopping place on the New Lambton side of the railway bridge near Mr. Oldham's butcher's shop, he would confer a boon on the large number of people living around."
4 Jun 1889 12 Apr 1889	Death of William Oldham, of New Lambton.
28 Feb 1891	"CLEARING-OUT SALE. Butchers' Plant, shop to be removed, &c., at New Lambton. To Butchers, Dealers, and Others. GEO. T. EDWARDS has been instructed by Mr. Oldham to sell by auction at his shop, near the bridge, Lambton … the W.B. Building now used as shop, … Sausage Machine and Filler; Scales and Weights, Shop Bars and Hooks."
21 Mar 1891	"FOR SALE, privately, four Saddle and Harness HORSES, Sausage Machine, and Filler. J. W. OLDHAM, New Lambton."
16 Jan 1929 15 Jan 1929	Death of Joseph Oldham.

General Roberts Hotel, New Lambton

In 1868 the New Lambton Coal Company struck a payable seam in their mining lease adjacent to Lambton, and a new township began. Unlike Lambton where private ownership of land was promoted, the New Lambton proprietors did not offer their land for sale. With no ownership, there was no incentive for townspeople to construct anything but the most basic of buildings. In 1890 when land was first sold in the town, New Lambton had just three hotels, all of them hastily erected wooden structures.

In 1898 Frederick George Roberts purchased land on the corner of Lambton and Tauranga Roads, and built a weatherboard store, selling groceries, draperies, ironware and clothing. In July 1902 he applied for a publican’s license to open a hotel on the site of his store. Despite police objections the licensing court granted the application, in part swayed by Roberts’ plans to erect a substantial brick hotel, in contrast to the other hotels nearby that were described at the time as “a very disappointing lot indeed”.

By September 1902, the store was demolished, and the builder William Knight was constructing a new brick hotel designed by the notable local architect Ernest George Yeomans. On 18 April 1903 120 years ago this month, Roberts announced by advertisement that his “new hotel will be opened for business today, containing 20 spacious and well ventilated rooms.” He named it the General Roberts Hotel, after Frederick Sleigh Roberts, recently commander of the British forces in the Second Boer War. Within a year Phillip Byrne had become licensee, and Ralph Snowball photographed the hotel soon afterwards. Looking west along Lambton Rd and Alma Rd, the photo shows the General Roberts Hotel on the right, and beside it the remnants of a cutting where the New Lambton colliery railway once ran.

General Roberts Hotel, 15 July 1904. Photograph by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Lambton Rd and the General Roberts Hotel in 2023.

The article above was first published in the April 2023 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Map from land title Vol-Fol 1021-213, showing portion 1324, the site of F G Roberts store and then the General Roberts Hotel. Note the New Lambton colliery railway running north to south, under a bridge on Lambton Road.

Portion 1324 was purchased by Frederick George Roberts of Waratah, hotelkeeper, on 18 November 1898. Vol-Fol 1021-213.

F G Roberts Store, Lambton Rd, New Lambton, NSW, [1902]. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Roof damage to F G Roberts store in New Lambton due to cyclonic wind storm on Tuesday 7 November 1899. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Australian Town and Country Journal, 18 November 1899.

At the corner of the main road and Tauranga-street another brick hotel of 18 rooms, to be known as “The General Roberts,” has just been completed. This is built with red, pressed, tuck-pointed fronts and ornamental parapets. The fronts have those useful adjuncts, spacious colonnades. The building is tastefully finished both inside and out, and standing on a prominent site is a landmark in the municipality. Formerly on this site stood Mr. Roberts’ w.b. store, which has been demolished to make place for this hotel. The architect was Mr. E. G. Yeomans. and the builder Mr. W. Knight.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 17 April 1903.

Advertisement of the opening of the General Roberts Hotel. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 18 April 1903.

Within six months of opening the hotel, F G Roberts was looking to sell the hotel business, but retain ownership of the land and buildings.

Advertisement of the sale of the General Roberts Hotel business. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 October 1903.

General Roberts Hotel, corner of Lambton Road and Tauranga Road, New Lambton, NSW, 15 July 1904. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Roberts sold the land and buildings of the General Roberts Hotel to Tooth & Co on 25 November 1918. Vol-Fol 1021-213.

