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64-618: Sliedrecht is known for the many large dredging companies (including Boskalis and IHC Merwede) that come from it. The Dredging Festival takes place in Sliedrecht every two years. The first IKEA store in the Netherlands opened in Sliedrecht in 1978, but it closed in 2006. Sliedrecht is also the site of the Nationaal Baggermuseum (National Dredging Museum) - featuring dredging and salvage . [REDACTED] Dutch topographic map of

128-556: A 31-year monopoly on that town's coal traffic. Other collieries were within a 16 km (10 mi) radius of the town. Principal coal mines were located at Stockton , Tighes Hill , Carrington and the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company's collieries at Merewether (includes the Glebe), Wallsend and the Waratah collieries. All operations had closed by the early 1960s. On 10 December 1831,

192-410: A bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Unilever ), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s. In 1911, BHP chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of

256-526: A fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi . The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities. Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane , Melbourne and Adelaide , carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as sixty-milers , referring to

320-407: A key role in the delivery of numerous offshore wind power generation schemes, in particular the use of cable-laying ships to connect such farms to land-based energy grids. By 2024, half of the company's offshore energy revenues were being generated from work related to offshore wind farms. During 2019, Boskalis announced its intention to divest its worldwide harbor towage interests. Accordingly,

384-464: A large incentive for investment in the Newcastle and Hunter region due to its status as a major coal mining and export hub to Asian markets. Large projects related to the coal industry helped to propel the Newcastle unemployment rate to 20 year lows and allow the Newcastle region to weather the effects of the late 2000s recession better than NSW as a whole. As of 2009, the two largest single employers are

448-605: A new port in Abu Dhabi . On 15 September 2008, Boskalis offered €1.11 billion for fellow Dutch maritime company Smit International . Despite the offer being promptly rejected by Smit's board, Boskalis subsequently built a stake of over 25% in the firm and expressed a continuing desire to buy a number of its business units. A revised offer of €1.35 billion was accepted by Smit in January 2010, with Boskalis declaring its offer unconditional that March. During early 2011, Boskalis acquired

512-443: A public company. during 1978, Boskalis received the designation "Royal". In the 1980s, economic and political circumstances compelled Boskalis to concentrate on its core dredging business. Across the 1990s, the company embarked on a series of acquisitions, such as its purchase of a 40% interest in rival firm Archirodon Group . During this period, Boskalis was also involved in several major land reclamation projects. In Hong Kong ,

576-685: A sitting government anywhere in Australia since World War II . Labor won just 20 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly ; of these, only two ( Cessnock and Wallsend ) were in the Hunter Region . Before the election, the Liberal Party only held one seat in the entire Hunter Region (the seat of Port Stephens , which the party narrowly gained from Labor in 2007 ). However, at the subsequent state election in 2015 , although

640-760: Is Starrett Park in New Lambton, known for its playground and lush grass. Newcastle has a humid subtropical climate ( Cfa ) that is typical of the Australian east coast. Precipitation is heaviest in late autumn and early winter, while the second half of the year is slightly drier on average. The climate is generally moderated by the Pacific Ocean to the east. Summers are mostly warm and humid with periods of very dry and hot weather occasionally due to hot west to north-westerly winds, which can bring temperatures in excess of 40 °C (104 °F). The highest recorded temperature

704-470: Is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales , Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the cities of Newcastle , Lake Macquarie , Maitland , Cessnock , and Port Stephens Council . Newcastle is also known by its colloquial nickname, Newy . Located at

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768-476: Is a vibrant arts scene in the city including a highly regarded art gallery, and an active Hunter Writers' Centre. Recent fictional representations (for example Antoinette Eklund's 'Steel River') present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction. The old central business district, located at Newcastle's eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat of

832-449: Is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A "green belt" protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank. The small town of Stockton sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry. Road access between Stockton and central Newcastle

896-511: Is generally labelled as the 'Greater Newcastle Area' includes the LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens. In 2021 this region had a total population of 682,465. Of people in the Newcastle metropolitan area, 83.6 per cent were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 2.3%, New Zealand 1.0%, China 0.7%, India 0.5% and Philippines 0.4%. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.8% of

960-470: Is the University of Newcastle . It was established in 1951 as a satellite campus of the University of New South Wales and obtained autonomy in 1965. The university now offers over 150 undergraduate and graduate courses to a student population of more than 38,000, including 7,000 international students from more than 113 countries. The main campus is in the suburb of Callaghan about 12 km (7 mi) from

1024-598: Is via the Stockton Bridge , a distance of 20 km (12 mi). Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys around the port have merged into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake Macquarie . The Greater Newcastle area is situated right between the Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions, with

