Nobbys Head

Last updated

Nobbys Head
Whibayganba [1]
Nickname: Coal Island [2]
Nobbys Head.jpg
Nobbys Head, Newcastle
Geography
Coordinates 32°55′24″S151°48′04″E / 32.92333°S 151.80111°E / -32.92333; 151.80111
Administration
State New South Wales
City Newcastle
Additional information
Time zone
 • Summer (DST)
Official website Newcastle City Council webpage
[3]

Nobbys Head (Aboriginal and dual name: Whibayganba [1] [4] ) is a headland located on the southern entrance to Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. The headland is situated above the Hunter River and the Tasman Sea of the South Pacific Ocean.

Contents

Originally called, Whibayganba by the Awabakal people, European colonists referred to it as Coal Island, and then later Nobbys Island. The Island was connected to the mainland at first by the Macquarie Pier, completed in 1846, 38 years after commencement. The pier was eventually replaced by a breakwater. Sand accumulated along the breakwall to make Nobby's beach, and the sand and plants makes the isthmus appear natural.

The rock consisting of Nobbys Tuff of the original island has significant tunnelling, which was completed during the 1850s using convict labour, with the aim of destroying the island. [1]

Nobbys Head Lighthouse [5] is located on the headland. The lighthouse is the third lighthouse built in New South Wales after the Macquarie Lighthouse in 1818 and the Hornby Lighthouse which was also built in 1858. [6] The lighthouse is included in Newcastle's coat of arms. [7]

Aboriginal history

The Awabakal and Worimi peoples are acknowledged by City of Newcastle as the descendants of the traditional custodians of the land situated within the Newcastle local government area, including wetlands, rivers creeks and coastal environments. [8] The Awabakal people knew Nobby's Head as Whibayganba. [9] The name Whibayganba was documented in an 1828 sketch by Sir Thomas Mitchell. [10] This rock formation holds significance to the Awabakal and is a part of their dreaming stories. [11]

Macquarie Pier

Captain James Wallis proposed to Governor Lachlan Macquarie the need for a causeway or land bridge across the channel to link Nobbys to the mainland. [12] ·  In August 1818 surveyor James Meehan made the plans for the pier. [12] The foundation stone was laid by Lachlan Macquarie on 5 August 1818. [13] Commandant Captain James Wallis visited the pier during one of his visits to Newcastle on 5 August 1818. [13] On 11 October 1832  a Report of the Sub-Committee on the Breakwater at Newcastle had been received by the Legislative Committee over the budget of £.500. [12] The pier was built of Roman Cement and was completed by 1846. [12] On 12 June 1846 Mr Scott, the clerk of work was the first person to walk the length of the Breakwater to Nobby's Island. [12] · By 1866 the decision was made to reconstruct the breakwater with stone quarried from Waratah and transported by rail. [12]

Nobby's Island and pier, Newcastle, 23 January 1820 / [watercolour by unknown artist] Nobby's Island and pier.jpg
Nobby's Island and pier, Newcastle, 23 January 1820 / [watercolour by unknown artist]

The location of the foundation is unknown but  a modern plaque  was placed in 2010 where people believed it was  to mark the Macquarie 2010 celebrations. [13] The 2010 plaque was designed by Auchmuty Library designer Danylo Motyka. [14] On 13 August 2013 with funding from the New South Wales government geophysicist from GBG Australia began a subsurface investigation using ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity located the buried structure. [14] The electrical resistivity found evidence of a possible human construction around 1 metre below the surface. [14]

In 2020, Newcastle City Council announced that Macquarie Pier Revitalisation project to celebrate Newcastle's maritime history and the match the Bathers Way Coastal Walk with the project to be completed by the end of 2020. [15] · Port Authority will spend $3 million to widened the pathway added sandstone seating, fencing and heritage feature along 900 m route. [15]

Location and features

Nobbys Head, 1887 Nobbys Head, 1887.jpg
Nobbys Head, 1887
Nobbys Head, 1891 Nobbys Head, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia (1891).jpg
Nobbys Head, 1891

Nobbys Head was first sighted by Europeans on 10 May 1770 by Captain James Cook from the ship Endeavour and was described by Cook as: [16]

"A small round rock or Island, laying close under the land, bore South 82 degrees West, distance 3 or 4 Leagues".

It was not until the discovery of coal by Lt. John Shortland in 1797, that the island was viewed as having any significance. [17] In 1804, Signal Head was the first place in Newcastle that any form of navigational aid was established. Originally a coal burning light, it was changed over to oil in 1821 for a short period of time but was reverted to coal as the oil system was not reliable. [6]

Governor Macquarie ordered a pier to be built to join Coal island to Collier Point. The pier was started on 5 August 1818 and convict labour was used to do the construction. It took 38 years to complete the pier and during this time numerous convicts were lost to the sea due to the convicts having to work through all sea and weather conditions, night and day. [18] [19]

Nobbys Head was thought to have been originally 62 metres (203 ft) high, however work done by the Coal River Working Party in 2010 has concluded that the original height was more likely 43 m (141 ft) high. [1] It was reduced to its current 27.5 m (90 ft) height because sailing ships were losing wind in the sails as they rounded Nobbys Head. The rock taken from Nobbys to reduce its height was used in the pier's construction. [20] [21]

In 2010 it was reported that the NSW Government was examining the transfer of management of the headland from Newcastle Port Corporation to the Land Property Management Authority [22] for potential incorporation in a national park or reserve.

