Aria Jokinen climbed into the saddle of the old penny-farthing as its rider held the rig steady and beamed as she sounded the honking horn. The rider could have just stepped out of Wallsend's founding days in a sharp suit and hat, looking at once perfectly at home and temporally out of place in the beating heart of the historic suburb at the weekend.
Tamara Hall has lived in Wallsend with her young family for about three years and brought the kids out at the weekend to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the suburb being declared a municipality.
It was standing room only as Nelson Street was closed off for market stalls, live entertainment and a spoiling of sweet and savoury treats to celebrate the sesquicentennial milestone.
As the Jazz Relics - a hot four-piece ensemble with an infectious rhythm - set the streets to swing and dozens of businesses turned out their best, the scene could have been pulled straight from the old Wallsend Winter Fair.
"Wallsend started as a mining colony with some of the best coal in Australia and has emerged as a multicultural hub that attracts families from all over the world," lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said. "It was fantastic to see so many members of our community and business owners join together to mark this significant milestone acknowledging Wallsend's history."
Wallsend was declared a separate municipality from neighbouring Plattsburg in 1874 before it eventually rejoined in 1915. The suburb's post-colonisation name was borrowed from the North England mining township of Wallsend around the 1850s but had once been part of a much wider area called Barrahinebin by the First Nations Awabakal people.
The weekend's festivities included a swathe of live entertainment on two stages, as well as dance schools, DJs and food from around the world, including Germany, Tibet, Turkey and China.
The Wallsend Historical Society gave an insight into the past with guided walks, while festival goers took a step back in time thanks to historical costumes and a penny farthing demonstration.
Uncle Alex Nean provided a special Welcome to Country on the main stage celebrating the area's rich Indigenous heritage, before the lord mayor officially opened proceedings.
