Zaara Street Power Station

Researching the Zaara Street power station in Newcastle is complicated by the fact that there are three different spellings of the name.

Although the official name of the street now is “Zaara Street”, there are plenty of old maps and newspaper articles that refer to it as “Zara Street”.

To make matters worse, it seems that when the plans for the power station were being drawn up in Sydney, a spelling mistake was made and the official name for the power station became “Zarra Street” power station.

Curiously enough, the official spelling of Zara-street station is “Zarra-street” It is believed that in the days of extreme centralisation, when Newcastle was regarded in the metropolis as an unpleasant blot on an otherwise fair State some Sydney draughtsman drew up a plan for “Zarra-street” power station. The Railway Department has never changed the spelling.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 22 July 1939.

The first mention of the power house in the newspapers is on 5 November 1914 with the notification by the Railways Department of the appointment of Matthew Maher as an ash trimmer, and George Wheatley and Thomas Martin as firemen. On 24 March 1915 the Department advertised a tender for “the Supply of one 250 KVA Turbo Generator set”, to which they received six responses.

Whether one of these tenders was accepted is unclear, however a few months later on 20 November 1915 the department was advertising for the “SUPPLY AND ERECTION OF ONE 2500 KILOWATT TURBO ALTERNATOR”, for which 14 tenders were received.

The building that housed the original 1915 power generator, photographed in 1923. The Newcastle Sun, 17 December 1923.

In January 1917 it was announced that …

A new power-house is to be erected at Newcastle, and a commencement has been made with the preliminary work on a site adjoining the temporary power-house, near the pilot station. The object is to provide power for the new electric cranes, which have been erected on the basin wharfs, and the wheat elevator, which will be built shortly, as well as supplying additional power to the works now served by the present power-house. The new power-house will also provide current when the old steam tram service is converted into a modern electric system.
The Sydney Morning Herald, 25 January 1917.

In 1923 in preparation for the electrification of Newcastle’s tram network, the capacity of the power house was expanded with another two turbo-generators – one of 2500kW and another of 7500kW capacity.

In June 1936 another planned expansion of the power station was announced.

It is regarded as likely in Newcastle railway circles that the Zara-street power station will be extended to provide for extension of the electricity system from Dungog to Gloucester, and eventually to Taree. Recently a turbine weighing about 10 tons, was brought from England and installed at the Zara-street station to augment the supply of power. Notwithstanding this addition to the plant. It is believed that further installation will be required to serve the new area.
The Newcastle Sun, 12 June 1936.

In March 1937 a new steel chimney stack was being erected in October 1937 the newspaper reported that …

Extensions to Zara-street power-house, Newcastle, are proceeding rapidly. The duplication of the boiler-house equipment, which provides the steam power to drive the generators, is well in hand. Arrangements have been made for the installation of a further generating unit as soon as the new boiler-house is completed. The new generating unit will have approximately twice the capacity of the largest of the existing generators.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 6 October 1937.

Work in progress on the foundations for the extensions to the railway power-house in Zara-street. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 16 October 1937.

Workmen laying 11kV cables along Zara-street, to connect Zara-street and Sydney-street power stations. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 9 July 1938.

In October 1938 the newspaper gave a detailed report on the progress of the extensions including a page of photos.

Big extensions of plant and building at the Railway Commissioners’ power station at Zara street, the most vital place in Newcastle, will cost nearly £350,000. It is expected that the new plant and buildings, made imperative by a tremendous increase in output in recent years, will be in operation by March next year.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 13 October 1938.

The extensions were completed by July 1939.

New boiler-house at Zara-street power station, to be completed for operation in March, 1939. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 13 October 1938.

Zaara St Power Station in 1944. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

A view of Zaara Street Power Station from Nobby’s, 1946. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 104 012853

Zara-street powerhouse has again broken its power-output record. In the past week the power house has several times reached 70,000 kilowatts its highest achievement yet. A leading electrical engineer said last night: “A combination of favourable conditions enabled the record 70,000 kilowatts; the powerhouse plant was running well, and the quality of the coal was good.”
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 15 June 1949.

In May 1952 the Government announced that the Electricity Commission will take over railway power stations in New South Wales including Zara Street station at Newcastle. Although the transfer was initially scheduled for 30 June 1952, the transfer eventually took place on 1 January 1953, ending 53 years of power generation by the Department of Railways in NSW.

The station continued to produce electricity until 1969, when it was left to stand idle. In 1973 the state suffered from a shortage of electrical generating capacity, and the Newcastle Morning Herald headline on 23 February 1973 stated “Zara power to be on stand-by.” A headline on 15 June 1973 stated “Zaara St. puts power into State System.” Another power crisis came in 1975 , and a headline on 8 January 1975 stated “Zaara Street power may flow again.” Mike Scanlon’s 2015 article on the power station indicates that the station did indeed fire up again in 1975, and this is the last year that the station appears to have produced electricity for the state grid.

Zaara St Power Station, sitting idle in 1976. NSW Historical Aerial Imagery

A headline on 9 April 1976 stated “Power house demolition – end In sight for Zaara St”, and demolition of the power station commenced in September 1977. The main building was brought down with explosives in February 1978, and the 200 ton coal hopper was finally brought down in August 1978. (For details, see Louise Parker’s 1989 report on the Zarra Street Power Station.)

Demolition of Zaara Street Power Station, 8 February 1078. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 104 009733

The area subsequently becoming part of the foreshore lawns, and some used for housing.

The 1944 aerial view of Zaara St power station superimposed on the modern landscape.

Street names on maps

Looking at maps throughout the ages, most have the street spelled “Zaara”, a few spelled “Zara”, and just one with the spelling “Zarra”.

An 1844 map with Zaara St marked. National Library of Australia.

The street name first appears on a map from 1844. Although there is no contemporary explanation for the origin of the name, it seems fairly certain that as “Zaara” is an alternate spelling of “Sahara”, that the street was named after the desert-like sand hills that occupied that location originally.

c.1850 map showing the “Sand Hills” in Newcastle East. (Note this map was drawn with south at the top.)

Overlaying the c.1850 map into Google Earth shows that Zaara Street runs directly through the area marked as “Sand Hills”.

Portion of a 1905 Department of Public Works map of Newcastle Harbour, showing “Zarra St”. (Note that this map was drawn with East at the top.)

A perfect illustration of the confusion of the street’s name is a 1957 Shell Petroleum roadmap that has two different spellings on the same page.

A 1957 Shell Petroleum road map of Newcastle where the main map (left) has “Zara St”, while on the same page the inset enlargement of the city area (right) has “Zaara St”.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
5 Nov 1914	First mention of “Zarra Street Power House” in Trove.
25 Jan 1917	Announcement that "a new power-house is to be erected at Newcastle ... on a site adjoining the temporary power-house, near the pilot station."
6 Jul 1918	"An arrangement exists between the Newcastle City Council and the Railway Commissioners, whereby the latter will supply the council with current in bulk, to meet the requirements of the whole district, from the Zarra Street power-house, which has been designed for an output of 50,000 horsepower. "
3 Dec 1920	"One turbine which had been ordered four years ago to extend the Zara-street power station plant had not yet arrived. Some additional machinery was being installed and would be in operation by March next."
29 Nov 1922	Description of the Zara Street Power House, one year prior to the electric tram service beginning.
16 May 1923	"The largest of 64 packages of a turbo-generator, the dynamo, landed recently from the steamer Bendigo, for erection at the Zara-street Power House, is considered the heaviest load successfully lifted in the Newcastle Harbour. The dynamo weighed only ½cwt short of 33 tons. It was made by the British Thomson Houston Company, Limited, of Rugby, England. The dynamo is to be used in connection with the production of electric current to supply power for the Newcastle electric tramway system."
29 Aug 1923	"At the Zara-street power-house the installation of one 2,500 kilowatt turbo-alternator was completed during the year. One 7,500 kilowatt, 11,000 volt, 50 cycle turbo alternator has been delivered on the site, and will be installed during the next few months. Two Babcock and Wilcox water tube boilers, each with a heating surface of 8,237 square feet, have been installed."
17 Dec 1923	"The key of the whole system of electric traction on the Newcastle tramways is the Zara-street power-house, owned and operated by the Railway Commissioners … A permanent staff of 63 men is employed at the power-house."
5 Jan 1927	Tender for supply and erection of 7500kw turbo alternator.
14 Feb 1934	"The Zarra-street (Newcastle) Power House of the Railway Commissioners at present supplied electrical energy in bulk as far as Singleton. It was an efficient plant with adequate capacity for present and prospective requirements, and utilised cheap coal."
12 Jun 1936	Exapnsion of Zara Street power station required to provide for extension of supply area to Gloucester and Taree.
25 Jul 1936	"Bulk Electricity Supply for the Manning... for a considerable time past negotiations had been going on to see if it could be arranged to supply electricity in bulk from the Zarra Street Power Station, Newcastle. A transmission main has already been laid from that power station, through Maitland as far as Dungog and the later proposals have turned on the possibility of linking up Gloucester, Wingham and Taree."
16 Mar 1937	Erection of new steel chimney stack.
6 Oct 1937	"Extensions to Zara-street power-house, Newcastle, are proceeding rapidly. The duplication of the boiler-house equipment, which provides the steam power to drive the generators, is well in hand. Arrangements have been made for the installation of a further generating unit as soon as the new boiler-house is completed. The new generating unit will have approximately twice the capacity of the largest of the existing generators."
9 Mar 1938	"The Department of Railways invites tenders for coal crushing and screening plant for Zarra Street Power Station."
24 Jun 1938	"It is recommended that additional supplies for Newcastle and surrounding districts be provided by increasing the capacity of the Zarra-street power station at Newcastle."
9 Jul 1938	Laying of 11,000 volt cables between the Railway Department's Zara Street power station and Newcastle Council's Sydney Street power station.
13 Oct 1938	Photos of the Zara Street power station extensions.
13 Oct 1938	Detailed description of extensions at Zara Street power station currently underway.
19 Oct 1938	"Extensions and additions estimated at £350,000 are to be made to both the building and plant at the Zarra Street Power Station, Newcastle. The additions will include a boiler-house, pump-house and new offices for the administrative staff. New boilers, pumps and heaters are also to be installed."
7 Mar 1939	"Newcastle has one large power station supplying the whole of its requirements domestic and industrial and that is the Zarra Street plant owned by the Railway Department. This Zarra Street plant is vulnerable because it is situated immediately behind Fort Scratchley and during an attack upon these forts the power station supplying heavy war industries is certain to be demolished."
22 Jul 1939	Report on the Zara Street power station at the conclusion of major extensions. Includes a note about the variant spelling of the station as "Zarra Street" station.
8 Jan 1941	"Permission for the linking of the power stations between St. Leonards (Sydney) and Zarra St. (Newcastle) on a 66,000 voltage has been granted by the Federal Government. The scheme is estimated to cost approximately £126,000, and will complete, the inter-linking of the electricity generating station in the metropolitan, Newcastle, Port Kembla, and Lithgow areas."
24 Jul 1943	"Department of Railways, Electrical Superintendent, Newcastle, wrote concerning rationing of electricity within the Northern area. Owing to increasing demand for electrical energy from Zarra street and associated power stations over recent months, Newcastle council's load has been 'opened off' without warning due to plant failures at Zarra street."
27 Jul 1945	"Skill was displayed by the drivers of a huge lorry float to transport a 21-ton condenser of a 15,000K.W. turbo-alternator unit from Sydney to Zara-street powerhouse."
23 Mar 1946	Erection of new chimney at Zaara Street power station.
15 Jun 1949	Record output of 70,000 kilowatts at Zara Street powerhouse.
12 May 1952	"The Electricity Commission will take over railway power stations in New South Wales from June 30. The stations affected are at Zara-street, Newcastle, White Bay, Ultimo, and Lithgow." [Note: transfer did not take place until 1 January 1953.]
31 Dec 1952 1 Jan 1953	"To-morrow the electricity generating stations and transmission system operated by the Department of Railways [including Zara Street power station] pass to the control of the Electricity Commission of New South Wales. About 1600 railway employees are involved in the transfer."

