Saturday 9 August 2014

My Home Town

The weather has really turned now.

Photo taken in the Blue Mountains source: Sydney Morning Herald

Needless to say, this fair weather rider has been busy doing other things. I sat down at the computer tonight, not really knowing what I was going to do then realised I never did a proper write up about the trip to Newcastle, the first and only trip I've done so far on Huck.

I'm not going to wax lyrical about the trip, you already know I enjoyed the ride .. and loved the adventure on my new baby. I think I'll just show you some pics of the town that I grew up in. It has changed a lot since the years when I caught a train from my home in Lake Macquarie to Newcastle to go to the beach when I should have been in school. It's even changed a lot in the few years since I left and the places where I used to go out are no longer there. We went out for dinner one night with Terry's daughter and her family, I didn't get pics of that cause well .. to tell the truth I forgot to grab my camera when we rushed out of the motel. But it's a great little area that has grown up out of the bunch of run down wool sheds that I remember from my youth. There are many restaurants and plenty of places to go for a night out with friends or family. We visited one of the ice creameries even though the night was decidedly chilly.

The hotel that we stayed in was strange for me, it is one of the high rises that has popped up in the area that used to be taken up with the Royal Newcastle Hospital. The hospital was unrepairable damaged in the 1989 earthquake and the prime real estate has been taken over by expensive hotels and multimillion dollar apartment buildings that look over the wonderful Newcastle beach.


Getting into the motel was an adventure I have to say. I was alright navigating us to the motel even in the dark as it was about 7pm by the time we got there. Then we had to get into the car park, I let Terry go first so he could show me how easy it was. We had to go under an automatic gate that was opened with our room key, I was hoping it would stay up long enough while I gathered my courage for the next part. After a sharp left turn it was down a steep slippery concrete ramp and an immediate sharp right hand turn at the bottom, then nearly straight into a sharp left again for the second slippery ramp at the bottom of which was the last sharp left hander before putting them into a parking spot on the right .. oh my! All of this had to be just done in one go, if I had've paused I'm sure something would have gone wrong. As it was I did it and even though I was shaking when I finally got off the bike, I was ecstatic at my accomplishment!

The Bikes in their shelter.

We took my mum out for breakfast the next day at a place that I'd never been to. It's called the Paymasters Restaurant, as it's name suggests it was used as the paymasters office for railway workers. The railway terminal is very close by. It was built in 1879 on a site that was used as a convict lumberyard then stockades from 1804 - 1847. We saw some of the relics that are left from that time when we visited, they are underground things that are covered with glass so didn't photograph very well. Originally it was the Warfingers Office and became the Paymasters Office where they paid the railroad workers in cash later. In 1981 it was left empty and let to become run down.

Paymasters house in its run down state. From: link
In 1993 it was restored and the restaurant has been there since 1994.

What the Paymasters looks like today.

We had gotten to breakfast early .. I mean really early!! So while we waited for Mum we wondered down to the foreshore. Now this area has a lot of memories for me as that's the way I walked from the train station to the beach in my youth. Wow has it changed! Some things stay the same though, they can pretty up the walkways and put in parks, they look lovely, but they will never really be able to change the harbour that is the mouth of the Hunter river where it meets the ocean.


Looking in one direction you can still see some of the industrialisation that Newcastle was built on.


The mountain you can see in the sunlight in the background is Mt Sugarloaf, those towers are the tv towers that service the Hunter region. It's a great place, and somewhere I really must visit again one day soon.

Looking towards the ocean you can see where river meets ocean .. and the light house that isn't operational any more but still a landmark called Nobby's. Nobby's Beach is the beach I favored all those years ago.


All along this here used to be where the tug and pilot boats used to moor, not sure if they still do, you can see one pilot boat there, maybe they were all out working while we were there.

We wandered around the park beside the foreshore for a little while then went back to Paymasters for breakfast with Mum.


The rest of the day was spent doing not much at all. We wandered back to the motel, along the way we passed some buildings that haven't changed much since my childhood.


And they did invoke a sense of nostalgia, even though I never thought about them when I was young, I walked past a lot of them on a regular basis and seeing them after so long away brings a strange feeling.


This is all that's left of the old Royal Newcastle Hospital, I did some of my nursing training right through those doors and looked out some of those windows at the ocean on my breaks.

We wandered around the Hunter Street Mall for a while at lunch time and had a lovely meal at one of the trendy new places that has sprung up. Then just spent the rest of the day doing nothing. The next day was our trip home .. first we had to get the bikes back out of that car park. I lined Huck up at the first ramp then just went for it .. not stopping til I got to the driveway. Terry followed me and we made it out of the city center to a new bike shop in Islington.

