English and Australian Copper Company Smelter

At a ceremony on 11 June 1872 the Mayor of Waratah, Robert Turton, lit the match that ignited the furnaces of the English and Australian Copper Company smelter. It was not the first smelter in Newcastle, one had operated intermittently near Burwood Beach from 1851, and another opened at Port Waratah in 1867. However, the E&A smelter was the longest running and most successful.

The English and Australian Copper Company was formed in 1851 and initially operated in South Australia. In 1869 they announced their intention to build a copper smelter in Newcastle, a district with two key benefits – firstly a port for shipping raw materials and finished product, secondly access to cheap and plentiful coal. Locating the smelter at Broadmeadow allowed a short branch line to be built to the New Lambton Coal Company railway, providing excellent access to both coal and the harbour.

Construction of the smelter commenced in 1870 under the supervision of the first manager, John Penrose Christoe. He purchased land nearby for a manager’s residence on a road that later bore his name, albeit with a slightly different spelling. Extended periods of wet weather and difficulties in obtaining copper ore delayed the opening of the smelter until 1872.

The smelter expanded in 1874, with more furnaces and a second and taller brick chimney. Further enlargement occurred in 1907 with a new furnace building connected to the chimney by an above-ground brick culvert. Although the smelter returned small profits, risks from the volatility in ore supply and wildly fluctuating market prices led to the closure of the plant in 1917 after 45 years of operation. In 1919 the company sold the land to the engineering firm Goninan, who still occupy the site a century later. When the land was sold the smelter chimneys were felled, yielding 150,000 bricks. Presumably the number of bricks was known because they were gathered, counted, and sold for reuse. It would be interesting to know where they are now.

English and Australian Copper Company smelter, 14 January 1909. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 000992

The Goninan site in Broadmeadow where the copper smelter was located. July 2026.

The article above was first published in the August 2026 edition of The Local.

Summary of Newcastle’s Copper Smelters

Smelter	Dates
Newcastle Burwood Smelting Company (Burwood Beach)	1846 – construction commences 1851 – smelting commences 1853 – smelting ceases 1866 – smelting recommences 1873 – smelting ceases
Wallaroo or Hunter River Copper Works (Port Waratah)	1866 – announced 1867 – commenced 1893 – closed
English and Australian Copper Company (Broadmeadow/Waratah/New Lambton)	1869 – announced 1870 – construction commences 1872 – smelting commences 1917 – smelting ceases 1919 – land sold

Location

Describing the location of the English & Australian Copper Company’s smelter in Newcastle has always been problematic. The site is at the confluence of many localities, and over the years has been variously described as being in New Lambton, Waratah, Broadmeadow, and Georgetown.

The location of the former smelter is now in the modern suburb of Broadmeadow, but at the time the smelter was built Broadmeadow wasn’t a suburb or town – it was a swamp. So the smelter was variously described as being “within a mile of New Lambton” or “near Waratah” or “near Georgetown”, those being the closest townships.

The association of the smelter with New Lambton was reinforced by the fact that the land the smelter was built on was the leasehold property of Messrs. J. and A. Brown, who owned the New Lambton colliery, and who had an exclusive agreement to supply coal to the smelter. The smelter was also connected via a branch line to the New Lambton Coal Company’s railway. For this reason the works were often referred to as “The New Lambton Copper Smelting Works”. When New Lambton Council was formed in 1889, the smelter fell within the municipal boundaries.

The location of the former smelter is in the modern day suburb of Broadmeadow, but is within 500m of five other suburbs: Lambton, Waratah, Georgetown, Hamilton North, New Lambton.

Corporal Barrett’s 1910 map of Newcastle shows the location of the smelter, and also shows that Christo Road was originally called Newtown Road. (Newtown was the original name for Hamilton North.)

1910 Barrett map overlaid on Google Earth, showing the location of the copper smelter near Waratah. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Water Board maps 180 and 196 overlaid into Google Earth, showing the location of the E&A smelter, and the branch line from the New Lambton Coal Company railway in the bottom left. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Additional Information

At the ordinary general meeting of the English and Australian Copper Company held at the London Tavern, on 25 February 1869 …

The chairman spoke in a very sanguine manner of the future, anticipating that the proposed erection of smelting works at Newcastle (Australia) would be the means of securing the whole of the copper ore of Australia for smelting.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 24 April 1869.

The same article passed on rumours that the works would be “on a most extensive and costly scale”, “that not less than eighty furnaces for smelting operations will be erected”, and that “employment will at once be given to nearly a thousand persons.” These expectations exceeded by far the works that were eventually built. The article also highlighted the two key advantages of the site selected, coal supply and transport facilities.

The easy way in which [coal] can be obtained from several of the collieries, owing to the network of railways, by which the proposed scene of the new works is surrounded is of the very highest importance. The speedy manner in which the ore in its crude state can be conveyed to the works, and after undergoing the various refining processes, be re-conveyed from the works for shipment, is another item of vast import in an undertaking of this kind.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 24 April 1869.

On 10 December 1869 the company purchased about 28 acres of land from Alexander Brown of the New Lambton Coal Company.

Purchase of 28 acres of land by the English and Australian Copper Company from Alexander Brown, 10 December 1869. Vol-Fol 100-105

Construction began almost immediately under the supervision of the first manager of the smelter, John Penrose Christoe. In February the following year the paper reported that …

The works — the erection of which begun about three months ago — are already in a forward state, and should no unforeseen circumstance occur, smelting will be commenced in about two months hence.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 12 February 1870.

This optimistic estimate of two months proved to be wildly inaccurate. Firstly the weather hampered construction.

For upwards of two months there was such an accumulation of water at the establishment as to defy the possibility of the works being proceeded with, and thus the company were unexpectedly debarred from carrying out their design in the contemplated time as regards the inauguration of the process of smelting.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 15 September 1870.

Secondly, the smelter appears to have had difficulty in obtaining copper ore. With no ore to smelt, by April 1871 John Penrose Christie had left to become the manager of the Newcastle Burwood Smelting Company, and the English and Australian Copper Company advertised for a new General Manager in July 1871. In September 1871 a reporter from the local newspaper noted that …

A day or two ago I visited the New Lambton Copper-smelting Works, and learned, with much pleasure, that at last 250 tons of copper ore had arrived in the harbour at Newcastle for smelting at this place, and was expected to arrive at the works during the day… so that now there is a reasonable hope that this fine and valuable property created here at a great expense, will very shortly become utilised.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 9 September 1871.

Despite the ‘reasonable hope’ expressed, nine months later smelting had not yet commenced.

The new smelting works received, last week, a consignment of rich copper ore from Queensland, comprising about 200 tons… It would be a god-send to the neighbourhood if these smelting works would only start and keep on constantly as it would employ much of the labour that is going about and cannot find work to do.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 18 May 1872.

Finally on 11 June 1872 the smelter was officially opened.

On Tuesday last a very interesting ceremony was performed by the Mayor of Waratah in the presence of the local manager of the establishment and a few gentlemen from Newcastle, namely, that of lighting the first fires in two of the copper smelting furnaces of the English and Australian Copper Smelting Company’s works near Waratah.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 15 June 1872.

The supply of ore to the smelter was a continuing problem in the short term.

There appears to be an anomaly existing between our copper-smelting establishments, for while at [the New Lambton smelter] five furnaces are idle for want of ore, at the Hunter River Works, five furnaces are idle here from the want of men acquainted with smelting operations to work them.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 19 October 1872.

Smelting increased in the next couple of years, and the company expanded the works.

We learn that various appliances have been added to the New Lambton Copper Works, which will enable the proprietors to materially extend their operations. The additions include eight new furnaces, and a second chimney stack.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 2 June 1874.

Undated photo (possibly 1901) of the smelter by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 000134

The photo above is undated, but I have a strong suspicion that it’s from 1901 and that the two men in the foreground are Fred Cast (smelting manager) and his son Fred W Cast (business manager). In August 1901 …

The employees of the English and Australian Copper Works at Waratah presented Mr. F. Cast, manager of the works, with a valuable gold watch and chain to mark their appreciation of him as a master, and to celebrate his long services to the company, of 50 years.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 29 August 1901.

It would be very natural that after a presentation of a gold watch and chain for 50 years of service to the company, to be photographed with his son and colleague standing before the smelter they manage together.

Another interesting detail from this photo are the wagons labelled “N L”, being coal wagons of the New Lambton Coal Company.

Copper exhibit at Newcastle Show, 16 March 1906. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 001588

In 1906 the company made extensive additions and improvements to the smelting works.

The additions consist of one new smelting furnace and one refinery furnace, an overhead culvert 30ft in length, a main culvert some 180ft in length, and a very ornate piece of circular work, which is termed a circle upon a circle, leading into the chamber of the main stack, which is 160ft in height. This new main culvert, which is designed not only to carry the fume from the new furnaces,but also that from the present furnaces into the stack, is built of brick, and banded together with iron. There is also erected a new copper store or strong room, 30ft x 12ft, for storing the refined copper prior to being sent to market.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 April 1906.

The iron banded main culvert carrying fumes from the furnace to the stack. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 000992

Skimming and tapping metal at the English and Australian Copper Company’s smelting works at Broadmeadowm 25 January 1909. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 001723

Ladling ingots at the English and Australian Copper Company’s smelting works at Broadmeadow, 6 February 1909. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 001 001583

The smelter operated for a total of 45 years and closed in 1917.

The business of the company during the past year had to be conducted under conditions of great risk and anxiety, which finally forced the board reluctantly to instruct the manager in Australia to cease making purchases of ore, to smelt out all copper available, and to close the smelting works, a process that has been carried through.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 2 October 1917.

Advertisement for sale of the smelter land. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 2 April 1919.

After being advertised from April 1919, the land was sold in October 1919 to A Goninan and Co.

