Category: Newcastle News

Police have charged two men – including a driver disqualified for life – after a pursuit in the state’s Hunter Region yesterday.
Just before 10am (Sunday 13 September 2020), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District attempted to stop a Mitsubishi Magna sedan on Avery Street, Rutherford.
When the driver allegedly failed to stop, police commenced a pursuit of the vehicle.
The pursuit continued through Rutherford, before it was terminated due to safety concerns.
The Mitsubishi stopped near bushland south of Scott Street, Weston, before the occupants fled into bushland and were later picked up by a woman in a Toyota sedan.
With assistance from PolAir, police located the driver – a 38-year-old man – and his passenger – an 18-year-old man – at a home on Teece street, Weston.
Upon arrival, the two men allegedly fled the scene before officers commenced a short foot pursuit.
The driver was arrested a short distance away after a short struggle. His passenger was also arrested nearby after he allegedly tried to assault a senior constable.
Both men were taken to Maitland Police Station.
The 38-year-old was charged with a number of offences including:
• Two counts of police pursuit – not stop – drive dangerously (2nd offence)
• Drive motor vehicle during disqualification period (2nd offence)
• Use class A vehicle with unauthorised number plate affixed
• Drive recklessly/furiously or speed/manner dangerous (2nd offence)
• Resist officer in execution of duty
• Goods in personal custody suspected being stolen
• Possess/attempt to prescribed restricted substance
• Custody of knife in public place
He was refused bail and is due to appear in Maitland Local Court today (Monday 14 September 2020).
Police will allege in court that the man had been disqualified from driving for life in January 2000.
The 18-year-old was charged with resist officer in execution of duty, and assault officer in execution of duty.
He was granted conditional bail to appear in Maitland Local Court on Wednesday 7 October 2020.
Inquiries are continuing.

Police are appealing for public assistance after a police vehicle was rammed and a car was stolen – with the driver still inside – in Lake Macquarie today.
Just before 2.30pm (Monday 14 September 2020), officers from Lake Macquarie Police District commenced a pursuit of a Mercedes after the male driver ­failed to stop on Regents Street, Bonnells Bay.
A short time later, officers terminated the pursuit on Fishery Point Road, Bonnells Bay, due to safety concerns after the driver rammed their vehicle. The officers were uninjured.
Police have been the man then abandoned the Mercedes, before threatening the driver of a white Hilux utility and stealing the vehicle with the man – aged in his 20s and wearing a high visibility vest – still inside.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police Area Command, with assistance from PolAir and the Dog Unit, have commenced a search.
As part of inquiries, police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the vehicle to contact them.
It’s described as a 2019 white Toyota Hilux utility with registration EGR36C and ‘CDA Group’ written in green and black on the side.
It was last seen driving on Grand Parade, Bonnells Bay, heading towards Fishery Point Road about 2.40pm.
Police would also like to speak with a man who may be able to assist with their inquiries.
He is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his mid-20s, with short dark hair, and a medium build. At the time, he was wearing a dark grey shirt and long black pants.

Police are seeking public assistance to locate a man wanted on an outstanding warrant.
Adam Gilham, aged 27, is wanted on a revocation warrant.
Officers from Lake Macquarie commenced inquiries into his whereabouts and are appealing for public assistance.
Gilham is described as being of Caucasian appearance, with short dark hair and a medium build.
Police have received information that he was last seen at Bonnells Bay in Lake Macquarie today (Monday 14 September 2020) about 2.30pm.
Anyone who sees him is urged not to approach him but instead call Triple Zero (000).
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or https://nsw.crimestoppers.com.au. Information is treated in strict confidence. The public is reminded not to report crime via NSW Police social media pages.

Five people have been charged following an alleged break-in at a Hunter Valley winery last night.
About 6.20pm (Monday 14 September 2020), an alarm was activated from inside a winery located on Hunter Street, Muswellbrook.
Officers from Hunter Valley Police District responded and found two vehicles parked outside with boxes of wine nearby. During an external check of the property, police heard voices and saw torch lights inside.
Officers entered the building and found a man in the barrel room. The 27-year-old was arrested and taken outside where a further three people – a 23-year-old woman and two men, aged 23 and 33 – were also arrested
All four people were taken to Muswellbrook Police Station.
Following inquiries, officers arrested a fifth person, a 22-year-old man, just before 9.30pm at a fast food restaurant in Muswellbrook. He was also taken to Muswellbrook Police Station.
All five were charged with aggravated break, enter and steal, enter inclosed lands, and malicious damage.
They will appear at Muswellbrook Local Court on Monday 26 October 2020.

