I tried to find an old photo of the Great Northern Hotel, but the small snapshot on the left was the only one I could find. The record of the photo suggests the 1940s, but looking at the Morris I think that the photo is later than that.
Looking back, it is hard to imagine my excitement when we went to stay at this pub. This was a seriously big hotel. It had a lift!
I am not sure how long we stayed. It was a little while. Early in the morning, brother David and I would go down to the waterfront to look at the trains and ships. T
his was exciting stuff.
The Great Northern actually was a pretty posh place. When Tooths upgraded the hotel in 1938, it was the largest single hotel expansion in the company's history.
It is probably hard for Newcastle people to believe now, but even though competition from Sydney had sucked out much of the city's Northern commercial life, the city was still New England's metropolis.
The next photo shows a much later picture of the hotel. You can see its size.
Memories.
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