1088-591: The Anglican Bishop of Newcastle . Other noteworthy buildings include Fort Scratchley , the Ocean Baths, the old Customs House , the 1920s City Hall , the 1890s Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House (formerly NESCA House, seen in the film Superman Returns ). Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River mouth. The northern side

1152-828: The Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal people, who called the area Malubimba. Based on Aboriginal-language references documented in maps, sketches and geological descriptions, eight landmarks have been officially dual-named by the NSW Geographic Names Board with their traditional Aboriginal names. They include Nobbys Head also known as Whibayganba; Flagstaff Hill also known as Tahlbihn; Pirate Point also known as Burrabihngarn; Port Hunter also known as Yohaaba; Hunter River (South Channel) also known as Coquun; Shepherds Hill also known as Khanterin; Ironbark Creek also known as Toohrnbing and Hexham Swamp also known as Burraghihnbihng. In September 1797, Lieutenant John Shortland became

1216-569: The CBD . There are three campuses of the Hunter Institute of TAFE , one located in the Newcastle CBD, one in the suburb of Hamilton East and the other located in the suburb of Tighes Hill . The Tighes Hill campus is the network's largest campus and offers courses in business, hospitality and various trades. Newcastle holds a variety of cultural events and festivals. The Newcastle Regional Show

1280-685: The Cockle Creek Smelter was built. The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere was constructed in 1885, on an 8.9-hectare (22-acre) site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold , from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won

1344-504: 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 the governor) 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. A settlement

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1408-839: The Newcastle Steelworks , Parnell Place in the city's East End, the breakwall and Art Deco Ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal. The Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource-rich Hunter Valley and for much of the north and north-west of New South Wales. Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's oldest and second-largest tonnage throughput port, with over 3,000 shipping movements handling cargo of 95.8 Mt per annum, of which coal exports represented 90.8 Mt in 2008–09. The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups including Newcastle-based Rising Tide Australia . These have undertaken various protests targeting

1472-508: The centre-right Liberal Party has ever been consistently competitive is the Port Stephens region in the north of the Newcastle metropolitan area, as well as in some beachside, middle-class suburbs near the Newcastle CBD such as Bar Beach and Merewether . The Port Stephens area is traditionally marginal and while historically was dominated by Labor, has been won by the Liberals. One time

1536-506: The expansion of the Suez Canal . During late March 2021, a pair of Boskalis tugboats assisted the eleven Egyptian tugs in the dredging and towing operation to free the 400-metre long ship Ever Given , which ran aground in the Suez Canal and got stuck diagonally, therefore blocked the canal between 23 and 29 March 2021, during which time the canal was impassable. Boskalis has played

1600-681: The 1930s, it was renamed NV Baggermaatschappij Bos & Kalis when Gerrit Jan Bos, Wilhelm Bos, Egbertus Dingeman Kalis and Kobus Kalis took over. Throughout much of the interwar period , Boskalis played a major role in the Zuiderzee project . In 1931, the company signed a contract for the dredging of Bromborough Dock . During 1933, Boskalis partnered with the Westminster Dredging Company (based in Fareham , England), which opened business opportunities with West Africa. In 1970, Boskalis became

1664-603: The 1970s. These downturns were particularly hard hitting for heavy industry which was particularly prevalent in Newcastle. The early 1990s recession caused significant job losses across Australia and the Newcastle region experienced a peak unemployment rate of 17% in February 1993, compared to 12.1% in New South Wales and 11.9% across Australia. In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years' operation and had employed about 50,000 during its existence, many for decades. The closure of

1728-738: The Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway, at the intersection of Brown & Church Streets, Newcastle. Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast-iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway . In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in The Illustrated London News on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow circa 1890, and in that decade

1792-475: The BHP steelworks occurred at a time of strong economic expansion in Australia. At the time of the closure and since the closure Newcastle experienced a significant amount of economic diversification which has strengthened the local economy. Since 2003, Australia experienced the effects of the 2000s commodities boom as commodities prices for major export good such as coal and iron ore rose significantly. This provided

1856-570: The Boskalis, the latter was delisted from Euronext Amsterdam . During the early 2020s, Boskalis has been one of several companies working on Malmporten, Sweden’s largest dredging projects in recent decades. The New Manila International Airport has been the largest land reclamation project in Boskalis’ dredging history on the coastal areas 35 km north of the capital Manila. On 15 September 2023, Boskalis’ Group Director, Pim van der Knaap, accepted

1920-528: The Central Coast bordering in the south and the Mid North Coast bordering in the north as well as other Hunter local government areas (outside of Newcastle) bordering in the west and north-west. Newcastle has several public parks including King Edward Park, which was designated in 1863. Features of the park include coastal views, a sunken garden and a Victorian rotunda. Another noteworthy park of Newcastle

1984-583: The City of Newcastle and the Newcastle metropolitan area. The area, officially the Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and, as of 30 June 2009, has an estimated population of 540,796. Despite their proximity, all of