Police are searching for two men after they attacked another man with a sledgehammer at Stockton yesterday.
Just before midnight (Sunday 13 September 2020), a 38-year-old man was on Dunbar Street when he noticed a car stop near him.
As he approached the car two men walked towards him, one armed with a sledgehammer.
He attempted to run from the men when he tripped and fell to the ground. The men struck him to the head and legs with the sledgehammer before fleeing the scene.
The injured man was able to make his way home and was taken to Newcastle Hospital for treatment for a fractured skull, abrasions and bruising and remains in a stable condition.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District attended Dunbar Street and established a crime scene which was forensically examined.
One of the men is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 20-30 old, with thin a thin build. The other man is described as being of Caucasian appearance, aged in his mid-40s with greying hair.
Investigations are ongoing.

A major redevelopment of Newcastle’s No.1 Sportsground is underway and expected to be complete in time for the facility’s 100th anniversary next year.
The project, which includes enlarging the playing field, upgrading the lighting and building new tiered seating, is scheduled for completion in mid-2021 and will be position the region to attract elite sporting events.

Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said redeveloping No.1 Sportsground so it can return to its former glory of hosting elite cricket and AFL is an apt way to celebrate the facility notching up its ‘maiden century’.
“We’re eagerly anticipating the sportsground entering its centenary year in 2021 and look forward to being able to celebrate this milestone moment with a significantly upgraded facility,” Cr Nelmes said.
“This project will not only benefit those within our community who utilise it for grassroots and regional level sport, but will also have a wider-reaching impact on Newcastle’s economy through its potential to attract and host first class cricket and pre-season AFL fixtures.”

The staged works include increasing the size of the playing field to achieve the minimum standard required for a first grade AFL match, constructing seven new cricket wickets and re-building the entire playing surface.
A new sub-soil irrigation and drainage system will provide a high quality, consistent playing surface, while the installation of six new 40 metre light poles will upgrade the lighting to a standard suitable for night-time games.
New sight screens, player dug-out benches and oval fencing will also improve the playing experience, while the construction of new four-tier concrete bleachers to seat an additional 390 spectators will almost double the ground’s current seated capacity.
City of Newcastle has worked closely with the various clubs affected by the ground’s closure, with arrangements made for alternative venues during the 2020/21 summer and 2021 winter sporting seasons.

No.1 Sportsground History

No.1 Sportsground sits within the 20-hectare National Park, one of Newcastle’s largest and oldest sportsgrounds and open space reserves.
It was built on land previously owned by the Australian Agricultural Company, which from 1865 until the early 1900s was leased by the Newcastle Racing Club as the site of the city’s original racecourse.
National Park Sports Ground, as it was originally known, was designed by City engineer JF Shine in 1921, with its playing oval replicating the size of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Its original two-storey timber grandstand was completed in October 1921 and could accommodate between 200 and 300 people, with dressing rooms, stores and locker rooms in the lower level.
The sportsground was officially opened on 16 September 1922, with City of Newcastle changing its name two years later to Newcastle Sports Ground.
In 1989 the Newcastle Earthquake caused major structural damage to the original timber grandstand, which resulted in it being almost completely reconstructed with concrete stands, which remain today. This was the last significant upgrade to take place at the ground.
No.1 Sportsground has a history of playing host to top level sporting events including international fixtures covering all codes of football, hockey and cricket.
It has however been more than a decade since the most recent international level match when the Australian women’s cricket team defeated South Africa in March 2009 during the group stages of the ICC Women’s World Cup.
The last first class cricket match played at the ground was in February 2015, when Western Australia beat NSW by seven wickets in their Sheffield Shield clash.
Other codes have also made the most of No.1 Sportsground over the years, including a rugby union clash between New South Wales and New Zealand in 1935, while the Newcastle rugby league team defeated Great Britain 23-18 in front of 22,750 fans in 1962.
The venue has been utilised for a range of non-sporting events as well, including Anzac Day celebrations in 1946 and a Schools Jubilee and Pageant in 1951 that saw 6,000 school children form a living map of Australia in the centre of the field, while Scottish pop-rock icons Simple Minds headlined the Newcastle 500 Supercars concert at the ground in 2018.

A man has been charged after he allegedly committed indecent acts while naked at a beach in the state’s Hunter region today.
About 10.45am (Saturday 12 September 2020), officers from Port Stephens-Hunter Police District were called to Jimmys Beach at Hawks Nest, after receiving numerous reports a nude man was walking along the beach.
Officers attended and provided the man with a blanket, before he was arrested and taken to Raymond Terrace Police Station.
The man’s belongings were located on the beach and following a search of the items, police seized LSD, MDMA and Viagra from a bag.
The 51-year-old Killara man was charged with wilful and obscene exposure in public place, carry out sexual act with another without consent, two counts of possess prohibited drug, supply prohibited drug and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen.
Police will allege in court that the man approached beachgoers while he was unclothed and committed acts of indecency in front of them.
He was refused bail to appear before Newcastle Bail Court tomorrow (Sunday 13 September 2020).

