Category: Newcastle News

A social justice metaphor couched in a striking graphic design has taken out the prestigious 2019 Kilgour Prize.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes announced Sydney-based artist Blak Douglas as the winner of the annual award for figurative and portrait painting during the launch of the exhibition at Newcastle Art Gallery tonight.

The Kilgour Prize is one of Australia’s most lucrative art prizes and includes $50,000 for the winning artist, as well as a $5,000 People’s Choice Award.
It is administered by Newcastle Art Gallery and funded via a bequest from Australian artist Jack Noel Kilgour, administered by The Trust Company, Part of Perpetual.
The Lord Mayor said the City of Newcastle was honoured to be the home of such an esteemed national prize.
“Now in its ninth year, the reputation of the Kilgour Prize continues to grow, attracting a large number of entrants and a significant audience to the gallery,” she said.
“The breadth and depth of artistic talent on show in this year’s Prize is truly impressive, with the diversity and quality of the entries reaching new heights each year.
“I congratulate Blak Douglas on joining a prestigious list of accomplished artists to have taken out the Kilgour Prize.”
Chosen from among hundreds of entries and 30 finalists, the compelling 1.5m square portrait of Australian actress and singer Ursula Yovich – ‘Queen of her own stage’ – impressed the panel of three judges with its powerful composition and striking style.
The 2019 prize was judged by Lauretta Morton, Director, Newcastle Art Gallery, Jon Cattapan, Artist and Director of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) at University of Melbourne and Michael Dagostino, Director Campbelltown Arts Centre.
Ms Morton said the Kilgour Prize encourages Australian artists to pursue – and push the boundaries of – portraiture and figurative painting.
The judges noted a striking range of subject matter and styles within this year’s entries.
The selected works came from every State and Territory of Australia, with the artists ranging in age from 22 to 70 years. Four local artists (Nigel Milsom, Peter Gardiner, Michael Bell and Leeroy Chapman) were among those who made the final cut.
“This year’s 30 finalists are perhaps the strongest and most interesting entries we’ve had in the history of the Kilgour Prize,” Ms Morton said.

Born in Blacktown, Western Sydney in 1970, Douglas originally trained in illustration and photography before becoming a self–taught painter with a social justice-inspired style influenced by the study of graphic design.
He said he had always wanted to paint a portrait of his friend Yovich, a proud Larrakia woman from Darwin who is currently performing her Helpmann Award-winning show Barbara and the Camp Dogs at Belvoir St Theatre in Sydney.
“My dear friend Ursula Yovich, actress and songstress dynamo, has always been on my list of subjects to paint,” Douglas said.
“This painting is all about her and is a metaphor for the female black voice. I asked Ursula to stand upon a chair for the pose because I saw it as a metaphor for Aboriginal voices to be heard.”
The KILGOUR PRIZE 2019 exhibition showcases the 30 finalists and is on at Newcastle Art Gallery from 3 August to 13 October 2019.
People’s Choice Award
In addition to the overall prize, the KILGOUR PRIZE 2019 competition includes a People’s Choice Award of $5,000. Visitors can vote for the People’s Choice Award at the Gallery until 5pm Wednesday 18 September 2019. The winner will be announced Monday 23 September 2019.
More information on the current year’s exhibition:
http://nag.org.au/Exhibitions
Kilgour Prize FAQs, history and information about Jack Noel Kilgour:
http://nag.org.au/Kilgour-Prize
Kilgour Prize 2019 finalists:
Peter Barker, Anthony Bartok, Michael Bell, Eva Beltran, Karen Black, Leeroy Chapman, Tamara Dean, Blak Douglas, David Fairbairn, Sebastian Galloway, Peter Gardiner, Ben Gavin, Craig Handley, Jacqueline Hennessy, Tom Keukenmeester, Richard Lewer, Michael Lindeman, Robert Malherbe, Marie Mansfield, Siân McNabney, Joshua McPherson, Nigel Milsom, Lori Pensini, Stephen Pleban, Jordan Richardson, Melissa Ritchie, Jenny Rodgerson, Paul Ryan, Nick Santoro.