Vol-Fol 2976-63 shows the transfer of 24 acres of land from the English and Australian Copper Company to A Goninan and Co in October 1919.

The long connection of the English and Australian Copper Company, Limited, with the Newcastle district has been finally severed through its having recently sold the land that was the site of the works, known as the Waratah works.
The Maitland Daily Mercury, 6 November 1919.

By May 1920 the chimney stacks had been felled and the Goninan engineering works were under construction.

The laying out of the site for the boiler making foundry, fitting and erecting shops of Messrs. A. Goninan and Company, Ltd., at Broadmeadow, has been commenced. An area of ten acres, formerly the site of the English and Australian Copper Company, has been raised 2½ feet. The chimney stack of the old copper works, which was felled some time ago, gave about 150,000 bricks.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 May 1920.

The smelter stacks

The smelter had two brick smoke stacks. The first stack originally constructed for the smelter in 1870 was described as being 120 feet high in 1870, and 160 feet high in 1906. A second stack was constructed as part of enlargements to the smelter in 1874. The two chimney stacks of differing size often appear in the background of photos around Newcastle, and can be a useful aid in locating and/or dating those photos.

View from New Lambton towards Broadmeadow, with copper smelting stacks in the background. circa 1887. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

View of Waratah copper smelter from Glebe Rd Hamilton South in 1897. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The smelter in the background of an 1898 photo taken from Hamilton. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The smelter smokestack in the background of an 1898 photo taken from Waratah. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Stormwater drain construction at Hamilton North., April 1900, looking towards New Lambton. The tall copper smelter stack is visible in the background. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Smelter smoke stack as seen from Newcastle Obelisk, 1906. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The copper smelter in the background of a 1906 Ralph Snowball photograph of Waratah. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The smelter smokestack in the background of a panoramic photograph taken from the brewery building in Parry Street Newcastle West, circa 1913. Newcastle Museum.

The Perrott sketch of the smelter

The Hunter Living Histories site has an article on Robert Perrott, including some sketches he did of various places around Newcastle in the late 1800s. One of the sketches is of the copper smelting works “near Waratah”.

Copper smelting near Waratah, at Newcastle. (Sketch by Robert Perrott, Mitchell Library, State Library of NSW)

An interesting aspect of the Perrott sketch of the smelter, is how some details are quite accurate, but other details not so accurate, probably for aesthetic reasons. When we compare the sketch with a 1906 Ralph Snowball photograph of Waratah taken from somewhere near the present day Mater hospital, we see that Perrott has reproduced the smelter building and stacks reasonably accurately. However in the sketch the smelter appears to be at the base of a hill, but the smelter was actually located on the flat plain of Broadmeadow, and that hill is Merewether Heights some 4km in the distance. Also Perrott has sketched two tall chimneys instead of a tall and a short chimney.

Sketch of Waratah copper smelter by Robert Perrott.

Photograph of Waratah copper smelter by Ralph Snowball, 1906. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
24 Apr 1869	The ordinary general meeting of the English and Australian Copper Company was held at the London Tavern, on February 25. The chairman spoke in a very sanguine manner of the future, anticipating that the proposed erection of smelting works at Newcastle (Australia) would be the means of securing the whole of the copper ore of Australia for smelting.
6 Nov 1869	"The English and Australian Copper Company, who carry on extensive smelting works in South Australia, are about to establish similar works within a mile of New Lambton.
12 Feb 1870	Construction of the English and Australian copper smelting works at Broadmeadow has been in progress for three months, and smelting "will be commenced in about two months." (This was a wildly optimistic estimate, as smelting eventually commenced in June 1872, more than two years later.) The manager is "Mr. Christoe, a gentleman of great experience in copper-smelting."
15 Sep 1870	The weather has significantly delayed the opening of the smelter. "For upwards of two months there was such an accumulation of water at the establishment as to defy the possibility of the works being proceeded with, and thus the company were unexpectedly debarred from carrying out their design in the contemplated time as regards the inauguration of the process of smelting." The manager of the smelter is Mr. Christoe.
15 Jul 1871	Advertisement for a General Manager for the New Lambton Smelting works.
9 Sep 1871	250 tons of copper ore have arrived in Newcastle Harbour destined for the New Lambton Copper-smelting Works so "now there is a reasonable hope that this fine and valuable property created here at a great expense, will very shortly become utilised."
6 Feb 1872	Mr Christoe supervising operations at the Burwood Copper Smelter, Glenrock lagoon.
18 May 1872	Copper ore has been received, but smelting has not yet begun.
18 Jun 1872	Lighting the first fires in two of the coppersmelting furnaces of the English and Australian Copper Smelting Company's works near Waratah.
19 Oct 1872	"There appears to be an anomaly existing between our copper- smelting establishments, which time only can set at rest ; for while at this establishment five furnaces are idle for want of ore, at the Hunter River Works, five furnaces are idle here from the want of men acquainted with smelting operations to work them."
2 Jun 1874	"We learn that various appliances have been added to the New Lambton Copper Works, which will enable the proprietors to materially extend their operations. The additions include eight new furnaces, and a second chimney stack."
10 Aug 1893	"For some months past work has also been very slack at the English and Australian Copper Co.'s works, Georgetown; but if rumour be true, there is a prospect of some work in the near future at the instigation of the Cornish Copper-mining Company who are carrying on mining operations at Barraba, near Tamworth, where it is said they have struck a rich lode of ore."
23 Apr 1906	Extensive additions and improvements to the smelting works.
2 Oct 1917	Smelting of ore has ceased. "The business of the company during the past year had to be conducted under conditions of great risk and anxiety, which finally forced the board reluctantly to instruct the manager in Australia to cease making purchases of ore, to smelt out all copper available, and to close the smelting works, a process that has been carried through."
2 Apr 1919	Advertisement for sale of the E&A copper smelter land.
6 Nov 1919	"The long connection of the English and Australian Copper Company, Limited, with the Newcastle district has been finally severed through its having recently sold the land that was the site of the works, known as the Waratah works."
8 May 1920	"The chimney stack of the old copper works, which was felled some time ago, gave about 150,000 bricks."
14 May 1920	"The laying out of the site for the boiler making foundry, fitting and erecting shops of Messrs . A. Goninan and Company, Ltd, at Broadmeadow, has been commenced."

Suburbs that sunk – North Stockton

Today most real estate marketing happens online. However, from about 1880 to 1950 agents and auctioneers often advertised with large posters that included a map of the land for sale. Many of these historical posters have been scanned by various libraries and made available online. Because they are difficult to locate, some years ago I made a visual index of the maps held by the University of Newcastle, and recently I finished adding 1400 subdivision maps in the Newcastle Libraries collection.

These maps reveal many interesting historical details – when suburbs were created, where street names have changed, locations of former buildings or coal mines. While most show suburbs that exist today, some show failed development dreams. The most grandiose of these were Pindimar City and Port Stephens City on the north shore of Port Stephens, promoted in 1920 as a new regional city to support a proposed naval base.

A lesser-known development debacle was North Stockton, located not on the coastal peninsula but on a small island in the Hunter River between Ash Island and Hexham. The North Stockton Coal Company formed in 1888 and set about sinking a shaft to extract coal from 500 feet below the surface. The company also planned a township of 382 allotments on the island. including a connection to the Great Northern Railway.

The Newcastle Morning Herald reporting on the land sale held on 4 May 1889, noted “there was a very large attendance, and bidding was very brisk.” Buyer’s remorse must have set in when just three weeks later the Hunter River experienced the greatest flood in 16 years, with reports that “around Hexham and neighbourhood all the low-lying areas are under water.” Prospects for the town plummeted when the North Stockton Coal Company ceased operation in 1892 and soon became bankrupt. In 1948 the island was Lower Hunter Council’s biggest source of unpaid rates, most owners having abandoned their land as worthless. In 1954 the NSW government resumed the island and the suburb of North Stockton sunk from memory.

North Stockton subdivision, 1889. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 32300023348937

A 2024 aerial photograph of Hexham Island shows little trace of the grand dreams of North Stockton colliery and township. Google Earth.

The article above was first published in the July 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The North Stockton Coal Company was formed in London in June 1888, with a paid up capital of £120,000. Most of the shareholders were in Britain, the only Australian shareholders being John Fitzgerald Burns MP, Mahlon Clarke Cowlishaw, and L Dodds.

Share certificate for North Stockton Coal Company. Scripoworld.

The estate consists of nearly 2700 acres of freehold land, fronting the Hunter River, the company having also obtained the right to mine under 640 acres of the river bed, the whole area of their estate being 3200 acres.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 12 May 1890.

A circa 1900 coal map shows two freehold properties of the North Stockton Coal Company (1920 acres and 640 acres) and the 640 acre lease to mine under the Hunter River. National Library of Australia.

The company appointed Henry Wright as colliery manager and in the last few months of 1888 he set about calling tenders for the sinking of shafts, supply of bricks, and the construction of a rail and road bridge from the mainland to Hexham Island. Expectations for the success of the colliery were high, and by April 1889 the company were drawing up plans for a large township on Hexham Island adjacent to the colliery. The first land sale took place on-site on Saturday 4 May 1889, with a special trains from Newcastle and Maitland provided. As an inducement to sales, a gift voucher for Harry Stegga’s clothing shop to the value of £6 was offered to the purchaser who paid the highest price for a single allotment. A report on the land sale on the following Monday tersely stated that …

Messrs. Brunker and Wolfe held an important land sale at North Stockton township on Saturday. There was a very large attendance, and bidding was very brisk, and good business was done.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 6 May 1889.

In a not very encouraging sign and a portent of troubled times ahead, just days after the first sale of land H Rees was advertising to offload his newly purchased land …

FOR IMMEDIATE DISPOSAL.-CORNER ALLOTMENT, sec 3 lot 1, corner Wallace and Kenwood streets, North Stockton Estate, near new colliery. Will take £45.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 May 1889.

