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 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 University House.
Pre-European settlement
The Awabakal, Worimi, Wonnarua, Geawegal, Birrpai and Darkinjung peoples are the traditional owners of the land that now makes up the lower Hunter Region. The Awabakal people called the area Mulubinba, after an indigenous fern called the mulubin. Archaeological evidence indicates that human beings have inhabited the landscape of Newcastle for at least 6500 years. In 2009, archaeologist uncovered artefacts including a hearth and factory at the site of the former Palais Royale on Hunter Street. Over 5,534 Aboriginal artefacts were recovered, representing three occupation periods dating from 6,716 - 6,502 years BP (before present). This site was identified as a site of ‘high to exceptional cultural and scientific significance’. Over the millennia, the artefacts manufactured there, on what came to be known as Cottage Creek, were probably traded across the region, and across many territories or countries.
The Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld, a missionary stationed at Newcastle and Lake Macquarie during the 1820s onwards, recorded that the Aboriginal people of the Newcastle Tribe were called Mulubinbakal (men) and Mulubinbakalleen (female). Threlkled 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.
Founding and settlement by Europeans
The first European to explore the area was Lieutenant John Shortland in September 1797. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized as she was sailing from Sydney Cove.
While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine coal river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor, John Hunter. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colony's first export.
Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes.
By the turn of the century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley.
In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after Governor King) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.