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2048-566: The Coalition retained majority government (and subsequently retained government again in 2019 before Labor formed a minority government in 2023 ), the party lost all of its Hunter-based seats. There are three federal electoral divisions that are mostly or entirely within Greater Newcastle: Newcastle (covering the inner-city suburbs; this seat has only ever elected Labor MPs since it was created in 1901 ), Paterson (covering

2112-570: The Dutch-based civil engineering firm MNO Vervat . In April 2013, Boskalis acquired the Dutch marine transport company Dockwise . That same year, Boskalis completed the sale of its 40 percent stake in Archirodon Group in exchange for $ 190 million. In October 2014, Egypt signed a $ 1.5 billion contract with Boskalis, alongside five other multinational firms, to carry out dredging in connection with

2176-585: The Hunter New England Area Health Service and the University of Newcastle . The National Stock Exchange of Australia (formerly Newcastle Stock Exchange) was formerly based in the city. With its history as a traditionally working-class area, Newcastle has been a stronghold for the centre-left Labor Party at all levels of politics since Federation . Labor currently holds every federal and state seat that overlaps at least partially with Newcastle. The only area of Greater Newcastle where

2240-633: The International Association of Dredging Companies Safety Award 2023 from IADC’s President Frank Verhoeven for the new and improved waterbox, used for sandfill areas. During the early 2010s, Boskalis was publicly accused of bribing Mauritian officials in order to obtain certain contracts in the nation. In October 2013, the company was fined by a Mauritian court. Newcastle, Australia Newcastle , also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( locally / ˈ nj uː k ɑː s əl / NEW -kah-səl ; Awabakal : Mulubinba )

2304-493: The LGAs in the region maintain their own individual identities, separate from Newcastle. The population of the suburb of Newcastle is 3,852 as of the 2021 census. The demonym for the people of Newcastle is "Novocastrian", derived from Latin novus (new) and castra (castle or fort). Coal mining began in earnest on 3 May 1833 when the Australian Agricultural Company received land grants at Newcastle plus

2368-463: The Liberals did win seats in Newcastle was at the 2011 state election . At this election, the incumbent Labor government, led by then- Premier Kristina Keneally , was defeated by the Liberal - National Coalition , led by then- Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell , in a landslide , suffering the worst ever defeat of a sitting government in New South Wales history and (at the time) the worst defeat of

2432-529: The Port Stephens area as well as the nearby city of Maitland and the town of Kurri Kurri ; this seat is currently a marginal Labor seat that the Liberals have won previously, though it historically included more rural areas and did not include Maitland or Kurri Kurri) and Shortland (a fairly safe Labor seat that includes the eastern suburbs of the Lake Macquarie region in southern Newcastle, and extends to

2496-509: The company worked on the major land reclamation project for the new Chek Lap Kok airport , while in Singapore it cooperated on a multi-year development program. Addition work during this decade included its involvement in the construction of a gas and container port at Ras Laffan, Qatar . During 2000, Boskalis and the Dutch maritime construction firm Hollandsche Beton Groep (HBG) explored multiple avenues aimed at bringing together or merging

2560-569: The construction and maintenance of maritime infrastructure internationally. The company has one of the world's largest dredging fleets, a large stake in Smit International and owns Dockwise , a large heavylift shipping company. As of 2020, Boskalis employs around 9,900 employees and 650 ships. They operate in over 75 countries in six continents. Boskalis ( Bos & Kalis ) was founded as Johannes Kraaijeveld en van Noordenne in 1910 by Johannes Kraaijeveld and Eliza van Noordenne. During

2624-576: 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 start of the 19th 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 ,

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2688-559: The export of coal from the city, such as in 2023 when 3000 people took part in a water based blockade and 109 were arrested. Newcastle had a shipbuilding industry with the Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works , State Dockyard and Forgacs Shipyard . In recent years the only major ship-construction contract awarded to the area was the construction of the Huon -class minehunters . The era of extensive heavy industry passed when

2752-557: The far northeastern suburbs of the Central Coast ). The traditionally Labor-held seat of Hunter (now a marginal Labor seat) is based around the western portion of the Hunter , but includes some western and Southern suburbs of Newcastle. On the state level, there are five electoral districts that are located entirely within Greater Newcastle; of these, four ( Charlestown , Newcastle , Port Stephens and Swansea ) are Labor seats while

2816-717: The firm sold its stakes in Saam Smit Towage (which operated primarily in Central and South America), Kotug Smith Towage (which operated in Northern Europe), and Keppel Smit Towage, a joint venture with Keppel Offshore in Singapore. In early 2022, HAL Investments approached Boskalis with an offer to purchase the latter; this deal valued the firm at €4.3 billion. As a result of the completion of this transaction, under which HAL Investments obtained in excess of 95 percent of all shares in