A further blow to the prospects of North Stockton township came just three weeks after the first land sale the greatest flood in 16 years in the Hunter River caused widespread inundation and destruction.

About Thornton, Hexham, and neighbourhood, all the low-lying areas are under water, and in some instances apparently a good deal of damage has been done.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 28 May 1889.

Some faint hopes for the township persisted, with Timothy Griffiths advertising his intention to operate a hotel at North Stockton.

I, TIMOTHY GRIFFITHS, of Stockton, do hereby give notice that I desire to obtain, and will, at the next Licensing Court, to be holden at Raymond Terrace on the 19th day of July, 1889, apply for a certificate authorising the issue of a Conditional Publican’s License for premises proposed to be erected to meet the requirements of the Licensing Act of 1882 and 1883, situate at the town of North Stockton, Hexham, and to be known by the sign of “North Stockton Hotel,” and to contain six rooms, exclusive of those required for the use of the family.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 13 July 1889.

It appears that Griffiths did not proceed with the application at this time, for in January 1891 he was again advertising his intention to obtain a publican’s licence. After a postponement Griffiths withdrew his application in February 1891 and the North Stockton Hotel was never built.

It is not known how many people bought land and took up residence on the island, however there was a sufficient number that a hall was built and officially opened on Friday 22 August 1890. The hall was used for various purposes, such as a meeting on 5 October 1891 to protest against a proposed nightsoil depot across the river at Kilcoy.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 2 August 1890.

While the planned township and hotels of North Stockton faltered, the colliery progressed, with the paper reporting in late 1889 …

Coal has been struck at the North Stockton Coal Company’s new shaft near Hexham. The seam is said to be of good workable quality, but the thickness has not yet been ascertained.
Evening News, 3 December 1889.

Another deeper seam coal was encountered a few months later.

On Monday the sinkers employed in the North Stockton Coal Company’s shaft which is being put down on the estate near Hexham struck coal at a depth of 500ft. The coal struck is supposed to be the Tomago seam, and, so far, it shows some 7ft of clear bright mineral. The colonial directors of the company, Messrs. Cowlishaw and Burns, M.P., visited the pit on Thursday, and examined the seam. The shares are nearly all held in England, and for some months men have been employed erecting a large and complete colliery plant.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 15 February 1890.

The Locality Sketch on the poster advertising the sale of allotments in the Kilcoy subdivision on 14 March 1891. The map shows the North Stockton Coal Company’s shaft on Hexham Island, and their Kilcoy shaft on the north bank of the river. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 32300023887587

An article in May 1890 describing the colliery ends with this glowing appraisal …

The whole of the work in connection with the establishing of this fine colliery, has been planned and carried out by Mr. Henry Wright, a gentleman who learnt his profession in some of the finest coal mines in England. Mr. Leonard Dodds, of Sydney, is the secretary of the company, and these gentlemen have every reason to feel proud at the result of their labours, which have been highly successful, in spite of the many difficulties en- countered in establishing a first-class colliery, a place currently believed to be worthless for coalmining.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 12 May 1890.

Time would show that the belief of “worthless for coalmining” would prove accurate. While the Department of Mines Annual Report for 1890 noted that North Stockton colliery had 50 men employed, with 5552 tons of coal extracted, the annual report for 1891 notes a mere 8 men employed and 994 tons extracted. The 1892 report states tersely, “All work at this mine is temporarily suspended”, and the 1894 report states that the colliery had been abandoned. An August 1893 article attributes the failure of the colliery to a number of factors – over-capitalisation, accidents, poor quality coal seams, and costly law suits.

A shaft was sunk at Kilcoy, on the mainland, and a second one was being put down on the island, when the cylinders collapsed; and the work was stopped. The company spent the enormous sum of £50,000 in an apparently fruitless endeavour to establish a colliery there. Coal of a fair quality was struck in the Kilcoy shaft, and a heading was driven partly under the river, but no further work has been done since the company became involved in a costly law suit with regard to the island shaft with the firm of Messrs. J. Russell and Co. A railway and a costly bridge connects the island with the mainland, and the sight of so much capital having been so vainly spent is a matter for great regret. There is no doubt that good coal exists under the surface, as proved by the diamond drill, but the roof over the seam struck in the North Stockton Colliery is said to be by no means a good one.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 4 August 1893.

Possibly the event that sealed the fate of the colliery was the catastrophic Hunter River flood of March 1893.

The North Stockton colliery is entirely flooded, the water being up to the mouth of the shaft. The colliery office, a wooden structure, was lifted bodily by the flood and carried some 100yds. down the island.
The Daily Telegraph, 13 March 1893.

Iron Bark Creek in flood, Hexham, NSW, March 1893. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

By April 1893 the riverine liquidation had turned to financial liquidation, and the company’s assets were offered at auction.

The North Stockton Coal Company’s property on the Hunter River, with all plant machinery, &c., was offered by order of the liquidator. There was no bid for the mine but an offer of £4000 was made for the machinery, which was refused.
Evening News, 8 April 1893.

In August 1893 the Equity Court granted an application for the winding up of the North Stockton Coal Company.

Parrott’s 1893 map shows the branch rail line to Hexham Island to the defunct North Stockton colliery. National Library of Australia.

With the demise of the coal company, the name “North Stockton” quickly became attached to the northern part of the suburb of Stockton – for example the May 1894 reference to “the Boatrowers’ Hotel, North Stockton.”

In November 1895 the Department of Public Works accepted the tender of A Callen of Stockton for the “removal of bridge between Hexham Island and the mainland.”

A 1913 War Office map shows just four buildings on Hexham Island, and on the north shore of the Hunter River an annotation of “Old Colliery” shows the approximate location of the Kilcoy shaft of the North Stockton Coal Company. National Library of Australia.

A 1948 Newcastle Morning Herald article reflecting on the failure of North Stockton endeavour on Hexham Island …

TO-DAY the island is the [Lower Hunter Shire] Council’s biggest headache in the non-collection of rates. Dated May, 1889, the sub divisional plan is headed “Newcastle Harbour Improvements.” It shows provision for a township on the island. There were 385 blocks and numerous streets were provided for, but most optimistic were reservations for two railways. One rail and carriage bridge was to cross the south channel, terminating at property listed as that of the North Stockton Coal Company, with an adjoining reserved area. The other reservation was for a branch railway line to Ash Island. How much of the original subdivision has been reclaimed by the mangrove swamp shown on the plan to adjoin the island is not known to the council, but it is considered that at least some part of the area planned is now within reach of tidal waters.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 April 1948.

In August 1954 the NSW government acquired all of Hexham Island (along with many other islands of the Hunter River estuary) as part of its program of improvement works for Newcastle Harbour.

The only remaining trace of the North Stockton endeavour visible in aerial photographs is the embankment of the rail and road on Hexham Island. Google Earth.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
14 Jul 1888 30 Jun 1888	"The prospectus has been issued of tbe North Stockton Coal Mining Company, which is proposed to be formed to work for coal in Newcastle. The capital of the company is to be £120,000."
20 Oct 1888	"TENDERS required for SINKING, TUBING, and BRICKING a pair of CIRCULAR PITS, 14ft. Diameter finished; about 720 and 500 feet respectively."
7 Nov 1888	"TENDERS invited for SUPPLY of 400,000 PIT BRICKS delivered on Hexham Island or wharf at Newcastle."
3 Dec 1888	"TENDERS required for the Supplying and Erecting of a RAILWAY and ROADWAY BRIDGE, about 150 yards long, across Back Channel of River Hunter, at Hexham."
6 Apr 1889	First advertisement for sale of land at North Stockton.
6 May 1889 4 May 1889	"Messrs. Brunker and Wolfe held an important land sale at North Stockton township on Saturday. There was a very large attendance, and bidding was very brisk, and good business was done."
8 Oct 1889	Detailed description of the North Stockton Colliery.
3 Dec 1889	"Coal has been struck at the North Stockton Coal Company's new shaft near Hexham."
12 May 1890	Detailed description of the North Stockton Coal Company.
10 Oct 1891 5 Oct 1891	Meeting at North Stockton Hall to protest the depositing of nightsoil at Kilcoy.
11 Mar 1893	"The flood waters rushed all over the Hexham swamps early yesterday morning, and for miles around the country, including railways, houses, and trees, was submerged. The settlers kept in their houses as long as possible, but at last boats had to be employed to rescue them. The railway platforms were all covered, and some 40 people sought refuge in the upper story of the Travellers' Rest Hotel, which is situated on the main road between Hexham and Sandgate. The water reached the top of the lower windows, but the people remained, the majority of them being residents on the island, where the North Stockton Colliery is situated."
13 Mar 1893	North Stockton Colliery flooded.
8 Apr 1893 7 Apr 1893	"The North Stockton Coal Company's property on the Hunter River, with all plant machinery, &c., was offered by order of the liquidator. There was no bid for the mine but an offer of £4000 was made for the machinery, which was refused."
4 Aug 1893	Description of the rise and fall of the North Stockton Coal Company.
9 Aug 1893	Court order for winding up North Stockton Coal Company.
12 Nov 1895	Acceptance of tender for "removal of bridge between Hexham Island and the mainland."
9 Apr 1948	Hexham Island described as a "South Sea Bubble". "The island is the [Lower Hunter Shire] Council's biggest headache in the non-collection of rates ... its failure was probably owing to the opening up of the more readily accessible coalfields in the South Maitland area."
13 Aug 1954	Acquisition of Hexham Island by NSW Government for harbour improvent works.

Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre

In 1941 the federal government passed the National Fitness Act with the aim of encouraging physical exercise and good health across the nation. The Lambton National Fitness Committee formed in September 1944, and immediately set to work – starting gymnasium classes, advocating for improvements to facilities in Lambton Park, and proposing a baby health centre.