Electric Trams

Newcastle’s first tram service commenced in July 1887 with a line running from the city to Wallsend and Plattsburg, with trams powered by steam. In the following two decades additional lines were constructed to Merewether, Mayfield, and Adamstown.

In 1907 representatives of the local councils met with the Chief Commissioner for Railways to urge the conversion of the Newcastle tram system from steam to electric. The Commissioner’s reply “that it would be very carefully considered” proved hollow, with funding in the following decade directed to expansion of the Sydney tram network instead.

In 1917 the electrification project re-emerged with the government announcing plans to expand the capacity of the small powerhouse in Zaara Street to provide for the expected needs of electric trams. Although the power station was enlarged it was not until January 1923 that the government finally approved funding for tram electrification in Newcastle.

The upgrade required not only new rolling stock, substations and overhead power lines, but also extra workshops and tram sheds. In some locations new and heavier tracks needed to be installed. The Mayfield line was the first to be upgraded, and the first electric tram ran on 15 December 1923. Upgrades of other lines followed in the next two years. The Wallsend electric tram service commenced on 26 December 1925, one hundred years ago this month. With the efficiency of the new electric traction, trams ran on the line every 15 minutes, even on weekends! Low passenger numbers on the Speers Point and West Wallsend lines meant it was uneconomical to upgrade these long tracks. They remained steam powered until November 1930 when they were closed and replaced with a bus service. By the late 1940s the condition of tram infrastructure in Newcastle had deteriorated to the point where a major investment in repairs was needed. The government decided instead to transition to a bus service, and the last electric tram in Newcastle ran on the Waratah line on 11 June 1950.

A Newcastle to Wallsend electric tram in Howe Street, Lambton, 23 April 1949. Photo by Arthur Perry. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Buses provided public transport after the closure of the Newcastle tram network in 1950.

[I was somewhat dissatisfied with the quality of my modern photo above, the way the bus is deep in shadow. If the bus came through more regularly than once an hour I might be tempted to try and get a better shot. However I will leave the inadequate photo there as a fitting reminder of the inadequacy of our bus services.]

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

Additional Information

See my Newcastle Trams page for further information, in particular the section on electric trams.

Newcastle Trams

I have written a number of different articles on specific aspects of trams in Newcastle.

March 2015 – The Newcastle to Plattsburg tramway and cutting at Lambton
January 2019 – The proposed, but never built, Lambton to Mayfield tramway
April 2020 – Adamstown tramway
December 2025 – Electric trams
February 2026 – Walsh Island tram extension (coming soon)

Rather than having the additional material scattered across multiple pages, I have consolidated the background information in this page.

Timeline of tram operations in Newcastle, 1887-2019

Date	Tram line	Event
19 Jul 1887	Wallsend/Plattsburg	Opened
19 Apr 1894	Tighes Hill (via Wickham)	Opened
19 Apr 1894	Glebe (originally called Merewether line)	Opened
13 Aug 1900	Adamstown	Opened
11 Jan 1901	Mayfield (extension of Tighes Hill line to Hanbury St)	Extended
21 Sep 1903	Merewether (beach)	Opened
27 Apr 1907	Racecourse	Opened
19 Sep 1910	West Wallsend	Opened
11 Jul 1911	Wallsend (Newcastle to Lambton portion)	Duplicated
15 Jan 1912	Speers Point	Opened
23 Sep 1912	Carrington	Opened
July 1914	Maryville (branch line from Wickham)	Opened
20 Jan 1915	Waratah	Opened
16 Dec 1916	Port Waratah (extension of Maryville line)	Extended
15 Dec 1923	Mayfield	Electrified
27 Jul 1924	Merewether	Electrified
2 Nov 1924	Glebe	Electrified
2 Feb 1925	Adamstown	Electrified
6 Apr 1925	Waratah	Electrified
Nov 1925	Racecourse (possibly 11/11/1925?)	Electrified
27 Dec 1925	Wallsend	Electrified
15 Aug 1926	Carrington	Electrified
11 Oct 1926	Port Waratah	Electrified
1 Nov 1930	Speers Point	Closed
1 Nov 1930	West Wallsend	Closed
19 Nov 1938	Carrington	Closed
19 Nov 1938	Port Waratah	Closed
26 Sep 1948	Mayfield	Closed
6 Nov 1949	Wallsend	Closed
25 Feb 1950	Glebe	Closed
25 Feb 1950	Merewether	Closed
16 Apr 1950	Adamstown	Closed
Apr 1950	Racecourse	Closed
11 Jun 1950	Waratah	Closed
17 Feb 2019	Newcastle Beach to Newcastle Interchange (Wickham)	Opened

Craigies Road, Rail and Tramway Map of Newcastle. c. 1918. National Library of Australia MAP G8974.N4P1

The end of trams

The view that it was competition from the motor buses that killed off the tram system is starkly presented in a commemorative postcard from 1950 which stated …

Born 5 July 1887. Died 10 June 1950. 63 years old. R.I.P.
In rememberance [sic] of Newcastle’s trams, which were finally suffocated by the deisel [sic] ‘buses.

(Note that the dates in the postcard are slightly off – the Wallsend line opened for public traffic on 19 July 1887, and the last tram ran on the Waratah line on 11 June 1950.)

A commemorative postcard from 1950 lamenting the ‘death’ of Newcastle’s trams. From the Arthur Perry collection, University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Newcastle Light Rail

Newspaper articles – Electric trams

Article Date Event Date	Notes
27 Apr 1907 26 Apr 1907	A municipal delegation pressed the Railway Commisioners for "the conversion of the tram system from steam to electric traction."
15 Aug 1908	"While it is satisfactory to learn from the reply given by the State Treasurer to Mr. Edden in Parliament that the Government does not propose to send any defective or partially worn-out engines to Newcastle in connection with the tramway, service, it would be still more so if the authorities were to decide to replace the present system of steam traction by that of electricity. Under present circumstances the cars are invariably dirty and uncomfortable. Steam, smoke, and dust are their inevitable accompaniments [and] the smoke nuisance along the streets is at all times unpleasant."
10 Mar 1911 9 Mar 1911	Municipal conference re electrification. The Mayor of Hamilton: “The present system was a very dirty one. He was sorry they had to go to Sydney with such a request, but Newcastle was very badly treated. If they wanted anything in Sydney, it was immediately granted, while Newcastle was ignored on every occasion.”
25 Jan 1917	Announcement that "a new power-house is to be erected at Newcastle ... on a site adjoining the temporary power-house, near the pilot station."
14 Apr 1917	“The electrification of the Newcastle tramway system, which has been talked of for years, but appeared latterly to have been forgotten, has been once more brought into notice. In a letter to the Newcastle Council, the Secretary for Rail ways explains the proposal of the department.”
25 Apr 1917 24 Apr 1917	Special meeting of the Newcastle Council to discuss the proposed electrification of the Newcastle tramways.
7 May 1920	"The Railway Commissioners are anxious to get the Newcastle trams electrified with as little delay as possible. They have been anxious during 10 years past, but money, when it has been available has been more urgently needed elsewhere."
16 Feb 1923	"Various works are in progress in connection with the electrification of the Newcastle tramways. A start has been made with the construction of the additions to the car sheds and workshops at the depot in Gordon-avenue, Hamilton. The wooden and galvanised iron shed alongside the railway line near Brown street, city, is being demolished, to make room for the erection of a brick electric sub-station. The tram lines on the northern side of Scott-street, between Watt street and Parnell-place, are being relaid with new and heavier type of rails."
16 May 1923	"The largest of 64 packages of a turbo-generator, the dynamo, landed recently from the steamer Bendigo, for erection at the Zara-street Power House, is considered the heaviest load successfully lifted in the Newcastle Harbour. The dynamo weighed only ½cwt short of 33 tons. It was made by the British Thomson Houston Company, Limited, of Rugby, England. The dynamo is to be used in connection with the production of electric current to supply power for the Newcastle electric tramway system."
17 Dec 1923 15 Dec 1923	First electric tram service in Newcastle. "The official ceremonies connected with the running of the first electric tram from Newcastle to Mayfield on Saturday afternoon will rank among the most important events in the history of the city and suburbs."
17 Dec 1923	"The key of the whole system of electric traction on the Newcastle tramways is the Zara-street power-house, owned and operated by the Railway Commissioners … A permanent staff of 63 men is employed at the power-house."
28 Dec 1925 26 Dec 1925	"An important step in the advancement of the town was made on Saturday, when the regular running of electric tramcars was inaugurated. The time-table has been so improved, the electric cars leave Wallsend for the city at 13 minutes and 43 minutes past the hour or about midway between the departing times for steam trams, thus making practically a fifteen minutes' service."

Sandgate cemetery train

When not many people lived in Newcastle, the needs of the dead were met by a few small burial grounds – the Church of England cemetery below the cathedral, the Catholic and Presbyterian cemeteries adjacent to Cottage Creek, and the Wesleyan Methodist cemetery in Newcastle West. With a rising population came the need for a larger general cemetery outside the city, and in 1863 the government reserved 20 acres of land at Waratah.

However, the commencement of mining and a growing township at Waratah soon made that location unsuitable. After many delays, in 1878 the government purchased 50 acres of land at Sandgate for a cemetery. This site had the advantages of being in an unpopulated area, and close to both Maitland Road and the northern railway.

Opened in September 1881, the cemetery included a short branch rail line to provide transport for mourners, as well as the deceased in a special hearse carriage. In 1883 the rail authorities opened a mortuary station and platform in Honeysuckle as the starting point for funeral trains. In 1896 the Tramway Department acquired a hearse carriage that allowed funeral processions from the suburbs to proceed via tram to Honeysuckle, thence by train to Sandgate.

Sandgate became the principal burial ground in the district, and the cemetery train was much used. On a single day in 1932 there were fourteen funerals, ten of which travelled by train. In 1933 the Honeysuckle mortuary station closed, but the cemetery rail continued to carry passengers, with extra trains provided on special occasions. In 1938 the newspaper reported that 3000 mourners had travelled by train to Sandgate on Mother’s Day. With rising car ownership, the need for a cemetery train gradually declined, and the last passenger service ran on Sunday 13 October 1985. Forty years later a low brick platform, half-buried rails and a rusting points lever are the scant reminders of a railway that served both the living and the dead for over a century.

Passenger train at Sandgate Cemetery, 6 October 1985. Photo by Brian R Andrews. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

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

Additional Information

Church of England Cemetery

The cemetery was originally proclaimed in 1817and closed in 1884. For further details, see Greg Ray’s article on the Cathedral Cemetery.

