MAITLAND
Maitland is not an outer suburb of Newcastle.
That
is how the Maitland people see it, and so be it. Maitland is in fact
an equivalent of a Penrith to Sydney, an Ipswich in Brisbane or a
Freemantle in Perth and/or a Dandenong in Melbourne. Fiercely
independent, but at the end of the day co-joined and a part of a
greater metropolis that is in this case Newcastle. That independence
is born out of an era of a cherished separation of distance. What is a
fact though, the history of separation and in Maitland’s credit that
management of history. Heritage is clearly important in Maitland. Just
look at these buildings._small.JPG)    _small.JPG)  _small.JPG)  
Originally Maitland consisted of three separate towns
which arose roughly all around the same time. West Maitland, East
Maitland, and Morpeth, a private town founded by Lt Close. Each town
functioned as if they were separate municipalities.
The present city was proclaimed in 1945 with the
amalgamation of the three local government areas. The cbd though is
pretty much unchanged. Narrow and one way streets rule.
_small.JPG)
Maitland was therefore the point at which goods were
unloaded for, and distributed to, the prosperous riverland of the
Hunter Valley. Accordingly there were large warehouses (some of which
still exist) built, which faced onto the main High Street and backed
onto the Hunter River.
The Anglican Church is an historic masterpiece that
continues to overlook a changing city!!!  _small.JPG)
The old Catholic Church
is ‘on hold’. The United Church
a nice representation.
The hotels of Maitland are all old classic pubs.  _small.JPG)      
The Maitland War Memorial is located offsite from the
cbd.
 
Maitland is at the crossroads. Heritage or nothing
much. Be sure to stay a day or two when visiting.
Heritage diary 
 |