Entry in a card in the Noel Butlin archives, showing that the General Roberts Hotel was rebuilt in 1957, at a cost of £65,672.

General Roberts Hotel in 1959, shortly after the rebuild of 1957. Noel Butlin Archives.

Licensees

Variant spelling of names is shown in square brackets

Frederick George Roberts (April 1903 to April 1904)
Phillip James Byrne (April 1904 to June 1905)
John Keim [Kiem, Kilm, Kien, Kiern, Kierns] (June 1905 to April 1913)
Edward Butterworth (April 1913 to April 1916)
John Drummond (April 1916 to May 1919)
Oliver O Woods (May 1919 to September 1919)
Frank Burden (September 1919 to July 1927)
George James Embleton (July 1927 to April 1928)
Leonard P Damerell [Damerill] (April 1928 to January 1929)
Joseph Patrick Quinn (January 1929 to November 1945)
William Thomas Garaty (November 1945 to June 1957)
James Robert Rose & Mary Rose (June 1957 to January 1961)
Albert Frederick Seales (January 1961 to April 1966)
David Alfred James Blanch & Ann Blanch (April 1966 to March 1968)
Joseph Moody & Ellen McReadie (March 1968 to ????)

Names and dates of licensees from 1919 onwards are taken from the General Roberts Hotel cards in the Noel Butlin archive.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
2 Jan 1899	"A large general store, and residence for Mr. Roberts is in course of erection at the corner of Lambton and Taurangua roads."
11 Jan 1899	"Mr. E. G. Yeomans was found to be up to his eyes in architectural work … A shop and dwelling for a Mr. Roberts, at New Lambton, is half completed."
18 Nov 1899 7 Nov 1899	Roof damage to F G Roberts store in New Lambton due to cyclonic wind storm.
21 Sep 1901	"TENDERS are invited for the ERECTION of WEATHERBOARD COTTAGE in New Lambton for Mr. F. G. Roberts."
10 Feb 1902	"I FREDERICK GEORGE ROBERTS give notice that I desire at the next Quarterly Licensing Court, to apply for a CONDITIONAL PUBLICAN'S LICENSE for Premises situate at New Lambton already erected at the corner of Lambton-road, but requiring additions and alterations to make them suitable to be licensed. These premises, if a license be granted, are to be known as the GENERAL ROBERTS HOTEL, and will contain when completed, eight rooms exclusive of those required for the use of my family."
11 Apr 1902	"At the Licensing Court to-day an application was made by Frederick George Roberts for a conditional publican's license for premises situated on the main Newcastle Cardiff road at New Lambton, proposed to be used as an hotel." Decision reserved pending the hearing of two other applications for hotels in the vicinity.
4 Jul 1902	"At Newcastle Licensing Court, Frederick George Roberts applied for a publican's conditional license for premises to be erected on the Lambton-road, New Lambton … Ernest George Yeomans. architect, deposed that he prepared the plans before the court. The house would have brick walls."
16 Jul 1902 15 Jul 1902	"Frederick George Roberts applied for a conditional publican's license for premises to be erected at New Lambton." The Bench had inspected the current hotels "and found them a very disappointing lot indeed, and the existing accommodation was not sufficient." Application of F G Roberts was granted.
23 Aug 1902	"TENDERS are invited for the Erection and Completion of a BRICK HOTEL, for F. G..Roberts, Esq., at New Lambton."
27 Sep 1902	"The work of excavating for the foundations of the new hotel which is to be built at the corner of Taurangua and Lambton roads, is well forward. The building, which is to be commodious and substantial, will, it is estimated, cost between £1600 and £1700. Mr. William Knight is the contractor and Mr. Yeomans the architect."
17 Apr 1903 16 Apr 1903	"Frederick G. Roberts applied for a certificate for a publican's license for premises at New Lambton, to be known as the General Roberts Hotel. The application was granted."
17 Apr 1903	"At the corner of the main road and Tauranga-street another brick hotel of 18 rooms, to be known as 'The General Roberts,' has just been completed."
18 Apr 1903 18 Apr 1903	Advertisement for the opening of the General Roberts Hotel.
19 Jun 1903	Phillip James Byrnes applies for the renewal of his licensee for the Hand of Friendship Hotel. The renewal is objected to due to unsanitary premises and inadequate accommodation. By April 1904 Byrnes is licensee of the General Roberts Hotel.
23 Oct 1903	"TO Hotelkeepers and Brewers.- For Sale by tender, Free House, Lease, License, Furniture, and Goodwill. Tenders to close 12th Nov.; 1903. -Apply F. G. ROBERTS, Proprietor, New Lambton."
20 May 1904 1 Apr 1904	Phillip J Byrne issued a publican's license for the General Roberts Hotel.
20 Jun 1905	"NOTICE.-Having taken over the license of the General Roberts' Hotel, New Lambton, where I hope to see all my old friends and acquaintances. JOHN KEIM, Late of Tighe's Hill."
22 Sep 1927	Throughout its history, the "General Roberts Hotel" has often been erroneously referred to as the "Lord Roberts Hotel."
5 Jul 1946 4 Jul 1946	"Considerable damage was done yesterday to the balcony of the General Roberts Hotel at the corner of Lambton and Taranga Roads, New Lambton. A coal-laden lorry knocked out two of the posts on the gutter alignment and the balcony flooring sagged."
15 Oct 1947	Applications for the demolition and rebuilding of 12 hotels, including the General Roberts Hotel in New Lambton.