Portion of Armstrong’s 1830 map of Newcastle showing the “Burying Ground” to the north of the Church of England. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Newcastle West Cemeteries

There were three denominational cemeteries in Newcastle West. The Honeysuckle Point cemeteries for the Presbyterians and the Roman Catholics, were adjacent to Cottage Creek and opened in 1845. A Wesleyan Methodist cemetery a little further west along the Maitland Road opened in 1846.

Interments in all these grounds ceased in 1881 when Sandgate Cemetery opened. The dedication of the Wesleyan cemetery was revoked in 1910. The Honeysuckle Point cemeteries were removed in 1916 to make way for a tram and road bridge over the railway, however due to lack of funds the bridge was never constructed. Refer to my Honeysuckle Point Cemetery and Wesleyan Cemetery pages for further details.

An 1896 tramways map showing the Honeysuckle Point Cemetery (Presbyterian and Roman Catholic). From Flickr user Peter Deane

A map for the sale of land (bordered in red) in 1908, shows the adjacent Wesleyan Cemetery. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Wallsend Cemetery

Refer to my Wallsend Cemetery page for further details.

Proposed Waratah Cemetery

In the published article above, I stated that the Sandgate cemetery site was selected in preference to a Waratah site “after many delays”. This polite phrase, required for brevity, masks the true omni-shambles of the Government’s and Newcastle Borough Council’s handling of cemetery matters. See my Waratah Cemetery page for further details.

Sandgate Cemetery

After a delay of several decades, the government finally secured a site for a general cemetery at Sandgate.

It is satisfactory to learn that the vote of £3000 for a cemetery for this city has been appropriated. The Government have just purchased 50 acres of land at Waratah from the A. A. Co. at the rate of £50 per acre, the remaining £500 has been placed in the hands of the Municipal Council to defray the expense of inclosing the same with a substantial fence.
Freeman’s Journal, 7 December 1878.

(Note the mention of the land being “at Waratah” meant in the Waratah region, not Waratah township/suburb we know today. The locality name of “Sandgate” was not used until 1882.)

On 9 December 1878 Newcastle Council passed a motion …

That the Town Clerk be instructed to write to the Government, urging the necessity of dedicating the land lately purchased for a general cemetery, and appointing the Municipal Council as trustees; also for taking immediate steps for closing the burial grounds within the municipality, and providing the necessary railway accommodation for the general use of the cemetery.

At the same meeting the council accepted the tender of Mr W W Johnston of Wallsend for fencing the cemetery. The following month Johnston reported to the council …

… that the unusual size of the rails for the cemetery fence had caused him considerable difficulty in procuring same, but he would be in a position to commence the fence within a fortnight.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 14 January 1879.

In June 1879 a major controversy erupted over the proposed distribution of land within the cemetery to the various church denominations.

Our attention has been very forcibly drawn to the extraordinary manner in which the land set apart by the Government for burying purposes has been apportioned to the different denominations.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 3 June 1879.

Half the area of the cemetery had been allocated to two denominations (Church of England, Catholic), some denominations had “manifestly inequitable” allocations, and some no allocation at all.

As for the Baptists, they must all be presumed by the Government Distributors to be translated to heaven as Enoch and Elijah were, without dying, as no place appears to have been provided for their burial!
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 3 June 1879.

At a public meeting held on 26 July 1879, the various denominations discussed how the cemetery should be divided. The Church of England and Roman Catholics wanted it apportioned based on the general census of 1871 (which gave them a greater area), whereas others wanted it apportioned based on the ratio of the denominations in the local district. The meeting resolved to send a deputation to the Minister for Lands on the following Tuesday to argue their respective cases. In August 1879 the Minister issued a new subdivision of the cemetery that reduced the allocation to the Church of England and Roman Catholics, and increased the allocation to the other denominations, including some that had previously been overlooked.

A few months later, Newcastle Council were again asking the Government for a rail link to the cemetery, and reminding them of the need to pass legislation to close the existing cemeteries within the city boundary.

Alderman BROOKS moved – “That the Government be communicated with, urging the necessity of making railway accommodation to the new cemetery; and also passing a bill to restrict the burials in the city, and close all cemeteries within the city boundary.” He had been given to understand that before burials in the municipality could be stopped, a special Bill must be passed, and no steps had been taken by Government to do that. It was the Council’s duty to remind the Government that such a bill was urgently required. If they did not continually peg away at them it would be a couple of years before they had the new cemetery available. The MAYOR remarked that the fencing of the ground was completed. Doubtless each denomination would take steps to see that their section of the enclosure was properly cleared.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 30 October 1879.

The following year, the Government finally got around to appointing trustees for the cemetery, the denominational trustees on 30 July 1880, and trustees for the General section on 1 October 1880. In January 1881 word was received that the Government had agreed to construct a branch rail line into the cemetery.

We are glad to notice that the City Council has at last been successful, aided by the exertions of the members for the city, in inducing the Minister for Works to connect the new general cemetery to the Great Northern Railway by a siding. Mr. Bewick, the Superintendent of Permanent Ways and Works, has been instructed to proceed with this necessary work at once, and in the course of four or five weeks at the furthest we may expect to see this work completed.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 28 January 1881.

In April 1881 several of the trustees of the cemetery visited the site to inspect the railway works, rapidly nearing completion.

To form a connection [from the cemetery] to the main track, a siding has been run in, proceeding by a gentle incline and gradual curve towards the middle of the cemetery, at the exact centre of which a terminus is formed, a platform erected, and a hand- some mortuary receiving house or waiting room provided. The benefit of this arrangement will be readily appreciated; since by the plan thus adopted funeral parties can be conveyed to the nearest approach to either one of the various denominational sections into which the whole is subdivided. The structure itself measures internally 26ft x 16, with a verandah 20 x 17, the platform being 100 foot long, exclusive of two fifteen feet ramps at either end. The upper portion in galvanized iron with neat barge-board fringing the eaves, and ornamental verandah posts, &c., attached. The formal work of constructing it is being carried out by Mr. P. Morrison, who expects to have every- thing complete within a day or two.

Those present made a careful inspection of the ground, which is thus virtually ready for interments. With the infusion of a little energy there can be no reason whatever to prevent every detail being satisfactorily settled within the next fortnight at the utmost.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 14 April 1881.

The mortuary receiving house and rail platform can be seen in the background of this 1910 Ralph Snowball photo. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 003847

Despite the optimism of the trustees of an imminent opening, four months later the cemetery was still not ready. A meeting on 12 August 1881 outlined four main issues to be resolved.

The need for clearing the ground.
The need for a caretaker to be appointed and a caretaker’s house to be erected.
The need for “an official sketch plan of the ground, shewing the various denominational sub-divisions, together with a plan of the paths, sizes of graves, distinguishing sections.”
The need for “a committee of trustees to draw up a code of by-laws, to be submitted to Government for approval.”

In addition to the above there were issues with white-ants attacking the mortuary building, fences removed by residents who claimed a right of way, and other fences erected in the wrong position.

On 8 September 1881 the trustees met again at the cemetery site, and …

reported that the Government had promised £200 towards clearing and fencing;
moved that tenders for the clearing work be invited;
moved that a a surveyor be employed to prepare a plan of the whole cemetery;
moved that the draft by-laws prepared by the sub-committee be submitted to the next general meeting for approval.

Twenty two years after it was first called for, the general cemetery was finally ready. The first interment took place two days later on 10 September 1881, when Mary Wilson, the wife of John Miller was buried in the Presbyterian section of the cemetery. The Government Railways advertised that funeral trains to the General Cemetery would run daily from Newcastle Station, if required.

Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 10 September 1881.

Locomotive, passenger carriages, and hearse trailer at the Sandgate Cemetery station and platform. circa 1881 to 1890. University of Newcastle, Living Histories. This photo appeared in the Newcastle Sun in 1950 with the caption “One of the early funeral trains to Sandgate Cemetery. The picture was taken 60 years ago.”

At the next meeting of the cemetery trustees, plans for the improvement of the cemetery progressed.

[Funds] will be devoted to clearing the main avenue of the cemetery to a width of 66 feet, and trees of an appropriate character will be planted on each side. Application is also to be made to the Minister for Works for the erection of a residence for a caretaker, the site of which has been approved of by the trustees.

Efforts have also been made to secure telephonic communication between the cemetery and Newcastle, so that no time need be lost in any case of emergency . The Trustees are applying to the Government for a platform to be constructed so that the various kinds of material likely to be required for interments, such as timber, monumental masonry, iron railings, etc, may be easily unloaded, and also that parties wishing to visit the burial ground may disembark there from any ordinary train without being compelled to travel by the special mortuary one.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 30 September 1881.

In April 1882 we see the first reference to the name “Sandgate” as the locality of the cemetery, and on 19 July 1882 the first reference to the name “Sandgate Cemetery” appears. There is no clear information on the origin of the name. (In 1928 there was a short-lived agitation to change the name of the suburb. One resident gives a confusing explanation for the naming of Sandgate, but coming nearly 50 years later it should be received with some skepticism.)

Locomotive engine and hearse trailer at Sandgate Cemetery, 10 May 1900. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 001107

Mothers Day in 1939, when about 5000 people visited Sandgate Cemetery. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 15 May 1939.

Two-car diesel set NTC738/NPF638 sits at the platform at Sandgate Cemetery station 9, June 1985. Photo courtesy of Australian Rail Maps.

Mortuary Station, Newcastle West

When Sandgate Cemetery opened in September 1881, cemetery trains departed from Newcastle Station. In 1883 the Government erected a mortuary station and platform at Honeysuckle, and from 9 April 1883 funeral trains departed from this station.

Advertisement for opening of new mortuary station at Honeysuckle. Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 5 April 1883.

Portion of an 1894 map showing the location of the old cemeteries, Honeysuckle Point railway station, and the Mortuary Station that opened in 1883. State Library of NSW.

Mortuary Station, Honeysuckle Point, November 1896. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Mortuary Station and Bullock Island Bridge, NSW, 14 August 1900. Photo by Ralph Snowball. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The mortuary station was used for 50 years, and closed at the end of March 1933, because of declining patronage and a deteriorating building.

The old mortuary platform at Honey suckle railway station is to be closed from April 1. After that date funerals at Honeysuckle will entrain from the main platform for Sandgate Cemetery. The question of closing down the mortuary, platform has been under consideration by the Railway Department for a long time. At present the platform buildings are in a state of disrepair, and need painting, and it has been decided that the change should be made at the end of this month. The department claims that no public inconvenience will be caused; its records show that of the 228 funerals that went by rail from the Newcastle district stations between August and December of last year, only 35 left from the Honey suckle mortuary platform.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 11 March 1933.

Although the mortuary station closed, the train service to the cemetery continued, particularly passenger traffic for mourners and visitors. Transport of the deceased to the cemetery via train appears to have waned quickly, with the last mention in the paper of this practice being the funeral of Mrs Eleanor J Varley on 24 June 1935.

It is often remarked that Newcastle gets a poor allocation of funds for projects compared with spending in Sydney, and the mortuary stations in the respective cities is a fine example. While Sydney got a magnificent architect designed Victorian Free Gothic style sandstone building in 1868, fifteen years later the Government could only manage a weatherboard shed for Newcastle.

Sydney Mortuary Station vs Newcastle Mortuary Station.

Wallsend Mortuary Train and TramWay hearses

In 1886 the rail authorities commenced mortuary train service from Wallsend to Sandgate Cemetery, that used the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company railway.

