People of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley – Volume II

This publication arose from the Newcastle Family History Society’s successful Sandgate Cemetery tours which began in 2016 revealing tales of service, both military and civil, religious belief and success over hardship. Stories cover those from the ranks of the great and grand to the quieter-living folk who nonetheless left their mark on our region.
The editors of this work came to the realisation that stories from the Sandgate tours were too important to lose. It was decided to seek stories not only about those at Sandgate, but also those whose last resting place was in the wider region of the Hunter Valley. It would not have been possible to complete this project without the co-operation, and assistance of many people including members of the NFHS Inc., and the general public who contributed their stories to these volumes.
The fifty stories included in Volume 2 paint pictures of other times helping us better understand our past so we can plan a better future. They cover a wide range of subjects, from bushranger to civic leader, from war hero to an unfortunate lady killed by her admirer. In these pages you will meet:
• the young mineworker caught up in a strike, the result of which led to his death
• two little sisters who left home to pick wildflowers and met disaster
• an Englishman who became the father of a Newcastle suburb
• the policeman’s wife who became known as ‘Australia’s Grace Darling’ because of her bravery
• the Irish brothers sentenced for conspiracy to murder who left a headstone in a local cemetery with a seditious inscription.
With their stories now told, they will be remembered.