Third Time Unlucky

Irishman Dr William Dudley Power (1853-1912) eagerly opened the Maitland Mercury newspaper, fresh off the printing press on 19 April 1890. The large pages rustled as he flipped through and scanned the headlines. On pages two and four he found the columns he was looking for, and held his scissors at the ready to cut […]

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High and Dry

When raging flood waters and swirling mud swept through Maitland in 1955, eleven people lost their lives and countless others lost their homes and businesses. Three years later, the community was back on its feet and eager to celebrate its recovery. In 1958, with the intention of thanking Australia for its support and demonstrating Maitland’s […]

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Keeping the Fizz In

Imagine the sweltering summer days in West Wallsend, when tired and dusty miners crowded into the Clyde Inn (est c. 1893) on Carrington Street to quench their thirst. Many ordered beer, but others had a taste for the fizzy lemonade, soda water, ginger ale, and ‘fruit champagne’, which the bar-keep William ‘Bill’ Smith (licensee 1899 – […]

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