The funeral [of John Kilpatrick] took place on Monday, and was the first mortuary train from Wallsend to the District Cemetery. I understood that 83 tickets were issued, proving conclusively that in cases when the remains of any member of our friendly society is conveyed by rail to Sandgate the authorities will be called upon to provide plenty of carriage accommodation.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 1 September 1886.

After trams in Newcastle commenced operation in 1887 the opportunity arose for a funeral tram service. In May 1896 the Railway Commissioners announced that a hearse trailer for the tram network in Newcastle would soon be provided.

It is expected that a hearse will be available for use on the tramways about the 1st June. This will supply a want which has been long experienced by residents in the suburbs.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 23 May 1896.

A hearse car has just been added to the tramway rolling stock. It is intended to attach this car to funeral trams, which are henceforth to be run as required from the suburbs to the railway station in competition against the undertakers.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 8 June 1896.

With the introduction of a tram hearse, the Railway Commissioners decided to discontinue the funeral train service that had been running from Wallsend for the previous ten years.

The Commissioners promised to arrange for the arrival and departure of the tram from Newcastle so as to prevent any unnecessary delay and insure a return to Wallsend by 6pm, so that it will now be understood that in lieu of a funeral train, a hearse will be attached to the tram leaving Wallsend at 2pm and returning at 5pm, the return fare being 1s.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 7 AUgust 1896.

Funeral procession of Dr A W Nash in Morehead Street, Lambton, heading for Howe Street to board the funeral tram service. The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 29 March 1905.

The introduction of the funeral tram service allowed quite large funeral processions to travel to Sandgate Cemetery from the suburbs.

The funeral of the late Mr. John Avery took place yesterday, and was one of the largest attended that ever left Lambton, upwards of 700 persons joined in the procession from the house to the tram, and about 500 proceeded by tram and train to Sandgate Cemetery.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 30 September 1907.

Converted tramway hearses at Hamilton Depot, 24 April 1949. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Ralph Snowball’s Cemetery Photos

Ralph Snowball took a large number of photographs of headstones and monuments at Sandgate Cemetery, many of which are in Newcastle Libraries Online Collection. Some of these photographs show trains, or rail infrastructure in the background.

Gravestone of Margaret (Reta) Walker Swan at Sandgate Cemetery, with the cemetery train in the background. Photo by Ralph Snowball, 6 September 1898. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 003530

The same location in 2025. Note that the original headstone for the infant Reta was later replaced with a more elaborate monument that also memorialised her parents Andrew and Mary Ann.

Gravestone of William Lashmore and his wife at Sandgate Cemetery, with the wooden cemetery train platform in the background. Photo by Ralph Snowball, 24 May 1905. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 002110

Gravestone of Grace Ann Kay at Sandgate Cemetery, with mortuary station building in the background, 16 November 1901. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 002102

Gravestone of Joseph Lloyd at Sandgate Cemetery, with rail tracks and platform in the background, 13 October 1912. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 004132

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
5 Oct 1859 4 Oct 1859	Meeting of Newcastle Town Council: "Alderman Bolton then brought on his motion that application be made to the General Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company for a grant of land for the purpose of a general cemetery. In introducing it, he said that he had little to say, as all were aware of its necessity. The Church of England cemetery was in the centre of the town, and was nearly full and the others were small, and not suited for the purpose."
22 Aug 1878	"The COLONIAL SECRETARY has informed the deputation that the Minister for Lands had directed that the manager of the A. A. Co. should be communicated with, and that the purchase of the site should be completed before the end of the present month. The fact is, that if the land is not purchased by that time, the offer of the company to sell the land for the purpose required will lapse, and the citizens will have to look round again, but perhaps in vain."
24 Aug 1878	"Negotiations had been entered into with the Australian Agricultural Company for the purchase of fifty acres of land for a cemetery at £2500, and that, in fact, £3000 had been voted by Parliament for buying a piece of land for this purpose, and for fencing it in."
7 Dec 1878	"It is satisfactory to learn that the vote of £3000 for a cemetery for this city has been appropriated. The Government have just purchased 50 acres of land at Waratah from the A. A. Co. at the rate of £50 per acre, the remaining £500 has been placed in the hands of the Municipal Council to defray the expense of inclosing the same with a substantial fence."
10 Dec 1878 9 Dec 1878	Newcastle Council meeting: acceptance of tender for cemetery fencing; letter to Government regarding trustees and rail line to cemetery.
14 Jan 1879 13 Jan 1879	Delay to cemetery fencing due to difficulty procuring timber.
3 Jun 1879	Disgruntlement with the apportionment areas of the new general cemetery to the various denominations.
28 Jul 1879 26 Jul 1879	Public meeting to consider the question of apportioning areas of the new cemetery to the various denominations.
31 Jul 1879 29 Jul 1879	Deputation meets with Minister for Lands regarding the apportioning to the denomimations.
19 Aug 1879 18 Aug 1879	Minister for Lands issues a revised allocation of land in the cemetery.
30 Oct 1879 27 Oct 1879	Newcastle council meeting, calling on Government to provide a rail line to the cemetery.
30 Jul 1880	Appointment of denominational trustees for the new cemetery.
1 Oct 1880 1 Oct 1880	Appointment of trustees for General section of the new cemetery at Sandgate.
28 Jan 1881	Government agrees to construct a branch rail line into the cemetery.
14 Apr 1881	Branch rail line into cemetery nearing completion.
13 Aug 1881 12 Aug 1881	Meeting of the trustees to progress matters delaying the cemetery opening.
19 Aug 1881	Deputation to Minister for Lands regarding issues preventing the opening of the new cemetery.
9 Sep 1881 8 Sep 1881	Final meeting of the trustees, at the cemetery site, before the first burial two days later.
10 Sep 1881 10 Sep 1881	The first interment in the new Newcastle General Cemetery at Sandgate.
10 Sep 1881	Advertisement with funeral train information.
10 Sep 1881	Advertisement for funeral of Mary Wilson, first person to be interred at the new general cemetery at Sandgate.
30 Sep 1881 28 Sep 1881	Meeting of the cemetery trustees, plans for an avenue of ornamental trees, and another railway platform for the easy unloading of timber, monumental masonry etc.
6 Apr 1882	First mention of "Sandgate" as a locality name.
19 Jul 1882	First reference to the name "Sandgate Cemetery".
5 Apr 1883 9 May 1883	Opening of mortuary station at Honeysuckle Point.
1 Sep 1886 30 Oct 1886	Funeral of John Kilpatrick - first mortuary train from Wallsend to Sandgate Cemetery.
10 Jul 1887 10 Jul 1887	Formal gazetting of 50 acres of land in Newcastle for the General Cemetery.
23 May 1896	"It is expected that a hearse will be available for use on the tramways about the 1st June."
8 Jun 1896	"A hearse car has just been added to the tramway rolling stock."
7 Aug 1896	With the introduction of the tram hearse, the funeral train service from Wallsend is discontinued.
30 Sep 1907 29 Sep 1907	Funeral of John Avery where 500 mourners proceeded from Lambton by tram and train to Sandgate Cemetery.
2 Jul 1932 1 Jul 1932	"Fourteen funerals, described by an undertaker as the highest number for one day since the influenza epidemic, took place in the Newcastle district yesterday. Three special trains, two from Newcastle and one from Kahibah, had to be run by the Railway Department to cope with the situation. Ten of the funerals entrained for the cemetery, the others went by road."
11 Mar 1933 30 Mar 1933	Closure of mortuary station at Honeysuckle Point.
26 Jun 1935 24 Jun 1935	Funeral of Mrs. Eleanor J. Varley, the last reference found in the newspaper of the body being taken by train to the cemetery.
9 May 1938 8 May 1938	"Four special trains from Newcastle and suburbs, in addition to the ordinary Sunday trains, carried about 3000 people to Sandgate cemetery yesterday afternoon. Hundreds went in cars and on motor cycles and bicycles. "
8 May 1950	Photo of funeral train at Sandgate Cemetery "taken 60 years ago."

Waratah Cemetery

Usually I write historical articles about something that happened in the past, but this is a story about something that didn’t happen. It’s a tale of government bunglings, buck-passing and bureaucracy, of poor planning and public protests, explaining why the cemetery marked on this 1873 map of Waratah never came to be.

Portion of 1873 Waratah Coal Company map overlaid into Google Earth showing that the land reserved for a cemetery, where Waratah Park is located today. National Library of Australia.

In 1845 when the Honeysuckle Point Cemetery opened, Newcastle had just two principal places for burial – the Church of England cemetery below the cathedral, and the Honeysuckle Point Cemetery in Newcastle West for Presbyterians and Roman Catholics. Both cemeteries were small and quickly ran out of space. By 1859 Newcastle Borough Council were well aware of the need for a larger general cemetery in a location outside the city, and made enquiries to the A A Company for a grant of land, as well as approaching the colonial government for a grant of land at Waratah. Neither of these approaches yielded any result.

In December 1862, the Mayor of Newcastle, James Hannell wrote to the Minister for Lands concerning the cemetery site at Waratah, complaining of three years of inaction.

As far back as August, 1859, I endeavoured to get a satisfactory settlement of this question [land set apart for a public cemetery at Waratah] , but regret to say, without effect.

After a further delay of six months, in July 1863 the government gazetted 18 acres of land for a general cemetery at Waratah, “on the Great Northern Railway, adjoining J Moate’s 35 acres.”

Map from the land grand for Waratah Park in 1881 (Vol-Fol 527-228) showing the proposed cemetery site om the south side of Station St, and near Joseph Moates’ 35 acres of land.

However just months after the cemetery site was reserved, “The Waratah Coal Company” incorporation act passed in October 1863. As the colliery developed, miners and merchants moved to the rapidly growing township of Hanbury adjacent to the newly proposed cemetery.

Very soon the residents of Hanbury were protesting the proposed cemetery site.

A meeting was held at Mr. Arnold’s, Cremorne Hotel, last Tuesday, for the purpose of taking steps to induce the Government to select another piece of land for a general cemetery for the district of Newcastle instead of the one already fixed upon near the railway station, Waratah.
The Newcastle Chronicle and Hunter River District News, 2 July 1864.

In July 1865 the Newcastle Borough Council agreed that the Waratah site was unsuitable, and suggested an alternative site further out of town, on a piece of A. A. Company land “adjacent to the Great Northern Railway, beyond the Wallsend junction.” After John Bowie Wilson became Minister for Lands on 22 January 1866, the people of Waratah were hopeful of a change of plan.

The inhabitants of our little township (some of them at least) feel some little pleasure in the recent change of Ministry, as they have some hope that the new Minister of Lands will give now what he promised when he held the same office before, viz., all his influence to prevent the new cemetery being in the place where the Government had given the land for it to be, as he was decidedly of opinion that the dead of Newcastle ought not to be brought to the door of our township for interment.
The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, 30 January 1866.

In August 1866, Alderman Thomas Adam gave notice of a motion to be placed before the next meeting of Newcastle Council :

That in the opinion of the Council a public cemetery for the city and district of Newcastle is urgently required.

That the land at Waratah dedicated by the Government for that purpose is, from its proximity to the village of Hanbury, the nature of the soil, making proper drainage impracticable, unsuited for the purpose.

The land situated on the Great Northern Railway, about six miles from Newcastle is the most suitable for the purpose.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 25 August 1866.

