BELIEVE it or not, the suburb we call Mayfield, just west of Newcastle, is unique, according to a new Hunter book.
Most of us think we know Mayfield well, from its landmark pubs, like the Stag and Hunter, to once being the home of the Newcastle BHP Steelworks until 1999. Or perhaps, there are memories of restored mansions, Lysaght's old village of 'Pommy Town', quirky shops, places of worship like the imposing Mayfield Redemptorist Monastery, the former Murray-Dwyer Boys Orphanage (demolished 1997) or from just regularly travelling over the Tourle Street bridge to Stockton, Williamtown and Port Stephens.
But I certainly didn't know Mayfield has had six names over past 200 years. To the native Awabakal people, the area was known as Burraghihnbihng and it must have been like living in Eden with its plentiful fish, oysters, herds of kangaroos, black swans and thousands of ducks. Possibly about 4000 Aborigines lived happily in this Big Swamp Country (along the Hunter River estuary out to Ash Island) before European settlement.
The names coming after that reflect expansion by pioneer settlers into this once isolated region, first called 'The Folly', then being tagged as North Hanbury, Waratah, North Waratah, and finally Mayfield.
The suburb's modern name relates to the prominent Scholey family. The name honours Ada May Scholey (1874-1941), the family's youngest daughter.
The name of the new subdivision of Mayfield was coined in 1881. On offer then were an unprecedented 211 sites, ranging from quarter-acre to half-acre blocks. It was promoted as the largest subdivision of prime real estate in the Newcastle district. As its subdivision grew in importance, all individual names of large land parcels nearby (of 15-20 acres plus) gradually died out.
Before that happened, the names of these large home blocks included New Bottle, Casino Flat, Houghton Le Spring and Charlestown (part of this land is now occupied by 'Bella Vista').
Very soon, the Scholey's were like the 'royal family' of Mayfield. It was said when Mrs Scholey wanted something done at home she would simply clap her hands and servants would come running. This habit extended to local shopkeepers. So, she and other members of the "Mayfieldocracy'' became known as the 'Hand Clappers'
By 1901, this pleasant garden suburb of Mayfield on the outskirts of Newcastle with only 600 houses was home to influential Newcastle folk, including lawyers and biscuit baron William Arnott, all living in their Victorian mansions. That same year the suburb was even being referred to as the "Toorak" of Newcastle, compared very favourably to Melbourne's prestige suburb. (This was well before BHP suddenly came to build on the Hunter River mudflats below in 1913, remember.)
"There are really two Mayfields, one before BHP came and one after it arrived," author Cath Chegwidden told Weekender recently.
And she's just the person to know all about it after spending the past three years diligently researching the suburb for her new book, Mighty Mayfield Then and Now. Book I: The Early Years ($50). At almost 250 pages, it's liberally illustrated, often with rare historic pictures. Despite a few minor quibbles on my part with some dates etc., the book's exhaustive detail makes it an impressive achievement. The old industrial suburb springs to life with many interesting discoveries and also dispelling a few myths.
"For example, businessman John Scholey, Newcastle property investor and developer (from 1866), wasn't a butcher as commonly believed for decades. He inherited his wealth. But his grandfather, also John Scholey, had a butchery attached to an estate in England," Chegwidden said.
She is particularly proud of an unusual sepia photo of pioneer Thomas Tourle and his wife playing cards. It came from relatives in Oxley Downs, NSW.
"I've managed to get some wonderful stories and photos from family members linked with Mayfield. I even managed to track down a relative of winemaker Peter Crebert (originally spelt in German as Grebert) of Crebert Street fame. He had the famous botanical gardens and vineyards at The Folly (Mayfield East). "
Chegwidden said vigneron Crebert was among the "forty-niners of Germantown" - some 165 German immigrants who arrived in Australia on the ship "Parland" in 1849. And by looking at a photo of Peter Crebert's birthplace in Kiedrich, in Germany, she speculates there's a comparison between the sloping lands from Crebert Street down to the Hunter River. She wonders if this land sparked memories of vineyards in his homeland. But you won't find Crebert's grave at Mayfield these days as that church cemetery is long gone. Mysteriously, his missing Mayfield tombstone came to light in Blackalls Park, Lake Macquarie, in 2014.
At one time, Mayfield was home to orchards, vineyards and dairy farms, but industry and pollution always was nearby. There was a soap and candle works, and 12-14 furnaces belching smoke from the copper smelting works at Port Waratah from 1866 to the early 1890s (the future BHP site).
"The Ingall family also gave me some marvellous material. Great, great grandson Peter Ingall up in Brisbane has even developed a luxury item called 'Mayfield Chocolates'," Chegwidden said.
"My own family lived in Ingall Street for 40 years and I see it as a microcosm of the suburb's history. It had a wharf at one end, industry, recreation space and a school."
Rather interestingly, today's popular Dangar Park by Ingall Street wasn't always there. Until 1912 there was a coal mine and brickyard on the 11-acre expanse. It was a sorry and dangerous site.
In 2008 there was even a move to change the name of the park, supposedly named after Henry Dangar, the original surveyor of Newcastle township, because of his links with the 1838 Myall Creek massacre. It didn't happen. The parkland was actually provided by his son Albert Dangar.
Chegwidden said stonemason William McNaulty built historic Simpson's Cottage in 1859, long before today's busy Industrial Drive existed.
"My next book will involve the coming of the BHP to Mayfield and end with the plant's closure," she said.
Mighty Mayfield, the early years is available now. Volume two will be available sometime next year.
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