Category: Newcastle News

City of Newcastle’s Digital Library is playing host to a series of workshops to teach local young people skills to share stories through modern mediums like virtual reality, augmented reality and animation.
Delivered through a partnership with Newcastle Libraries and Compass Housing’s Grow a Star Project, the workshops create an opportunity for students who would not usually have access to explore these emerging technologies, to develop new skills and express themselves.
Events and Community Relations Manager at Compass Housing Michelle Faithfull, Grow a Star Coordinator Shane Marshall and Councillor Carol Duncan with students participating in the Digital Storytelling Workshops at City of Newcastle’s Digital Library.
A group of local students today embarked on the five-week program which explores the theory of storytelling techniques and narrative development during hands on classes which will equip them with the technical skills to create their own interactive and immersive worlds.
Councillor Carol Duncan said the Digital Storytelling workshops encourage students to harness their creativity and imagination while sharing their experiences through modern story telling techniques.
“The Grow a Star scholarship program provides young people living in disadvantage with opportunities that they may not normally have access to,” Cr Duncan said.
“The workshops are an excellent way to increase digital literacy through creative digital technologies and ‘world building’ and at the completion of the course, the students will have a portfolio that will allow them to follow work experience and tertiary educational opportunities.”
“The young participants will also benefit from mentoring and will develop communication and teamwork skills by working together in small groups.”
City of Newcastle’s Manager of Libraries and Learning Suzie Gately said the workshops are a perfect fit for the Digital Library which is home to a variety of technologies and tools that modernise story telling.
“While the students will apply the traditional skills of storytelling and building a narrative, they will learn how to create video featuring virtual reality presented by a Newcastle virtual and augmented reality studio,” Ms Gately said.
“Immersive storytelling through innovative video is a powerful tool that can truly bring our imagination to life.
“At the end of this program we look forward to showcasing the students’ unique and creative stories on the Digital Library’s interactive story wall for our community to enjoy.”
The program starts on 20 May and runs until 17 June involving 16 young people.

City of Newcastle has finalised the concept design for Stage 1 of the Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade which focuses on improving the ageing pools and lower promenades.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the Newcastle Ocean Baths Community Reference Group (CRG) was integral in the refinement of the concept design for Stage 1.
“We’ve heard valuable feedback from the Community Reference Group, which represents our broader community and Newcastle Ocean Baths users, and adjusted the design to ensure the Baths meets the needs of our community and visitors,” Cr Nelmes said.
“The big winner has been accessibility improvements, with fit-for-purpose ramps for people with a disability or mobility issue to easily get to and from the pools.
“We’ve carefully considered the location of the ramp access into the pools and following advice from the CRG and in consultation with disability advocates have realigned the new ramp to the western edge of the pool to allow long lap swimming.
“We’ve heard our community values the existing rounded central stairs and they’ll be incorporated in the new design within upgraded seating and improvements to ensure they meet modern standards.”
Co-chair, Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust, Mark Metrikas, said City of Newcastle had genuinely consulted on elements of the concept such as the rounded stairs.
“National Trust was concerned to see the rounded heritage stairs missing from an earlier design of the Newcastle Ocean Baths Stage 1 upgrade,” Mr Metrikas said.
“City of Newcastle has worked closely with National Trust on seeking advice as to how the stairs can be incorporated into the new design, as well as sharing additional information about the engineering and safety considerations, so as we can get a better outcome for this cherished facility.”
Other changes made in response to community feedback include replacing the shade structure with a rainproof shade textile with the potential to be removed during the winter season, the colour scheme of extended bleachers and reducing the visual impact of the new lifeguard tower.
As part of the upgrade, the iconic bleacher seating will be retained, the boardwalk will be renewed and a new pump station which will enable more effective pool cleaning will be installed. The concept design also addresses the undulating rock bottom, while retaining the sand floor to facilitate cleaning of the pools and increase user safety when sand levels are low, with sand continuing to accumulate in the pools via natural ocean processes as it does currently.
The Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade is a staged project that will begin with the restoration of the pools and promenades in the second half of 2021 as part of Stage 1. Stage 2 will focus on the upper concourse and pavilion building.
Construction on Stage 1 of the Newcastle Ocean Baths upgrade is expected to commence mid-year.
City of Newcastle is committed to funding the renewal of Newcastle Ocean Baths in full and will direct the $9.5 million recovered from the sale of the Frederick Ash Building to the project. The sale was made possible through the relocation of the City’s Administration Centre to its new staff premises at 12 Stewart Avenue, Newcastle West, in October 2019.