Despite the note of “urgently required”, when the council next met …

The Mayor said he had not yet drawn out a report of the Cemetery Committee, but he would have it ready by the next meeting of the Council. In consequence of no report having been drawn up, Alderman Adam obtained leave to postpone the motion standing in his name.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 29 August 1866.

The council then did nothing until the following May when Alderman Adam raised the subject again. However the matter was adjourned and referred to a committee despite the objections of Alderman Christie, who …

… thought the subject was too important to adjourn. It had been put off from year to year, and it was high time something was done in the matter.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 15 May 1867.

The Cemetery committee met the following week, but was the scene of bitter recriminations, insults, and personal animosity between the aldermen. Despite these shenanigans, the committee managed to resolve that a letter be sent to the A. A. Company to enquire about the purchase of land for a cemetery in lieu of the proposed site at Waratah.

For the next year no progress was made. In February 1868, when Henry Parkes visited Waratah to lay the foundation stone of the public school, the Rev Pritchard (Primitive Methodist) met with Mr Parkes to discuss the proposed cemetery at Waratah. Rev Pritchard pointed out “the unsuitableness of the ground”, and Mr Parkes agreed the the land …

… was not at all adapted for the purpose intended, and the sooner therefore another piece was obtained the better.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 15 February 1868.

Just two months later, in April 1868 the Newcastle Council Cemetery Committee, despite having previously panned the Waratah site as unsuitable, performed a spectacular about-face and now recommended the Waratah site.

After visiting and inspecting the proposed site, your committee have now to report the site chosen is most eligibly situated at the Waratah station of the Great Northern Railway, giving easy access by rail to the chief centres of population.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 29 April 1868.

The reason given for the change of mind? Weariness and pessimism!

Having also taken into their consideration the suggestion of the sale of the land at Waratah, which they know was at one time made with the view of obtaining with the proceeds, a more suitable one, have come to the conclusion that any such attempt now would only lead to endless delay even if a sale were possible, and a more suitable site could be found; which to your Committee appears extremely doubtful.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 29 April 1868.

Having cast their lot with the Waratah site, the council then engaged with the Lands Department in a long running dance of bureaucratic bungling and buck-passing, as the following quotes reveal …

[The council made] immediate application to the Government for the necessary appointment of trustees, as well as for funds sufficient to fence in the ground.

After the usual official delay, answers were received by the Council, to the effect, that a sum of £120 would be allowed for fencing in the land, and that the names of trustees would be gazetted after having been first appointed by each of the denominations.

The Mayor wrote to the heads of six out of eight denominations, inviting them to appoint their own trustees. It was soon observed that the list of ministers written to, did not include the names of the representatives of the Primitive Methodist and Baptist denominations.

On being queried about the omission, the Mayor’s reply was that he had merely acted in accordance with directions from the Minister for Lands, requesting him to write to the heads of the different denominations marked in the Government plan of the land. Not finding the Primitive Methodists marked in the plan, he had not written to their minister.

Thinking it must have been the result of some oversight on the part of the Government, the Mr. Pritchard (Primitive Methodist minister) requested the Mayor to send down the name of Mr. Richard Hull, as trustee for the Primitive Methodist denomination. The Mayor acceded to Mr. Pritchard’s request and to that letter a reply was received, stating that the subdivision of the land, as marked in the Government plan, which ignored the Primitive Methodist and Baptist bodies, would have to be adhered to; but assigning no reason for such an extraordinary and sectarian decision.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 8 August 1868.

Nineteen months later the Newcastle Chronicle lamented the continued inaction and government delays.

Why any delay should have occurred in either dedicating or resubdividing the cemetery we are at a loss to conceive, seeing that a public cemetery is urgently needed. We are, of course, aware that the Government proceeds generally upon absurdly circumlocutionary principles, as they have done in this very matter ; but it is perfectly unreasonable to suppose that it should require three or four years to complete so simple a piece of business as the granting and dedication of a few acres of land for a cemetery.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 22 March 1870.

The inaction however, did allow the opportunity for the unsuitability of Waratah as a cemetery site to be be expressed again.

The cemetery ground, as already marked out by the Government, seems, however, to be ineligible for the purpose, from its being occasionally covered with water, and, perhaps, too near the township of Waratah. It would, therefore, be better to select a new site for the cemetery, and that speedily, seeing that it is imperatively required.
The Newcastle Chronicle, 22 March 1870.

For the next eight years there were repeated appeals for the cemetery to be constructed somewhere other than Waratah. Sandgate was most commonly recommended location, but a site between Lambton and Waratah on the Commonage was also considered, as was a site in Tighes Hill adjacent to Throsby Creek.

6 January 1872 – “Ironbark Hill, or the Sandhill, as it is better known, near Ironbark Creek, some two miles beyond Waratah, appears to me to be the most eligible place in the district, as no population is likely to settle down near it for generations to come.”
21 December 1875 – “Alderman Brooks moved that the Mayor renew the application to the A. A. Company for a suitable piece of ground for a public cemetery, either at Ironbark Hill, or all that piece of land bounded by Throsby’s Creek, Waratah Line, and Great Northern Line,”
4 March 1876 – Municipal conference – local councils are tired of Government inaction and are taking steps to obtain a cemetery within the Commonage.
21 February 1877 – Alderman ABEL moved – “That the Mayor communicate with the Mayor of Waratah with a view to jointly apply for the dedication of the land recommended by Mr. District Surveyor Evans, for cemetery purposes.”
12 April 1877 – “A deputation will interview the Minister for Lands, with reference to the granting of a portion of the Commonage Reserve for the purposes of a general cemetery for the district.”
17 May 1877 – “After a careful examination of the ground it was resolved to recommend to the Government the advisability of granting that portion running parallel with the Waratah Company’s railway, commencing at the white gates, and running twenty chains down the line with a width of six chains.

In August 1878 the “weary pile of correspondence” had still not arrived at a solution, and a deadline for the acquisition of land from the A. A. Company was drawing near.

The sum of £3000 has long been voted by Parliament for the purpose of purchasing land for burial purposes and 50 acres belonging to the A A. Co. have been negotiated for in many a weary pile of correspondence! Yet the ‘indifference,’ if not the ‘insolence of office and the law’s delay,’ have combined to perpetuate the postponement of the transfer of the land, and we are still without a suitable place to bury our dead.
Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners’ Advocate, 22 August 1878.

It was explained that negotiations had been entered into with the Australian Agricultural Company for the purchase of fifty acres of land for a cemetery at £2500, and that, in fact, £3000 had been voted by Parliament for buying a piece of land for this purpose, and for fencing it in. It was also stated that the negotiations in question must be concluded before the end of the present month, or they would fall through.
The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser, 24 August 1878.

In December 1878 the purchase of land for a general cemetery at Sandgate was concluded, and the plan for a cemetery at Waratah was finally dead and buried.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
5 Oct 1859 4 Oct 1859	Meeting of Newcastle Town Council: "Alderman Bolton then brought on his motion that application be made to the General Superintendent of the Australian Agricultural Company for a grant of land for the purpose of a general cemetery. In introducing it, he said that he had little to say, as all were aware of its necessity. The Church of England cemetery was in the centre of the town, and was nearly full and the others were small, and not suited for the purpose."
6 Dec 1862 1 Dec 1862	Newcastle Council following up with the Minister for Lands in Sydney on an earlier unactioned request regarding "land set apart for a public cemetery at Waratah."
23 May 1863	Letter from Department of Lands to James Hannell, M.L.A. - "In reference to your letter of the 6th August last, representing the necessity for the appropriation of a portion of land near Newcastle as a general cemetery, I am directed to appraise you, that twenty acres have now been formally dedicated for that purpose, at Waratah, near the Newcastle and Maitland railway line, which appears to the Secretary for Lands to be quite sufficient area for the city of Newcastle."
16 Jul 1863	Dedication of 18 acres at Waratah for a general cemetery, on the Great Northern Railway, adjoining J Moate’s 35 acres.
2 Jul 1864 28 Jun 1864	"A meeting was held at Mr. Arnold's, Cremorne Hotel, last Tuesday, for the purpose of taking steps to induce the Government to select another piece of land for a general cemetery for the district of Newcastle instead of the one already fixed upon near the railway station, Waratah."
30 Nov 1864	After hearing that the Government intended to nothing about the objections of the residents of Hanbury to the proposeed cemetery adjacent to the Waratah railway station, another public meeting is called to organise continued opposition to the plan.
8 Jul 1865	Newcastle council Cemetery Committee considering a couple of sites for a cemetery - 1. A piece of A. A. Company land adjacent to the Great Northern Railway, beyond the Wallsend junction, and near the Government ballasting ground. 2. The north side of the White Gates, bounded by Throsby's Creek, and containing about twenty acres more or less.
30 Jan 1866	"WARATAH. The inhabitants of our little township (some of them at least) feel some little pleasure in the recent change of Ministry, as they have some hope that the new Minister of Lands will give now what he promised when he held the same office before, viz., all his influence to prevent the new cemetery being in the place where the Government had given the land for it to be, as he was decidedly of opinion that the dead of Newcastle ought not to be brought to the door of our township for interment."
25 Aug 1866	Newcastle council notice of motion on unsuitability of Waratah site, and recommending an alternate site "on the Great Northern Railway, about six miles from Newcastle."
22 May 1867	Newcastle council send a letter to A. A. Company enquiring about the possibility of purchasing some of their land for a cemetery.
15 Feb 1868	Rev. E. C. Pritchard, Primitive Methodist minister, meets with Henry Parkes to press the unsuitabilty of the Waratah cemetery site.
29 Apr 1868	Newcastle Council change their mind and now recommend the Waratah cemetery site, doubtful of securing another more suitable site.
22 Mar 1870	Complaint about the slow pace of progress on the new cemetery … "We are, of course, aware that the Government proceeds generally upon absurdly circumlocutionary principles, as they have done in this very matter ; but it is perfectly unreasonable to suppose that it should require three or four years to complete so simple a piece of business as the granting and dedication of a few acres of land for a cemetery. "
22 Aug 1878	"The COLONIAL SECRETARY has informed the deputation that the Minister for Lands had directed that the manager of the A. A. Co. should be communicated with, and that the purchase of the site should be completed before the end of the present month. The fact is, that if the land is not purchased by that time, the offer of the company to sell the land for the purpose required will lapse, and the citizens will have to look round again, but perhaps in vain."
24 Aug 1878	"Negotiations had been entered into with the Australian Agricultural Company for the purchase of fifty acres of land for a cemetery at £2500, and that, in fact, £3000 had been voted by Parliament for buying a piece of land for this purpose, and for fencing it in."
7 Dec 1878	"It is satisfactory to learn that the vote of £3000 for a cemetery for this city has been appropriated. The Government have just purchased 50 acres of land at Waratah from the A. A. Co. at the rate of £50 per acre, the remaining £500 has been placed in the hands of the Municipal Council to defray the expense of inclosing the same with a substantial fence."

Lost names – “White Gates”

The localities we live in all have names. As new suburbs are built new names arrive, but we are usually unaware of those that have disappeared from our city. “White Gates” for example, formerly described three different locations in Newcastle, each associated with a railway.

