After breakfast we drove to Newcastle which is about an hours drive away. It is the second most populated area in New South Wales. It is at the mouth of the Hunter River which leads up to the Hunter Valley (where they make wine) but is more closely linked to the Hunter Region Coal fields. Newcastle is the latest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 159.9 million tonnes in 2017. All of this is in evidence as you drive along next to the road is the machinery that takes the massive piles of coal along miles and miles of conveyor belts into the ships, one of the conveyor belts was actually moving coal but it was very difficult to see as we drove along and we were not allowed to stop to get a better look! It would have been really interesting to go in and watch the process but I think it is more industrial than tourist! The area was originally settled in 1797 when coal was discovered rather by accident, they had been searching for a number of run-away convicts but found a deep water port and coal very near by but it would seem that they didn’t ever find the convicts! In true british fashion we set up a coal mining operation and staffed it with convicts, it was a place of harsh punishment as it was where the most dangerous convicts were sent. Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822 when it was opened up to farming but it remained under military rule until 1823. The convicts were also used to build the breakwater to improve the port entrance, a task which took 14 years in total to complete as the workforce (convicts) were moved to Port Macquarie when the settlement closed down. The breakwater was 80% complete when the convicts left after 2 years hard labour, the civilian workforce and bureaucratic posturing meant that funding and policy changed a number of times which is why it wasn’t completed for so long – perhaps there is something to be said for a military dictatorship after all! Anyway this wasn’t the reason we went to Newcastle we actually went to see Fort Scratchley. This is on the top of Flagstaff Hill and has fantastic views over the Tasman Sea and the Hunter River. It was built as a coastal defence fort to guard the Hunter River estuary. The fort wasn’t actually built by the military when they were running the penal colony but in 1843 they claimed the land as a strategic base. The plans for the fort were not made until 1870 when the threat of an attack by Russia fuelled by the hostility between England and Russia spread to the area. Interestingly the fort wasn’t finished until 1882 by which time the Russians were not a threat but Japan was and it saw action during the Second World War when a in 1942 Japanese submarine entered the area and fired on the fort who fired back which was the first time the guns had been fired in anger! although there were some injuries I don’t think there was any loss of life. They have an observation post at the top of the hill which is where they originally had the coal fired lighthouse, unfortunately captains thought this was the entrance marker to the port so sailed close to uit causing them to run aground on the shallow waters and the breakwater that was being built to link Nobbies Island to the mainland in an effort to make the entrance safer! This is where the lighthouse now stands and the causeway provides a lovely beach area for people to sit and enter the sea. We had a look round the port which is actually quite large then headed back to Nelson bay which is the other side of the bay to us but a lot more populated, we had originally planned to walk up the hill to get a view of the area but the sign said it was a four hour return walk so we changed our minds and parked the car and went for a walk along the beach and into the town instead. This is a lot bigger town than the one we are staying in and has a much bigger selection of restaurants so after a good look round we decided to have lunch in a nice place on the first floor overlooking the harbour then we headed back to the hotel for a bit of a relax before our very long drive tomorrow up to Coffs Harbour where we are going to spend Christmas. It is strange I can’t believe that Christmas is the day after tomorrow you don’t hear any Christmas records on the radio and although there are adverts on the TV most are about the summer holidays rather than Christmas, it will be interesting to see what it is like on Christmas Day!
