One of the more peculiar delights of working in newspapers is that you develop a particular affection for an old linoleum floor. You don't see them around too much anymore, but do this job for a little while and you learn that there's gold in them thar hills.
I remember the first time it happened; I was working as a very inexperienced and out-of-my-depth reporter in Glen Innes in the Northern Tablelands. Early one morning, a local man trundled through the front door with an armload of yellowing papers in a plastic bag. He had been renovating and came across a stash of old magazines under the floor. They were mostly editions of Australian Women's Weekly, if I remember rightly, from around the 1950s or '60s, filled with these quaint hand-sketched advertisements.
For whatever reason, it was common practice with the lino installers of the early- and mid-20th century to lay down newspapers or old magazines under the vinyl. There have been a handful of suggested reasons, including that it stopped squeaking between the timber floor and the vinyl top layer, helped level out any imperfections or marks on the under-flooring and made for relatively cheap insulation.
I called my carpenter dad on Saturday to see if he could shed some light and, after insulation, he added that it was a great place to stash the local rag after you were done reading it at smoko. Good one, Dad.
In any case, it happened again recently when Adamstown man Roland Millbank wrote in to tell us his neighbour had discovered a pair of editions of the Newcastle Morning Herald, dated June 1944 and 1914 respectively, that had been stashed under some carpet.
The front page of Mr Millbank's June 7, 1944, edition had the Allies storming the beaches of northern France amid an invasion of 4000 ships that had carried them across the English Channel. Winston Churchill had told the House of Commons that the landings were proceeding according to plan at various points.
Wartime news filled several pages in that mid-year edition but with a new year beginning today, I delved into earlier archives to see how Novocastrians spent the holidays throughout history.
Newcastle Morning Herald January 1, 1924: The Cohen Royal Commission was in the middle of its inquiries into calls for a new state of New England, separate from NSW. The New England State Movement had gained some traction on calls for secession from NSW in previous years, arguing a belief that country interests needed to be defended against dominant metropolitan interests. The new state movement was eventually defeated at a referendum in 1967.
A public holiday on New Year's Eve had given local workers an effective three-day long weekend to ring in the new year, and the weather was "ideal for all forms of sport and entertainment".
"The beaches, river resorts, and the favoured waterside, Lake Macquarie, never had a greater number of visitors," the Herald of the day boasted, "The public were catered for on the Newcastle, Stockton and Merewether beaches by a variety of side shows and other forms of entertainment and it was late in the evening when the last few stragglers wended their way home to the accompaniment of music peculiarly their own, and set to no particular metre."
The city's new electric trams were a hit and ran at full capacity with a particular rush between 2pm and 8pm.
"Notwithstanding many disappointments, the year which was ushered out at midnight with much boisterousness had in every way proved to be the best since the war period ended," the local reporter wrote, "It was heralded while the district was in a condition of depression. Trade was bad, and the industries were stagnant. But the clouds lifted, and the people were buoyed up with the promise of brighter conditions."
January 1, 1934: A brief mention on the front page reads: "The new year was ushered in in Newcastle in an orderly manner. Whistles blew, and motor horns greeted the incoming year with a din. Police were out in force, but there was no rowdyism."
January 1, 1944: "A medley of sound as railway engines, some factory whistles and motor horns burst into life; distant ringing of a church bell; intermittent songs from revellers in the streets; a tin can rattling behind a motor-car; midnight tolling slowly, almost mournfully, from a darkened steeple - and 1943 passed into history. It was a dirge for the old year with its sorrows and its joys and a paean of welcome for young 1944 - still in its swaddling clothes, hut fraught with hope for a war-torn world.
"There was a fairly large crowd in the city in the early evening. Amusement houses were well patronised. After the shows, the younger element wandered the streets to see the New Year. Young women were hurrying to dance halls at which dawn dances were held ... it was a humid night, and dancing on crowded floors was not so comfortable. Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves even as beads of perspiration stood out on brows and half-clad backs shone under the lights."
January 1, 1954: Half an inch of rain had fallen over Newcastle on New Year's Eve, with as many as 30 points in the Upper Hunter, but farmers were warning more would be needed to stave off drought.
The paper reported that the rain had eased shortly before midnight, but the downpour had subdued revellers, and the city's streets were all but deserted as the year was consigned to history.
"A few cars honked their horns. A few cars were decorated. One or two dragged tins behind them," the reporters wrote of the night, "Ships in the harbour and locomotives in the railway yards sounded whistles and sirens. But the effort seemed half-hearted ... no incidents required police attention."
January 1, 2024: So, another year in the cycle draws to a close and I find myself looking back on words written on this day 100 years ago, in a different time, in a different economy, and finding some comfort in them nevertheless:
"In the 12 months that have ensued, when allowance is made for the complexity of the industrial and domestic affairs of so large a district, it will be agreed that a great deal has been accomplished. That this progress will continue is the hope of everyone."