In 1857 the Governor General opened the Hunter River Railway, which ran from Newcastle to East Maitland. Two miles from Newcastle station the line crossed the Maitland road, and with the erection of a barrier there, by 1864 the location was known as the “White Gates”. It did not last long, for with increasing rail traffic due to coal cartage, in 1876 the government constructed an overhead road bridge, and the name disappeared.
In 1863 the Waratah Coal Company opened a branch line from the Great Northern Railway to their coal workings near Braye Park. In 1871 Lambton and Waratah councils were deciding what should be the principal road between their municipalities. One option was where Kahibah and Bindera Roads currently run, and the spot where this route went over the colliery railway was referred to as the “White Gates” crossing. The colliery closed in 1876, passenger trains ceased in 1887, and with the railway no longer in use the name disappeared.
In 1861 the Wallsend Coal Company opened a rail line to their colliery. In 1875 the newspaper reported an accident on the Wallsend line “near the White Gates, about 300 yards from the Co?operative junction.” In 1887 the Newcastle to Wallsend tramway opened, and by 1903 there was a White Gates tram stop where Douglas St crossed the rail and tram lines. In 1944 the Housing Commission resumed 35 acres of land south of the tram stop and built 150 homes for the “White Gates” estate. This eventually morphed into just “Whitegates”, a title that has all but disappeared, with only a public reserve and adjacent apartment block bearing that name today.

Whitegates Reserve in Wallsend, a remnant marker of one of three locations in Newcastle formerly known as “White Gates”. OpenStreetMap.

Map from a 1939 real estate poster, showing the White Gates tram stop at Douglas St, Wallsend. National Library of Australia.

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

Additional Information

There were three locations in Newcastle that at various times had the name “White Gates”, each being a place where a road crossed a rail line.

Location	Years mentioned in Trove	Notes
Newcastle West/Wickham	1864 to 1876	Rail line opened 1857. Overhead road bridge constructed 1876.
Lambton/Waratah	1871 to 1880	Rail line opened 1863. Colliery closed 1876. Passenger train service ceased 1887.
Wallsend	1875 to 1995	Rail line operated 1861 to 1953. Tram line operated 1887 to 1949.

The three locations in Newcastle that at various times had the name “White Gates”. Wallsend still has an open space named “Whitegates Reserve”.

1. Newcastle West/Wickham

The location of the “White Gates” crossing at Wickham/Newcastle West, where a bridge now takes Maitland Rd over the rail line.

Article Date Event Date	Notes
31 Mar 1857 30 Mar 1857	Opening of the Hunter River Railway between Newcastle and East Maitland.
9 Aug 1864	"The double line of rail has already been completed between the Wallsend and Waratah junctions … The work of laying the remaining portion is progressing as rapidly as circumstances will permit, and the operation has proceeded as far as to the east side of the white gate, better known as the Maitland road crossing, near Newcastle."
17 Jun 1868	"Our readers will recollect, that a few months since, a number of allotments of Crown land lying near the Great Northern Railway line, between Mr. McPhail's house at Honeysuckle Point and the White Gates, on the Maitland road, were sold by auction, at the Court-house, and purchased by various persons living in and near Newcastle. On the plan of this land, as exhibited at the sale, there appeared a railway crossing, which the purchasers expected would be given, especially as access to the ground could hardly be had in any other way than by this crossing."
24 Jun 1868	"White Gates" mentioned as one of the points on the boundary of a proposed municipal district to the west of Newcastle, incorporating the colliery townships.
20 Oct 1870	"On Friday, a very large iguana, measuring near upon four feet, was killed by Mr C H Hannell in his garden near the White Gates, at the Railway Crossing."
27 Jan 1872	For sale: "SIX BEAUTIFUL BUILDING ALLOTMENTS situated in front of the Wesleyan Burial Ground, near the White Gates, Maitland-road."
29 Jun 1872	"A new railway platform has been opened at Hamilton, a short distance beyond the "white gates", and about two miles from the Newcastle terminus."
20 Jun 1874	"We understand that, in reply to an application from the Wickham Council, some time since, the Government have declined to construct the crossing at the White Gates in a line with the main Maitland road. It is their intention to erect a high level bridge over the railway, as the future shunting of carriages and the weighing of coal will retard the passenger traffic too much; it is also their intention to bring in the new line of rails from the dyke at Bullock Island, and connect them with the main line on the Newcastle side of the White Gates."
4 Jan 1876	"The junction of the Bullock Island Railway with the Great Northern Railway is at a place known as the White Gates, a mile and half or two miles from Newcastle ... At the junction of this extension with the main line there has hitherto been a crossing-place through railway gates, but as the traffic on this part of the railway will before long be very great, an overline bridge has been built for the traffic across the railway, and the gates will be closed. The bridge is constructed of brick and iron, there being something like a quarter of a million bricks, and forty tons of iron in it. The iron girders were made by P. N. Russell and Co. About twenty thousand cubic yards of earthwork taken from the sandhills at Newcastle have been used in the construction of the bridge and its approaches, and the work will be completed, it is believed, in about a fortnight."

2. Lambton

The location of the “White Gates” crossing in Lambton, at the intersection of Griffiths Rd and Kahibah Rd

1873 Waratah Coal Company map, showing where the Lambton to Waratah road crossed the colliery railway. National Library of Australia.

Newcastle Parish map, with location of Betty Bunn’s crossing marked in blue, and the White Gates crossing marked in red. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

Article Date Event Date	Notes
26 Sep 1863	Waratah Coal Company railway to be opened “next week”.
18 May 1871	At the Waratah Council meeting, a motion "for the repairing of the road between the Railway Station and Lambton. Alderman Kerr wanted to know where this road was, and was informed that it crossed the Waratah Company's line at the White Gates, near the small coal heap."
23 Sep 1871	Mention of White Gates at a Lambton Council meeting. This reference is significant because it clearly establishes that the white gates were NOT at Betty Bunn's crossing (bottom end of Acacia St today), but lower down the rail line. "In reference to the line of road to be surveyed and proclaimed between Lambton and the Waratah railway station, stating that the conference had met, when two lines were proposed, one crossing the Waratah Coal Company's railway where it meets the boundary of the two municipalities at the place known as Betty Bunn's crossing ; the other at the company's white gates, or lower crossing, the latter being adopted by the conference."
26 Sep 1871	Lambton Council meeting refers to a "sketch of a main road through the municipality, commencing at the crossing-place on the Waratah Coal Co.'s railway at the white gates at the east of the old tunnels."
20 Jan 1872 16 Jan 1872	Public meeting regarding upcoming Lambton council election … "Then they had had trouble about which should be the road from Waratah to Lambton, and a conference, at which most of the principal persons differed in opinion ; he himself was confident that the lower road, or that by the White Gates crossing was by far the best for both townships, as it could be made more cheaply, and would be a better road. They had adopted the top road, and it was not likely that Waratah would do their part of it for a long time to come. If they did make a bridge over Betty Bunn's Creek, it would not be used much."
27 Jan 1872 23 Jan 1872	Accident on the rail line near the White Gates … "His father's residence is close to the White Gate, or lower crossing of the Waratah and Lambton road, at the lower end of Griffiths' Flat, and when the train was a little beyond this, and approaching the other, or Bunn's crossing …"
6 Jul 1872	In a discussion at Lambton Council about a possible change in municipal boundaries … "Lambton should get the piece of railroad from the New Tunnels to the Junction at the White Gate Crossing."
7 Aug 1873	The White Gates is mentioned in the satirical poem "Lambton Bleatings".
30 Jan 1875	"The crossing place at the creek near the Waratah Company's white gates crossing has also been made much better by the erection of a bridge."
15 May 1876	"I beg to call the attention of our Council to the dangerous state of the bridge across the creek on Griffith's Flat, below the White Gates Crossing."
17 May 1877	Suggested site of a new cemetery near the white gates … "After a careful examination of the ground it was resolved to recommend to the Government the advisability of granting that portion running parallel with the Waratah Company's railway, commencing at the white gates, and running twenty chains down the line with a width of six chains."
16 Aug 1878 12 Aug 1878	"On Monday last, a child belonging to Mr. Richard Hughes, gate keeper at the White Gate Crossing on the Waratah Company's railway, had a most miraculous escape from death."
19 Mar 1880	Last mention in Trove of White Gates in Lambton - at a Lambton Council meeting "Alderman BEVERIDGE called attention to the state of the road from the white gates crossing."

3. Wallsend

The location of the “White Gates” crossing in Wallsend. The shared pedestrian and cycling path follows the route of the former Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company railway.

1927 Wallsend map showing “White Gates” marked near the west end of Wilkinson Ave. State Library of NSW.

Map of the tramways of Newcastle in 1938, showing White Gates to the east of the Co-Operative Junction. Sydney Tramways Museum.

A street directory map (date unknown) shows the location of the “White Gate” tram stop.

Hexham Parish map showing 35 acres of land resumed by Housing Commission for the Whitegates housing estate. Historical Land Records Viewer.

Whitegates Reserve in Wallsend is one of the few reminders of the original name of this housing estate. SIX Maps

An apartment block in Wallsend adjacent to Whitegates Reserve also bears the name “Whitegates”.

Article Date Event Date	Notes
19 Jan 1861	Report on the completion of the Wallsend Coal Company railway.
3 Apr 1875 31 Mar 1875	First mention of White Gates at Wallsend. "On Wednesday afternoon last one of the most painful and lamentable accidents that it has ever been our lot to witness occurred on the Wallsend line, near the White Gates, about 300 yards from the Co-operative junction."
2 Jun 1875	"For Sale, A LEASEHOLD OF FIVE ACRES OF LAND, on which is built a Substantial House, with a Large Garden, well trenched, and planted with Fruit Trees and Grape Vines; also, Good Tank of Water, and the whole securely fenced in. The above is situated at Blue Gum Flat, near the White Gates. For particulars apply to JOHN EVANS."
24 Sep 1896	Deputation to Railway Commissioners call for a tram stopping place “at the white gates”.
27 Aug 1903	Wallsend Council meeting … "Improvements at the road leading towards the White Gate tram stopping place were recommended."
14 May 1908	Wallsend Council meeting referred to "the necessity of a waiting shed being erected at the white gates on the tramline."
23 Jul 1908	Wallsend Council meeting motion to "urge the necessity of having the white gates fixed as a regular stopping place for the trams."
25 May 1917	"The clerk also reported that Mr. Munro, of the Tramway Department, proposed altering the name of the stopping place known as the White Gates. The report was adopted, and it was decided that the name "White Gates" remain as previously."
25 Mar 1925	"The duplication of the [tram] line has now reached as far as the White Gates."
23 Dec 1925	"Along the portion of the line between the stop known as the White Gates and the stopping place for Wallsend Hospital, a difficulty presented itself to the authorities. There the tram line ran parallel with, and in close proximity to, the Newcastle Wallsend Coal Company's railway, which was higher than the tram line."
12 Dec 1936	"From Wallsend-Borehole collieries loading yards, the train had passed the White Gates level crossing and was ascending the long rise which continues above the Heaton-Birmingham Gardens crossing, when a number of trucks with the brake-van stopped and then began to run back down the grade."
22 Jan 1940 20 Jan 1940	"The station officer of Wallsend branch of Newcastle Ambulance (Mr. W. Lowe) found Darrell Davis, 25, of Douglass street, White Gates, Wallsend, in a state of collape in the cutting of the Newcastle-Wallsend Coal Company's branch railway, above the Heaton-Birmingham Gardens' level crossing on Saturday."
12 Nov 1941	Passing of the Housing Bill that established the NSW Housing Commission.
5 May 1944	Acquisition by Housing Commission of 35 acres of land at Wallsend for the Whitegates estate.
8 Jul 1944	"Men have been putting in allotment pegs, and I understand bricks and timber have been ordered," said Ald. McGrath, referring to a start on the Housing Commission's homes at Wallsend, on an area adjacent to Birmingham Gardens. He added that the Government had gazetted the taking over of the land. On the suggestion of Ald. McGrath, it was decided to send another letter to the council asking that a tramway shelter shed be provided at White Gates.
22 Jul 1946 21 Jul 1946	Formation of the White Gates Welfare Association.
28 Nov 1947 19 Dec 1947	The Minister for Housing (Mr. Evatt) would unveil a commemorative stone at the Housing Commission's project at Wallsend on Friday, December 19, at 2 p.m., Whitegates Welfare Association was advised. Replying to a Ministerial inquiry on the origin of the name "Whitegates," the Secretary (Mr. G. Kendon) said he had been told that the area was once an orchard, entry to which was through a set of white gates. The area was generally known at Whitegates, and that name had been accepted by the association. Note: I am somewhat sceptical of the explanation for the origin of the name offered here. The name had been in use for at least 72 years by this time, and the orchard explanation had not been documented previously. In contrast, all the early references to White Gates are in connection with the railway or tramway, so it is much more likely the gates are related to a crossing of a railway rather than an entrance to an orchard.
19 Dec 1947	"A residential area of 147 homes and a shop with a house attached, Whitegates was established by the Housing Commission. It will be officially named to-day by the Minister for Housing (Mr. Evatt), who will unveil a tablet commemorating the completion of the project."
20 Dec 1947 19 Dec 1947	"The Lord Mayor (Ald. Quinlan) read out framed letters announcing the approval of Greater Newcastle Council and the Postmaster-General's Department of the designation "Whitegates," and presented them to the Secretary of Whitegates Welfare Association (Mr. G. Kendon)."
25 Jan 1995	The last mention in Trove of Whitegates, named as a polling place by the NSW Electoral Commisioner. The polling place was probably the former St James church hall on the corner of Abbott/Douglas, Wallsend, which has been a pre-school since 1978. This site was used for polling in 2007 and 2010, but named as "Wallsend East".

