Lost Newcastle - Carol Duncan

Lost Newcastle founder, Carol Duncan, recorded this interview with Newcastle architect, Brian Suters, after he was awarded the City of Newcastle Medal in 2008.    2008 also saw Brian celebrate 50 years in architecture and in this conversation talks about studying at Newcastle University, the influence of seeing great cathedrals around the world, and his influence on the architecture of Newcastle, including working with Frank and Margel Hinder on the Civic Park Fountain, and his groundbreaking social housing project at Newcastle East - the project he was most proud of.         

Art Ryan describes Rick Pointon as 'Newcastle rock royalty', and Rick is perhaps best known for his work with the legendary Benny & The Jets. At their peak, Benny & The Jets performed more than 300 nights each year and have worked with some incredible Australian and international industry figures. If you grew up with Johnny O'Keefe in your ears and seeing bands at venues like the Palais, the Impala or even Bus Stop - you'll love the stories Rick tells in his book. What was 'Henry Mousetraps', and what did Sandra the Go Go Girl have to do with Barry Gibb's secret visit to Newcastle in 1977? Rick also lays to rest the oft-told tale of Little Richard's religious epiphany that led him to throw his jewellery into the harbour.     

Glamour on Glass is a stunning exhibition curated by University of Newcastle history student and Vera Deacon Scholar, Isabel Whittle, focusing on the portrayal of women and fashion in the Newcastle Sun. Featuring photographic prints of fashion models in structured daywear and glamorous evening wear, the exhibition explores the impact of the Great Depression on fashion trends and garment production during the 1930s. Also on display are items on loan from The Australian Museum of Clothing and Textiles, including accessories chosen by women of the 1930s to complement the fashions of the day.

In June 2018, Ross Balderson shared a photo in the Lost Newcastle Facebook Group of a scale model scene of Newcastle 1899 that he was building. Not only did people not mind Ross sharing a photo of his incredible model work, the photos and conversations have continued ever since. Ross says he was inspired to build the scale model after seeing a Ralph Snowball photograph of the city - a labor of love that took ten years to complete! Ross has finally been able to bring his diorama of Newcastle in 1899 to Newcastle Museum, complete with operating scale model trains that work their way around the harbour and models of ships that are historically accurate and visitors to the port of Newcastle. Lost Newcastle founder, Carol Duncan, caught up with Ross Balderson at Newcastle Museum.

Ruth Cotton is well known to many in Newcastle for her huge body of local history work on the multicultural hub of Hamilton. Her Hidden Hamilton blog began as a way for her to find out more about the suburb she was moving to from northern NSW! Hundreds of stories and two books later, Ruth is still just as passionate about her adoptive home. But Ruth has released a new book, a memoir called A Fragile Hold which details her 1997 diagnosis with multiple sclerosis and the changes to her life from that point. In 2020, just as the pandemic locked us in our homes with huge uncertainty, Ruth’s husband became unwell.