November 2025 Recap
What a month! We explored so much Australian history, from the 1830s to the 1970s…
I kicked off this month with a visit to the former RAAF base at Rathmines, on the western edge of Lake Macquarie. This is an incredible heritage site, with many wartime buildings still standing, and an array of signs guiding you through the sites history.
My next trip was to the incredible cliff houses of Crater Cove, near Manly. Getting there involved a bit of bush bashing, following an unofficial track. Once arriving at the site, I was amazed by the view and incredible condition of the buildings. The caretakers of these homes do an amazing job looking after them, and also provide some hand written signage about their history.
Next up, we explore the topic of Australia’s first railway, which was constructed next to Brown St, in Newcastle.
This one was difficult to research, as information was scarce, and no known photographs exist. I had to rely primarily on old maps, descriptions and other contemporary reasearch.
Next up I charged up the multi-gas meter, and headed underground, exploring an abandoned railway tunnel.
This one was tricky to present, as I had to do so without revealing the location, as it is highly unstable and someone would surly injure themselves - or worse - if it became public.
Instead, I highlighted an interesting fossil formation.
By mid November it was time to explore the interesting history of the castle-looking tower on The Hill, in Newcastle.
After doing a quick dive into the history behind this piece of maritime safety history, we head back to Sydney to check out the story behind the old Quarantine Station.
Now back in Newcastle, we checked out the interesting story behind the 1971 Cemetery Park wall collapse.
Finally, we finished off the month by exploring the 1966 tragedy which saw a young RAAF pilot fall through the roof of a home in The Junction.
The comments on this one are well worth a read, many people kindly shared their own experiences from that night.
…and that’s a wrap for November 2025! We managed to explore stories of our past spanning almost 200 years!
Keep an eye out for more historical deep dives in December.
Thanks,
Jacob