This page is part of the collection of Newcastle’s Obsolete Place Names.

Then and Now Tram

This is a series of ‘then and now’ photographs of trams and tramways that I published in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic had just started, I was working from home instead of in an office, and the state government was mandating various restrictions of movement. However leaving home for exercise was always allowed, so each of these tram-related photographs I took involved a walk or a bike ride to get to the destination.

A Picnic Homecoming

This month’s photograph, taken at the border between Lambton and New Lambton looking along Howe Street invites the question “Why is a large group of well-dressed adults and children walking along the tram track towards Lambton?” The answer turns out to be related to transport, but not to trams.

When Lambton Colliery began in 1863 a railway was built to haul coal to the harbour. Roads into Newcastle were in a very poor state and a trip to town was a major undertaking. An appealing alternative was to travel by train. For a few years the colliery allowed passengers in the guards’ van of their coal trains at a cost of 6 shillings per trip. Tiring of this arrangement, they doubled the price in 1866, then ceased the service in 1867.

Residents agitated for the return of a passenger train service, and in 1874 the Waratah Coal Company gave permission for the Government to run a passenger train to Lambton on the railway to their new coal workings. This train operated on Saturdays and public holidays only, with pick-up and set-down at Betty Bunn’s crossing, located at the bottom end of Acacia Avenue where it meets Griffiths Road. The service ceased in 1887 when the tramline through Lambton began operation.

Afterwards the Lambton Colliery railway was occasionally used to convey passengers to special events. One example was the Lambton Public School annual picnic day on Wednesday 25 February 1903. At 9am a train of seven cars left Lambton colliery with 500 children and 400 adults on board and headed for Toronto. On arrival there were refreshments, sports competitions, musical entertainments, and Ralph Snowball was on hand to take group photographs.

At day’s end the picnickers returned by train to Lambton and disembarked near the bridge over the tram line. In the fading light of a summer’s evening as they headed for their homes, Snowball took a final photograph, capturing one of the last occasions a passenger train arrived at Lambton.

Heading home after Lambton Public School Picnic in 1903. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

The article above was first published in the November 2020 edition of The Local.

Additional Information

Photo date

In the article published in The Local, I stated without qualification that the Snowball photo was taken on 25 February 1903 on the occasion of the Lambton Public School Picnic. It is important to note that the photo has no direct attribution to this date and event, but this conclusion is based on indirect evidence. Behind this story was an interesting case of how to locate and date a photograph.

When the University of Newcastle Special Collections first uploaded Snowball’s photo to their Flickr site, somehow it was mistakenly captioned “View from a train, Singleton”. In 2013 both John Shoebridge and Robert Watson identified that the scene was Lambton, and not Singleton. Robert in particular confirmed the location as being Lambton by comparing a number of houses on the top of the hill with another old photo of Lambton.

Houses near Dent St on mis-captioned photo.

In determining the date of the photo, back in 2014 Robert noted that there was an electric light pole, which meant the photo was taken in or after 1890, when Lambton first installed electric lighting.

The tram line in the photo is only a single track, and as the duplication of this portion of the tram route was only opened in July 1911, this indicates that the photo is in the time range 1890 to 1911. Using this information, and noting a similarity with another photo of a dressed up crowd in Lambton Park, I made a guess back in 2014 that the photo might have been on the occasion of the celebrations to inaugurate the electric light scheme in September 1890. Not an unreasonable guess, but as it turns out, wrong.

The next step in unravelling the mystery came six years later, when Robert revisited the photo and made two key observations.

The people in the photo are almost all women and children, with very few men.
A couple of the children are waving flags.

I did a careful count of the people in the photo and found that adult women outnumbered the adult men, three to one. This would indicate that the event being captured took place on a weekday, when the majority of men would be at work. The large number of children would then suggest that this is a school event. This is supported by looking at one of the flags being held aloft, which appears to be the NSW State flag, suggesting that the event was connected with the Lambton Public School.

Prompted by Robert’s observations I then made a third key observation – that the crowd in the photo is not random or dispersing. With one lone exception there are no people in the side streets. Everyone is heading in the same direction. This would indicate that the people are moving as a group, having come from a particular point and heading towards a particular destination. This would be consistent with the idea that the group has just disembarked from a train on the colliery railway and are heading home to Lambton.

Given that the crowd is well dressed I made a guess that the event was connected with a picnic, and along with the three key observations already noted, I searched in Trove in the known date range for the keywords “Lambton train school picnic”, which immediately revealed a very likely candidate for the occasion – the Lambton Public School picnic on 25 February 1903.

One final and compelling confirmation of this dating, came from Newcastle Library’s Online Collection. Knowing that the collection had quite a number of Ralph Snowball picnic photos, I searched the collection and found a photo that Ralph had taken at the school picnic at Toronto on that day. It is quite probable that Snowball travelled with the school group in the chartered train, and took a photograph of the disembarked passengers from the train carriage up on the embankment before the rail line traversed the bridges over Hobart Rd and Howe St.

Group photo from Lambton Public School picnic at Toronto, 25 February 1903. Photo by Ralph Snowball. Newcastle Libraries Online Collection 001 002292.

There is one other documented occasion, on 23 November 1900, when Lambton Public School travelled by train to a picnic at Toronto. It may be that Snowball’s photo was from this earlier picnic, but given Snowball’s picnic photo from 1903 I think it much more likely that it is of the February 1903 picnic.

The Waratah Company Rail LINE Passenger Service

Passenger train services to and from Lambton on the Waratah Coal Company’s railway commenced on Monday 25 May 1874, with a special train on the Queen’s birthday public holiday. Regular weekly Saturday evening services then commenced the following Saturday 30 May 1874. By March 1875, falling patronage meant that services were reduced to alternate Saturdays. The last passenger train on the line ran on Saturday 19 August 1887.

Passenger pick-up and set-down was at a location known as “Betty Bunn’s Crossing”, which was the point where the road between Lambton and Waratah crossed the coal company’s railway.

1906 map showing the Waratah and Lambton coal company railways, annotated with passenger service embarkation locations. University of Newcastle, Living Histories.

I have never seen an old map with Betty Bunn’s Crossing marked on it, but all the evidence of many newspaper articles points to it being the crossing of the Waratah coal rail line with the Lambton to Waratah road. Another reasonably clear indication of the location is the death notice for Thomas George Griffith who died “at Betty Bunn’s Crossing” in 1918. The 1906 map shows his property adjacent to the crossing.

Death notice for Thomas George Griffith, of Betty Bunn’s Crossing, Lambton. 16 May 1918

Property location of T. G. Griffith, Lambton

Notice in Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate, 19 Aug 1887, advising of discontinuance of passenger train services to Waratah Tunnels near Lambton.

Railway Timetables printed on 19 Aug 1887 and 20 Aug 1887, showing the dropping of the fortnightly Waratah Tunnels service.

