Pages from Newcastle Recovered Memories 4th reprint

A bird’s eye view of the past
It’s interesting to reflect that in the 1930s and 1940s, powered flight was a relatively recent development.
The science of flight had taken a leap forward in World War I and did so again in World War II. By then flying
had become a popular hobby for those with the resources and inclination.
Newcastle, like many other cities, had its own aero club. Based at Broadmeadow’s District Park (until
aircraft outgrew that aerodrome), Royal Newcastle Aero Club had some fine planes and excellent pilots who
provided photographers with new pictorial opportunities.
As the likelihood of war in the Pacific dawned on authorities, it became apparent that the industries of
Newcastle would form the heartbeat of Australia’s defence response. New air bases at Williamtown and
Rathmines were the result.
At the same time Newcastle was expanding. The formerly wide-open spaces between its sometimes farflung
suburban satellites were filling in. The city, once fairly densely concentrated on its little peninsula
between harbour and sea, was adopting the sprawling pattern that would become so familiar in the future
when better roads and transport were available.
In Newcastle, form has traditionally followed function. And function, for most of the city’s history, has
been all about mining and industry. Still, planning authorities have tried – often perhaps in an unco-ordinated
and spasmodic way – to impose some order on the shape of development.
Aerial photographs are an ideal way to monitor urban growth, and the availability of a remarkable group
of small collections of such pictures from the 1930s and 1940s has provided an opportunity to offer a unique
bird’s eye view of Newcastle during a critical period of its growth and development.
Aerial view of Newcastle, revealing the changes to the inner-city areas between the 1940s and the present day.
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