Deitz Hardware - a Hamilton fixture

Guest blogger Sandra Hargreaves

Sandra Hargreaves is a Novocastrian who lives and works in London. She is the granddaughter of Charlie Reilly Deitz, who began working in the hardware store at 88 Beaumont Street, Hamilton [1] after World War 1. Reilly (as he was known) purchased the business in 1932 and after World War II, his son Charles Douglas Reilly (Doug, Sandra’s father) joined him.

The American's wife

It was a house everyone admired – an elegant, two story residence at the west end of Hamilton – belonging to the Americans. A medical doctor, Silas Rand, and his brother Thomas Rand, a dentist, had their practices there, and their homes. They’d grown up in Minnesota. Their house had once been a Turkish bath house. Visitors reported pipe works still visible on interior walls.

Coming soon – the book Hidden Hamilton

There’s a big event coming up, for everyone who loves Hamilton, has a connection with Hamilton, or who simply wants to know more about one of the oldest suburbs of Newcastle. The book Hidden Hamilton, featuring popular stories from the blog, will be published in November, 2014.

Jim's Dairy Delite Bar, Hamilton

The secret ingredient to Blue Heaven milkshakes is one that Mervyn Roberts has kept all his life.

‘And it will die with me’, he chuckles.

Blatchford's Bakery

It had begun in the kitchen and lounge room of Eric Blatchford’s parents’ home. Eric was just 20, and unable to afford his own place, had brought his young wife Doris to live there. In this tiny space, a mouth watering variety of cakes, shortbread, sponges, and tarts were produced.

A Macedonian story

‘When my son was in London’, Bill Bozinoski tells me, ‘he went to where the Aussies were. Here in Newcastle, I go where the Macedonians are’.

For Bill, whose Macedonian name is Blagoja, that place is Beaumont Street, Hamilton. He explains :

‘I feel comfortable here, secure. When I walk along the street, I’m sure to bump into someone I know for a chat.’

The Italian Centre

It was an announcement that struck at the heart of the tight-knit community of Italian migrant families that had formed around the Italian Centre, in Hamilton.

The Kent

Acrobatic dogs balanced on two front legs on impossibly slim posts, somersaulted, danced and waved goodbye. Responding to the skilful hands of trainer Mr Bill Massey, the small dogs enthralled kids and adults alike. [1]

Inside Gow's Drapery - the Gow Girls

The first trainload of migrants passing through Hamilton waved wildly to the crowds of spectators gathered along Beaumont Street. Men and women alike, the ‘new Australians’ stretched precariously out of windows the length of the train, as if they wanted to physically touch the people welcoming them. They were on their way from Newcastle to a migrant camp inland, thence to a job, and hopefully, a new and better life.

Nina's IGA - Family Kiriakidis

If you walk into Nina’s IGA expecting a one-size-fits-all suburban grocery, be ready to be surprised. Nina’s is anything but average.