In October 1944 they selected a site in Lambton Park adjacent to the former council chambers. By May 1946 plans had been completed and a decision made to name it the Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre, as a tribute to the men and women of the district who served during the war. Construction commenced in early 1947.

On 29 November 1947 Lord Mayor of Newcastle Harry Quinlan officiated at the opening of the building, and the memorial tablets on the entrance gates were unveiled. Initially the centre opened for consultations one day a week, and by 1951 this increased to two days a week with the centre receiving 3500 visits each year.

The baby health centre operated for over six decades until vacated by NSW Health in 2014. From 2017 to 2023 the Lambton Park Tea Rooms occupied the building. In 2025 Newcastle Council initiated major renovations to add a commercial kitchen, open plan dining space, front pergola, and a rear deck overlooking the park playground area. In April 2026 the building re-opened as First Light café, the name alluding to Lambton in 1890 being the first suburb in Newcastle to install electric street lighting.

Those who visit the café and sit under the front pergola have an interesting reason why they can do so. When the health centre was first proposed in 1944 “the committee wanted the building well back from the footpath, to give space for a garden in which to plant a rose bush for each baby born in Lambton.” The birthday rose garden never eventuated, however the space allocated for it can be enjoyed by café patrons today.

Photograph from the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 September 1947. Note the war memorial plaques on the gates are yet to be installed.

The former baby health centre now hosts the First Light café. May 2026.

The article above was first published in the June 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The baby health centre was …

Proposed in October 1944
Building plans were adopted in May 1945
Approved by Greater Newcastle Council in February 1946
Approved by the Minister for Labour and Industry in May 1946
Being constructed in March 1947
Nearing completion in September 1947
Officially opened on 29 November 1947

Aerial photography from 1944 shows the site of the former baby health centre to be empty.

Lambton Park, 1944. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

Lambton Park, 1954, showing the Baby Health Centre building. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

Lambton Baby Health Centre, c. 1955. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 103 000001

Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 104 005851

Newcastle Libraries Online Collection, Accession Number 104 005852

Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre, now the Lambton Park Tea Rooms. December 2018.

The bronze memorial plaques on the entrance gate pillars.

Memorial plaque on the front porch wall.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
18 Oct 1944	"To foster civic pride, Lambton branch of the National Fitness Movement will plant a birthday rose garden adjoining the proposed baby health centre at Lambton. The proposal is that a rose be planted in the garden for every baby born in Lambton."
23 Oct 1944	"National Fitness Committee plans to establish a baby health centre surround ed by a birthday garden in which will be planted a rose tree for every child born in Lambton."
24 Oct 1944	"The president of Lambton branch of the National Fitness movement (Mr. F. J. Edward) said today that the site selected for a baby clinic at Lambton was on the Elder Street side of Lambton Park near the former Lambton Council Chambers. Mr. Edwards said that the Greater Newcastle Council had prepared a plan. If permission for the building was given it would be built 30 or 40 feet from the footpath to allow room for a rose garden. A rose will be planted for each baby born in Lambton."
27 Oct 1944	"Lambton, committee of National Fitness has made preliminary plans for a baby health centre to be built by voluntary labour. A sub-committee last night decided to ask Greater Newcastle Council to have set apart portion of Lambton Park for the building."
3 Feb 1945	First mention in Trove that the proposed baby health centre in Lambton will be a war memorial.
2 May 1945	"Lambton Baby Health Centre committee last night decided to adopt the plans of a building submitted by Ald. T. Armstrong, and also to name the building as the Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre. It is anticipated that permission will be given to erect the building on a site on the Elder Street side of Lambton Park. Provision is to be made for a rose garden in front of the building and a children's playground behind the centre."
3 May 1945	"The sub-committee of Lambton National Fitness Committee handling arrangements for the building of a baby health centre adopted building plans submitted by Ald. T. Armstrong. It was decided to name the proposed centre the Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre."
9 Jul 1945 10 Jul 1945	"The site for the Lambton Baby Health Centre probably will be fixed tomorrow when a deputation from the Greater Newcastle Council visits Sydney to confer with Dr. Grace Cuthbertson. "
18 Jan 1946	"Ald. T. Armstrong, at Lambton National Fitness annual meeting last night exhibited plans tor the Lambton baby health centre, for which Greater Newcastle Council had decided to call tenders."
28 Feb 1946	"Greater Newcastle Council last night adopted a recommendation from the Finance Committee for erection of a baby health centre at Lambton."
31 May 1946	"Except for the brick ornamental fence, Greater Newcastle Council's proposal for a baby health centre at Lambton has been approved by the Minister for Labour and Industry (Mr. Hamilton Knight.)"
28 Mar 1947	"The Baby Health Centre now being erected on Lambton Park, facing Elder-street, is almost completed." "The centre will serve as a memorial to the men of Lambton and surrounding districts who served during the war."
2 Jul 1947	Application to Hunter District Water Board for Lambton Baby Health Centre to be connected to the water supply system.
1 Sep 1947	"Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre, nearing completion in Lambton Park. It will be one of the most modern centres in New South Wales. The equipped building will cost about £3000. The Health Department is bearing half the cost. The remainder will be paid by Greater Newcastle, helped by a residents' contribution of £500."
27 Nov 1947 29 Nov 1947	"The Lord Mayor (Ald. Quinlan) will open Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre on Saturday, at 3 p.m." "Three bronze tablets-two memorial tablets for the entrance gates, and a dedication tablet for the front of the building - were bought by the committee."
1 Dec 1947 29 Nov 1947	"There was a large attendance of residents at the Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre's new building on Saturday after noon when it was officially opened by the Lord Mayor (Ald. H. D. Quinlan). The function opened at the gates of the new building where memorial tablets were unveiled by Mrs. P. J. Edwards. Dr. Grace Cuthbert, on behalf of the clinic accepted an electric clock from the Lambton Welfare Committee. The clinic will be open for consultations from next Thurs., Dec. 4, for one day each week."
2 Feb 1949	"As members considered the committee had achieved the object for which it was formed, Lambton Baby Health Centre Committee has decided to disband. "
6 Mar 1951	"Although it was open only two days a week, the Baby Health Centre at Lambton was receiving 3500 visits a year."

Lost Names – “Grovetown”

Grovetown was a 13-acre housing subdivision north of Lambton in 1869. It’s a little bit of land with quite a lot of history.

The Waratah Coal Company formed in 1863 and started mining near Braye Park. In 1868 they purchased an additional 195 acres to extract coal from the North Lambton hill. In 1869, in the narrow gap between the coal seam outcrop and the township of Lambton, the company created a small subdivision of 34 allotments naming it “Grovetown”, after Thomas Grove one of the founding directors.

An auction was held onsite on 17 May 1869 with most allotments sold to miners. The first recorded sale was to Uriah Broom, later elected as Lambton’s first Mayor. He was also briefly the licensee of the Red Lion Inn (1871-1896) situated on the corner of Morehead St and Newcastle Rd.

In 1874 the Catholic Church purchased land in Grovetown and soon erected a handsome presbytery, a home for the local parish priest. In 1890 the generator for Lambton’s electric lighting scheme was installed in a former quarry in Grovetown. The nearby presbytery was one of the few private residences to be illuminated by electricity at this time.

Although the Waratah Company vacated this locality around 1880, mining returned to Grovetown in a small way in 1896-98 when resident William Mawkes sunk a shaft to extract remnant coal. In the period 1918-21 James and Patrick Fitzpatrick operated the “Lambton Heights No. 1 Colliery” which at its peak employed six men. The Fitzpatrick’s purchased a sizeable portion of Grovetown, including the land of the Catholics who subsequently established their presbytery in Dickson St. Both the Mawkes and Fitzpatrick mines were the source of recurring complaints about street subsidence. In 1951 master builder William Henry Hudson subdivided the Fitzpatricks’ land, and within a few years houses were erected on every allotment. The commercial, religious, industrial and mining heritage of Grovetown was gone, and even the name “Grovetown” faded into obscurity.

Father James Flynn at the Catholic Presbytery, High St Lambton, 1897. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection. Accession number 001 003260.

The 1869 Grovetown subdivision bounded by Hill St, Morehead St, Dent St, and Newcastle Rd, with location of the Red Lion Inn (red), Catholic Presbytery (yellow) electric generating station (blue) and Fitzpatrick’s colliery (green).

The article above was first published in the May 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

For further information about various subjects mentioned in this article, refer to the following pages.

Grovetown
Waratah Coal Company
Thomas Grove
Mawkes Colliery
Fitzpatrick brothers Lambton Heights No 1 Colliery
Electric light generating station
Red Lion Inn
Uriah Broom, first mayor of Lambton Council
Lambton Roman Catholic Presbytery

Waratah Reservoirs

Water is often only fully appreciated when it is in short supply. Residents of Lambton and Waratah felt that keenly in 1880 when a prolonged drought forced them to “flock around the colliery locomotives daily to beg buckets of water from the drivers” and walk a mile each day to the Waratah colliery dam to wash the family linen.

In 1885 water security improved when a pipeline from the Hunter River in Maitland began to supply water to reservoirs in Newcastle and Lambton. With increasing population came the need for more storage. In 1902 the Water Board commenced construction of a 2 million gallon reservoir on Platts Hill, the high ground to the west of Waratah. The reservoir, completed in November 1905, included a tiled roof because of concerns that “excessively hot weather had the effect of causing rapid growth of a very fine weed.”

The Water Board constructed No 2 reservoir on Platts Hill in 1919, with a capacity of 8 million gallons with a concrete roof supported on pillars. Construction commenced in 1924 of No 3 reservoir with 10 million gallons capacity and no roof. As it neared completion in 1926 the small No 1 reservoir was removed and the 8 million gallon No 4 reservoir built in its place. The even larger 13.5 million gallon No 5 reservoir was completed in 1930, bringing the total water storage on the hill at Waratah to nearly 40 million gallons (180 million litres).

