Discovering Newcastle

Our members and guests enjoyed series of walks, led by society president Dr. Roy Lumby. 

The city boasts one of the finest collections of commercial and civic buildings from the 1920s and 1930s in NSW, comparable to many in Sydney in their confidence and style and with a scale that is comparable to those erected in state capitals such as Adelaide or Brisbane during the interwar period.

Our visit included the City Hall precinct, a civic precinct combining a rich array of fine public and cultural buildings organised around a landscaped square and the major business precinct concentrated around Hunter Street, which is undergoing a dynamic revival.

We also explored the work of prominent architects such as Frederick Menckens and Frederick Romberg.

Four fascinating heritage walks over three days:

Saturday 5 October – municipal and cultural precinct

We allowed time on Saturday morning for people to arrive from other parts of NSW.

In the afternoon, we explored Newcastle’s highly significant municipal and cultural precinct, led by Dr. Roy Lumby.

There’s much to discover in these delightful streetscapes, with architectural styles ranging across the 19th and 20th centuries.

The city of Newcastle boasts one of the finest collections of commercial and civic buildings from the 1920s and 1930s in NSW, comparable to many in Sydney in their confidence and style.

Sunday 6 October – two walks

On Sunday morning, we admired the streetscapes between Customs House and the Cathedral – an exploration of institutional buildings and including some 1930s flats.

Roy showed us that there’s much to discover in the area.

Monday 7 October – Commercial Newcastle (Part 2).

On Monday morning, Roy will showed us more of Newcastle’s fine commercial architecture.