Stockton Over The Years Online Archive Launched

 After two years of work behind the scenes, Stockton Historical Society Inc is proud to launch our new online digital archive - Stockton Over The Years. This repository showcases the majority of our donated collections and includes some digital only collections (where members or the public have allowed us to digitise their items and make them available via the repository).

We will continue to add new items as donations of materials are made to the Society. So check back regularly for updates.

The address for the site is: 

https://stockton.omeka.net/

 

 

Stockton Rugby League Team Photo?

We have this great photo of what we think is a Stockton Rugby League Club team. We love to narrow down the time period and possibly get some names?

Stockton School of Arts / Literary Institute 1936 Catalogue and 1954 Membership Register

Our digitisation program continues at a great pace!! This week we were able to digitise the entire collection of the School of Arts / Literary Institute. This includes a number of catalogues (containing over 4000 books), membership registers, financial information, building plans, and various ephemera related to the organisations.

The Stockton Literary Institute was an extremely important local institution that was part of the wider School of Arts/Literary Institute movement. It was a focal point for many community activities as it provided a meeting space for many different community groups - including the local municipal council before their dedicated chambers were built. 

Its collection helped to form the basis for the Stockton Branch Library when its collection was absorbed into the Newcastle Council Collection in the late 1960's. Below is a page from the 1936 catalogue. Can you spot the famous author?

CHART Grant Success - New Banners

 In early 2022 members of the Stockton Historical Society Inc submitted a grant application to the Culture, Heritage and Arts Regional Tourism (CHART) Program. The submission included items to conserve and protect original material in the custodianship of the society, cleaning materials and items such as banners to promote the history of Stockton. Below is an image of two of the banners produced using the money from the grant. The first is a general banner about the Society and what we do. The second banner highlights some of the Industrial history of Stockton, including shipbuilding, saw mills, the Tweed Factory and the many other industries that were undertaken on Stockton over the years. 

We will be developing a number of other banners on different themes such as schools, sport, community groups and other topics of interest. These will then be produced as funds become available. These will then be available as a pop up exhibition for any groups that wish to utilise them. 

Digitisation of Newcastle District Baseball Association 1934-1937 and Stockton Baseball Club 1949-1961 Records

The Stockton Historical Society Inc has begun an intensive digitization program of records related to Stockton. We are starting with records held at the Local Studies Section of Newcastle Council library. The first records to be digitised relate to baseball in Newcastle. The records for the whole Newcastle competition range for 1934 to 1937. This record contains 142 pages listing teams, team uniform colours, game results, competition and trophy results and team membership lists. 

Workshop - Researching and Commemorating the ‘Spanish Flu’

We are hosting this session, based on a series of workshops conducted throughout NSW and sponsored by the Royal Australian Historical Society Inc. 

The pneumonic influenza or ‘Spanish flu’ pandemic that circled the world in 1918–19 left few communities untouched. Join us for this practical workshop, where we will review the bigger picture of the pandemic before considering how its impact might be commemorated locally. Participants will explore the value of local sites and collections in uncovering the flu’s personal, social and enduring effects. We will then turn to practical outcomes: how might you transform your research into stories relevant to your community? From monuments and walking tours to websites and booklets, use this workshop to map out practical projects for the centenary year of 2019. 

 The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Peter Hobbins, a medical historian at the University of Sydney and a Councillor of the Royal Australian Historical Society. His recent book, Stories from the Sandstone: Quarantine Inscriptions from Australia's Immigrant Past, won the NSW Community and Regional History Prize in the 2017 Premier's History Awards. 

Light refreshments will be available. Please note location is "behind" Fullerton St address on the Ballast Grounds. Signage will be visible for the event.

Book at: Eventbrite Booking Link or via email or phone Michelle: 0407 201184

Stockton to Feature on Coast Australia - 16 Jan 2017 on The History Channel

From Hunter Living Histories:

Newcastle and Stockton's history will feature in the new 2017 Season 3 of Coast Australia on the History Channel. The episode Hawkesbury – Lord Howe NSW will be broadcast January 16th 2017 at 7.30pm. http://www.historychannel.com.au/…/coast-australia-season-3/

Paws to the Pavement Fundraiser

Paws to the Pavement is a major fundraising event for the Stockton Historical Society (and other Stockton community groups). This doggie walk is a great way to exercise your pet while taking in some fantastic views and learning some of the interesting history of Stockton. The route start and finish at the Stockton Pool with the walk going along a 3km loop of Stockton Foreshore. There will be a doggie market held at the start/finish line selling a variety of doggie related products.

To register and for route details: visit the Paws to the Pavement webpage.

Future of Stockton Tank Traps

We've had a number of enquiries from members of the public about the future of the large number of tank traps currently residing on Dalby Oval.

We have been in contact with the Council and they are very aware that there is strong community interest in the future of the tank traps. Council will provide updates through its various communication channels.

If you have suggestions for their possible future use, please leave a comment below or on our Facebook page. Please share this message to anyone or group you think might be interested.

August is National Family History Month!!

National History Month is an initiative of AFFHO (Australasian Federation of Family History Organisations). As part of this month long event, we are holding a series of free and paid events aimed at getting people started on their family history journey or researching specific topics. We are also holding a historical walk along the southern foreshore (near the ferry) which will be a family friendly event (PokemonGo for the kids). If you are interested in coming along to the events, please contact us to book a place (even for the free events!!).

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!! Download the printable schedule.

Soup Night Is On Again

Our annual soup night is on again!!

Guest Speaker - Ed Tonks and his new book on Newcastle pubs, No Bar to Time

We are delighted to be hosting local historian Ed Tonks, to talk about the fascinating history of local pubs, as featured in his new book, No Bar to Time.