Lots of bikes to look at, but I was interested mostly in trying on as many helmets as I could. There aren't a lot of choices here in Dubbo .. but as you know, I didn't end up finding one there. Terry did ...



And then we rode home without getting lost this time. It was a great trip and all the better for being the last time I've really ridden in so long that my memory of riding is starting to fade I'm sure of it. That will get better soon, the weather will start to turn nice again soon. But even so I do expect that I'll still be a bit slack in the blogging department. I have decided to start a uni course, that might take me 3 years to complete, or might take me a hell of a lot longer if I get lazy. We'll see, the thing is it's taking a bit of my time .. and has held my interest so far. I'll post up when I've nothing else to do never fear .. I'm just not managing to keep up with what all my friends are up to like I used to.

16 comments:

  1. Well don't stray too far from your bloggio, will miss reading it. Nice pits, your hometown is really pretty!

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    1. Sure thing Dar, I'll still be sticking my nose in every now and then.

      Some of it is really pretty, some of it is still very much industrial looking .. the town originally grew on mining then made it's fortune on steel works (now closed down) now it's starting to make itself look a little prettier. It's changed so much since I moved that it's like visiting somewhere new when I get to go home.

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  2. I was in Newcastle in about 1996 on my CBR600. I noticed it was very industrial. When I went back there about 5 years ago it had become very modernized with lots of shops, restaurants and apartments so much different than I remembered how it was.
    Blog whenever you can Brenda, your very good at it.

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    1. A lot of that change started before that with the earthquake, some parts took advantage of the need to rebuild and prettied up a lot. I think that Newcastle had a bit of an identity crisis once the steel works closed down and has just started to work out what kind of town it wants to be.

      That's very kind of you to say Steve, but you know that I'm just copying off you guys :) I'll still be round every now and then.

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  3. I'd also like to say, what a pretty city. And as unfortunate as the earthquake was it seemed to have helped re-shaping town. Also, I would like to encourage you to continue blogging whenever you can (or just post some pics from the road ...). Good luck with your studies. I have recently picked up French again but the older one gets the harder the study gets... or is that just me?

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  4. Thanks Sonja,

    It's not just you, I'm finding it difficult to start learning again, but I'll give it a go! Hope your French is going well.

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  5. It may be an industrial town, but your pics have made it very pretty.

    Great job navigating the car park. Without fear there would be no courage.

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    1. Oh I like that saying Brandy, gonna put that on my blackboard in the kitchen for a bit of inspiration!

      It is a pretty town in a lot of places, the suburb I lived in before we moved was beautiful, sadly I didn't take photos back then, need to go back there and get some pics I think.

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  6. Reading your comments about the ramp brought back a memory. A few months after I started I took the bike across to Tasmania which involves riding the bike into the Spirit of Tasmania up a big steep ramp, surrounded by other bikes. And then down at the other end of course. Haven't been to Newcastle for about 20 years - enjoyed reading about it and great photos.

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    1. I've been on the ferry, but only in the car. I've always thought it would be scary taking a bike on it, but worth it once you get to the other side. It's on the list!

      I if it's been that long since you've been to Newcastle, you wouldn't recognise it, I go back about once a year and it's changed ever time.

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  7. Brenda:

    Places are never what you remembered, or how they were. Nothing seems to stay the same, except the images in your mind

    keep in touch and give us a sign, once in a while, that all is okay in your world

    bob: riding the wet coast

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    1. Ah but Bob a home town always bring that sense of nostalgia no matter how long it's been between visits. You always hold those streets that you walked as a child close to your heart eh.

      Ta Bob, I'll be around :)

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  9. Hi buddy! I don't have your e-mail address and want to reach you so I'm trying to do that here.

    The pink boxing gloves are currently in Australia. You expressed interest in them a while back. If you still want to receive them for a picture, let me know and I'll have them mailed to you from the blogger who has them (Luan). If not, that's fine but let me know so I can direct the gloves elsewhere. My e-mail is fhu@pipeline.com Please drop me a line. Thanks!

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  10. Just checking in. Hope all is well with you and Terry.

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  11. Hi Brandy, thanks for checking in :) We are doing OK, things good a bit hectic and I haven't even kept up with what all of you are doing but as soon as christmas is over I'm planing to get back into it a bit more than I have been.

    I did see the sad news about Bob and my thoughts were with him, his family and his blogging family.

    Hope you and Brad and everyone else out there has a wonderful christmas .. will catch up soon I promise!

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