Mike Scanlon
- Indexed articles, last 90 days
- 5
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- Aug 30, 2026
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- Jul 4, 2026
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The real-life spy thriller that played out on Newcastle's beaches (opens the original)
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People spying on Australia is always a fascinating subject. And it's not as if there is a shortage of spies either. In the 1990s a secret Australian intelligence report finally came to light in Canberra's military archives referring to the activities of some suspicious Japanese sailors pre-World War II. It seems this group of apparently innocuous sailors were brought to the attention of Newcastle authorities in the late 1930s by buying district maps and hiring a taxi to drive them around the por
The story of a rusty jetty and the last of Newcastle's '60-Milers' (opens the original)
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My mind has been turning lately to Catherine Hill Bay township, south of Swansea, for a few reasons. The first is the recent bold idea by "Catho" residents of uniting to try and save their historic pub by buying it and turning it into a pokie-free community asset. The second is the memory of the MV Wallarah, an ingenious, self-discharging coal ship which visited the Bay's iconic wharf for years until 2002. It was even regarded by many as the "last" (sort of) of the "60-Milers". They were the Hun
Big interest in little landmarks (opens the original)
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MAITLAND may have its 'little black boy' statue as a landmark, but what about Newcastle? The antique cast iron statue in High Street is embedded in Maitland folklore, but a similar 19th-century horse hitching post seems to have slipped under the radar. Maitland's figurine is in the news again after Maitland educator Mark Tindall this week revealed to the Herald's Matthew Kelly that his new book would explode the myths surrounding the iron figure. Tindall said he wanted to set the record straight
Spotlight on secrets of Newcastle's towers (opens the original)
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INNER-Newcastle has a missing landmark and its site still holds some secrets. Regarded now as a 'lost lighthouse', beside St Mary's Star of the Sea in Perkins Street, The Hill, it's only two blocks away from Newcastle's Christ Church Cathedral. But it's not really a lighthouse, although it was originally built to help mariners safely enter the port of Newcastle 160 years ago. Today's rare picture shows the tower in the front yard of a narrow, two-storey brick house beside St Mary's, the first Ca
Travels with Dobell: drawing on a legendary link with celebrated artist (opens the original)
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NEWCASTLE really is a small town. Everyone seems to know one another, or you can easily be put in touch with a person you're seeking. This tight web of connectivity, from work, family or old schoolmates, was starkly brought to my attention about a fortnight ago after I wrote about the late Sir William Dobell, OBE, of Wangi. That was during Lake Macquarie's month-long Dobell Festival celebrating the life and achievements of the artist (1899-1970) hailed as the nation's finest portrait painter. I
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