The Mater Hospital, Waratah will be rebuilt. Oh! I'm forgetting its new name: CalveryMater. The balconies on the end had been notable additions. Not. Also, the building dosen't really have a lean to it.





More demolition this time at Newcastle hospital from the top down. Labour ward has vanished. Labour ward in the days when the hospital was built would have been a different story to that of todays. For a start the Mother was forsaken and left on her own without a support person. Equipment would have been minimal. Intensive care cribs probably didn't exist. Shaving and other strange things were de rigueur. Soft furnishings - no way. Spa bath?
Later, this hospital was quite innovative in that the babes (ignore recent connotations) spent most of the time with the mother rather than in a central nursery - this was no time for rest and recovery! But not at visitng time when newborns were shephered into the viewing nursery behind the glass. To seek early return home after a few days was considered outrageous. A seven day stay was not unusual.
The Mater at Waratah was probably the hospital of choice based on the old fashioned idea that new mothers were delicate beings in need of care, freed of the babe to some extend. What luxury, how could they spoil the challenge in that manner? Another fashionable hospital in Sydney liked to see the new parents have an evening out alone before the mother returned home again.
Ultra sounds and scans were unknown. Certain worrying conditions in expectant mothers don't appear to be monitored nowdays, hope these have resolved themselves by magic.
Despite the high tech approach, childbirth still remains the same unrelenting labour of love and dare I say, drama and with an element of risk.
Round 3am, in relative peace, in the presence of a confident midwife, to watch her bathe and dresse a healthy delivered newborn, is an unforgetable little ritual.

The birthplace of Western development in Port Stephens. Old Tahlee House has a pleasant outlook over gardens and water ways and was an official residence in the early days of the Australian Agricultural company. The very first house had a fire and was rebuilt. It had passed into private hands in 1856. Remnants of Kitchen and servant quarters as well as a cellar exist from those first days.
The Tahlee Bible College now has the estate and is interested in the heritage and conducts guided tours. More information is on their web site here.
A former owner had been very interested in establishing a beautiful garden and in entertaining guests. They journeyed there by water in a steam yacht to moorings in a quaint little harbour then up the steps and terraced garden to join the party.





The AA Company was quite active in the settlement of the colony. The Australian Ag was formed in England by the big end of town in 1824 with the prospect of a grant of one million acres from which to reap exports from the new colony. Tahlee was the focus of one such vast property. The hills, the forrests, the cedars, lakes and wonderful river valleys were handed over by the Worimi people to the Agricultural company in 1828.
The 'expert' adventurer, Dawson was in charge of the development. By horseback his group travelled up the beaches from Newcastle to the bay and Dawson went to the northern side as the desired location for sheep raising and fine wool. Tahlee was the gateway somewhat in the path of the southerly weather. The Arctic explorer, Parry, was the next appointed commissioner and his previous xperience was transferable, we hope!
However, the land was unsuitable for sheep grazing and stock was eventually moved to more suitable areas inland. Stroud was one village among the local develoment. It wasn't easy to fine enough settlers and labour was scarce. Coal and minerals deposits were investigated. Road and rail links were envisaged but did not proceed. Overall, the venture enjoyed only limited success at this site. In 1849 the company ceased to use Tahlee house and it was sold to Manton in 1856 and the lands were eventually sold.

From the old homestead down to more of the Bible college and the hall painted green. A swimming pool is on the shores. A path from Tahlee house leads down to a tiny boat harbour lined by stone work carefully built in the early days.


The college would be reminiscent of any church mission in some far flung country in its collection of ad hoc buildings and idiosyncrasies typically found sitting in an idlyic location.
Times change and the Bible College is setting up an accredited language school for teaching English to overseas students in what is a competitve market. The country lifesyle and water sport has something to offer them.
Other church activites and camps are undertaken on the campus.




The Hall. This is of interest to those who knew Greta Migrant 'Camp' (for post-war immigrants). No mean feat, the hall was moved from the Migrant camp, several hours drive away, by groups of volunteers using their vehicles to get it there. In reassembling, the arrangment of the windows has been changed. Curiously, the admin office is on the stage!

















The locality was called Carrington. Out beyond the Bible College, nearby, is a group of houses and an oyster farm. A happy Labrador was 'fishing' off these old timbers. A little church was built here very early on. It became a youth hostel.


Leaving Tahlee is a subdivision where most of the land has been zoned non-urban and regular sized buildings or occupation has been prohibited. It appears to continue to be bought and sold.




North Arm Cove in the same area is a more recent village resting by the shores like a ghost town on this particular day.
Close by is the site of a grand plan for Port Stephens city prepared by Walter Burley Griffin (American designer of Canberra).
Two thousand lots were subdivided on the ridges of a modern metropolis with glorious wide and curved streets and public spaces approved by Stroud Shire in 1918. A rail link was envisaged to go with this proposed major port and naval base in the name of commendable decentralisation. But before too long it was decided that a port so close to Newcastle was economically untenable.
Pindimar, to the east, on land from the AA company, also had big plans for a city by Walter Scott-Griffiths but they did not go ahead either. Biding their time?

The data is from works by Armstrong (1996) Fraser (2002) and Goold (1981).

King Edward Park has a steep and winding road. Here is the gardener (driving a 'Gator) imagining he is in a hill climb event. The Car Club does have an annual Hill climb with cars sliding around here or close to the edge of the cliffs. Most other days it is peaceful. The public has limited car access to this fun drive now that too many fears are held about safety. Some boulders get loose at times.
Horse shoe bend (and sunken garden) was formed by convicts in the time of Major Morisset who probably wanted a path to his swimming pool which is close by and was mentioned in the previous post but the historian, Goold (1981) described it as the first attempt at beautification in the settlement. The park is also the scene of outdoor movie evenings.

When the beach is closed because of dangerous surf there's always the Bogey Hole instead in the rock platform below the cliffs. Heavy surf yesterday pounded the rocks and it wasn't even high tide. The power was awesome; the treacherous water inviting.













Above: the southern end of the old pool. Some parts of our environment are almost permanent. The pool was built about 1820.










To the north: Newcastle







In the steps of Major James Thomas Morisset who had the pool cut out of the rocks by convicts around 1820 . It was know as the Commandant's Bath for James' personal use.



After swimming, kick-back at the Bogie Hole Coffee Lounge corner of Hunter and Pacific street, where else?.

Vocab: Bogeyhole, bogie: slang: a swimming hole. Also means snot, also bogey man, boogie-man, bogey as in golf and bogy wheel as in trains.

Half-hidden Chinese dragons crouching in a shopping trolley after a New Year's performance.

Waratah Bowling Club last year. Now it is deserted and closed and boarded up. Some said that a sports club was moving there or a church club or a migrant centre.
I believe bowling clubs occupy public land so would go to some good public use or revert to parkland.

This was unearthed on a building site at the Harbour. I think it is part of an old tug boat or a life boat.