Broadmeadow planes and plans

Broadmeadow has been in the news recently, with the Department of Planning and Environment releasing their “Hunter Regional Plan 2041”. The document flags Broadmeadow as a “regionally significant growth area” and promises to make it “a destination of choice for entertainment, housing, recreation and discovery.”

This is not the first time the area has been subject to great change, as the photos this month demonstrate. A 2016 aerial photo shows the area bounded by Griffith Rd, Turton Rd, Broadmeadow Rd and the stormwater drain, filled with sporting grounds, trotting track, entertainment facilities, commercial and residential buildings. In contrast, seven decades years earlier it was an empty paddock, the site of District Park Aerodrome.

Originally a swampy lowland, the completion of a large concrete stormwater channel in 1899 allowed the surrounding area to be developed for recreation. The government reserved a portion for aviation purposes in 1923 and in 1928 the Newcastle Aero Club formed and began using the aerodrome. However, the combination of increasing aircraft movements and residential development posed a very real danger to the public.

On 20 January 1953, 70 years ago this month, newly qualified solo pilot Alan Kerle was practicing landings in an aero club Tiger Moth. As he landed, the plane bounced, was caught by a cross wind and carried across Turton-road where it brushed a rooftop, plunged into the back yard of Cedric Jenkins and burst into flames. Just minutes beforehand four children had been playing in the yard. Despite the damage the pilot walked away uninjured. Between 1931 and 1954 the newspapers reported 13 plane crashes at or near the aerodrome. The suitability of the site was increasingly questioned. In 1961 the Department of Civil Aviation gave notice to the Aero Club to vacate the Broadmeadow airfield, and they soon relocated to Rutherford. The government’s grand plans for aviation in District Park had proved unworkable. Let’s hope their grand plans for Broadmeadow in 2041 prove to be of long-lasting value.

District Park aerodrome, 1954. The site of the 20 January 1953 Tiger Moth crash is circled in red. NSW Historical Imagery

The same area of Broadmeadow in 2016. NSW Historical Imagery

Excerpt from page 105 of the “Hunter Regional Plan 2041”, stating some of the state government’s plans for “Hunter Park” in Broadmeadow.

The article above was first published in the January 2023 edition of The Local.

Broadmeadow Aerodrome

Further information about the history of the Broadmeadow Aerodrome can be found in my August 2019 article on the crash of a C47 aircraft in 1944.

Map showing the aerodrome area, gazetted for aviation purposes 25 May 1923. Historical Land Records Viewer.

Grouped about the Aero Club, ‘planes at District Park this afternoon, parties of school children have the theory of aviation explained to them. The inspection was part of the club’s programme this week to mark its tenth anniversary. The Newcastle Sun 12 October 1938.

