Lambton, New South Wales

Lambton is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, from Newcastle's central business district.

History The first people of this land were the Awabakal whose territory included Lambton. The Awabakal tribe were hunters and gatherers who would keep moving in order to prevent exhausting their supplies, camping at various sites for days and sometimes weeks.

Lambton's history is defined by the Lambton Colliery, named after the mine's manager Thomas Croudace's family friend, Lord Lambton, Earl of Durham that opened in 1863, which spurred the development of the township taking on the mines name.

Colliery The largest and principal industry was the Scottish-Australian Mining Company's Lambton Colliery, which was formally opened with a celebratory dinner in December 1863. The colliery was initially managed by Thomas Croudace, and then from July 1892 by his son Frank Croudace. The mine closed in 1936, although the railway line which connected it with Newcastle Harbour remained operational until 1963, providing coal transport for other nearby mines. Today the area of the main pit entrance of Lambton colliery is occupied by Lewis Oval and surrounding houses.

Municipality Lambton was proclaimed as a Municipality on 24 June 1871 and operated until 1938, when it joined with ten other local councils to create the City of Greater Newcastle Council. Over its 67-year history, Lambton Council counted 97 aldermen among its membership, including 28 who served as mayor. MayorsPeriods of OfficeUriah Broom1871–1872William Lightfoot1873Thomas Abel1874–1876Dr. J.J. Hill1877–1878, 1882William Thomas Dent1879–1880, 1890–1891Thomas Croudace1883–1884, 1893Thomas Grierson1886–1887A.L. Payne1888, 1907, 1910–1911Matthew Thornton1889, 1899–1903Joseph Palmer1892William Conn1894–1895George E. Hardy1896, 1918, 1920James Young1897Henry Burg1898–1899Edward Charlton1903–1904, 1916–1917, 1919, 1929George Noble1905John R. Bell1906William McEwan1909–1909J.T. Johnson1912–1913, 1923–1925, 1930, 1932, 1937–1938L.E. Polak1914–1915, 1921George E. Hardy1918, 1920J.C. Lightfoot1922George Alfred Bell1926J.W. White1927Ralph W. Notley1928, 1935–1936John A. Doyle1931Edward Box1933 The longest serving Mayor was John Thomas Johnson, who served a total of 8 years as Mayor during the period 1912 to 1938, on five separate occasions. The four longest serving Mayors have streets in Lambton/North Lambton named after them – Johnson, Charlton, Dent, and Croudace.

Other In the early years the miners of the township used to entertain themselves gambling on dog races, known as the "Dog & Rat" because they would release a rat (wallaby) on flat open area then let their dogs chase it down. The dog that caught the rat won (the rat won if it made it to the scrub).

In 1868 the first church was built in Lambton for the Welsh Baptist Church. Their first service was conducted entirely in Welsh.

Lambton was the first Municipality in Newcastle to adopt and be lit by electric lights. The Mayor’s wife, Isabella Dent, switched on the lights at a ceremony on 9 September 1890. A song called "The Lambton Lights" by Newcastle musician Bob Corbett was written in 2008 about the electrification of the town.

The 1891 Census gave the population as 3,434.

In 1901 there were 14 churches, a Music Hall, Assembly Rooms, a Temperance Hall, a Mechanics' Institute, Miners' Institute, a Post office, Telegraph and Money Order Office, a Savings Bank, Court House, Fire Brigade, Council Chambers, and a public school.

Matthew Charlton was an Australian politician who served as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Federal Opposition. Charlton's father moved with his family to Lambton, when he was 5 years old where he attended Lambton Public School. On 5 December 1903 Charlton became the second member for the state electoral district of Waratah in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He resigned from state politics and in 1910 Charlton wrested the federal Division of Hunter. He was leader of the Labor Party from 16 May 1922 – 29 March 1928.

Lambton Park Lambton Park is the green jewel of the suburb, an approximately 14 hectare site in the middle of Lambton. The park has a natural water course, Lambton Ker-rai Creek, intersecting its full length with the western end naturalised and contains a playground, picnic areas, playing fields (Harry Edwards Oval and Lambton Oval) and tennis courts with a shared path circumnavigating its entire boundary. It is also home to the Lambton Park War Memorial Swimming Centre, Lambton library (originally the Lambton Council Chambers; a branch of Newcastle Libraries), a Baby Health Centre built in the 1940’s now a café and a historic rotunda.

Lambton Park is host to many community events including the annual Lambton Park Carols.

Beginnings As early as 1871, Lambton Council asked the Minister for Lands to turn part of the Commonage east of Morehead Street into a public park, but the legal uncertainties meant that nothing happened for years.

In 1876, the area that is now Lambton Park started being used as a recreation ground. However, since it wasn’t officially declared a park, the council and locals didn’t want to spend much time or money improving it and in 1878 Council intended to fence the new recreation ground bounded by Morehead Street, Elder Street and Howe Street, to prevent people building houses on it.

By June 1883, frustration had built up. At a public meeting, Mayor Thomas Croudace stepped in to solve the problem, as many people had built homes on the land meant for the park, on behalf of Lambton Colliery. He offered them £100 towards compensation, subdividing the land between Pearson and Kendall streets and selling the allotments for £10 - approximately one third their true value and arranged to move their houses. The offer worked and just two weeks later, the local newspaper reported that houses were being moved with 43 houses relocated.

