New Life for the Old Newcastle Post Office

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Work has finally begun to restore the old Newcastle Post Office.

The building has certainly been through the wars, from a fire which broke out on the veranda back in August, to sheltering up to 200 homeless.

The first phase of repair work which is getting underway will secure the veranda - the Awabakal Land Council have moved on the homeless who had taken up residence there, and crews have also cleared away all of the rubbish and debris which had built up.

CEO of the Awabakal Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) Rob Russell says its taken some time to get things right.

"These processes are slow because of the environment and heritage status of the post office. There are a lot of t's to cross and i's to dot in the process. before you move on anything you've got to make sure you're doing the right thing by the building itself and making sure it stays in as pristine condition as we can keep it in."

The initial phase of works have been funded by a $150,000 dollar-for-dollar matched funding grant obtained by the Awabakal LALC under the NSW Heritage Grants Program.

The works are all being done in a bid to protect the site from further damage and deterioration. The funds will go towards critical security, repair and general remediation works. The architectural features of the site will all be preserved as well.

"Once we make the building secure and wind proof and waterproof and vermin proof, the next stage is to start repairing the roof to make sure there's no further water damage or pigeon invasions and also no more people invasions," said Rob Russell.

"I field several phone calls weekly from people who are annoyed at the status of the post office and want to see something done with it and all I've been able to say to them is 'please be patient, we will get there, it's not an easy job ans we've got to do it right'. So I'm just happy that we're able to start moving forward."

The first phase of works are expected to be finished within a week.

Newcastle Post Office Image NBN News.

Fire Update: Thursday 14th September

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Cooler conditions and an overnight southerly change have helped firies get the upper hand on fires burning in the Hunter.

The fire near Richmond Vale in bushland around Leggetts Drive is at an Advice Level after already burning through 920 hectares since it broke containment lines yesterday.

The other fire which was causing concern at Browns Road, Black Hill is also at Advice Level this afternoon and it has burnt through 36 hectares of bushland west of the M1 .

The plan today was to strengthen the containment lines of the fire at Richmond Vale in a bid to completely contain the blaze before winds sweep through the area later this afternoon.

The advice is to keep monitoring the situation in case anything changes.

Meanwhile, volunteers at the Richmond Vale Railway Museum are counting the cost after the fire caused significant damage when it broke containment lines. It's feared the damage bill could be nearly $1 million.

Chairman of the museum Peter Meadows says the damage bill is unthinkable.

"There's three, what were operational stainless steel passenger cars, are now burnt out shells, our number one bridge is damaged. We've got hundreds and hundreds of sleepers that are burnt out and that's a considerable cost when you consider a sleeper is about $100 each or a bit more, so that's where we're at."

For all the latest updates on the fires around the Hunter head to: https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au/fire-information/fires-near-me

Leggetts Drive yesterday afternoon. Image MJF Productions.

Newcastle a hotspot for sexual assault

BY JESSICA ROUSE

Most types of crime have fallen across the state over the last two years, but Newcastle and Lake Macquarie appear to be problem areas for crime with an increase.

The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research have released their quarterly update and according to their statistics, five types of crime have significantly increased including sexual assault, indecent assault, break and enter (non-dwelling), steal from vehicles and malicious damage to property.

Director of the bureau Dr Don Weatherburn says Newcastle and Lake Macquarie differ from most regional areas across the state.

"Five categories of crime have increased in Newcastle and it's the only place other than Broken hill which showed that many increases in crime. So they were, for example, a 13 per cent increase in sexual assault, 27 per cent increase in indecent assault which are quite remarkable and disappointing results."

Sexual assault and indecent assault are particularly on the up, with a 13 per cent increase in sexual assault and a 27 per cent increase in indecent acts/assault.

Chief Inspector Dean Olsen says a rise in people reporting incidents has contributed to the higher statistic for Newcastle.

"Traditionally it is a crime that can be under-reported. We want people to have the confidence in the police that they can come forward and report these matters. We regularly, over the last couple of years, have been taking reports of historical complaints of sexual assault and indecent assault."

He adds in terms of malicious damage offences, in which there was a 19.2 per cent increase across Newcastle according to the statistics, it's often a case of the same offenders committing large amounts of the same crime.

"We've had a couple of evening in the last six months where groups of offenders have committed large amounts of malicious damage offences. One in particular where up to 70 motor vehicles were damaged. Due to assistance from the press and the public and good diligent police work we've arrested offenders in relation to that one," said Chief Inspector Olsen.

While the statistics show a significant number, over the past six years Chief Inspector Olsen says there's really been a reduction in the vast majority of categories year upon year.

"Statistics are something you can look at a whole range of angles on. We are quite vigilant, as most police commands are across the state. Any opportunity that we can do to implement a tactic or a strategy to bring down crime, we leave no stone unturned that's for sure."