City of Newcastle is inviting feedback from the community on the Harbour to Cathedral Corridor (Stairway to Heaven) concept, which proposes to link Christ Church Cathedral to the Harbour via a grand staircase.
The concept seeks to open-up connections and view lines from the Harbour foreshore and Hunter Street Mall to Christ Church Cathedral, aligning with long held strategic objectives of City of Newcastle and the NSW Government to connect the city to the harbour.
City of Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the concept is a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to create a landmark public space for the city.
“City of Newcastle will soon demolish the 59-year old Mall Car Park due to its poor structural condition which brings about the chance to open the vista to the harbour and protect iconic views of the Cathedral for future generations,” the Lord Mayor said.
“With recent developments in Hunter Street Mall, we now have a unique opportunity to provide residents and visitors to Newcastle with a world-class public space to enjoy.
“While we are in the early stages of assessing the viability of the concept, we want to determine the community’s support for this new public space which would feature a 93 metre long and 20 metre public space and stairway extending from Hunter Street to King Street, enabling pedestrian access, active shop fronts, landings and courtyards along the proposed staircase to gather and meet.”
City of Newcastle Director Governance David Clarke said a feasibility assessment found that an integrated approach to delivering the concept which involves City of Newcastle and Iris Capital owned land would provide the best outcome for the city.
“This concept aims to provide a beautiful public asset for our community whilst retaining 380 public car parking spaces in a central location of our revitalised city,” Mr Clarke said.
“Importantly, this concept provides the only opportunity to preserve the view corridor to the Cathedral due to Iris Capital’s East End Stage 3 development, which in its current form, would obscure the line of sight from the Harbour to the Cathedral.
“City of Newcastle is working with Iris Capital on an in-principle agreement on the terms and conditions about how we might progress on the concept.”
Glen Spicer, Director EJE Architects said key property and development organisations in Newcastle including The Property Council and the Urban Design Review Panel (URDP) support the concept.
“Barney Collins of EJE Architects envisioned this concept more than 15 years ago. Now with recent opportunities presenting themselves, it provides the perfect chance to maintain the heritage of the area while enhancing public and visual amenity of the space in a sustainable way,” Mr Spicer said.
“The Property Council and URDP both fully support the City of Newcastle in this exciting endeavour.”
The community is encouraged to provide feedback on the concept via the Have Your Say page on City of Newcastle’s website by Friday 4 June.

Newcastle Libraries is celebrating Australian Library and Information Week with a series of community events highlighting the skills and resilience needed to navigate the digital world.
Library and Information Week celebrates the work that library and information workers do all around Australia and showcases resources and services available to communities through programs and events.
Newcastle Libraries is partnering with ySafe, Headspace and Computer Pals to present cyber safety workshops to parents, young people and seniors about being safe online, gaming, screen time and anti-cyber bullying issues.
The workshops, held between 24-27 May, offer strategies to safeguard people of all ages and experience in the ever-changing digital world.
City of Newcastle’s launch event for Libraries and Information Week is the Humble Lecture at City Hall, featuring the renowned journalist and social commentator Stan Grant.
Grant will discuss the highly relevant topic of fake news while also exploring the importance of independent journalism as covered in his new book With the Falling of the Dusk.
The annual Humble Lecture is a City of Newcastle event established in honour of a young Newcastle Libraries staff member, Jennifer Humble, who passed away from cancer in 2018. Jennie was a passionate information professional concerned about democracy and social justice.
Launch Event – Stan Grant keynote
City Hall 19 May, 6pm – 7.30pm
eSAFETY WORKSHOPS
Digital Library
Anti-Cyber Bullying Awareness for Parents of Primary Students
24 May 12pm – 1pm
Anti-Cyber Bullying Awareness for Parents of High School Students
24 May 3.30pm – 4.45pm
Cybersmart Parents-Gaming and screen time
25 May 11am – 2.30pm
Using the Internet with Confidence and Safety for Seniors
26 May 2pm – 3pm
Wallsend Library
Anti-Cyber Bullying Awareness for Youth
27 May 1pm – 2.30pm – Cyber Safety

Officers from the Marine Area Command have helped rescue a skipper and sinking yacht off Newcastle during a 26-hour operation.
The Marine Area Command (MAC) received reports of a 50-foot Beneteau yacht taking on water 95 nautical miles off the coast of Newcastle about 12am on Friday (15 May 2021).
Port Stephens Water Police with assistance from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority located the yacht 73 nautical miles off the coast about 10am.
In rough seas, the vessel and sole occupant – a 40-year-old UK national – were towed to Newcastle Harbour, arriving about 1.30am yesterday (Saturday 15 May 2021).
The skipper has been processed through immigration by Australian Border Force (ABF) officers.
He was then escorted by police to a hotel in Sydney’s CBD where he will undergo mandatory quarantine.
The vessel remains moored at Newcastle Harbour.