The four reservoirs were used until the early 1990s when Hunter Water decommissioned them because of increasing leaks and concerns with the water quality from uncovered storage. In 2015 the No 3 reservoir was converted into a car park for the Mater Hospital. Today as in 1880, increasing population and uncertain rainfall means that guaranteeing water supply is an ongoing endeavour. Hunter Water is currently building the Belmont desalination plant, that when completed in 2028 will add up to 30 million litres per day to the water system.

Waratah No 1 reservoir, April 1906. Photo by Ralph Snowball.
Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 001477

Waratah No 3 reservoir is now used as a staff car park for the Mater Hospital.

The article above was first published in the April 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

The four remaining Waratah reservoirs, with the position of the former No. 1 reservoir outlined in yellow.

The table below summarises the construction details of the five Waratah reservoirs.

Reservoir No.	Details	Construction Started	Construction Completed	Demolition / Decommissioning
1	2 million gallons, tiled roof	1902	Nov 1905	Demolished July 1926
2	300 x 215 feet, 8 million gallons, concrete roof	21 May 1916	Jan 1919	Decommissioned 1990s
3	428 x 215 feet 10 million gallons, no roof	20 Nov 1924	May 1926	Decommissioned 1990s. Repurposed as a car park in 2015.
4	8 million gallons, no roof	Feb 1926 approved, Mar 1926 started	Dec 1926 (in progress)	Decommissioned 1990s
5	13.5 million gallons, no roof	Jun 1928 approved, 57 men employed	Apr 1930	Decommissioned 1990s

A note on capacity values: Various sources will give slightly different values for the capacity of the reservoirs. Sometimes this will simply be due to rounding to a whole number, however there is also ambiguity in what is meant by ‘capacity’. There is ‘volumetric capacity’, where you take the dimensions of the reservoir and mathematically calculate the volume inside. However water reservoirs are typically not filled to the brim, and so there is a concept of ‘operating capacity’. Also depending on the position of the outlet pipe a reservoir might not be able to be fully emptied before water stops flowing out, so there is also the concept of ‘usable capacity’. The various sources that provide a value for capacity never define exactly what they mean by capacity, and this may account for the varying figures.

Historical Parish Map showing area reserved for No. 1 Reservoir in Newcastle Pasturage Reserve portion 2501, notified in Government Gazette 17 October 1903.

No. 1 Reservoir with its surrounding embankment and fence shown on Barrett’s 1910 map. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

No. 1 Reservoir with its surrounding fence shown on a 1915 land sale map. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Waratah Reservoirs No. 1 and No. 2 marked on a c. 1920 map. The area where No. 5 reservoir was eventually erected is marked as a proposed acquisition. State Library of NSW.

Construction of No. 3 reservoir commenced at the end of 1924.

Amongst the more important works now being carried out by the board the construction of Waratah reservoir No. 3 is probably the most important. The construction of this reservoir was commenced on November 20, 1924. The reservoir, which is situated between No. 1 and No. 2 on the summit of Platts Hill at Waratah, is designed to store 10,000,000 gallons of water, and will be used in conjunction with the two adjacent reservoirs for receiving water direct from the Chichester main, and distributing it from thence to the reticulation mains, and subsidiary reservoirs of the Newcastle district. The reservoir is 215ft wide by 428ft long, with a depth of water of 20ft. It is of a covered type, and will be built entirely of concrete. It is partly in-cut and partly in-fill.
The Newcastle Sun, 28 August 1925.

The report says the reservoir “is of a covered type” and concrete pillars were erected to support a roof. However as construction of the reservoir neared completion the Water Board decided to not install the roof, as they believed that improvements to the quality of water now being received from the recently completed Chichester Dam meant that a roof was no longer needed.

Construction of No. 3 reservoir, illustrating the method of dealing with the stone from the excavation. The Newcastle Sun, 28 August 1925.

Construction of No. 3 reservoir at Waratah. The Newcastle Sun, 28 August 1925.

An impressive aerial view of the Mater Misericordiae Hospital buildings and the Water and Sewerage Board’s reservoirs at Waratah, obtained during a flight in the Newcastle Aero Club’s new monoplane, Zephyr, on Sunday afternoon. At the back of the picture are seen the four storage reservoirs, three with open tops and one covered. The plantation-like aspect of the first of the open reservoirs is due to the concrete columns which were erected in the reservoir when it was constructed, with the intention of having it covered, but this intention was not carried out. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 October 1935.

Waratah Reservoirs marked on a c. 1943 map. State Library of NSW.

An undated aerial photograph of the Waratah reservoirs, looking towards the north-east. Note the crosshatch pattern in No. 3 reservoir is due to pillars erected to support a concrete roof that was later decided to be not needed. Page 101 of “Pipelines and People, the History of the Hunter District Water Board” by John W Armstrong.

This aerial photograph of the Waratah water storage – Newcastle’s main suburban supply – shows the four reservoirs which have a combined capacity of about 39 million gallons. The first reservoir, which is covered in, can be seen in the background. The second contains pillars ready for roofing, but, with the arrival of the Chichester Dam water, which can be stored in the open, work on covering in the reservoir was stopped. The large reservoir in the foreground has been shaped to take the fullest advantage of the ground so that the maximum storage could be obtained. It holds 12,697,000 gallons. There has been a reservoir at Waratah Hill since about 1905, but the original reservoir has been incorporated in the others. The reservoirs receive water from Chichester and from Tomago. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 24 November 1951.

The changing face of the reservoirs in the 21st century. May 2015: The reservoirs lay unused. July 2105: Demolition of the pillars of No.3 and the roof of No.2 reservoirs underway. January 2016: Reservoir No.3 in use as a car park for the hospital. October 2024: Reservoir No.2 temporarily being used as a project office for the Rankin Park to Jesmond bypass project. Google Earth, Maxar Technologies, Vexcel Imaging US Inc.

