A former owner of Newcastle's iconic Paymasters has backed plans to restore the site, but says he has "no interest" in running the venue again.
The makeover and restoration of the East End institution won a $250,000 share in the million-dollar 2026 Port Community Contributions Fund.
The City of Newcastle project, worth $500,000 in total, aims to conserve the original character of the historically significant building, which once served as the paymaster's office for Newcastle's rail and port workforce.
Work will include restoring the building's original floors and walls, repairing the verandah and conserving its timber windows, with heritage interpretation signage to be installed to highlight the site's role in Newcastle's industrial history.
It will lead to the reopening of the building for public recreation and community use.
Paymasters opened two decades ago in the old railway pay office, a heritage listed building featuring Georgian architecture built in 1879, just three years after Customs House next door.
Ownership of the building was transferred to City of Newcastle by Crown Lands in the early 1990s.
It has previously been leased and operated as the Paymaster's Café, until 2024 when the lease was not renewed.
Neil Slater, a former operator at the site, said he was "very supportive" of the restoration.
"No interest in operating the business again but hopefully it will give a young entrepreneur an opportunity to create a fantastic business in the building," he told the Newcastle Herald.
The $250,000 grant comes from a fund enabled by the long-term lease of the Port of Newcastle which has provided more than $9.8 million to 56 projects since 2014.
Other winners in this year's round include the City of Newcastle's fairy light activation project on the foreshore which will receive $175,000.
The Breast Cancer will receive $240,000 grant to help deliver a large-scale, professional photographic and storytelling exhibition to honour people who have shaped breast cancer outcomes in the Hunter, NSW, nationally and beyond, over the past five decades.
Another $176,000 is being awarded to Spiritual Water Ways Indigenous Corporation for a cultural meeting circle known as Nan's Place.
That project will protect a recognised ceremonial and dreaming place to foster cultural learning, community wellbeing and connection to country, as well as a memorial mural honouring Elder Aunty Beryl Dates, and ongoing cultural engagement initiatives such as language workshops and caring for country programs.
Newcastle state MP Tim Crakanthorp said the projects will make a meaningful difference to Newcastle.
"The Port of Newcastle has always been central to our city's story, and these projects will help carry that legacy forward. This funding supports initiatives that honour our past while building a vibrant future.
"These projects reflect what can be achieved when community groups, businesses and government work together. I'm proud to see local organisations stepping up with ideas that will strengthen and enrich our city."