2880-419: The first European to explore the area. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized a locally built vessel called Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove . While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor John Hunter . He returned with reports of

2944-563: The five largest European construction companies. By 2007, the company was engaged in two major contracts in Australia ;— a €300 million contract to deepen the shipping channels of Port Phillip in Melbourne , utilising its dredge the Queen of the Netherlands , and a €50 million contract to expand the harbour at Newcastle . The company was also undertaking a €1.1 billion contract to develop

3008-657: The grounds of Newcastle East Public School. There are three selective state schools in the area: The two main independent schools in Newcastle are Newcastle Grammar School and St Philip's Christian College , both coeducational K–12 schools. The local area is also home to two Steiner schools : the Newcastle Waldorf School at Glendale in Lake Macquarie , and the Linuwel Steiner School in East Maitland . The city's main provider of tertiary education

3072-464: The harbour. In 1915, the Newcastle Steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer. Newcastle as a traditional area of heavy industry was not immune from the effects of economic downturns that plagued New South Wales and wider Australia since

3136-495: The last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneer settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland. During the nineteenth century the formation of the Newcastle & Hunter River Steamship Company saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had

3200-606: The mouth of the Hunter River , it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region . Famous for its coal , Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 143 million tonnes of coal in 2022. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney Basin . Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by

3264-486: The municipality of Sliedrecht, June 2015 Sliedrecht railway station and Sliedrecht Baanhoek railway station are situated on the Geldermalsen–Dordrecht railway . Waterbus route 2: This South Holland location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Boskalis Boskalis Westminster N.V. is a Dutch dredging and heavylift company that provides services relating to

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3328-457: The nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times. During World War II , Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. In 1942, the Japanese planned to attack Sydney Harbour . On the early hours of 8 June, the Japanese submarine I-21 briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards,

3392-522: The new settlement. The new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: HMS  Lady Nelson , the Resource and the James . The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion . The link with Newcastle upon Tyne , England (its namesake) and also whence many of the 19th-century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of

3456-515: The place-names—such as Jesmond , Hexham , Wickham , Wallsend and Gateshead . Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne. Under Captain James Wallis , commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of

3520-434: The population. 88.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 0.7%, Macedonian 0.5%, Italian 0.4%, Greek 0.3% and Cantonese 0.3%. The most common responses for religion in Newcastle were No Religion 31.1%, Catholic 21.7% and Anglican 19.2%. Newcastle is often quoted as being the seventh-largest city in Australia . This is misleading as the area represented extends well beyond both

3584-413: The rate of commercial and retail occupation remains low while alternate suburban centres have become more important. The CBD itself is shifting to the west, towards the major urban renewal area known as "Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the shift of business and residents to the suburbs. Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural renaissance. There

3648-528: The remaining seat ( Lake Macquarie ) is held by an independent . Greater Newcastle also includes five local government areas (LGAs): the City of Newcastle , the City of Lake Macquarie , the City of Cessnock , the City of Maitland and the Port Stephens Council . Newcastle High School , which was formed by the merger of three schools, traces its lineage to a secondary school section initially founded on

3712-412: The site of the present Christ Church Cathedral , erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only the (much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the first school was built in Newcastle. Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement

3776-552: The steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing industries have located themselves well away from the city itself. Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in Australia. Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street is the oldest purpose-built theatre in the country. The theatre district that occupied the area around what is now the Hunter Street Mall vanished during the 1940s. The old city centre has seen some new apartments and hotels built in recent years, but

3840-556: The two businesses, ranging from a hostile takeover to even agreeing terms from a friendly transaction. However, even though the European Commission cleared such a deal to proceed, it did not come to fruition, allegedly due to disagreements over the proposed combined enterprise's direction. It was speculated that such an arrangement would have created the market leader in the Benelux region (in terms of turnover ) as well as one of

3904-450: Was 1.8 °C (35.2 °F) on 27 July 1986. East coast lows also impact Newcastle, sometimes delivering winds well above 100 km/h (62 mph) and torrential rainfall, usually lasting a couple of days. The east coast low in May 1974, the 2007 New South Wales storms and April 2015 are extreme examples of this type of weather. The metropolitan area of Newcastle is the second-most-populous area in New South Wales to Sydney . What

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3968-413: Was 42.5 °C (108.5 °F) on 18 January 2013 at the Nobbys Head weather station. Winters are generally mild with drier conditions than summer on average. Cold fronts affect the area and sometimes bring strong westerly winds behind them, but due to the foehn effect they generally provide clear conditions as the region lies leeward of the Great Dividing Range . The lowest recorded temperature

4032-416: Was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, after the English city . The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies of the marine detachment on HMS  Calcutta , then at Port Jackson , appointing him superintendent of

4096-432: Was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime. Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie . After removal of

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