Unlocking the past 2021

Northumberland Hotel

When the Northumberland Hotel closed its doors in 1979, it ended 70 years of operation as a major Cessnock venue.

If you are a regular at Cessnock Library, you will have noticed a stunning new tapestry up on our walls. If you are not a regular, pop your head in the door and have a look at this huge woven artwork called ‘Rescue’.

Harvest Festival

There is a direct local connection back over a century to our Harvest Festivals, much-loved annual celebrations in our local Christian churches.

War memorials

Across the Cessnock Local Government Area war memorials, both grand and humble, record the names of those who served their country. It is sobering to read these lists, often of young lives cut short, but also for those who were able to return to their communities – ask ‘at what personal cost?’

The Kit Kat Club and the Younger Set

In May 1935 the Cessnock Municipal Younger Set formed with the aim of organising their own dances and other functions and at the same time raising money for the Children’s Ward at Cessnock District Hospital.

Kurri Kurri's forgotten soccer ground

A passion for soccer runs deep in Kurri Kurri, with the first soccer club formed in 1904. For years soccer matches were held on the open ground next to the Drill Hall in Lang Street.

Roaring up the hill

Twenty years after their foundation the Club members were still just as enthusiastic and had now found somewhere near Cessnock perfect for their motoring exploits. Mount View, with its twists, turns, hairpin and ‘S’ bends had become the site of an annual motoring event.

When Abe Saffron came to Kurri

For most of his sensational career notorious crime boss Abe Saffron was dubbed ‘King of the Cross’ because his empire was based in the inner Sydney suburb of Kings Cross. What is lesser known is that for a year he owned a hotel in Kurri Kurri.

Matilda Lumby - an extraordinary postmistress

In 1905 a ‘postal receiving office’ first opened on the front veranda of Walter and Matilda Lumby’s home. It was a tiny 8-foot by 8-foot space with Matilda working as a postal officer on a salary of £5 per year.

A Wollombi Baker goes to War 1

The tragic arms of World War I spread across the world, reaching from Europe as far as Australia and into our region. The patriotic fervour whipped up by war propaganda inspired many young men to enlist and one of them was young Wollombi baker, Philip Sloan.