Tears of the moon make Belmont shine at the end of the line

NATURE AND CULTURE: Kentan Proctor, from Bahtabah Local Aboriginal Land Council, at Belmont Lagoon, and, inset, scenes of nature along the southern end of the Fernleigh Track. Pictures: Max Mason-Hubers

BACK in the day, when a train ran to Lake Macquarie, passengers travelling from Newcastle would see a sign at Adamstown station, advising, "Change here for Belmont Line".

For my journey along the old Belmont Line, reincarnated as the Fernleigh Track, I'm pushing against the flow of history. And I'm travelling contrary to how this shared cycle and pedestrian pathway of just over 15 kilometres was progressively unveiled between 2003 and 2011.