Hunter Street Mall & Surrounds

As the 20th century progressed and the inner city lost its industrial tenor, Hunter Street became an attractive destination for commerce and retail customers, attracting shoppers from Lake, Bay, outer townships, and - with a rail link right to the CBD's doorstep - even lower Hunter Valley residents.

The scale and extravagance of Newcastle’s department stores reflected the region’s prosperity. Scotts Ltd. (to become the iconic David Jones) and W. Winn & Co. P/L ran huge multi-level department stores with a depth of merchandise previously only found in Sydney. The Newcastle Coop Store massive west-end shop was in itself a one-stop mall, easily reached from nearby suburbs. 

Newcastle’s CBD was the regional “magnate attractor” with its near endless variety of shops, businesses, and civic and government offices.

So why did those big box malls - Jesmond Centre and Kotara Fair, aka the Big W and K-mart - so easily topple Hunter Street's retail dominance? 

Above: Hunter Street mall in 1983 viewed west from atop the seven-story CML building. Not even the east-end makeover pictured had any effect on shoppers, who voted with their feet, or - as it probably and ultimately was to blame - steering wheels. Cars and convenience.

That question was answered long ago by both history and the inclinations of consumers, who flocked to a new way of shopping, under the allure of American marketing techniques. And although the mall hung on (and still does), and while David Jones bravely held to its bet that the concentration and growth of nearby residential dwellings at the east end and along the harbour would bring people into their fabulous shop, eventually everyone gave up.

And now to the CBD's lost history, along with its lost opportunity. And the subject of this photo essay.

Those Little Streets Around the Mall

Running proudly narrow, ambitiously from harbourside to The Hill, little more than glorified laneways, they crowded around Hunter Street in vain hope for some of its trade. You know them as Laing, Wolfe, Morgan, Thorn, Market, Perkins, Brown, and Newcomen Streets. What can we say of them?

They were of the old-world. A precincts that could have been so much more in another timeline. The tiny nooks and corners of inner-city Newcastle held such promise, had the CBD maintained its vitality and prominence from a century ago.

When GPT burst upon the scene with its plan for a giant shopping centre - GPT Central - that it believed would be the CBD's saviour, its "magnate attractor," the fate of those little streets (Laing, Morgan, Thorn, and Market) seemed sealed. They would cease to exist, along with the texture of facades that made their discovery by a visitor such a delight.

Well, it's 2024 (as I write) and the developers are crunching their way along the mall in a frenzy of "facadism." So it's time to publish this small tribute to those little nooks and laneways that were fortuitously captured earlier in the century. Enjoy.

View north from the top end of Morgan Street, overlooking Laing Street. At left, former King St parking station. Right, Newcomen St. Building at centre (rooftop) is "3 Morgan Street Newcastle." Morgan and Laing streets are no longer designated on Google streets at this time of writing (2024). But history will not let us forget.

Thorn Street

From corner of King and Thorn streets looking northerly. Masonic Hall at far left, and images below.

Above: 14 Thorn Street. April 2014.

Above: Thorn Street looking south. Former King St parking station at left. Cathedral grounds in distance along King Street
Below: With King Street's city parking station demolished, the Cathedral once again dominates the city at street level. December 2023.

Below: Across the mall (Hunter St) through that distant archway in Hunter Mall Chambers is Scott St. April 2014.

Throsby’s memories are wondrous indeed. He was dragged around these tiny thoroughfares as a junior when there was family business to be done. He fondly recalls forcing his Mama down city arcade - past the tobacconist, ignoring New Standard Radio that as a teenager he would incessantly bother the staff of - directly to the magical little shop that sold his favourite wonderland snack, a garishly coloured yet edible (or perhaps not) sugar pig. Oh how his little pancreas worked so hard in the ensuing days as he gnawed the brittle sweetness down to nothing.

He still feels and hears the thronging moviegoers swarm into the Strand, Lyrique, and Victoria picture theatres to bathe in the fantasy world of those Hollywood musical blockbusters of the 1950s. In youth he spent many an hour bemused at the cycle of features in The Tatler. Then back on the double-decker Albion bus for the one hour trip home – right past the local theatre in Main Road, Boolaroo, that was merrily screening such enticing epics as “Killer Girl from Mars” and suchlike.

As does nonagenarian Rose, whose travels around town are warmly recorded by Tania:

Of course for most of my life it was not a shopping centre at all but rather one of the most marvellous picture theatres I have ever seen, called the Strand. An outing to the Strand was always bright. Everybody would look very fine, being all dressed up, and there was the tantalising smell of all sorts of treats from the theatre and the shop across the road too, like hot roasted nuts and popcorn, and the bright lights and chrome railings sparkling, and of course the sight of the grand sweeping staircase in the foyer. I was very sad to see it go, as it had been there since I was a very little girl, and it was always very merry.

176 Hunter St, corner of Market (or Thorn) Street. April 2014.

Below: East of 176 Hunter. April 2014.

Keightley Street

East-west 'lane' that bisects Market St.

Above: Western end from Market St. December 2008.
Below: From Thorn to Morgan looking east. April 2014.

Below: Not looking so great in Google street view in 2022.

Market Street

Older maps show no streets in this vicinity except Hunter Street with the areas on both sides of Hunter St marked simply "Market." The small street, or lane, that bisects Market St is labelled on a later street map as Keightley (Re previous images). It is quite probable that Morgan and Thorn streets originally extended from Laing, across Hunter, to Keightley - and those right-angled lanes north of Hunter St are not "Market St" as designated on Google maps. Putting it out there until confirmed.

Market Street images below are from 2008, except the last one taken in December 2019.

Below: Market Street looking north from The Mall in December 2019.

Morgan Street

All taken in April 2014. The first few are in the laneway opposite Morgan Street, north of The Mall. (That I choose to call 'Morgan Street North)

Above: Viewed south across The Mall to cathedral hill.
Below: Eastern wall mural. Followed by two works on the western wall.

Below: Morgan Street western wall, on the southern side of Hunter Street.

Turning to look north across Hunter Street, from where the first four pictures further above were taken.

Immediately above is the eastern side of Morgan Street at the corner of Hunter St. Below is the western side, at left. Steps to the old chapel can be seen at right. We're standing where Morgan and Laing streets meet.

Below: At the location from which the above photo is facing, to the left is Laing Street, and immediately behind is a retaining wall that cut Morgan St in two when the King Street parking statio was built.

Wolfe Street

Below: From King & Wolfe St intersection, a lovely view of the harbour and city ambiance. 22 Feb 2019. At left under reconstruction, former Wolfe St entrance to David Jones. At right is the former Showcase Theatre arching over the footpath.

Meanwhile, up on the hill at the corner of Tyrell Street in Dec 2008.

Above: The old Lyrique (or Lyric) Theatre, latterly Showcase Theatre. Today but a facade.
Below: Memory fails, but according to where the image was saved, this little alcove was nearby in Wolfe Street. FYI, it's "panorama'd" from three photographs, each at a different angle. The alcove was a small rectangular space.

Newcomen Street

This section between Hunter and King streets was once dominated (on its eastern side) by the rear entrance to the Newcastle Morning Herald, and was where the huge rolls of print paper were delivered, and the printed papers of the Herald and the Sun were loaded for distribution. It's now largely residential.

Above: Towards the harbour, first Hunter Street, then Scott Street, and at the water's edge, Wharf Road. Chalk street art having its brief moment, to our delight.
Below: Up that very steep incline towards King Street. Some mural work behind the building on the corner.

Sadly, that dot com (eminor) is for sale again. Wonder what was originally online there.