June 7, Morpeth, Newcastle, Sydney

Our parking place last night was by the railroad and a lot of trains went by last night. We think they were primarily coal trains headed for Newcastle.

For breakfast we tried the custard apple. It had big seeds, but the fruit was really sweet.

We were out early to walk around the village of Morpeth. It was next to the Hunter River and at one time was a river port. It had several nice old buildings. Arnott is a brand of cookies and crackers in Australia, there was an early Arnott bake house in Morpeth. It's also a restaurant now and is run by an descendant of the family. St James Anglican Church was a lovely church built in 1840.

Newcastle was a port city that ships coal from the mines and grains from the countryside. We walked along the waterfront to Nobby Point and the lighthouse. Then we walked to Christ Church Cathedral. Newcastle was very hilly and the cathedral was on top of a high one. It was a massive building and we were greeted by one of the priests. He gave us a guide and pointed out some highlights. He also pointed out the Canterbury cross on one column. He said that every cathedral has a stone from Canterbury Cathedral with a Canterbury cross on it.

Our last stop of the day was Bulgandry Aboriginal Engraving Site. Off a busy highway a dirt road led to the car park. A walk went to a boardwalk around a large piece of exposed stone. According to the brochure 3 figures were carved on it. It had rained, so the stone was wet and it was cloudy, so the figures were very difficult to see.

Then it was time for the trip into Sydney. We picked a bad time, Friday afternoon on a holiday weekend (Monday is the Queen's birthday). Traffic was heavy, but we made it in relatively easily and now we're back where we started.

Pictures - Custard apple, Inside, St James, Altar, Nobby Point, Buildings in Newcastle, Christ Church, Stained glass, St Nicholas Chapel, Altar, Canterbury cross, Bulgandry figure, Drawing of Bulgandry figure