Mayfield is a north-western suburb of
Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
, which takes its name from Ada May (born 1874) a daughter of the landowner there,
John Scholey
John Scholey (15 September 1840 in Holbeck, Leeds, – 14 April 1908 in Mayfield, New South Wales) was an extensive landed proprietor, prominent businessman, colliery owner, Director of Aberdare Collieries, and a Mayor. He was a Justice of the ...
. Its boundaries are the
Hunter River Hunter River may refer to:
*Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia
*Hunter River (Western Australia)
*Hunter River, New Zealand
*Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada
**Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada
...
to the north, the
Main Northern railway line
The Main North Line (also known as the Great Northern Railway) is a major railway in New South Wales, Australia. It runs through the Central Coast, Hunter and New England regions. The line was the original main line between Sydney and Brisban ...
to the south (
Waratah station), the railway line to Newcastle Harbour to the east, and open ground to the west.
Aboriginal history
The
Awabakal
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 te ...
people are acknowledged as the descendants of the traditional custodians of the land where Mayfield is now located. Material evidence of Aboriginal occupation of the land now known as Mayfield was originally discovered by Daniel F. Cooksey in June 1925. He had located the first specimen of an ''Elouera'', and other stone tools at a number of sites located along the south arm of the Hunter River, and of the former B.H.P Steelworks. Cooksey was formerly recognized for the find by W. W. Thorpe, the ethnologist with the Australian Museum, who, in 1928 traveled to Newcastle and officially reported the find. Cooksey documented his work in news articles and personal reports now in the custody of the Archives of the
University of Newcastle's Special Collections.
History
Much of Mayfield was originally named North Waratah, and formed part of the large Municipality of
Waratah
Waratah (''Telopea'') is an Australian-endemic genus of five species of large shrubs or small trees, native to the southeastern parts of Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, and Tasmania). The best-known species in this genus is ''Telopea speci ...
(incorporated 1871), of which
John Scholey
John Scholey (15 September 1840 in Holbeck, Leeds, – 14 April 1908 in Mayfield, New South Wales) was an extensive landed proprietor, prominent businessman, colliery owner, Director of Aberdare Collieries, and a Mayor. He was a Justice of the ...
was three times Mayor. In 1938 an Act of the
New South Wales Parliament
The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Each ...
created a "City of Greater Newcastle", incorporating 11 municipalities into one local government area, including Waratah. Until it was subdivided by Scholey and the land put up for sale, it was largely semi-forested scrub and fields. However, St Andrew's Church at North Waratah was opened as early as 1861, and fell within the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
Diocese of Newcastle, New South Wales. In 1924 a new church was dedicated at St.Andrews, Mayfield, to replace the aging colonial church.
Mayfield was originally a pleasant garden suburb on the outskirts of Newcastle, and by 1901 contained a Roman Catholic monastery, and several fine
Victorian mansions belonging to prominent businessmen and lawyers, including N.B. Creer (three times Mayor of Waratah). John Scholey built "Mayfield House" for himself, and had the necessary sandstone brought from England.
Charles Upfold (Soap Manufacturer) built a large mansion on a piece of land in Crebert Street, North Waratah (now called Mayfield), given to him by his friend Scholey. It was later sold to
biscuit manufacturer, William Arnott who named the mansion "Arnott Holme". Arnott then sold it in 1898 to Isaac Winn, owner of the big Newcastle department store. Winn renamed the mansion "Winn Court"
[Newcastle Morning Herald dated Saturday 13 November 1965].
BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
constructed, in the early 1920s, a very fine mansion in Crebert Street (named after Peter Crebert
825-1895 an immigrant from
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
), with extensive gardens, for their General Manager. Now privately owned and named The Bella Vista, it is used as a weddings and functions centre.
