{"id":13524,"date":"2021-10-23T00:46:13","date_gmt":"2021-10-23T00:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=13524"},"modified":"2021-10-23T00:46:13","modified_gmt":"2021-10-23T00:46:13","slug":"south-newcastle-beach-stone-shelter-stands-the-test-of-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/10\/23\/south-newcastle-beach-stone-shelter-stands-the-test-of-time\/","title":{"rendered":"South Newcastle Beach stone shelter stands the test of time"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When the stones were set in the arches at South Newcastle Beach, horse and carts filled the streets of Newcastle and beach attire consisted of three-piece suits and ankle length dresses.<br \/>\nFast forward more than 113 years and the historic structure still stands as one of the oldest European hand-crafted structures on the New South Wales coast.<br \/>\nLord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes said City of Newcastle has embarked on work to shore up the foundations of the historic beach shelter to ensure the iconic arches are preserved for decades to come.<br \/>\n\u201cThe foundations of the stone shelter have deteriorated over time. This was revealed during work on the Bathers Way revitalisation project at South Newcastle Beach, so City of Newcastle has developed a solution to strengthen the structure.<br \/>\n\u201cThe stone shelter and its foundations have been surveyed and stabilisation works, that honour the original structure while allowing construction activities to continue safely, are underway.<br \/>\n\u201cThis is a fantastic outcome for the City. It\u2019s important we prioritise this historic feature in its existing location so people can continue to enjoy the shelter along Bathers Way, as have countless beachgoers since 1907.<br \/>\n\u201cSignificant progress has been made on the Bathers Way revitalisation project at South Newcastle beach since August 2020, with the piling to create a strong foundation and protect the coastline now complete and the majority of the bleachers constructed. The foundations for the skate bowl are in place, with the surrounding skateable surfaces due to be constructed in the coming months.\u201d<br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" title=\"Lord-Mayor-Nuatali-Nelmes-and-Mark-Metrikas-at-South-Newcastle-Beach.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/newcastle.nsw.gov.au\/getattachment\/Council\/News\/Latest-News\/South-Newcastle-Beach-stone-shelter-stands-the-tes\/Lord-Mayor-Nuatali-Nelmes-and-Mark-Metrikas-at-South-Newcastle-Beach.jpg\" alt=\"Lord-Mayor-Nuatali-Nelmes-and-Mark-Metrikas-at-South-Newcastle-Beach.jpg\" \/><em>Image: Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Hunter Regional Committee of the National Trust Co-chair Mark Metrikas onsite at the Bathers Way revitalisation project at South Newcastle Beach<\/em><br \/>\nHunter Regional Committee of the National Trust Co-chair Mark Metrikas said the stone shelter holds significant heritage value and has been an enduring feature of Newcastle Beach for more than 113 years.<br \/>\n\u201cNational Trust is delighted that City of Newcastle is preserving the South Newcastle stone beach shelter by integrating it with the new skatepark and Bathers Way extension.<br \/>\n\u201cWe appreciate that City of Newcastle reached out to the National Trust to discuss options to stabilise the shelter when recent excavation revealed some issues with the rubble stone foundations.<br \/>\n\u201cThe stone shelter was built in 1907 as part of beach improvement works. In that era, most of the bathing and picnicking took place at South Newcastle.<br \/>\n\u201cThe arched stone shelter harks back to the time when promenading was popular, and people wore their Sunday best clothes to be seen near the beach.<br \/>\n\u201cThe shelter is the last of several pavilions and shelters in New South Wales.\u201d<br \/>\nThe Bathers Way revitalisation project at South Newcastle Beach is part of City of Newcastle&#8217;s Coastal Revitalisation Program and is partly funded by a $5 million grant from Round Five of the Resources for Regions program, part of the NSW Government&#8217;s Restart NSW Fund.<br \/>\nDeputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said the NSW Government is supporting mining related communities through the Resources for Regions Program with 149 projects totalling $345 million already delivered since 2012.<br \/>\n\u201cMining makes a significant contribution to the NSW economy, supporting more than 100,000 jobs across the State, and this program helps provide crucial funds to maintain community facilities and roads,\u201d Mr Toole said.<br \/>\n\u201cI\u2019m thrilled to see this project progressing, not only is it helping create new jobs and driving economic growth, but it\u2019s also delivering lifestyle improvements that will enrich the wellbeing of the Newcastle community for generations to come.\u201d<br \/>\nThe project is scheduled for completion in Spring 2022 and will feature a shared path from Shortland Esplanade to King Edward Park, improved access to South Newcastle Beach and King Edward Park, new skatepark and bowl, parking, landscaping, lighting and accessibility improvements, new fitness equipment, shade, seating, viewing areas, and a new caf\u00e9\/kiosk and accessible amenities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the stones were set in the arches at South Newcastle Beach, horse and carts filled the streets of Newcastle and beach attire consisted of three-piece suits and ankle length dresses. Fast forward more than 113 years and the historic structure still stands as one of the oldest European hand-crafted structures on the New South &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2021\/10\/23\/south-newcastle-beach-stone-shelter-stands-the-test-of-time\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;South Newcastle Beach stone shelter stands the test of time&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-newcastle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}