Ed will be speaking at our April meeting - 18th April, 2016 at  7.30pm. Visitors are welcome. Light refreshments will be served.

And on a personal note, I think this is one of the best looking local history books I've ever seen! Great content and great visuals. A winner!!

House Names

As you walk around Stockton, you will often see houses with names. Prior to the 1920's, Stockton didn't have house numbers. But many houses had names. Trying to align a number with a name is often difficult as there is no record that lists both. We often get questions about where peoples ancestors lived, but we can't really help because we can't align a house name with a house number. Can you help? Do you know of a house with a name? Please feel free to list a house name and it's corresponding number and street in the comments below. As houses are sold and renovated, this important information can disappear as house names are removed or replaced with new ones.

In the picture below, 119 Mitchell St is also known as Carlisle. But before 1925 it was known as Au Revoir. Prior to 1925 the section of Mitchell St which the house sits on was called Carlisle St. Au Revoir perhaps was named to reflect the French speaking background of Captain Hocquard, originally from the Channel Island of Jersey. After the street was renamed, was the house renamed to keep the memory alive?

• 100 Mitchell St - Montrose
• 110 Mitchell St - Dowlais
• Carlisle St - Au Revoir - HOCQUARD
• 119 Mitchell St - Carlisle - HOCQUARD
• 131 Mitchell St - Coventry
• 147 Mitchell St - Westward Ho! - DALTON
• 203 Mitchell St - Anglegate
• 74 Maitland St - Holmebank
• Kingston - Maitland St
• Allamba - Hereford St

Corroba Post Office

Welcome to the New Year. We've had an inquiry about Corroba Post Office. Can anyone help?

I wonder if you could help me. I am trying to find the location of Corroba Post Office which I believe used to be in the the Stockton area. Would you have any information on this and what does the name "Corroba" mean. Also do you have any information on the history of Fern Bay.

No Research Day - October Long Weekend - 3rd Oct 2015

ANNOUNCEMENT - There will be no Research Day at the Hall, this Saturday 3 Oct 2015. If you have any research queries, please email us and we will attempt to help you with your questions.

Orica Talk and Stockton Over the Years Book Relaunch

It was a busy night for all involved on 16 August 2015, with a talk by Orica Kooragang, General Manager, Scott Reid about the history of the site, the relaunch of the first two volumes (brown and blue) of Stockton Over The Years and our Annual General Meeting for 2015.

First up Scott gave a really interesting talk about the site on Kooragang, including a number of images of the site when it was originally constructed. These were quite interesting as a couple contained pictures in the background of the reclamation at the bottom end of Stockton at the site of the ferry wharf. The many phases of expansion were also covered.

After the talk and discussion, Scott presented the newly printed Vol. 1 (Brown) and Vol. 2 (Blue) to our President, Irene Butterworth. We thank Orica for all their support in arranging and paying for the printing of the new copies of the books. They are still extremely popular and a valuable resource for those studying the history of Stockton.

 The books will be available for online purchase and at selected venues around Stockton. Please contact us if you are interested in purchasing a copy.

Thanks again to Orica for their support during the process of producing the books, with special thanks to Sherree Woodroffe and Scott Reid.

Robert Owen JONES - Another WW1 Frame Soldier Identified

Another of the soldiers in our WW1 Photo Frame has now been identified. He is Soldier 13 - 8074 Robert Owen JONES. After the war he lived at Mackie Ave, New Lambton and worked as a chemist for many years.

Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard, 17th March 1916, p.5

He is the brother of the first soldier we were able to name, Soldier 17 - 2612 Llewelyn JONES.

Unidentified Photos from 70 Roxburgh St Stockton

We were recently contacted to see if we could help identify some family photos found in 70 Roxburgh St Stockton. They are from around 1946. Can you help us get these photos back to the family?

Another Stockton Soldier Identified - WW1 Photo Frame

After some technological detective work, we have identified another soldier from our World War One Photo Frame!!

Meet - Soldier 3 - 1156 - John Elder JONES

We were able to identify him via an article on Trove. Private JONES survived the war and returned to Australia in May 1917.

"No title." The Newcastle Sun (NSW : 1918 - 1954) 13 Sep 1919: 1. 

Web. 19 Mar 2015 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162572110>.

Unidentified World War One Soldiers on Stockton Memorial

We are currently working on a project to write and publish biographies of every service man and woman from Stockton who served in World War One. So far we have records for 250 people. However, there are a number of names on the memorial which we can't find records for and whose full names we don't know. Can you help us identify these people? It is possible some of these men may have been in the Merchant Marine or served in some capacity other than the AIF or Navy. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

All these people had some association with Stockton - born or lived here, had parents or friends living here.

CARR, A
COBURN, F N
COLLINS, O A
DALGLEISH, R H
DICK, Dr
DUFFY, P
FINN, P E
GALLEN, T
GAVIN, Thomas
GOLDTHORPE, Harry
GRAHAM, J
GRAHAM, W
GREEN, J C
GREENWOOD, F
HALLAWELL, L
HARRIS, C
HARRIS, W
HERNIMAN, C
HILL, E W
HURST, S
JONES, A
JONES, G
JONES, J R
JONES, Les
JONES, R
JORDAN, D
JOYCE, H H
LAST, P H H
LEHMAN, Charles Christian
LESLIE, L A
MARSH, Samuel
MASON, B
MATHIESON, W
MCDONALD, R
MOORE, F
MUIR, W P
MURRELL, Edward Clarence
PUGH, Thomas William
RAYMOND, M
REYNOLDS, P
RICHARDSON, W
ROBERT, J
SHEARMAN, George
SKILTON, C P
TERRY, S
WILSON, A
WILSON, G
WILSON, J W