A location on Mars was named after Nobbys Head. NASA also agreed to update it to reflect its dual naming Whibayganba. [23]

See also

Commons-logo.svg
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nobbys Head .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle, New South Wales</span> City in New South Wales, Australia

Greater Newcastle, locally nicknamed Newy, is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populated district in New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie; it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the local government areas of City of Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Maitland, City of Cessnock and Port Stephens Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lachlan Macquarie</span> Scottish British army officer and colonial administrator (1762–1824)

Major General Lachlan Macquarie, CB was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Scotland. Macquarie served as the fifth Governor of New South Wales from 1810 to 1821, and had a leading role in the social, economic, and architectural development of the colony. He is considered by historians to have had a crucial influence on the transition of New South Wales from a penal colony to a free settlement and therefore to have played a major role in the shaping of Australian society in the early nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter Region</span> Region in New South Wales, Australia

The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region or simply Hunter, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately 120 km (75 mi) to 310 km (193 mi) north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River and its tributaries with highland areas to the north and south. Situated at the northern end of the Sydney Basin bioregion, the Hunter Valley is one of the largest river valleys on the NSW coast, and is most commonly known for its wineries and coal industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port Macquarie</span> City in New South Wales, Australia

Port Macquarie, locally nicknamed Port, is a coastal city the local government area of Port Macquarie-Hastings. It is located on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia, about 390 km (242 mi) north of Sydney, and 570 km (354 mi) south of Brisbane. The city is located on the Tasman Sea coast, at the mouth of the Hastings River, and at the eastern end of the Oxley Highway (B56). The city with its suburbs had a population of 47,973 in June 2018 and an estimated population of 50,307 in June 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunter River (New South Wales)</span> River in New South Wales, Australia

The Hunter River is a major river in New South Wales, Australia. The Hunter River rises in the Liverpool Range and flows generally south and then east, reaching the Tasman Sea at Newcastle, the second largest city in New South Wales and a major harbour port. Its lower reaches form an open and trained mature wave dominated barrier estuary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenrock Lagoon</span> Coastal waterway in New South Wales, Australia

Glenrock Lagoon, an intermediate fresh water small coastal creek, is located within the Lake Macquarie local government area in the Newcastle and Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia. The lake is located near the Newcastle suburbs of Adamstown and Dudley and is situated about 153 kilometres (95 mi) north of Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awabakal</span> Australian Aboriginal people of mid north coastal New South Wales

The Awabakal people, are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Hunter Region of New South Wales. Their traditional territory spread from Wollombi in the west, to the Lower Hunter River near Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Port of Newcastle</span> Major seaport in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales Australia.

The Port of Newcastle is a major seaport in the city of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is the world's largest coal port.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fingal Bay</span> Suburb of Port Stephens Council, New South Wales, Australia

Fingal Bay is the easternmost suburb of the Port Stephens local government area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. The only population centre is the township of the same name, which itself is named after the adjacent, small, semi-circular bay. At the 2021 census, the population of the town was 1,635.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Macquarie (New South Wales)</span> An open and trained youthful wave dominated barrier estuary in Hunter, Central Coast

Lake Macquarie is Australia's largest coastal lagoon. Located in the City of Lake Macquarie and Central Coast Council local government areas in the Hunter and Central Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, it covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42.5 sq mi) and is connected to the Tasman Sea by a short channel. Most of the residents of the City of Lake Macquarie live near the shores of the lagoon.

Wyee ) is a small town in the Lake Macquarie and Central Coast regions of New South Wales, Australia, in the City of Lake Macquarie and Central Coast Council. It is near the Sydney-Newcastle Freeway and has a railway station on NSW TrainLink's Central Coast & Newcastle Line. It had a population of 1,487 in 2001, which significantly increased to 2,588 in 2011, and decreased to 2,406 in 2016. Wyee is considered a shanty town and remains highly unchanged since World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hill, New South Wales</span> Suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia

The Hill is an inner city, residential suburb of Newcastle, in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, located immediately south of Newcastle's central business district. The Hill is filled with historic Victorian terraces and is the site of a historic convict prison block. As of January 2021, the average house price in The Hill was A$1.92m.

Archaeological evidence indicates that human beings have inhabited the area around Newcastle, New South Wales for at least 6500 years. In 2009, archaeologist uncovered over 5,534 Aboriginal artefacts, representing three occupation periods. In the 1820s, the Reverend Lancelot Threlkeld worked with local Awabakal man Biraban to record the Awabakal language. Since 1892, the Indigenous people of Newcastle have come to be known as the Awabakal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nobbys Head Light</span> Lighthouse in New South Wales, Australia

Nobbys Head Light is an active lighthouse on Nobbys Head, a headland on the south side of the entrance to Newcastle Harbour, New South Wales, Australia. An image of the lighthouse is included in the coat of arms of the City of Newcastle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coal River Precinct</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Coal River Precinct is a heritage-listed historic precinct at Nobbys Road, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It was built from 1804 to 1960. It includes Fort Scratchley, Nobbys Head, the Convict Lumber Yard site, Macquarie Pier, the breakwater and Nobby's Beach. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 19 December 2003.