A view from No 3 reservoir looking into No 2 reservoir through the gap created for vehicle access. Photo by Robert Watson.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
Waratah Colliery reservoir
5 Oct 1872	Waratah Colliery has a small steam engine that "can pump or force water from a large reservoir near the stables—with an abundance of fresh water in it—to a height of sixty feet to supply the boiler of the standing engine inside the tunnels."
12 Jan 1876	"Like all other places [Waratah is] getting badly off for water; nearly all the tanks are dry, and our only supply is from Tighe's Hill. There are several drays constantly employed in carting water, for which the people pay is. 6d. per cask. It has been thought about asking the Council to help us in some way; but they seem to be in the same predicament themselves, as they are compelled to buy water for the corporation horses. Some time ago Alderman Harper brought forward a scheme for the reservation of water, by erecting a dam in one of the narrow gullies above the township. Things are coming to a fearful pitch when special trains have to be despatched to Maitland for water to supply the colliery townships."
12 Aug 1880	"Rain is wanted badly, as water is very scarce. Crowds of people flock around the colliery locomotives daily to beg buckets of water from the drivers, who supply the want as far as possible. There is still a good supply of water in the reservoir near the Waratah Old Tunnels, about a mile from here. A number of housewives may be seen here every day washing the family linen, it being much more convenient for them to adopt this plan than to carry the water to their houses."
6 Sep 1880	"Complaints have been made to the police about boys stripping themselves and throwing buckets of water over each other, at the Waratah Company's reservoir, near the old tunnels. It is also reported that boys are in the habit of bathing there, and thereby polluting the water which almost the whole of the residents of Lambton and the Commonage are depending upon for their daily supply."
22 Sep 1880	"The late welcome and refreshing rain has caused a decided improvement here. The house-wives have abandoned the Waratah reservoir, as the tanks at home are all filled with that invigorating and life-giving beverage, pure water. "
24 Sep 1888	"Shortly after 9 o'clock on Saturday morning the township was thrown into a state of excitement by the news that a son of Mr. J. Palmer, butcher, Elder-street, had met his death by being drowned in the dam or reservoir near the Government quarry on the Waratah Coal Company's estate. It appears that it is a common practice for boys to go bathing in this dam, although it is dangerously deep in many places, and altogether an undesirable place, as there are dead animals and a lot of rubbish in the water."
Platt's Hill reservoirs
20 Mar 1901	"The Board then had under consideration the matter of a new reservoir at Waratah, and in this connection a report from the engineer was submitted stating that he had made a careful examination of certain high ground to the west of Waratah, which in his opinion would be suitable for the purpose required. The land belonged to the Crown and the engineer recommended that application should be made to the Government in order that the needed area might be resumed. — The Board decided that the Lands Department should be communicated with, and that the engineer be instructed to prepare sketches and estimates of cost for the construction of reservoirs of 500,000 gallons, 750,000 gallons, and 1,000,000 gallons capacity."
4 Sep 1901	The Water Board engineer has submitted a report "recommending that a new reservoir capable of holding a million gallons should be erected at Waratah, and connected to the existing 15-inch gravitation main and reticulation. The Board have considered the recommendations made, and are satisfied that the works mentioned are urgently required, and will provide for all needs, at any rate, for the next four or five years. The Board have secured the necessary site for the reservoir from the Lands Department, and as soon as funds are available the works will be put in hand."
7 Oct 1902 6 Oct 1902	"Work on the new reservoir to be constructed for the Water and Sewerage Board was commenced yesterday morning. The site is on what is known as Platts Hill, immediately overlooking the old town of Hanbury. At present about twenty men are employed."
5 Jan 1905 28 Dec 1904	"On Wednesday last water was turned into the new 20-inch pipe line from Wallsend to the new reservoir at Waratah for testing purposes. The test was found very satisfactory. … a contract was about to be let for the roof, and until this work was carried out [the board engineer] considered it would be inadvisable to fill the reservoir."
24 Jan 1905	Contract for tile roof for Waratah reservoir awarded to Andrew Cook, £463.
5 Jul 1905	Letter to Water Board "from the New Lambton Fire Brigade, complaining of insufficient pressure of water for a recent fire in that borough. Engineer's report was read, showing that as soon as water is available from the new reservoir at Waratah, the pressure of water in the locality will be ample for fire extinction purposes."
6 Oct 1905	"The Government will no doubt erect fencing at the reservoir in due course …"
13 Nov 1905	"The new reservoir at Waratah of 2,000,000 gallons capacity, under course of construction by the Department of Public Works will, when completed, afford a considerable measure of relief by giving additional storage. The scheme for improving the supply at present to Newcastle and suburbs provides for the reservoir referred to, which will be filled by a new line of pipes from the existing 15-inch trunk line near Wallsend."
15 Nov 1905	"Had the usual winter rains fallen the improvements to the supply by the recent completion of the Waratah Reservoir and its supply main from Wallsend, would have met this summer's requirements during the hot spells which occurred."
6 Dec 1905	"… at seven o'clock that morning the principal service reservoirs, including Waratah reservoir, were all nearly full … the Waratah reservoir was filled to overflow on the 1st instant, on which date it was found necessary, to restrict the flow from Buttai reservoir."
6 Oct 1906	"… the reservoir land has been fenced in …"
6 Mar 1917	"At the meeting of the Hunter District Water Supply Board yesterday, the engineer's reports in connection with the additions to the Waratah reservoir [No 2] and a minute from the President were considered dealing with the question of the most suitable covering for the reservoir. The present reservoir [No 1] is covered with a tiled roof supported on wooden principals and purlins. The design prepared by the Department of Public Works, Sydney, at the Board's request provides for a similar roof. The board engineer had suggested that a better covering could be formed by monier slabs, beams and columns, and no doubt this proposition would have its advantages."
5 Mar 1918	"In connection with the construction of Waratah Reservoir No 2, good progress has been made during the past fortnight. Steady progress had been made with the concrete construction of the southern wall of the reservoir and about 1,100 tons of concrete were deposited. Joints were being introduced at 50ft. intervals into the reservoir walling, to provide for expansion and contraction under variations of temperature. Forty-one men are employed."
17 Sep 1918	"In accordance with the arrangements made by the Board with the Waratah Municipal Council in connection with the deviation of Platt-street, near Waratah reservoirs, the work of forming the deviation is now being proceeded with."
9 Jan 1919 8 Jan 1919	"Alderman visited the new reservoir [No. 2] at Waratah yesterday. The inspection of the reservoir provided a source of interest, and the party was greatly struck with its magnitude. The reservoir is 300 feet long, and 215 wide, and it is capable of holding 8,000,000 gallons of water. The roof is constructed of concrete, and is supported on reinforced concrete piers, 15 inches square, spaced fifteen feet apart. Earth work covers the roof to a depth of nine inches, and in a general aspect, it has the appearance of a flat surface, intersected by a series of circular manholes for light and ventilation … there were 260 concrete columns. These piers support girders which carry subsidiary girders and the roof slab, which is four inches thick. The floor of the reservoir is of solid rock, with a covering of 9 inches of concrete and a gun concrete rendering on its surface about half an inch thick. The walls are of concrete, and wherever the eye roamed within the chamber there was the solidity of that material. The whole of the material for the construction of the reservoir was taken by train to the quarry siding, and from thence a steam haulage plant was utilised for conveyance to the top of the hill. The work of constructing the reservoir was started on May 21, 1916, and it will be completed next week. The estimated cost was £40,000, and 7161 cubic yards of concrete have been put into the structure."
4 Feb 1925	"The excavation of the surface soil for the construction of the Waratah reservoir No. 3 is now practically completed. About 8300 cubic yards have been removed. Arrangements have been made for the hire of suitable motors for the compressor and the rock-breaker, and it is anticipated that the motor will be installed during the week. Rock excavation cannot be commenced until power is available."
28 Aug 1925	Details on the construction of No. 3 Reservoir. "In connection with the amplification of the existing facilities for the storage of water the board has decided to construct additional reservoirs at Waratah (No. 4)."
16 Feb 1926	"The Hunter District Water Board's special water supply committee recently considered plans, specification, and detailed estimates of cost of £17,800 for the construction of the Waratah reservoir No. 4, and recommended that the unexpended balance on the warrant issued for the construction of Waratah reservoir No. 3 be made available for the commencement of the construction of No. 4. The committee, as a matter of urgency, had authorised the necessary action being taken. This was confirmed by the board today."
24 Feb 1926	"The progress report of the engineer stated that the filling of embankments against the walls in connection with the construction of Waratah No. 3 reservoir was nearing completion. The bottom was being cleaned up in readiness to turn the water into the reservoir. This work was well in hand."
15 Mar 1926	No. 1: “Owing to the continued hot, dry weather reservoir No. 1 is still kept in service and the outlet pipes can-not be removed, consequently the portion of the floor [in No. 3] where these pipes are located, has yet to be concreted. This reservoir [No. 1] will, however, be emptied as soon as weather conditions permit.” No. 3: “Most of the work required for the completion of Waratah reservoir No. 3, to render it immediately available for storing water prior to the emptying of Waratah reservoir No. 1, has been carried out. The bottom of the reservoir has been cleaned up.” “The columns have been constructed in concrete, and have been completed with the exception of the three which are over the portion of the floor at present occupied by the [No. 1] outlet pipes.” No. 4: “The greater number of the work men have been transferred to the construction of Waratah No. 4”
24 Mar 1926	No 1 and 3: “The engineer reported that nothing further had been done in connection with the Waratah reservoir, No. 3 construction during the fortnight, with the exception of work of a minor character. Opportunity was being taken of the more favourable weather conditions to finish off the bottom of No. 3 reservoir. That entailed emptying No. 1 reservoir, and the storage in Newcastle division would therefore be reduced by 1,750,000 gallons for about a week whilst that work was in progress. Filling of No. 3 reservoir would then be attended to. No 4: “Owing to rain, one day's work was lost during the fortnight ended March 16, on the Waratah reservoir No. 4 construction. Excavation of the soil on the site of the reservoir and its removal to banks and other desired positions was proceeding."
6 May 1926	"The construction of Waratah reservoir No. 3 had been suspended. The reservoir had been filled with water, and was regarded as a service reservoir. Good progress was being made with the construction of Waratah reservoir No. 4. There were ninety-one men employed."
19 Jul 1926	"The demolition of the walls of Waratah reservoir No. 1 is being carried out. The walls are of hard concrete, part of the aggregate lining of hard, round, water-worn stones. The total expenditure to date has amounted to £7028, and 99 men are employed on the work."
27 Sep 1926	"Pouring of concrete for the floor of Waratah reservoir No. 4 is in progress, and excavation work has been nearly completed. During the past fortnight 728 loads of rock were re moved and 1018 batches of concrete placed."
6 Dec 1926	"Considerable progress has been made with the construction of Waratah reservoir No. 4. The main wall bays, with the exception of a short length, have been poured with concrete by the mixing plant. The valve chamber at the south-eastern corner of the reservoir is under construction, and the upper coping wall is being placed along the top of the main walls. Channeling out of the cracks in the floor of the old No. 1 reservoir, and back filling of banks around the new concrete walls is now in progress."
27 Dec 1926	"Good progress is being made in connection with the construction of Waratah No. 4 reservoir. Work has been carried out regarding the back filling of the banks, and they have been levelled off around the reservoir. The western banks have been combed free of large rocks, and the toe of the banks cleaned up. Repairs to fencing along the western boundary are under way, and materials for fencing the southern boundary are being obtained. Water has been turned into the new reservoir [No. 3]. The reservoir appears to be holding well, and no sign of any leaks have appeared."
5 Mar 1929	"In order to provide funds for the continuation of an additional reservoir [No. 5] at Waratah, having a capacity of 13,500,000 gallons, the Hunter Water Board, at its meeting this morning, authorised the expenditure of a further £20,000. The total cost of the reservoir is in the vicinity of £58,000, £10,040 having been spent to date."
4 May 1929	"Owing to the completion of the stone works at Waratah Reservoir [No. 5], 34 men were dismissed to-day."
16 Oct 1929	"The expenditure on the new reservoir at Waratah to October 1, exceeded £40,000. There were 65 men employed on the work. During the week further progress had been made with the concrete construction of the eastern walls of the reservoir. The construction of the main reservoir wall had been temporarily suspended while further excavation work was being carried out. The Ruston and Hornsby excavator was in operation, and large quantities of soil and rock were being excavated and placed behind the northern and eastern walls. A concrete splash wall was being constructed along the top of the western walls of the reservoir."
27 Nov 1929	"It was reported that excavation for wall foundations along the southern end of the Waratah reservoir had been carried out. Timber forms for use in concrete construction of wall bays had been erected and the concreting of the southern wall was now in progress. Additional timber forms for use in concrete construction were being erected. A 24in. inlet pipeline at the north-western corner of the new reservoir was being connected into the existing pipelines. Further excavation along the southern side of the reservoir was being proceeded with and excavated material placed in the reservoir embankments. The total expenditure to November 12, had amounted to £43,818, and 61 men were employed on the work."
11 Dec 1929	"Further sections of the southern side of the Waratah reservoir walls had been constructed and a splash wall on the southern side of the reservoir was now under construction. Further portions of the reservoir floor had been completed. The work of excavating the southern side of the reservoir where a cartage ramp was placed was in progress. Stone filling behind the recently constructed southern wall bays was in progress."
16 Apr 1930	"Waratah reservoir No. 5 had been filled up to top water level, it was stated. The work of constructing a roadway around the reservoir was being carried out, and the erection of a substantial fence around the reservoir was proceeding."
21 May 1930	"Since the completion of the Waratah reservoir No. 4, it was found that screens were required at the outlet of open distributing reservoirs, to prevent foreign matter getting into the outlet pipes. An improvised screen at the outlet from this reservoir was constructed some time ago, but it was not found satisfactory, as it had to be installed while the reservoir was full of water. The Engineer considered a properly constructed screen should now be constructed and installed during the winter when the reservoir could be emptied for the purpose. A design had been prepared and the estimated cost of the construction and installation was £77, which was authorised. "
18 Oct 1938	Water Board does not intend to accede to Newcastle Council’s request to cover reservoirs to reduce breeding of mosquitos.
10 Jan 2020	Newcastle Herald - "Hunter Water says no plan to reopen Waratah reservoirs after residents' inquiry."