A man has died after a motorbike crash today in the Hunter Valley.
About 12.25pm (Saturday 15 May 2021), emergency services responded to reports of a motorcycle and utility crash on the Great North Road, Laguna.
Police were told a man riding a motorcycle in a northerly direction, collided with a ute in the south bound lane.
The 49-year-old man was treated at the scene by paramedics, but was pronounced deceased a short time later.
Officers attached to Hunter Valley Police District established a crime scene.
A report is being prepared for the Coroner.
The occupants of the ute, a man and woman, were not injured in the crash.

Rare and fragile items dating back to the early 1800s are now able to be digitally preserved for future generations by City of Newcastle.
Officially launched at Newcastle Library today, the high-tech digitisation lab will feature cutting-edge equipment including 3D scanning instruments and robotic page turners capable of converting 2,500 pages an hour into digital information.

The $400,000 DigiLab was co-funded through the City of Newcastle’s works program and an $85,000 Metropolitan Public Library Grant from State Library of NSW.
Councillor Carol Duncan said the DigiLab will enable the City to preserve hundreds of thousands of archival records, photographs, maps, pictures, newspapers and rare books, which document the story of Newcastle and the Hunter Region.
“Collecting, preserving, and sharing our local history and cultural identity is a key pillar for our Library Service and aligns with the objectives of our Community Strategic Plan 2030,” Cr Duncan said.
“The Library History and Heritage Collection encompasses more than 440,000 items, with some of these collections dating back to the early 1800s and featuring rare, unique and notable items.
“As the custodians of the City’s archives, we look forward to being able to preserve the many ageing records we look after thanks to the assistance of the State Library of NSW grant and our own significant investment.
“Following our successful digitisation of these records, we look forward to being able to open up this exciting service to our customers.”
Manager Libraries and Learning, Suzie Gately said providing greater access to this wonderful collection will support local researchers and inspire local creatives to interpret and use the digitised materials to present local history in different ways to reach new audiences.
“The DigiLab will provide rich, high quality content for both physical exhibitions as well as augmented and virtual reality, allowing us to tell Newcastle’s stories in new and innovative ways,” Ms Gately said.
“We will also be able to integrate this output with the technologies on offer at our Digital Library at 12 Stewart Avenue, including the 8 metre-wide Digital Storywall and the digital multimedia ‘Magic Box’, which is only the second of its kind in Australia.”
One aspect of the DigiLab that will be available for use by the community now is the Memory Lab, which will allow people to preserve their own histories and stories for future generations by converting treasured family items on VHS, VHS-C cassette and 8mm video camera tapes into digital files for free. Bookings are required to make use of the MemoryLab, contact Newcastle Library for more details.

Police are appealing for public assistance following two home invasions in the Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie regions.
About 4.15am on Tuesday 23 March 2021, three men allegedly forced entry to a home at Lemon Tree Passage, and seriously assaulted a man. The men were armed with a hammer and a knife.
In the second incident, about 2pm on Thursday 25 March 2021, two men allegedly forced entry to a home at Kahibah and seriously assaulted a man. The men were armed with a pole and bat.
Detectives attached to Port Stephens-Hunter Police District are conducting investigations into links between both incidents.
The same vehicle was reportedly used on both occasions, described as a blue Mazda6 sedan.
Police are seeking to speak with three men who may be able to assist with their inquiries. They have all been described as aged in their 20s.
Detectives are appealing for anyone who may have information about the incidents, or has dashcam footage of the incidents, to contact Port Stephens-Hunter Police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
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.

A man has been charged after he allegedly stabbed a woman at a café near Newcastle today.
About 2.35pm (Wednesday 12 May 2021), emergency services were called to a café on Maitland Road, Mayfield, after reports a 27-year-old woman had been stabbed to the chest region.
Officers from Newcastle City Police District established a crime scene and commenced an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.
A 23-year-old man was arrested nearby and was taken to Newcastle Police Station.
He was charged with attempt murder and wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
He was refused bail and is expected to appear in Newcastle Local Court tomorrow (Thursday 13 May 2021).
The woman was taken to John Hunter Hospital and remains in a serious but stable condition.