The land at Lambton was dedicated for the purposes of public recreation on 21 May 1887, to be a public park within the meaning of the Public Parks Act of 1884 and was to be known by the name of Lambton Park.

Thomas Croudace’s key role is remembered with an inscription on the park gates, which were put up in 1918 on Morehead Street.

Lambton Rotunda In December 1889, Alderman W.T. Dent proposed building a rotunda in Lambton Park. It was originally planned for the corner of Morehead and Howe streets, but noise from trams on Howe Street made that spot unsuitable. Instead, it was built further into the park, in line with Pearson Street.

The rotunda was completed in September 1890 by contractor Timothy Boyle, costing £361. Its official opening was delayed due to a miner’s strike and finally took place on Saturday, 29 November 1890. The event featured a brass band and Northumbrian sword dancing. In the latticework above the Corinthian columns adjoining the entrance steps the words “W.T. Dent, Mayor, Erected 1890”, were placed and remain there today.

By 1925, the rotunda had deteriorated, mostly due to rough use. Newcastle Council later restored it to its original design, including the iron railings, wooden floor, dome, and spire.

At the base of the rotunda is a plaque marking the ‘Birth of Soccer Football in Newcastle’. It refers to an 1885 match between two teams representing south of Lambton (Hamilton area) and north of Lambton (Minmi area). However, newer research shows the first official game in the region was actually between the Lambton Thistles and the Caledonians from Sydney, played at the same location.

Lambton Park Memorial Gates On the western side of Lambton Park, opposite Peason Street a four pillared stone ceremonial gate is located.

In September 1915, with the Great War underway, Henry Burg and Thomas Pease convened a public meeting to form a committee dedicated to farewelling departing soldiers and welcoming home the wounded.

In January 1917, Mayor Edward Charlton announced plans to build memorial gates in Lambton Park as a Roll of Honour. Architect Eric G Yeomans volunteered his services, and on 19 October 1918, a foundation stone was laid before a large crowd. MP J Estell placed a bottle into the cement containing committee names, a 1914 newspaper, and old coins, then received a gilt trowel from the Mayor. The war ended three weeks later, allowing the gates to bear the final year and the names of 140 local soldiers, with fallen soldiers marked by an asterisk.

In 2017, two bronze kangaroos which were originally on the gates were restored and dedicated on ANZAC Day 2017.

On 20 October 2018 the Lambton Time Capsule Ceremony was held by the City of Newcastle to commemorate the rediscovery of an original 1918 time capsule under the Lambton Park Memorial Gates, and to reinter a new 2018 time capsule for the next one hundred years to be opened in 2118.

Lambton Park War Memorial Swimming Centre On 26 January in 1963 that Lambton Park War Memorial Swimming Centre officially opened. The centre was opened in a formal ceremony performed by Lord Mayor of Newcastle Alderman F. J. Purdue. The facilities were developed and financed by Newcastle City Council with assistance from Newcastle War Memorial Olympic Pool Committee and the Joint Coal Board.

It was the Newcastle’s first inland swimming pool, built in memory of all of those who have served in all conflicts. A metal dedication plaque with gold incised lettering is situated on the outside of the building.

The centre is located on Durham Road between Hobart Road and Karoola Road, Lambton. An average of 184,000 people visit the popular facility annually. The pool consists of a heated 50-metre pool, learners and toddlers pool, diving pool with a diving tower, water slide, splash park, spectator grandstand and grassed areas. On 17 December 2023 a new $2.2 million grandstand was opened capable of hosting 800 people.

Places of Interest

Council Chambers / Library In 1872, Lambton Council applied to the Minister for Lands for a parcel of land at the end of Dickson Street to build council chambers. The request was granted and the Council estimated the probable cost of the chambers to be £200. Limited finances however meant that construction did not proceed. In 1884, the government took back the land to use for police barracks and a lockup.

The push for new council chambers was renewed in 1887, when Alderman Kerr moved “That plan and specification be prepared for a wooden building suitable for council-chambers, cost not to exceed £200.” A weatherboard building was quickly built in Lambton Park, costing £270. It officially opened on 21 July 1887. The last Lambton Council meeting was held there on 29 March 1938, when Greater Newcastle Council was formed.

In 1942, the building was turned into a recreation hall for soldiers and named “The Lambton Citizens All Services Recreation Hall.”

The building became the Lambton branch library in February 1950, and in 2022 the front of the building was restored to its original heritage look.

Mechanics Institute First opened in Howe Street in 1867 by Thomas Croudace. In 1885 a second weatherboard hall was built with a reading and billiards room. In 1894 a stone and brick building built and institute moved to Elder street at a cost of £573 with a library and games room on the ground floor with a bigger reading room on the upper floor. The committee rented the Howe street space to various organisations until August 1903. In 1950 Newcastle opened a library across the road from the institute which lost them huge membership numbers. The building is now the home to the Newcastle Family History Society and MG Car Club. In 2018, New South Wales State Government gave a grant of $45,000 to re paint the exterior.

Lambton Post and Telegraph Office