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Posted on March 1, 2026 by Lachlan Wetherall

My article for the August 2026 edition of The Local is now out. This month is on English and Australian Copper Company smelter at Broadmeadow.

Recently added pages

English and Australian Copper Company Smelter on 1 Aug 2026
John Penrose Christoe on 21 Jul 2026
Wallaroo Copper Company Smelter, Port Waratah on 21 Jul 2026
Algorithmic Idiocy on 15 Jul 2026
Repurposing the SamKnows Whitebox on 6 Jul 2026

Joseph Palmer

Joseph Palmer was born in Maitland on 2 February 1846. He moved to Waratah when he was about eighteen. A few years later aged just 23, Palmer announced in an August 1869 advertisement the opening of his butcher’s business in Waratah, promising “punctuality, civility, and the sale of good meat.” His word was good, for his trade increased and six months later he moved to larger premises in Waratah. In 1871 he relocated to Lambton, having purchased the butcher’s shop of Alfred Harvey. In 1874 Palmer moved his business to Elder Street after buying land opposite the Northumberland Hotel.

In October 1884 the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate reported that “Mr. Joseph Palmer has just had the foundations laid for a two-story brick dwelling-house in Elder-street, which when erected will be another valuable addition to the street.” This beautiful building still stands today.

Apart from the meat trade, Palmer’s other significant contribution was in civic service. In 1878 he was elected to a three-year term as alderman on Lambton Council. After a break, he was re-elected to council in 1886 and served another 12 years as alderman. He was Mayor of Lambton in 1892, a year in which the council spent much time trying to sort out the technical and financial problems of the electric light system installed in 1890. These problems kept worsening and led to the bankruptcy of the council in 1898. When Palmer resigned as an alderman the following year there were insufficient aldermen remaining to form a quorum, and Lambton had no council for the next four years. In 1901 Palmer retired from commerce and leased his butcher shop to William Lahay. Palmer died at his residence in Lambton on 19 January 1902, aged just 55. He was buried in Sandgate cemetery with a large crowd in attendance. Palmer’s grave monument is a tall, polished granite column broken at the top, a custom of the Victorian age signifying a life cut short.

Joseph Palmer at the rear of his Elder Street residence, October 1896. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 000566.

Joseph Palmer’s two storey house, 88 Elder Street Lambton. His small weatherboard butcher shop (inset) was located to the left of the house. Inset photograph circa 1888 by Ralph Snowball, University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The article above was first published in the March 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Advertisement for Joseph Palmer’s butcher business in Waratah.. The Newcastle Chronicle, 10 August 1869.

Palmer’s move to larger premises in Waratah. The Newcastle Chronicle, 3 February 1870.

Palmer’s move to the premises of Alfred Harvey in Lambton. The Newcastle Chronicle, 16 March 1871.

Joseph Palmer purchased Lot 9 Section E in Lambton on 27 March 1874. Vol-Fol 106-208

Joseph Palmer moves his butchering establishment to Elder Street, Lambton. Miners’ Advocate and Northumberland Recorder, 18 November 1874.

Call for tenders for erection of dwelling house for Joseph Palmer. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 21 August 1884.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 19 January 1901.

An April 1902 photo shows W Lahay trading as a butcher from the small weatherboard shop on Elder Street formerly occupied by Joseph Palmer. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Edward Box later occupied the butcher shop in Elder Street. Photo by Ralph Snowball, May 1908. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Other photos

Joseph Palmer’s son on a horse, Elder Street, Lambton. October 1896. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 000569

Joseph Palmer’s son Archie, in the back yard of their house in Elder Street, Lambton. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 004832

Ralph Snowball’s listing of Box 122 in October 1896, showing 4 photographs of “Joseph Palmer & Horse.” University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Ralph Snowball photographed Joseph Palmer and his picnic group at the Anniversary Day picnic at Lake Macquarie.

The 26th was celebrated on the shores of Lake Macquarie by the usual huge picnic, which is an annual fixture of the people of the Newcastle district, but more particularly by the inhabitants of Wallsend, Plattsburg, and surrounding townships.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 30 January 1901.

Mr Palmer’s group at Speers Point, 26 January 1901. Joseph Palmer is third from the left in the back row. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 002970

Council Service

Joseph Palmer was elected as an alderman of Lambton Council on six occasions – 1878, 1886, 1888, 1891, 1894, and 1897. He resigned in February 1899, a year before his term of office expired.

Alderman Joseph Palmer, who has sat in the council for many years, and during that time occupied the Mayoral chair for one term, handed his resignation to the clerk on Saturday last. This will leave the council below a quorum, and will tend to increase the complications already existing in connection with the financial position of this municipality. Unless some others of the ratepayer can be induced to come forward and fill the vacancies the council will be powerless to discharge its functions, and will consequently cause a deadlock.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 13 February 1899.

Lambton Aldermen. 26th February 1895. Joseph Palmer is leftmost in the front row. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Joseph Palmer (bottom left), an alderman of Lambton Council in 1890. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 003597

Family

Joseph Palmer married Susan Skelton on 11 April 1871. They had at least 11 children, but tragically four died in infancy or childhood.

Sarah Catherine Palmer died in December 1881, aged 5 months.
Elsie Florence May Palmer died on 30 September 1886, aged 17 months. She was buried in Old Wallsend Cemetery on 1 October 1886.
On the same day that Elsie was buried, her older brother Ernest Charles Palmer died on 1 October 1886 aged 6 years and 10 months, and was buried in Old Wallsend Cemetery on 2 October 1886.
Albert Joseph Palmer died on 22 September 1888, aged 10, when he drowned in the Waratah colliery dam while trying to save his 8 year old friend Bertie Jones who had attempted to swim to a log in the dam, but had slipped and got into difficulties. Albert was buried in Old Wallsend Cemetery on 23 September 1888.

The newspaper article announcing his death in 1902 stated that Joseph Palmer left behind a widow and seven surviving children.

Amy Maria
William James
Harriet
Archibald
Cecilia Josephine
Joseph
Miss E Palmer

Death and Burial

Mr. Joseph Palmer, an old and respected resident, died at his residence, Elder-street, yesterday. Deceased was born at West Maitland, and was 56 years of age. He came to Lambton about 30 years ago, and carried on a large butchering business until recently. He was always an active and public spirited citizen, and was for upwards of fifteen years an alderman in the local council, and was Mayor for one term. He was an old member of the lodge Rose of Australia, Waratah, and Miners’ Refuge benefit lodge, and was treasurer for the local Masonic Lodge for many years, as also District Master of the Loyal Orange Lodge. His death will cause another vacancy in the School Board of the Lambton district. Deceased was of kind disposition, and there is widespread sympathy with his widow and seven children in their bereavement.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 20 January 1902.

Joseph Palmer’s grave monument in Sandgate Cemetery, photographed by Ralph Snowball 28 August 1902. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 002889

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
26 Jun 1869	"Whatever else we may be short of, we are well off for meat in Waratah. Our townsman. Mr. Joseph Palmer, has been showing some splendid meat lately, and what is better, he sells it at reasonable prices. He appears to be well patronised. "
10 Aug 1869	Advertisement for Joseph Palmer's butcher business in Waratah.
3 Feb 1870	Advertisment advising that Joseph Palmer has moved is butchering businesss "to those more commodious premises" adjoining the Red White and Blue Hotel in Turton Road.
16 Mar 1871	Advertisement advising that Joseph Palmer has purchased the butchering business of Alfred Harvey in Lambton.
21 Aug 1873	"TENDERS required for ALTERATIONS to a BUTCHER'S SHOP at LAMBTON. Plan and specification to be seen on application to Mr. JOSEPH PALMER, Butcher, Lambton."
18 Nov 1874	"JOSEPH PALMER begs to inform his numerous customers and the public generally, that he has removed his Butchering Establishment to his NEW PREMISES, OPPOSITE THE NORTHUMBERLAND HOTEL, ELDER STREET, LAMBTON."
12 Feb 1878 9 Feb 1878	Joseph Palmer first elected as alderman of Lambton Council.
28 Dec 1881 28 Dec 1881	Funeral of Sara Catherine Palmer, died at age 5 months.
21 Aug 1884	Joseph Palmer advertised for "TENDERS for the erection of a DWELLING HOUSE at Lambton, Brick Work and Carpenter's Work Separate, Labour only."
25 Sep 1884 23 Sep 1884	Lambton Council meeting: "From Mr. Joseph Palmer, asking leave to place building material on the footpath in Elder-street.-Granted on condition that he leave three feet of footway clear, and burn a light at night time."
11 Oct 1884	"Mr. Joseph Palmer has just had the foundations laid for a two-story brick dwelling-house and butcher's shop, in Elder-street, which, when erected, will be another valuable addition to the street."
4 Aug 1885	"Lambton is every year going well ahead in improvements ... Bricks, stone, and mortar; as instance the fine buildings lately erected, notably in Elder street, where Messrs. Joseph Palmer, Stoker, and Mr. A. L. Payne, have lately improved the street; the first being a private dwelling-house, and the two latter shops. These have replaced the ricketty tumble down shanties that formerly were a perfect eyesore in the street."
1 Oct 1886 1 Oct 1886	Funeral of Elsie Florence May Palmer, died 30 September 1886, aged 17 months.
2 Oct 1886 2 Oct 1886	Funeral of Ernest Charles Palmer, died 1 October 1886, aged 6 years.
24 Sep 1888 22 Sep 1888	Death by drowning of Albert Joseph Palmer, aged 10, in the Waratah Colliery dam.
13 Feb 1899 11 Feb 1899	Alderman Joseph Palmer resigns as an alderman, leaving Lambton Council below a quorum and unable to operate.
19 Jan 1901	"FOR Sale or Lease, my Butchering Plant and Shop Premises in Elder-st., Lambton. Joseph Palmer."
20 Jan 1902 19 Jan 1902	Death of Joseph Palmer.
22 Jan 1902 21 Jan 1902	Funeral and burial of Joseph Palmer in Sandgate cemetery,.
10 May 1934 10 May 1934	Death of Susan Palmer (widow of Joseph Palmer) at the age of 83.