The 1953 Tiger Moth crash

The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate report of the January 1953 Tiger Moth crash states that the plane crashed into the backyard of Mr C Jenkins, in Turton Road New Lambton. It also states that the Goodbun family lived in the neighbouring property. Title deeds in the Historical Land Records Viewer site show that in 1953 the Goodbun’s owned Lot A of DP19321 (Vol-Fol 5630-190), and Cedric Jenkins owned Lot 5 of DP19321 (Vol-Fol 5230-223). This corresponds to 267 and 269 Turton Road, New Lambton.

Wreckage of the Tiger Moth that crashed near Broadmeadow Aerodrome on 20 January 1956. The Daily Telegraph.

The wreckage of a Tiger Moth aircraft which crashed into the backyard of a home at Newcastle on 20 Juanuary 1953. The Sydney Morning Herald.

The scene in the backyard of a house in Turton road, New Lambton, after an Aero Club plane had crashed last evening. The fowlyard of the home in the foreground, with the plane lying across the back garden. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate.

Other Broadmeadow aeorodrome crashes

The following table summarises airplane accidents that occurred at or near the Broadmeadow (District Park) aerodrome that were reported in the newspapers. This is not a comprehensive list of all incidents that occurred. For example, the report on 12 August 1944 notes that the stormwater drain has caused “7 crashes in 2 years”, however only two of those crashed seem to have been reported in the papers.

Date	Plane	Notes
8/3/1931	De Havilland Moth, “Sky Hawk”	The plane fell into a spin at an altitude of 2000 feet and crashed into a paddock adjoining the aerodrome. Pilot (E Buck) and passenger (G Lynch) uninjured.
18/8/1935	Tiger Moth, “Halcyon”	The propeller caught in street lighting wires while the machine was making a forced landing. The pilot, Captain H. S. Preston, was uninjured, but the machine was severely damaged.
26/9/1935	Westland Widgeon	Two accidents in 2 days! Damage to the undercarriage in 26/9/1935, and then the following day “the ‘plane struck some rough ground at the south-eastern end and pitched forward on to its nose. The fuselage, undercarriage, and propeller were damaged, and Mr. Hall received lacerations to an ankle.”
28/11/1935	Monospar, “City of Grafton”	Wheel collapsed on landing.
7/9/1936	High wing monoplane, “Sky Baby”	Forced down with engine trouble. Crashed in Lindsay Street Hamilton after hitting an electric light pole. Pilot Frank Cook pulled unconscious from the wreckage, and treated at hospital for abrasions and contusions to the face, lacerations, slight concussion, and shock.
11/9/1943	Beaufort bomber	Engine trouble, with white smoke issuing from the Beaufort bomber. The plane made a right hand turn, to land at Broadmeadow aerodrome, hit some trees in District Park and immediately burst into flames. The plane then hit the side of a deep stormwater drain, skidded on to the tramline, and came to rest in Lambton-road, Broadmeadow. Flight Sergeant William Milton Trengove, 34, navigator, of Spalding, South Australia, died later in Newcastle Hospital.
?/?/1944	Boomerang fighter	“An R.A.A.F, man was injured when a Boomerang fighter struck the channel early this year”
10/8/1944	C47 Douglas	A U.S. Army transport plane, making a forced landing in a storm at Newcastle, crashed into a stormwater channel at Broadmeadow aerodrome. In the past 10 months two other planes have crashed into the stormwater drain while trying to land at Broadmeadow. Two U.S. airmen were injured in the crash. The pilot suffered a broken nose and abrasions, and the radio operator head injuries.
4/8/1947	Wackett trainer	A Wackett trainer belonging to the Newcastle Aero Club, took off from the Broadmeadow aerodrome.The engine cut out at 150 to 200 feet, and the pilot brought it down in a paddock, narrowly missing two people walking along a track. The pilot (Dick Gilford, 22, of Carrington Parade, New Lambton), and passenger (Mr. A. Gilford) were uninjured.
16/4/1950	Wackett trainer	After engine failure, the pilot Jack Stone crash landed the Wackett trainer on rough, undulating ground off Turton-road near District Park aerodrome. The plane was damaged, but the pilot was uninjured.
8/12/1951	Ryan monoplane	Two men scrambled unhurt from the cockpit of a Ryan monoplane which crashed on a narrow vacant allotment near Broadmeadow aerodrome. They are Louis Plumstead of Beresfield, an instructor employed at the Newcastle Aero Club, and his pupil, Victor Boyce, of Maitland.
20/1/1953	Tiger Moth	A Tiger Moth plane partly unroofed a house, crashed into a fence, and burst into flames. The pilot, Alan Roger Kerle, 24, of Boyce Street, Taree. climbed from the wreckage unhurt.
27/7/1954	De Havilland Hornet bi-plane	The undercarriage of the aircraft collapsed when the plane was landing. The plane slewed wildly across the runway and its port wings ploughed into the ground.
1960	Cessna 172	“badly damaged soon after arrival in an unfortunate accident”