A man will appear in court today after being charged in relation to robberies in the Lake Macquarie District last month.
On Sunday 16 August 2020, a man threatened to stab staff members at a department store in Charlestown Square shopping centre. The man left with a sum of money. No staff were injured during the robbery.
In a second incident on Saturday 22 August 2020, a man allegedly armed with an axe threatened staff at a Toronto supermarket, before leaving with a sum of money and cigarettes.
Officers from Lake Macquarie Police District commenced investigations into both robberies.
Following inquiries, about 3.40pm on Friday 11 September 2020, officers from Blacktown Police Area Command spoke with a man on Hill End Road, Doonside.
The man allegedly ran from police and was arrested after a short foot pursuit with officers.
The man was taken to Blacktown Police Station where he was charged with robbery whilst armed with an offensive weapon and robbery.
The 34-year-old man from Mannering Park was refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court today (Saturday 12 September 2020).

City of Newcastle will protect the RAMSAR-listed Hunter Wetlands by improving environmental management of the former Astra Street landfill site in Shortland.
The site operated as a tip from 1974, taking waste from across the Hunter including from the clean-up of the Newcastle Earthquake, before it was closed and capped in 1995.

The City has worked with the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to monitor and assess the site, with expressions of interest called tomorrow, Saturday 12 September for contractors to enhance the 25-year-old capping and improve drainage.
Director Infrastructure and Property Ken Liddell said the project would protect the local environment and aid in future management of the 37-hectare site.
“City of Newcastle is committed to not only ensuring today’s waste is managed with the environment front-of-mind, but that historic sites like Astra Street at Shortland are not forgotten,” Mr Liddell said.
“Environmental management and monitoring standards have come a long way since 1995, which is why we’re investing in upgrades that will protect the local environment well into the future.”
The proposed works will commence in early 2021 and include final capping and reprofiling of the site, and drainage improvements to aid in management of surface water and sediment runoff.
The works are intended to maintain the local protected environment, increase and safeguard water quality of surrounding wetlands and aquatic ecosystems, increase biodiversity values, and promote long term native vegetation growth.

City of Newcastle will not proceed with its annual New Year’s Eve fireworks and concert event at Newcastle Foreshore due to the ongoing risks associated with mass gatherings and COVID-19.
The event attracted an estimated 30,000 people to the Foreshore last year.
The City has made the difficult decision in the interest of the community’s safety and will now focus on planning for smaller alternative celebrations.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said while a major event on the Foreshore will not go ahead, the City is investigating a once off different New Year’s celebration with a series of smaller events throughout the city, pending any public health measures in place in late December.
“The decision to not go ahead with this year’s fireworks and concert event is a sad one to make, but it has been made with our community’s safety in mind,” Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said.
“As we have seen both in Australia and overseas, the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to worsen quickly, so we naturally have concerns around the delivery of an event that attracts between thirty and forty thousand people into the Foreshore.
“Our New Year’s Eve fireworks event is one of the City’s most vibrant and exciting occasions with activities and entertainment for the whole family.
“Through liaison with key stakeholders including NSW Police, the City has determined that the transport of thousands of people into and out of the Foreshore precinct would almost certainly lead to pinch points constituting a mass gathering where social distancing is impossible to maintain.
“We look forward to announcing a different way to come together as a community and welcome 2021 with a variety of activations throughout the city and suburbs.
“This revised program will allow us to plan safer opportunities for the community to celebrate together with more space and smaller crowd numbers.”
Newcastle City Police District Commander, Detective Superintendent Wayne Humphrey APM says the risk of large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic remains of a high concern.
“New South Wales Police will respond to whatever decision the council makes regarding the event.
“However, the dangers posed by moving tens of thousands of people into and out of the Foreshore precinct for the 9pm fireworks display remains quite high in the current pandemic conditions.”
City of Newcastle encourages Novocastrians to enjoy New Year’s Eve in a COVID Safe way and will continue to work with NSW Police to prioritise public safety.
With a high number of COVID safe businesses operating through the city, this cancellation will provide the capacity in the transport network for people to access hospitality venues safely and encourages celebrations in smaller controlled groups over the evening.
“We hope people come together to enjoy themselves at restaurants and bars as well as at smaller home gatherings on New Year’s Eve,” Cr Nelmes said.
The City will release more information about the 2021 New Year’s events soon.