Newspaper articles

Article Date Event Date	Notes
12 Dec 1862 9 Dec 1862	Passing of "Morehead and Young Railway Act" to enable the construction of the Lambton Colliery railway.
25 Aug 1863	By August 1863 the Lambton colliery railway was almost completed : "… the Waratah and Lambton Collieries, whose branch lines are already formed, only requiring some further slight addition being made to their permanent ways."
6 Oct 1866	"A meeting of miners was held at Pit Town, for the purpose of expressing the disapprobation of themselves and the inhabitants of Lambton and Pit Town generally, at the recent raising of the passenger's fares on the Lambton railway from 6d. to 11d. The meeting resolved that a deputation of four wait upon Mr. Croudace, the colliery manager, and ask him to represent to the Government the following requests, namely: 1. That the fares be lowered to 6d ; 2. That return tickets be issued on the railway ; 3. That a carriage in lieu of the present break van be substituted for passengers."
3 Sep 1867	"Within the past few days a memorial has been taken round the city, to which the names of a large number of the inhabitants have been attached, for presentation to the Minister for Works, with reference to having a regular passenger train to run between this city and the various coal mines, on a Saturday, for the convenience of the people residing in those localities who are desirous of visiting Newcastle."
13 Nov 1869	Call for a passenger train on the Lambton railway … "Why not, in order to give the enterprise a fair chance, have a thorough special train for Saturday afternoons, to leave Old Lambton (which would suit the requirements of the neighbourhood of Dark Creek and New Lambton, too) say, at, from four to half-past four o'clock." The letter writer also notes the bad state of the roads … "Lambtonians have to wend their way betimes up to their knees in mud through a nasty road, extending over a distance of from two to five miles, to reach the Government six o'clock train at Waratah, which is by no means a pleasant undertaking, particularly after a hard day's work, and which few, from mere choice, care about tackling, I can tell you. "
9 Dec 1871 5 Sep 1871	Public meeting “to establish a goods and passenger traffic on the Lambton Colliery railway.”
16 Mar 1872	In regard to "a petition from the inhabitants of Lambton, praying that a goods and passenger train may be run to Newcastle" the Commissoner of Railways writes that "by a special arrangement with Messrs. Morehead and Young, a passenger train used to run to Lambton, but in January, '67, they asked to be relieved ; this was consented to, and the traffic then ceased. I cannot, therefore, reintroduce the practice without, the consent of Messrs. Morehead and Young."
19 Aug 1873 16 Aug 1873	It appears that there are occasional passenger services on the Lambton line on pay Saturday's … "This being pay-night, the principal street in the city was more thronged than we have seen it for a considerable time past. The various trains from Wallsend and Lambton brought in a large number of passengers, and these added much to fill our main street."
7 Feb 1874	"Here is the case of the people living at Lambton and New Lambton ; and so far as railway communication is concerned, they are completely isolated, although when the pits are at work they have from four to five trains per day running to each of the collieries; but being private ones, and the proprietors refusing to allow passenger traffic on them."
21 Feb 1874 28 Feb 1874	A one-off experiment of a passenger service to be tried. "The committee appointed to agitate for a train to run between Newcastle and Lambton have at last succeeded, after great exertions and through strenuous efforts … A special passenger train will run from Newcastle to Old Lambton Crossing on Saturday night, the 28th February, 1874. The train will leave Lambton for Newcastle on or about 5 o'clock p.m., and returning from Newcastle to Lambton on or about 11 p.m. The fares will be 9d. for the return ticket and sixpence for the single fare."
6 Mar 1874 28 Feb 1874	"A Saturday night train commenced to run from Lambton to Newcastle on the 28th ultimo, and over 500 return tickets were taken, besides single ones; the brass band accompanied the excursionists, amounting in number to about 900. "
7 Mar 1874 28 Feb 1874	"Saturday last was a new era in Lambtonian history. The passenger train, as announced, arrived here about 4 p.m. with fourteen carriages and the van, and long before the appointed time for starting almost every available seat was occupied. We have heard that there were more than 500 tickets sold. If this train is to be permanent, as we hope it will, there will have to be some other arrangement for giving out the tickets, for it will never do for people to have to climb up into the guard's van, as was the case on Saturday." "This train is a fine thing for the business people in Newcastle, but quite the reverse for our town's business folk, who are considerably down in the mouth about so much ready money going out of their hands … the next step ought to be to agitate for a goods train to be run here."
14 Mar 1874 12 Mar 1874	Newcastle Chronicle's report of a public meeting to discuss getting a passenger train service to Lambton. An allegation is made that business people agitated against aregular train service as it would hurt their trade. Mr W Goodhew “observed that the Lambton line was a good and convenient one no doubt, but when they were allowed the use of it on one night, and deprived of it the next what dependence could be placed on it. He moved that application be made to the directors of the Waratah Coal Company for permission to run the train on their line of railway to the new tunnel, to Betty Bunn's crossing.”
14 Mar 1874 12 Mar 1874	The Newcastle Morning Herald's report of the public meeting regarding a passenger train service to Lambton. The report notes that "Mr. Croudace, the Manager, has granted permission for a passenger train to be run from here to Newcastle on the demonstration day and also for a Saturday night's train for four Saturdays ; and if it proves payable, the train will run regularly." Despite this promising sign, a regular train service on the Lambton line never eventuated.
18 Mar 1874	"Great disappointment was felt at the non-arrival of the passenger train last Saturday evening. There were about 200 or 300 passengers waiting, who had to return to their homes annoyed. The blame is attributed to Mr. Croudace, for, I believe if he would consent to the train's running, the Government would; and, the advantage the inhabitants would derive would be very great."
31 Mar 1874	"The subcommittee appointed to conduct the application to the Waratah Coal Company, for a passenger train to be laid on, have received a reply from the directors, expressing their willingness to grant the request … The sub-committee accordingly waited upon Mr. Higgs, the traffic manager, to gain the required Government permission, and that gentleman has informed them that there were some arrangements pending respecting a train to be laid on by the Lambton Company, which had not yet been decided upon."
4 Apr 1874	"A meeting of parties interested in the Lambton train movement was held at the Lambton crossing, Mr. T. Hardy in the chair, when it was determined to send a deputation to the Minister for Works, to impress upon him the necessity of running a passenger train to this town at once."
23 May 1874	"I have been instructed to inform you that the directors of the Waratah Coal Company have no objection to the Government running, for the convenience of the inhabitants of the district, on Saturday nights and holidays passenger trains on the Waratah Coal Company's private line of railway, from the junction with Great Northern Railway to the Company's new tunnel, at the same rate as it is done on the Wallsend Coal Company's line, provided arrangements are made so as not to interfere with the Waratah Company's coal traffic, and that the Government construct at its own cost all sidings, platforms, landing places, &c., which may be required for passenger traffic." The following Monday, being a public holiday for Queen Victoria's birthday, "arrangements were made for the train to leave Bunn's crossing on Monday, 25th May at half-past 10 o'clock a.m."
27 May 1874 25 May 1874	First passenger train on the Waratah Company railway. "The Railway Auditors laid on a train from Bunn's Crossing, on the Waratah Company's line, on Queen's Birthday, which was moderately patronised." In the same week that passenger trains start running to Lambton on the Waratah Company line, promises are being made to run passenger trains on the Lambton colliery line … "The following arrangement was made, between Mr. Croudace, on behalf of the Lambton Company, and the Minister, viz., that [Government] trains should be run ... that the Company give their line free and keep it clear of their own traffic ... The Government to take all other responsibility … this arrangement to come in force immediately after the holidays." In spite of this arrangement being made, nothing came of it.
30 May 1874	"Although the Minister for Works promised that a passenger train should be run to this town on the first Saturday after the holidays, no communication whatever has been received by the Traffic Manager on the subject. The arrangement made between the Minister for Works and Mr. Croudace was that four trains should be run, commencing on the first Saturday after Queen's Birthday."
2 Jun 1874 30 May 1874	"On Saturday, the first evening train for passengers ran from the Waratah Co.'s Tunnels to Newcastle, for the accommodation of a large population in that neighbourhood. The number of passengers by whom it was availed of, amply testified the necessity for the convenience. We take it for granted that the train will be continued, as otherwise the people of Grovestown and Lambton would have to give up all idea of getting into Newcastle during the winter evenings, either by way of the Broad Meadow or Waratah, the former being a sheet of water, and the latter a perfect slough of mud."
18 Jun 1874	"Nothing further has transpired here with reference to the granting of a passenger train [on the Lambton line], and many are now of opinion that it will not be allowed, as the one from the Waratah Tunnels is so central."
4 Aug 1874 1 Aug 1874	Fatal accident on the Waratah Company railway, when the Saturday evening passenger train strikes Andrew Tunney, who while drunk was riding his horse along the railway.
11 Aug 1874	After the death of Andrew Tunney on the railway line, the passenger service to Lambton is halted. A conspiracy theory arises that storekeepers on the inquest jury had a vested interest in stopping the passenger service in order to keep business in the town.
17 Mar 1875	"I believe that it is also intended to make another effort towards getting a passenger train on the Lambton line, and with some chance of success. Mr. Croudace has been heard to express his willingness to allow it, and no doubt the Government will have seen by this time the fallacy of running the train to the Waratah New Tunnels. As a proof that they have seen their mistake the train is now only run on alternate Saturdays, and then with very few passengers, the majority of the people preferring to walk to Waratah station or down the line to Hamilton rather than go to the new tunnels, which is very little nearer."
22 Sep 1875 18 Sep 1875	A public meeting to petition the Governemnt "asking them to construct a branch line of railway from the Great Northern, through Lambton, and thence to Wallsend." "It was one of the anomalies of the coal-mining district of Newcastle that a line of railway came into the centre of each township, and yet the residents could not travel on these lines at all, or they did so as a favour, granted by the coal companies, which they could withdraw at any time." The movement pushing for this railway never gained momentum. Instead, in the next decade the push was for a tram line rather than a train line to Wallsend.
28 Apr 1876	The possibility of running a special passenger train on Lambton line to take patrons to see a performance of “Little Nell” at the Victoria Theatre is discussed. "I am sure that Mr. Croudace would allow a train to run on his railway for this purpose. He has obliged Mr. Bennett in this way before and would do so again."
4 Jan 1877 1 Jan 1877	A rather tongue-in-cheek one sentence report of a minor incident on the Waratah Tunnels line … "The gates on the Waratah Railway were closed when the Passenger train was coming up from Newcastle on New Year's night, but the engine opened them without a key."
27 Feb 1877	"The alteration in time of the Pay-Saturdays' passenger train to the Waratah Company's Tunnel, from 2 o'clock p.m. to 11 o'clock a m., does not meet with the approbation of the public. The housewives especially are dissatisfied with the alteration, as 11 o'clock is too soon for them to leave home, having their domestic duties to attend to."
6 Apr 1880 3 Apr 1880	"On Saturday evening Gordon's 'bus was capsized near Bunn's crossing, when coming from the 10 o'clock train. "
29 Jun 1883	"At the last Municipal Council meeting Alderman Thornton very properly drew attention to the want of accommodation, in the shape of a platform, at the Waratah Company's tunnel, for the use of passengers travelling from there to Newcastle on pay Saturdays."
2 May 1885	Grievance from a Lambton miner's wife regarding the general uncleanliness of the Waratah tunnel train.
19 Aug 1887 13 Aug 1887	Last passenger train on the Waratah Tunnels railway. An advertisement on the following Friday announces the discontinuance of the service.
23 Nov 1900 21 Nov 1900	Lambton Public School picnic to Toronto. "About 9 a.m. upwards of 600 children, all nicely dressed in holiday attire, with their flags and banners, presented themselves at the school grounds, and formed a spectacle well worth witnessing. A procession was then formed, and the little ones marched along Elder-street and through the park to the Lambton Colliery railway, where, thanks to the kindness of Mr. T. Croudace in granting the use of the line, a train of seven cars awaited them."
5 Feb 1903	Planning meeting for the Lambton Public School picnic. "It was decided to hold the picnic at Toronto, entraining the children at the Lambton Colliery railway, as in the previous year, if Mr. Croudace and Mr. Kitching will permit the train to run on the colliery line." (The reference to a picnic train "in the previous year" is a little puzzling, as I can find no record of that event. It may be that it is a time-inaccurate reference to the picnic in November 1900, two years previously.)
21 Feb 1903	"The annual picnic of the Lambton Public School will be held on Wednesday, the 25th instant. The train will leave Lambton Colliery at 9 a.m., calling at all stations on the way to Toronto. There has been an energetic committee at work for some months, preparing for the event, and it is hoped that the parents will show their appreciation of the good work done by attending in large numbers on that day."
27 Feb 1903 25 Feb 1903	"The annual picnic of the local Public School, took place at Toronto on Wednesday, and was largely attended by the parents and the general public. A train of seven cars left the Lambton Colliery railway at 9 a.m., containing about 500 children and 400 adults … The return journey was made in time to allow the little ones to get home before dark."

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Category Archives: Tram

Zaara Street Power Station

Street names on maps

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Electric Trams

Additional Information

Newcastle Trams

Timeline of tram operations in Newcastle, 1887-2019

The end of trams

Newcastle Light Rail

Newspaper articles – Electric trams

Sandgate cemetery train

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Church of England Cemetery

Newcastle West Cemeteries

Wallsend Cemetery

Proposed Waratah Cemetery

Sandgate Cemetery

Mortuary Station, Newcastle West

Wallsend Mortuary Train and TramWay hearses

Ralph Snowball’s Cemetery Photos

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Waratah Cemetery

Newspaper articles

Lost names – “White Gates”

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1. Newcastle West/Wickham

2. Lambton

3. Wallsend

Then and Now Tram

A Picnic Homecoming

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Photo date

The Waratah Company Rail LINE Passenger Service

Newspaper articles