Crash of a Wackett trainer aircraft near Broadmeadow aerodrome.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 16 April 1950.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
25 Mar 1923	Portion of District Park gazetted "for public recreation and aviation purposes."
9 Mar 1931 8 Mar 1931	Mr. E. Buck's "Sky Hawk," a De Havilland Moth 'plane, at District Park, yesterday with one passenger aboard (Mr. G. Lynch, of Waratah) fell into a spin at an altitude of 2000 feet and crashed into a paddock adjoining the aerodrome."
19 Aug 1935 18 Aug 1935	"Newcastle Aero Club's new Tiger Moth biplane, the Halcyon, crashed at District Park late yesterday afternoon. The pilot, Captain H. S. Preston, was uninjured, but the machine was severely damaged."
27 Sep 1935 26 Sep 1935	"THE Westland-Widgeon 'plane, which was involved in a sensational crash at the District Park Aerodrome last evening, wrecking the undercarriage, figured in another accident this afternoon. AFTER repairs had been effected to the landing gear, the owner, Mr. Hall, made a preliminary flight prior to leaving for Sydney. When returning to the 'drome, however, the 'plane struck some rough ground at the south-eastern end and pitched forward on to its nose. The fuselage, undercarriage, and propeller were damaged, and Mr. Hall received lacerations to an ankle."
28 Nov 1935	"Five passengers in the airliner 'City of Grafton' had remarkable escapes this morning when a wheel collapsed after the big 'plane had landed at District Park aerodrome, throwing the 'plane on to its side."
13 Dec 1935	"The discovery of four slashes in the fabric underneath the wing of an aeroplane shortly before it was due to take off caused a stir at District Park Aerodrome this morning. Mr. Henry said that the incident illustrated the need for public hangars at all important aerodromes."
8 Sep 1936 7 Sep 1936	"The small high wing monoplane Sky Baby crashed in one of Newcastle's most thickly populated suburban thoroughfares, Lindsay-street, Hamilton, shortly after 5 p.m. to-day. The right wing struck an electric light pole and was torn off. The machine finished partly on the footpath."
6 Oct 1943 11 Sep 1943	Inquest into the death of Flight Sergeant William Milton Trengove, who died in a plane crash at Broadmeadow on 11 September 1943.
2 Jun 1944	Calls to improve Broadmeadow aerodrome … "The present aerodrome is entirely inadequate for the future needs of a city the size of Newcastle,' said Mr. Cavalier, "Further, it is in its present size a danger to certain types of aircraft."
11 Aug 1944 10 Aug 1944	"A U.S. Army transport plane, making a forced landing in a storm at Newcastle yesterday, crashed into a stormwater channel at Broadmeadow aerodrome. Two U.S. airmen were injured."
4 Aug 1947	"A pilot, with his father as passenger, crashed in an emergency landing at East Lambton today. Neither was injured. The pilot is Dick Gilford, 22, of Carrington Parade, New Lambton, the passenger is Mr. A. Gilford, of the same address. The plane, a Wackett trainer belonging to the Newcastle Aero Club, had taken off from the Broadmeadow aerodrome. The engine cut out at 150 to 200 feet, and the pilot brought it down in a paddock, narrowly missing two people walking along a track."
17 Apr 1950 16 Apr 1950	"The pilot of a Wackett trainer plane escaped injury when he crash landed on rough, undulating ground off Turton-road near District Park aerodrome yesterday afternoon."
9 Dec 1951 8 Dec 1951	"Two men scrambled unhurt from the cockpit of a Ryan monoplane which crashed on a narrow vacant allotment near Broadmeadow aerodrome this afternoon. The engine cut out soon after the plane took off from the aerodrome."
21 Jan 1953 20 Jan 1953	"When a Tiger Moth plane crashed today it partly unroofed a house, crashed into a fence, and burst into flames. The pilot climbed from the wreckage unhurt. As flames reached the petrol tank a bus driver put them out with an extinguisher from his bus. The pilot of the plane is Alan Roger Kerle, 24, of Boyce Street, Taree. He is a student pilot of Newcastle Aero Club. The crash occurred as he was landing the plane on Newcastle aerodrome." (The Daily Telegraph)
21 Jan 1953 20 Jan 1953	"When a Tiger Moth aircraft crashed into the backyard of a home in Turton Road, Waratah, a suburb of Newcastle, shortly before 5.30 p.m. to-day it missed a woman and four children by four feet. The sole occupant, Alan Roger Kerle, 24, of Boyce-Street, Taree, was not injured." (The Sydney Morning Herald.)
21 Jan 1953 20 Jan 1953	"A Tiger Moth plane owned by Newcastle Aero Club crashed in the backyard of Mr. C. Jenkins's property in Turton road, New Lambton, late yesterday afternoon. The plane was extensively damaged but the pilot, Alan Roger Kerle, 24, of Taree, who had made his first solo flight on Sunday, climbed uninjured from the cockpit. A wing hits the edge of a fernery in a house adjoining and caught fire. The plane dropped on to its nose, pivoted, and then landed on its wheels." (Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate.)
28 Jul 1954 27 Jul 1954	"A De Havilland Hornet bi-plane, crashed on landing at Broadmeadow about 5 p.m. today. Crew of the plane, Mr. J. Neal, of Tamworth (pilot) and Capt. R. Hall, of East. West Airlines (navigator) were uninjured in the crash. The undercarriage of the air craft collapsed when the plane was landing. The plane slewed wildly across the runway and its port wings ploughed into the ground."