The plights of convict women who overcame great hardships to help create the fabulous city enjoyed by latter-day Novocastrians will be explored in an upcoming Newcastle Library exhibition.
They Sent Me North: Female Convicts in the Hunter features redemptive stories on the women’s struggles and achievements, a display of bonnets in the style they sported and a bonnet-making workshop in their honour.
Both the historical snapshot and a book of the same title were developed by Newcastle Family History Society to celebrate the lives of the 1,600 women sent to the Hunter between 1804 and 1822.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said people from right across the region would enjoy the look back at the hardy European pioneers.
“If you want to find out if you have a connection to those resilient women, this is a must-see exhibition,” Councillor Nelmes said.
“The book is a fascinating database of the female convicts sent to Newcastle and the Hunter, and includes 70 short biographies penned by their descendants.
“One remarkable character was retailer Ann “Hannah” Langham. Her Hunter Street shop was fondly remembered by Novocastrians well into the 20th Century, and we’d love to hear from one of her descendants ahead of the exhibition.”
‘Mrs Langham’s store’ amounted to Newcastle’s “commercial world” in 1859, the Newcastle Morning Herald wrote in 1897.
Transported for stealing a watch at age 19, Langham (nee Williams) was assigned to a reverend’s Aboriginal mission at Lake Macquarie after arriving at Port Jackson in 1829.
The former London laundress married Samuel Langham as a free woman in 1832 and, following his two-year jailing for indebtedness and the death of a daughter, they opened their store opposite the old courthouse in the mid to late 1840s. It became “the only business of any consequence on the main street” and a “fancy warehouse”, recalled the Newcastle Sun on 31 October 1938.
Mrs Langham closed her store in 1879 – 25 years after Samuel died – and was thought to have moved to Sydney. She had returned by 1890 and died seven years later at the Benevolent Asylum in Waratah at 87. Despite the cause of death being listed as “senile decay”, the Herald dutifully reported “she retained all her faculties to the last”.
The exhibition is part of Roses from the Heart, an Australia-wide initiative created by Dr Christina Henri, which pays tribute to all convict women sentenced to transportation in Australia.
Mel Woodford, Newcastle Family History Society President, said the bonnet displays and workshop idea emerged from the book.
“Jan Richards, fellow member of the Newcastle Family History Society, and I have been working on this publication for four or five years now, and it just seemed fitting to honour the convict women by displaying the bonnets created by their families,” Ms Woodford said.
The exhibition is a collaboration between Maitland & Beyond Family History Inc., Newcastle Family History Society Inc. and Raymond Terrace & District Historical Society Inc.
The exhibition runs from 31 July – 24 August during the library’s regular opening hours.
Image Caption: Mary Eckford (nee Horrell) was sentenced aged 14 in Devon for stealing an apron and a handkerchief in 1798 . She married Newcastle Harbour Master William Eckford in 1802 and they had eight children, who went to Newcastle East Public School.
Launch
When: Tuesday 30 July, 5.30pm
Who: Dr Christina Henri, 2014 Senior Australian of the Year (Tasmania) and Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes.
Where: Lovett Gallery, Newcastle Library, Lovett Gallery.
Two shortened bios from the Exhibition
Margaret McGreavy (nee Tynan):
A few months after Margaret’s husband was transported from Ireland in March 1817, she too was convicted of stealing. In a planned penance, she found herself in Port Jackson aged 21 the following year. The couple were living together in Sydney in 1820 when both were caught receiving stolen goods and sent north to Newcastle. An alleged rape of their daughter somehow led them to Port Macquarie, but both Margaret and her husband James returned to run Newcastle pubs from 1833. Margaret died in 1865 and was remembered as a pioneer of the Newcastle East End. Her grandson, James Nixon Brunker, after whom Brunker Road was likely named, became a Member of Parliament in 1880, Minister for Lands in 1888, Colonial Secretary in 1884, and was considered one of the Founding Fathers of the Australian Constitution,
Maria Courtney
Maria was transported with six members of her family for counterfeiting sixpences in the Borough of Berwick-upon-Tweed in northern England. Initially sentenced to hang, she gave birth to a son two weeks before her date with the gallows on 5 August 1816. Their sentence was commuted to life and transportation to Australia. Aged 27, Maria arrived in Port Jackson aboard the Friendship in January 1818. She married Dennis Hammil in September that year and had two daughters before the family took on a 10-acre farm at Windsor on the Hawkesbury. Two sons followed their move to Richmond before they moved to East Maitland (then Wallis Plains), where Maria died aged 38 in 1828, leaving Dennis to raise four young children.

City of Newcastle has released updated concept plans for the Bathers Way – Newcastle Beach project, including a beachside skate bowl positioned within the existing promenade at South Newcastle Beach.
Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the improvements were in response to feedback on the original design which had been partially built over the beach.

“While these are concept plans only, they demonstrate that we can have a bowl suitable for intermediate skaters and accessible for wheelchair sports, without the need for it to protrude onto the beach,” the Lord Mayor said.
“These concepts allow us to work with the community, skaters, coastal engineers, environmental and geotechnical experts to determine more detailed designs for this stage of the Bathers Way project.
“We’re now asking the community to have their say on these concepts as we undertake formal consultation, refine the detailed designs, and ultimately start construction.”
Following community engagement on the concept images, detailed design will continue towards a state-of-the-art skate park for intermediate to advanced users and wheelchair athletes. Construction is scheduled to commence in 2020.



“This will ensure that we continue to achieve our vision of delivering this fantastic public pathway along one of the most magnificent stretches of coastline in the country,” the Lord Mayor said.
The Bathers Way – Newcastle Beach is the largest and most complex stage of the Bathers Way project.
This stage, which also includes a new kiosk and amenities and outdoor exercise equipment, will transform a section of coast which has long been dormant into a vibrant and attractive place.
Further upgrades are proposed for the Bathers Way between King Edward Park and Newcastle Surf Life Saving Club, including access improvements and a community hub in the Newcastle Beach Pavilion following its redevelopment.
“When the King Edward Park and Memorial Drive sections are completed, Newcastle will boast a stairless six-kilometre coastal pathway that will surpass any in Australia,” the Lord Mayor added.
Have your say on the new concept plans, here, now until the end of August.

