Taking A Punt On Harbour History

Newcastle Herald

Wednesday June 18, 2008

By FRANCES THOMPSON

LIFE was very different on the other side of the harbour, in Stockton, before a bridge joined the settlement to the rest of Newcastle.

Stockton Historical Society president Irene Butterworth said when the bridge opened in 1971, many of the main street shops closed and for the first time, people left town to get supplies.

The new bridge ended the Department of Main Roads punt service that carried vehicles and some travellers across the harbour.

"They were a big part of Stockton," Mrs Butterworth said.

A new cyber book by Bill Bottomley is on the internet and it charts the colourful history of the service, which ran from 1916 until the opening of the Stockton Bridge.

Mr Bottomley, of Cooranbong, said his new work was free to download and people were welcome to contribute new information.

His history also digs into the ferries' sad end when three of them sank when they were being taken to the Philippines for scrap.

Stockton resident Ron Payne Snr said he caught the car ferries to school and took his bicycle and once was transported by ambulance on one of them when he was a small boy.

Mr Payne, 66, remembers long queues of waiting vehicles and sitting in a small room on the ferry, which was warmed by the boilers.

"Many of the masters and the characters down in the engine room were from Stockton," Mr Payne said as he stood in Punt Road yesterday.

The Car Punts of Newcastle can be found at www.billbottomley.com.au.

© 2008 Newcastle Herald

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