SPRING finally made an appearance for the Thursday Walkers, with temperatures warming up slightly for the Stockton ferry trip to Queen’s Wharf, and walk around parts of the old eastern end of Newcastle City.
The group passed wonderful old buildings, several historical sites, some whose heritage served as a reminder of the city’s convict and industrial past.
Christchurch Cathedral was the goal at the top of the big hill-climb before morning tea and another steep, but shorter climb to The Obelisk and its 360-degree views to the harbour, the city, the coastline and out to Nobby’s Headland.
“As a sign of continual change, the city view was peppered with cranes building more high-rise apartment and office blocks,” walker Cherry Hughes told NOTA.
King Edward Park and popular Newcastle Beach and the Ocean Baths were busy with the school holidays. A lunch stop was followed by a walk along the coastline past Nobby’s Beach to the harbour, on to the ferry terminal and home, with one highlight being the recent action to redevelop the wharf area.
The next week, winter’s spectre loomed via the cool breeze and overcast sky as the walkers prepared to leave for a tour of Karuah, starting at the old highway bridge.
“The area around here was known as Alicetown, named after the wife of one of the managers of the Australian Agricultural Co who originally owned all the land from there up to Tahlee,” Ms Hughes said.
“The bridge was opened in 1957 and eventually became an integral part of the Pacific Highway, allowing relatively easy road access from Sydney to Brisbane.”
Plenty remain who might remember an interstate journey being waylaid at the Karuah punt, prior to the bridge, or being forced to detour via Allworth and Gloucester.
Next was a jaunt around Raymond Terrace, following a self-guided summary of various historical places and buildings, starting from Riverside Park, passing the Junction Inn Hotel, which holds the second oldest continuous licence in NSW. Next we wandered along King Street, with some wonderful old buildings now presenting a combination of residential, commercial and deserted fronts, with some highlighting depth markers denoting the severity of flood waters over the years.
King Street was the main road before heavy flooding pushed things back a few blocks. But back in the day, the area was a stop between Newcastle and Morpeth along the rivers.
Sketchley Pioneer Cottage and Museum, a monument to the area’s past, was the goal of this walk, a convict-built timber slab barn converted to a three-room farmhouse after the original homestead on the eastern side of the Williams River burnt down in 1857.
The cottage was bought by Port Stephens Council in 1976 in trust for the Raymond Terrace and District Historical Society and moved to its current location in 1977 for all to see.
The rains washed out a planned ‘North Arm Cove Wander’, to see the rugged and rocky bushland that was once pipe-dreamed as a port city, including erroneous claims that it was shortlisted for the nation’s capital.
The next week brought a glorious spring day with bright sunshine and temperature in the mid-20s, just right for a stroll through Stroud, starting from the western parklands, through the central shopping area and the local cemetery.
Hills and wonderful views along the way, then back to the cars, taking in some historical buildings, passing The Stroud Gate and meandering through Stroud Showgrounds.
Silo Hill’s unusually steep incline proved a challenge, but lunch at the top was a reward in and of itself.
November will see a group enjoying a special outing with a three-day, two-night visit to Grafton to take in the Jacaranda Festival, while those not making the trip will revisit the previously planned North Arm Cove wander.
Other walks scheduled include Lemon Tree Passage, along the shores of Tilligery Creek, Soldiers Point to Corlette around a southern shore of Port Stephens and the final walk for the year, a twilight walk through the Mungo Brush rainforest.
There are no walks scheduled through the hot summer months; the group will resume Thursday, 4 March.
By Thomas O’KEEFE
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