Walsh Island Tramway Extension

Plonk! That is what £12,000 going down a drain sounds like. And that is all that was heard when the NSW Government spent something like that sum on a useless overhead bridge and length of tramline in Newcastle.

So begins an August 1921 article from the Newcastle Sun outlining a long forgotten and inglorious episode of government bungling.

In 1913 construction began of two industrial enterprises – the BHP steelworks at Port Waratah, and on the opposite side of the river on Walsh Island, the Government dockyard. Soon after the official opening of the steelworks in 1915 the government extended the Wickham tramline to Port Waratah to provide transport for the steelworkers.

In 1918 the government approved plans to extend the Port Waratah tramline by 1km to the Hunter River so that dockyard employees could get to work via tram and then a quick ferry trip across to Walsh Island. Despite the short distance the extension was costly, requiring large embankments and a bridge to carry the tramline over a railway and access road into the steelworks. Construction finished early in 1920, and the line was ready for use.

However, the government had failed to check if the workers actually wanted the line. The answer was, they did not. The dockyard supplied a free ferry service from Market Wharf in Newcastle to get workers to Walsh Island. Changing their commute to a paid fare on the extended tramline followed by another paid fare to cross the river was more expensive and the workers refused to use the new extension. The line was never put into service and the rails eventually removed in 1933. The money wasted on the Walsh Island tramway was plain even as construction finished. In April 1920 the Newcastle Sun reported …

Many people will incline to the view that the expenditure could have been made more profitably in other directions.

Indeed, imagine if that £12,000 had been spent on an overhead bridge at the Adamstown rail crossing instead.

Google Earth view showing the route of the Port Waratah tramline (green) the never used 1km Walsh Island extension (yellow), and the dockyards site (blue).

Launch of the steamer “Delungra” at Walsh Island dockyard, 25 March 1919. Photo by Thomas Rodoni. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The article above was first published in the February 2026 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

For further information about Walsh Island see my Walsh Island Aerodrome page.

Portion of a map of Newcastle Harbour that shows the Walsh Island dockyard, the BHP steelworks, and the never used tramway extension. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

A close up view of the tramway extension shows the embankments and bridge for passing over the road and railway into the steelworks.

A photo of the BHP steelworks circa 1930 shows the embankments and bridge of the Walsh Island tram line extension. Photo by James McNally, supplied courtesy of Gerry Beatty.

Portion of a 1936 map shows the embankments of the overhead bridge still in place, but the bridge removed. (Note that the dark red line is the boundary between Waratah and Wickham municipalities.) National Library of Australia.

An aerial photograph from 1944 shows that the bridge and the eastern embankment are now gone, but the western embankment of the tram extension remains. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 215 000094

The photograph below of the western embankment of the bridge is undated, but can be constrained between the years 1920 and 1935. The building at the right is the BHP Administration building which was nearing completion in December 1920. A 100 foot southwards extension to the building commenced in May 1935 is not visible, putting an upper bound on the photo’s date. The fact that the tram embankment appears newly made with no grass on the side, suggests the photo is from 1920.

The western embankment for the overhead bridge on the Walsh Island tramway extension. [1920-1935] Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 002 001272

The BHP steelworks administration building in November 2025.

Length of the extension

Some articles report the length of the tramway extension was 46 chains (925 metres) while others report a length of 62 chains (1247 metres). The discrepancy can be accounted for by noting that the extension branched off the Port Waratah line a short distance from its terminus. Thus the larger value reported is the total distance of the new extension line, whereas the lower value is the additional distance beyond the existing terminus.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
15 Jun 1913 14 Jun 1913	Ceremonial laying of the first stone of the Government engineering works and dockyard on Walsh Island.
18 Jul 1913	"STEEL WORKS, NEWCASTLE. Steady progress has been made at Newcastle. The driving of piles for the foundations of the heavier portions of the machinery, as well as the preparation of the foundations themselves, and the construction of the various auxiliary buildings, are well in hand. The making of temporary roads to facilitate the work of erection is nearing completion Two dredges are deepening the channel, and the sand removed is being used for reclamation purposes. Further orders for machinery have been placed, and generally mat- ters are well advanced. "
28 Nov 1914 27 Nov 1914	Official opening of the State Government dockyards at Walsh Island.
3 Feb 1915 2 Jun 1915	Official opening the Broken Hill Proprietary Company's Iron and Steel Works at Port Waratah.
17 Dec 1916 16 Dec 1916	Tramway to the steel works at Port Waratah opened by the Minister for Works.
29 May 1918	"There is very little prospect of a [shelter] shed being erected at [the terminus of the Port Waratah tramway] in view of the department's intention to extend the tramway to the ferry wharf to Walsh Island."
23 Apr 1919 22 Apr 1919	Waratah Council meeting. BHP "about to build on a site near the corner of Crebert and Selwyn streets, very large offices." Land being resumed near "the corner of Crebert and Selwyn streets … for the purpose of providing an overhead bridge to carry the proposed extension of tram to the new terminus on the Dyke front, opposite Walsh Island." There appears to be considerable confusion about surveys and land boundaries.
27 Feb 1920	"Now that the extension of this tramline is completed to pick up the Walsh Island employees, it is to be hoped, that a tram will be run to enable employees who commence work at 9 o'clock, some facility in reaching their work."
13 Apr 1920	"The Works Department has completed the extension to the waterfront of the Port Waratah tram, by means of the erection of an overhead bridge carrying the rails through the Steel Works property. But so far there is no sign of the line being brought into commission. The object is to provide readier access to Walsh Island, with a ferry service only across the river, instead of all the way from Newcastle. The extension was particularly intended for the convenience of Walsh Island workmen. But it is not acceptable to them, inasmuch as they would be involved in additional tram fares. So the job is hung up, and the tram still stops at the Steel Works gate, taking no notice of the bridge built at considerable cost. Many people will incline to the view that the expenditure could have been made more profitably in other directions in improving tram facilities where there would be keener appreciation."
23 Jul 1920	"The Tramway Department has arranged to open the new line between Port Waratah Steel Works and the Walsh Island Ferry on August 2. There is, however, some doubt about the matter, as the employees at the Government Dockyard have raised some objection. The section has a length of 46 chains [925 metres], and is a single line connecting with the existing line at Selwyn-street, and passing over the railway bridge to the Walsh Island ferry wharf, where a shunting loop is provided. The tram will enable the employees of Walsh Island to travel to the wharf, and then across to the island by ferry in a few minutes."
2 Aug 1920 2 Aug 1920	"The proposal of the Tramway Department to open the new line from the Steel Works at Port Waratah to the Walsh Island Jetty has been disposed of by the employees' of the Government dockyard and the line is still unopened. The department announced that trams would commence running today. But representations were made on behalf of the men for whom the line was exclusively built. They want ed concessions and unless the demand was complied with they would not use the tram."
3 Aug 1920	"The difficulty which has arisen in regard to the opening of the extension of the Steel Works tramline seems to show a want of foresight on the part of the Walsh Island authorities. The extension was made to give access to the island without the long trip up the harbour by the boats which leave the Market Wharf at Newcastle."
29 Oct 1920	"Although the tramway extension from the Steelworks, Port Waratah, was completed at the beginning of the year, nothing has been done to put the line into use. The tramway authorities are ready to place a service on the line at 24 hours' notice, and it is regarded as extraordinary that, after having built the tramway, nothing has been done with it. The cost must have been considerable. The length of the line is 62 chains, and it was designed in the first place to facilitate the transportation of the men employed at the Government Dockyard, Walsh Is land. The idea was that these employees would be ferried across to Waratah and Carrington, instead of being conveyed to land from their work by the extensive fleet of ferries, which run from Newcastle, as at present. No departmental statement on the matter has yet been made, but there is no immediate prospect of the tramway service being brought into existence."
25 Aug 1921	"Plonk! That is what £12,000 going down a drain sounds like. And that is all that was heard when the N.S.W. Government spent something like that sum on a useless overhead bridge and length of tramline in Newcastle."
13 Sep 1933	"A tramline with a strange history is being dug up at Port Waratah. Built about 12 years ago, it cost in the vicinity of £30,000 for three-quarters of a mile of track-but it was never used. The men engaged on the work have found that while the rails are hardly affected by their long exposure, the sleepers are practically eaten away by white ants and dry rot."

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Category Archives: Then and Now

English and Australian Copper Company Smelter

Summary of Newcastle’s Copper Smelters

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Suburbs that sunk – North Stockton

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Lambton Memorial Baby Health Centre

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Lost Names – “Grovetown”

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Waratah Reservoirs

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Joseph Palmer

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