WAAAF Hostel, New Lambton

During World War 2, New Lambton Public School was commandeered by the RAAF. But not just men served there, but also a large contingent from the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF).

Previously the role of women in the armed services was restricted to mainly nursing and kitchen work. With the outbreak of war in 1939 there were many discussions, but no decisions, about enlisting women. In February 1941 a severe shortage of signals personnel prompted the air force to form the WAAAF, with an enrolment of 250 women to be trained as wireless and teleprinter operators. This was intended as a temporary arrangement, but when Japan entered the war in December 1941 the role of air defence increased, as did the need for the WAAAF.

In March 1942, No. 2 Fighter Sector headquarters commenced at New Lambton with 134 personnel, including 69 WAAAF servicewomen performing roles in telecommunications and plotting aircraft movements.

To assist the WAAAF, the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), aided by volunteers and donations from the public, opened a hostel in a shop and residence at the corner of Hobart and Rugby Roads. The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner’s Advocate report of the opening ceremony on 5 May 1942 noted that “The hostel has sleeping accommodation for nine, an attractive bathroom, a lounge-room where the girls can entertain their friends or write letters home, a piano, sewing machine, and a cheery kitchen where they can cook a meal.” In the first four months, 351 WAAAFs were accommodated at nights.

In December 1942 the YWCA closed the hostel when they opened a larger facility in Hunter Street Newcastle. This proved unsatisfactory for the WAAAF in New Lambton, and on 24 July 1943 the Church Army re-opened the Hobart Road site. The hostel finally closed in September 1944, when the RAAF transferred their operations at the school to new headquarters on Ash Island. After the war, the WAAAF was disbanded, having had 27000 women serve in 72 different trades.