The coastal coal-carrying trade of New South Wales involved the shipping of coal—mainly for local consumption but also for export or coal bunkering—by sea to Sydney from the northern and southern coal fields of New South Wales. It took place in the 19th and 20th centuries. It should not be confused with the export coal trade, which still exists today. There was also an interstate trade, carrying coal and coke to other Australian states that did not have local sources of black coal.

<i>Corroboree at Newcastle</i> Painting attributed to Joseph Lycett

Corroboree at Newcastle is a painting in the collection of the State Library of New South Wales located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is the first known European oil painting to depict a night corroboree by Aboriginal Australian people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle Government House</span> Historic site in New South Wales, Australia

Newcastle Government House is a heritage-listed former military post and official residence and now park and psychiatric hospital at 72 Watt Street, Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is also known as Newcastle Government House and Domain, Newcastle Military Barracks & Hospital, Girls' Industrial School, Reformatory for Girls, Lunatic Asylum for Imbeciles, James Fletcher Hospital and Fletcher Park. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 22 March 2011.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burigon</span>

Burigon, also called Burragong or Jack, was an Awabakal man and "Chief of the Newcastle Tribe". Alongside his tribe, Burigon entertained Governor Macquarie with a corroboree at the site of the Newcastle Government House. Under the patronage of Commandant James Wallis, who was in charge of the British colonial post of Newcastle from 1816 to 1818, the convict artist Joseph Lycett painted at least 14 scenes of traditional practices of the Awabakal people. Burigon and James Wallis hunted together and Wallis was to later write that he had "kinder feelings" for Burigon than for many of his own heritage. This close relationship of Burigon and Wallis was instrumental in gaining access for the artist Joseph Lycett to visually document the life of the Awabakal people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Wallis (British Army officer)</span> Officer in the 46th Regiment of Foot of the British Army in the 19c

Major James Wallis was an Anglo-Irish military officer who served in the 46th Regiment of Foot. Wallis saw service in Dominica, New South Wales, and India. During his deployment in New South Wales, he commanded a detachment of grenadiers which committed the Appin Massacre of 1816, and was later promoted to the post of Commandant at the convict settlement of Newcastle from 1816 to 1818. Wallis is also noted for producing a number of historically significant sketches and paintings during his colonial military career.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kerr, Roslyn (October 2011). "In Search of Nobby's Tunnels" (PDF). Coal River Working Party. University of Newcastle . Retrieved 10 October 2012.
  2. ↑ "Nobbys Head". Geographical Names Register (GNR) of NSW. Geographical Names Board of New South Wales . Retrieved 23 March 2013. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  3. ↑ "Map of Nobbys Head, NSW". Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  4. ↑ "Dual naming – Geographical Names Board of NSW: Nobbys Head/Whibayganba". gnb.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 11 July 2021.
  5. ↑ List of Lights, Pub. 111: The West Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. and Hawaii), Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Islands of the North and South Pacific Oceans (PDF). List of Lights . United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2009. p. 124.
  6. 1 2 "The Nobbys Head Lighthouse at Newcastle". Lighthouses of New South Wales. Lighthouses of Australia Inc. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  7. ↑ "Commonwealth heritage places in New South Wales (Nobbys Lighthouse, Newcastle East)". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  8. ↑ "Aboriginal Culture". City of Newcastle. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Whibayganba wakes up". Newcastle Herald. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  10. ↑ "NSW Place and Road Naming Proposals System". proposals.gnb.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Dreaming". Hunter Living Histories. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 uoncc (11 September 2013). "The Life and Times of Macquarie Pier". Hunter Living Histories. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  13. 1 2 3 uoncc (2 August 2018). "Happy 200th Birthday Macquarie Pier (a.k.a. Newcastle Breakwater)". Hunter Living Histories. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 uoncc (23 October 2013). "University Researchers One Step Closer to Father of Australia". Hunter Living Histories. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  15. 1 2 "Major makeover for Newcastle's Macquarie Pier". portauthoritynsw.com.au. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  16. ↑ Cook, James (1893). "Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World (1768-1771)". London: Elliot Stock. Retrieved 29 August 2007.
  17. ↑ "First Discovery of Nobbys". Newcastle Port Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  18. ↑ "Australia's First Port". Newcastle Port Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  19. ↑ "Convict Built Pier". Newcastle Port Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  20. ↑ "Wind in Ship Sails". Newcastle Port Corporation. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  21. ↑ "Nobbys is the enduring landmark of Newcastle". Discover Newcastle. Newcastle City Council . Retrieved 14 September 2007.
  22. ↑ McMahon, Jeannette (23 November 2010). "Opening Nobbys headland to the public". Newcastle, Australia: ABC News. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  23. ↑ "Men are from Mars just like Nobbys". Newcastle Herald. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.