Arrival of industry
In 1896,
BHP
BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...
acquired land on the river shore at Mayfield East for
smelters, and in 1910 it was decided that they would construct here a
major steel works and foundries, with a 350-ton
blast furnace and three 65-ton open hearth steel furnaces, a bloom mill and heavy rail mill, with by-product
coke ovens to supply coke for the blast furnaces. The advantages of the site played a major part in this decision: for transport both rail and shipping already existed, and they had close proximity to the Newcastle and
South Maitland coalfields The South Maitland coalfields was the most extensive coalfield in New South Wales until the great coal mining slump of the 1960s. It was discovered by Lieutenant-Colonel William Paterson's party when they were engaged in an exploratory visit to the ...
, (the coal consumption in 1947 was 30,000 tons each week). The task of reclaiming swampland at Port Waratah for the main site began in January 1913, and the New South Wales Government undertook to
dredge
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
and maintain a river channel between the works and the sea, wide and deep at low water to the steelwork's basin and wharves. Altogether the company acquired . The blast furnace commenced operations in March 1915.
Other industries followed, such as galvanized iron manufacturers
John Lysaght & Co., (1921), Rylands Bros (wire, nails, rivets, bolts, springs etc.), tubemakers Stewarts & Lloyds (1934), and the Newcastle Chemical Co, (1940), and sited themselves adjacent to the steel works. The result was pollution which began to affect Mayfield which lost its fashionable status. The housing erected during and after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was overwhelmingly for those with employment in the heavy industries. A large proportion of the Steel Works closed down in September 1999 which had a knock on effect with adjacent industries, several of whom were now struggling with developing world markets. The remaining steel mills (Australian Tube Mills, Newcastle Wire Mill and Rod Mill) remain in operation to this day under the Liberty Steel umbrella.
Gallery
File:Maitland Rd 1.JPG, Shopping district along Maitland Road
File:Maitland Rd 2.JPG, Shopping district along Maitland Road
File:Mayfield History Mosiac1.jpg, History of Mayfield mosaic located on the corner of Hanbury Street and Maitland Road
File:Mayfield History Mosiac2.jpg, A closeup of the History of Mayfield mosaic located on the corner of Hanbury Street and Maitland Road
File:Mayfield Hotel.JPG, The Mayfield Hotel on Maitland Road
File:Mayfield Industrial.jpg, Smorgon Steel works located in the residential area of Mayfield
File:Mayfield Catholic Church St Columban's.jpg, Mayfield Catholic Church of St Columban's.
File:Mayfield Map Mosiac1.jpg, A mosaic map of Mayfield located on the corner of Hanbury Street and Maitland Road
File:Mayfield old house1.JPG, ''Winahra'' is a grand old Victorian style house located on the corner of Hanbury Street and Highfield Street.
File:Mayfield old house2.JPG, A well maintained old house located on Highfield Street
File:Mayfield Streetscape.jpg, A view south towards Merewether Heights, overlooking residential housing
File:Mayfield Woolworths.jpg, Woolworths Supermarket, Mayfield
File:Texas Street.jpg, Texas Street, a residential street in Mayfield
File:Webb Park.JPG, Webb Park is located on the corner of Waratah and Hanbury Streets
File:New Architecture.JPG, This set of townhouses was built as retirement homes for the local convent. They were designed by Duc Associates.
File:Mayfield House.jpg, ''Mayfield House'', originally the property of the late Mr John Scholey.
File:Barton Hall.jpg, Barton Hall, located on Barton Street.
File:Arnott Holme.JPG, ''Arnott Holme'', originally owned by Charles Upfold, then William Arnott, then Isaac Winn
File:SLNSW 31399 Aerial views of Mayfield series shows Maitland Rd Webb Park Stewart Lloyds BHP Hunter River.jpg, Aerial photograph of Mayfield in 1950
References
;General
* ''The B.H.P. Review - Jubilee Number'',
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, Victoria, June 1935.
* ''Newcastle - 150 Years'', edited by Eric Lingard, Newcastle, 1947.
* ''The Diocese of Newcastle'', by A.P.Elkin, Sydney, 1955.
* ''Federal Directory of Newcastle & District 1901'' reprinted Newcastle, 1982,
External links
Basic map of Mayfield
{{City of Newcastle suburbs
Suburbs of Newcastle, New South Wales