Servicewomen at the official opening of the WAAAF hostel in New Lambton, 5 May 1942. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miner’s Advocate.

The former WAAAF hostel building in 2022.

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

Additional Information

The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported on the opening of the WAAAF Hostel at New Lambton on 5 May 1942.

“REAL SHEETS on the bed … and mattresses, too,” cried members of the W.A.A.A.F. excitedly when they inspected the service women’s hostel yesterday for the first time. “Can’t we have a bath now?” suggested another. The hostel was officially opened yesterday by the Mayor of Greater Newcastle (Ald. Young). Members of the W.A.A.A.F. formed a guard of honour. The Australian army nursing service was also represented. The hostel, which is at New Lambton, has many facilities that will be appreciated by service women. It has sleeping accommodation for nine, an attractive bathroom, a lounge-room where the girls can entertain their friends or write letters home, a piano, sewing machine, and a cheery kitchen where they can cook a meal. The hostel has been opened by the Y.W.C.A. to serve all women in uniform.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 6 May 1942

Aerial photograph, New Lambton, 3 September 1944.

The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported on 24 September 1942 that

Three upper floors of the Hunter street building once occupied by John’s Silk Store are being converted into a leave-house for women of the services. The room will be equipped with 50 beds, bathrooms with hot and cold water, a dance-floor and recreation rooms where the girls can entertain friends. A resident fully trained Y.W.C.A. matron will be in attendance to look after the girls’ needs.

The opening of the City hostel in December 1942, led to the closure of the New Lambton W.A.A.A.F. Hostel, the YWCA explaining that …

New Lambton hostel was closed because, with the opening of the leave house in the city, it was felt that the needs of service women in the district would be adequately met.
Newcastle Morning herald and Miners’ Advocate, 20 January 1943.

The John’s Silk store building still exists today at 200 Hunter Street, Newcastle.

John’s Silk store building at 200 Hunter St, Newcastle. 21 April 2023.

