A far cry from the streets of Los Angeles, Newcastle's own Hollywood is the star of a new exhibition at the city's museum.
A Place Called Hollywood features objects unearthed from a Depression-era settlement near Jesmond, which provided shelter and safety for up to 30 families for three decades from the 1920s.
The shacks, which were made from things like tin and hessian sacks, stood until the 1960s when the new owners of the private site, once mining company land, brought in a bulldozer under police guard.
The Newcastle Museum exhibition features items from everyday life in Hollywood including glass bottles, plates and cutlery, jars of Vegemite and a bottle of bright pink nail polish.
The archeological excavation which unearthed the items was conducted as part of the Inner City Bypass - Rankin Park to Jesmond project.
Transport for NSW regional director north Anna Zycki said archeology was looked at as part of environmental conditions of approval, which identified Hollywood as a "significant site".
"Since we were finding something that was so significant to Newcastle history, the thought was that we really, really wanted to partner up with council and the museum to make sure that this history was preserved for the community," Ms Zycki said.
"It's not very often that you work on a project where there is so much evidence of the way people lived in that community over time."
Barbara McCarthy lived in Hollywood for the first 16 years of her life and remembers both good and tough times in the settlement.
"I remember playing with the kids there, going to school, just making our own fun really," she said.
"But we did it pretty hard.
"I grew up in a shack and it didn't have running water. There was only one tap to the whole of Hollywood.
"Sometimes I'd look out the bedroom window, which was just cut out of the wall and we had to push something up in it to keep it open, and I could see people with torches and lanterns going to the tap just to get some water."
Umwelt principal archeologist Tim Adams said among the housing materials found, he was surprised at the personal items they managed to dig up.
"Some of the ones that touch you are all the children's toys and children's items," Mr Adams said.
"From old aerials and an old demolition plan we knew roughly where the houses were and in some cases who lived there at the end of the settlement.
"So you can see there was a house with a couple who had eight children for example living there. I remember excavating that house and there was about 80 marbles, four toy guns, little toys.
"So that was quite poignant and really lovely kind of things to find.
"Then there were personal items, the perfumes, combs, razors which showed how much people took care of their appearance despite not having much."
Newcastle lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said a significant amount of work went into curating the exhibition.
"Our team here have done a number of interviews," she said. "They've collected a number of artifacts and photographs and it really does tell the story of what it was like to live, whether it was a 20s or 50s or early 60s, in what would be probably likened to a refugee camp in today's terms.
"That encampment went right through to the 1960s. So it's wonderful to have people alive today to tell the story of what it was like to live in what is known as Hollywood in Newcastle."
Ms McCarthy said it was "wonderful" to see items from the town, including a recovered dance shoe she believes may have been hers when she was learning to dance as a young girl.
"It's just great," Ms McCarthy said. "It's bringing back memories. I looked at the coins and thought, one of those coins could have been ours. It's remarkable."
Cr Nelmes said she hoped people who visited the exhibition learned more about the city's history.
"I would imagine not a lot of people would know that this area, that borders on the edge of Lambton and Jesmond, was actually known for four decades as Hollywood in Newcastle and was essentially a post Depression era camp for people that didn't have jobs or were struggling to make ends meet.
"There is a real interesting likeness in today's housing crisis in a lot of ways and and the need for a housing-first solution to other social issues.
"So I think there's a good opportunity not only to understand our history, but also lessons learned."
A Place Called Hollywood runs until February 2, 2025.
