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- Archaeological evidence indicates that human beings have inhabited the area around Newcastle, New South Wales for at least 6500 years. In 2009, archaeologist uncovered over 5,534 Aboriginal artefacts, representing three occupation periods. In the 1820s, the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld worked with local Awabakal man Biraban to record the Awabakal language. Since 1892, the Indigenous people of Newcastle have come to be known as the Awabakal. The first European to explore the area was Lieutenant John Shortland in September 1797. He had been sent in search of convicts who had seized HMS Cumberland sailing from Sydney Cove. On his return, Lt. Shortland entered "a very fine coal river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter. The coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colony's first export. Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as punishment. Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. Military rule ended in 1823 and prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 while the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie. After the town was freed from the influence of penal law it began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneer settlement, and free settlers soon poured into the hinterland. Today, the Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource rich Hunter Valley. It is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's oldest and second largest tonnage throughput port. The old central business district contains a considerable number of historic buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral. Other noteworthy buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths, the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s Longworth Institute, and the 1930s art deco . (en)
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| rdfs:comment
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- Archaeological evidence indicates that human beings have inhabited the area around Newcastle, New South Wales for at least 6500 years. In 2009, archaeologist uncovered over 5,534 Aboriginal artefacts, representing three occupation periods. In the 1820s, the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld worked with local Awabakal man Biraban to record the Awabakal language. Since 1892, the Indigenous people of Newcastle have come to be known as the Awabakal. (en)
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