The name “SILKHOUSE” above the entrance door.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
22 Apr 1942	"Members of the public who are interested in the establishment of the leave hostel for uniformed women, which will be opened shortly at New Lambton, are invited by the Y.W.C.A. Board of Directors to attend a meeting in the Y.W.C.A. lounge next Tuesday ... It was decided at a meeting yesterday to appeal for gifts of linen, such as sheets, tea towels and tablecloths. Gifts of china would also be appreciated. Uniformed women will be able to sleep at the hostel, also to do laundry and ironing there. Baths, which have been a problem for the W.A.A.A.F. will be available."
24 Apr 1942	"Property at the corner of Hobart and Rugby Roads, New Lambton (a shop and residence), has been selected for the establishment of a leave hostel for the convenience of W.A.A.A.Fs and other service women. The scheme is in the hands of the Y.W.C.A. Board of Directors. There are hopes that the hostel will be officially opened on May 5."
5 May 1942	"The hostel for servicewomen, controlled by the Y.W.C.A., will be opened at New Lambton at 3 o'clock this afternoon by the Mayor (Ald. Young). The building has been transformed into a cheery and comfortable centre where servicewomen can sleep, eat and do their laundry. A lounge room has been provided."
6 May 1942 5 May 1942	Report of the opening of the servicewomen's hostel at New Lambton.
25 Aug 1942	The Australian Comforts Fund last night decided to finance the establishment of an hostel for women of the Services. The hostel, which is estimated to cost £1500, will be on the upper floors of John's store. A request to the A.C.F. to advance the £1500 was made by Mrs. Cockburn and Mrs. Penny on behalf of the Y.W.C.A. Mrs. W Neve said that as hundreds of uniformed girls were expected to be sent to the district, a leave centre was urgently needed. The Mayor (Ald. Young) said this was a wonderful opportunity for the A.C.F. to show its appreciation of the patriotic efforts of hundreds of women war workers in Newcastle.
11 Sep 1942	Report on the first four months of operation of the hostel. "It was reported that some of the service girls had particularly expressed their appreciation of the amenities provided by the hostel, and their anxiety that it should not he closed when the larger leave house in the city is opened. The committee decided that unless the hostel should prove definitely not to be needed every effort should be made to continue it. Since the opening of the hostel, 351 W.A.A.A.F.S. had been accommodated for nights, and many more had used it for rest and recreation during the day."
24 Sep 1942	"Three upper floors of the Hunter street building once occupied by John's Silk Store are being converted into a leave-house for women of the services. The room will be equipped with 50 beds, bathrooms with hot and cold water, a dance-floor and recreation rooms where the girls can entertain friends. A resident fully trained Y.W.C.A. matron will be in attendance to look after the girls' needs."
4 Dec 1942	Mrs Dunkley, Newcastle's new Mayoress, opens the Hunter Street servicewomen's hostel.
30 Dec 1942	"With the tremendous increase in women's service, the Leave House, maintained jointly by the Y.W.C.A. and A.C.F,. was established over John's Building in Hunter-street. The whole place is delightfully furnished, and shows how much work went into it. Mrs. Douglas is in charge at the hostel."
20 Jan 1943	"New Lambton hostel was closed because, with the opening of the leave house in the city, it was felt that the needs of service women in the district would be adequately met."
23 Jan 1943	"Referring yesterday to the closing of the hostel formerly conducted by the Y.W.C.A. at New Lambton, Captain J. S. Cowland, of the Church Army, said that the Church Army took the view, and for that it had official support, that a women's hostel at New Lambton was necessary. It was prepared to reopen the hostel without delay if arrangements could be made."
22 Jun 1943	A PUBLIC MEETING will be held in ALL SAINTS' CHURCH HALL, CROMWELL-ROAD, NEW LAMBTON, on WEDNESDAY, JUNE 30th, at 2.30 p.m. All those interested in the establishment of a SERVICE WOMEN'S HOSTEL in NEW LAMBTON are heartily invited to attend.
25 Jun 1943	"THE CHURCH ARMY has opened a hostel for service women at 92 Hobart-road, New Lambton. It provides sleeping accommodation and light meals, following the custom of the parent society, which has several hostels in England."
13 Jul 1943	"A successful meeting and screening of film strips on the progress of Soviet Russia was held in the New Lambton Parish Hall. Half the proceeds were given to the Church Army to assist in setting up a service women's hostel at New Lambton."
15 Jul 1943 24 Jul 1943	"Mrs. F. de Witt Batty, wife of the Bishop of Newcastle, will open the Church Army Service Women's Hostel, at 92 Hobart-road, New Lambton, on July 24, at 3 p.m. This hostel will cater for service women during their recreation periods. At present the hostel has sleeping accommodation for 10 nightly, but it is hoped to enlarge the building as finances permit."
27 Jul 1943 24 Jul 1943	The Church Army servicewomen's hostel in Hobart-road, New Lambton, was officially opened by Mrs. F. De Witt Batty."
9 Dec 1943	"An appeal for a radio set for the servicewomen's hostel at New Lambton has been made by the Church Army Women's Auxiliary. The hostel was proving a 'home away from home' for women in uniform. Girls were able to go in and out of the hostel at any time. Washing and ironing facilities were provided as well as free writing paper and a good library service."
20 Sep 1944	"The small hostel in New Lambton for girls stationed at New Lambton R.A.A.F. centre would close at the end of the month. The school has been handed back to the Education Department. This hostel was originally run by the Y.W.C.A. Later. It was taken over by the Church Army."

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Category Archives: New Lambton (2305)

New Lambton’s Super Sentinel Steam Lorry

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New Lambton Quarry Tramways

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Addison Road Quarry

Lambton Colliery Quarry

Other New Lambton quarries

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History in 3D

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Sadly bungled street names

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Corner Commerce

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Thomas Griffiths, hairdresser

Thomas Griffiths, Miner

Thomas George Griffiths, mine manager

Oldham’s Butcher Shop

Shopping Centres

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Thomas Griffiths

Oldham’s Butcher Shop

General Roberts Hotel, New Lambton

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Licensees

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Broadmeadow planes and plans

Broadmeadow Aerodrome

The 1953 Tiger Moth crash

Other Broadmeadow aeorodrome crashes

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WAAAF Hostel, New Lambton

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