Newcastle’s popular Park and Ride will continue with a family friendly tweak, starting the afternoon service to McDonald Jones Stadium earlier to support parents who need to pick their kids up from school or childcare.
Keolis Downer Hunter has been awarded the contract to continue operating Park and Ride until at least 30 June 2020, beginning Monday 29 July 2019 with a new fee of $4.60.
City of Newcastle has kept the service running since Transport for NSW pulled its funding earlier this year and during that time surveyed current and prospective passengers on cost, preferred running times, and barriers to use.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said Park and Ride plays an important role in freeing up around 200 car parks in the city centre each day by giving commuters a convenient and affordable alternative to driving and paying for all day parking.
“Since taking over Park and Ride in April, the City has assessed passenger feedback, running times and patronage to determine whether the service should continue and how it could be improved,” the Lord Mayor said.
“We’ve heard from the community, city businesses and major employers, and the message is clear; Park and Ride is making the daily commute easier for more than 1,000 regular weekly users, keeping cars out of the CBD, and should be continued.
“For a person who switches from parking in the city each day to using the Park and Ride express bus from Broadmeadow, they will be on average $900 a year better off.”
New Lambton resident Jenni Payne, a graphic designer who works in the city, takes Park and Ride three days a week and said the earlier afternoon return service would make her life easier.
“I’m always in a mad rush to get back to the car and pick the kids up from school,” said the mother of two New Lambton Public School students. “So, getting the return bus at 2.25pm will definitely take the pressure off and make Park and Ride a more convenient option for me.”

City of Newcastle CEO Jeremy Bath said the price increase, along with in-kind support from Venues NSW and McDonald Jones Stadium, and a competitive agreement with the operator, made continuing the service viable for the City.
“The return price of $4.60 for an express service is substantially cheaper than the $7-return Opal bus fare or the $8.50 all-day city parking,” Mr Bath said.
“Venues NSW must be thanked for throwing its support behind Park and Ride by agreeing to waive the parking fee it previously charged City of Newcastle to locate the Park and Ride at McDonald Jones Stadium.
“There have been more than 120,000 passenger trips on Park and Ride since it commenced in November 2017, and with the future of the service now secured, the City of Newcastle is committed to further increasing passenger numbers by ensuring the service is convenient and reliable and saves its users time and money.”
Venues NSW CEO Paul Doorn said Venues NSW was keen to continue its support for the park and ride.
“Venues NSW is happy to work with the City of Newcastle to deliver Park and Ride and ensure assets like McDonald Jones Stadium benefit the Newcastle community outside of event days,” he said.
Park and Ride continues from Monday 29 July. For more information visit www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/parkandride
New Lambton’s Jenni Payne boards the Park and Ride bus before embarking on the busy school run

Lambton commuter Jordan May loves how afforadable the service is

Separated cycle ways, new dedicated green spaces and wider streets to improve pedestrian and traffic flows will be built in the City’s emerging CBD following the adoption of the West End Stage 2 – Streetscape Plan.
The West End improvements were given the green light from Councillors last night after 85 per cent of those surveyed during the 28-day public exhibition period put forward their support for the plan.
^{How Denison Street could look under the new urban streetscape designs}
Of those surveyed, 93 per cent said they supported an increase to green spaces, while 89 per cent agreed that better cycleways and public domain improvements – such as an increase in public art – were important to them.
Traffic improvements, alfresco dining options and the creation of ‘rain gardens’, self-watering, low-maintenance gardens designed to protect our rivers and creeks by capturing stormwater that runs off hard surfaces when it rains, also received support across the nine survey questions.
Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the results showed the public was behind the City’s vision for the future.
“It shows that there is a strong appetite for people to see our vision to create a vibrant, connected and liveable city, realised,” the Lord Mayor said.
“Together with our plans to upgrade Birdwood and Little Birdwood Park as part of Stage 1, we will create a safe, accessible precinct around the Newcastle Interchange where vibrant streetscapes will encourage more public and active transport use.
“Both plans will support the growth of Newcastle’s new CBD in the west and cultural precinct in the east.”
Steel Street, looking north, with wider streets and new-look paving
Five green spaces totalling an area larger than a football field will be built in the west to reduce the risks of a ‘heat island’ effect, which see built-up urban areas become significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas.
A safe, separated east-west cycleway in the Stage 2 plan will stretch from Wickham Park to Union Street along Hunter Street’s southern edge, running between the footpath and a new island bus stop with greenery outside the “Spotlight” corner.
Another separated cycleway will run north from National Park to Honeysuckle along the western side of Steel Street better connecting the Junction and Merewether with the harbour foreshore.
New crossings will also be created for pedestrians along Hunter Street as part of the Stage 2 upgrades.
The City will update the community when the construction timetable is determined.