Tours of Sandgate Cemetery have led to a three-volume book series.
The tours, run by Newcastle Family History Society since 2016, revealed stories from the great and grand, along with more humble and quiet achievements.
There were tales of service - military and civil - religious belief and overcoming hardship.
Ken and Maree Shillings believed the stories were too important to lose. They decided to put a book together, titled People of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley: Their Stories - Our Heritage.
One book became two and two became three. Each book contains 50 stories.
The first two volumes will be launched at the South Newcastle Rugby League Club on Thursday, while work is underway on volume three.
"My wife and I have written some of the stories, but most of them have been written by members and friends of the Newcastle Family History Society," Ken said.
Maree said the stories include "so much local history".
"There are lots of little things that crop up, often unexpected," she said.
"From my point-of-view, if you don't understand what's gone on before, you have no hope of planning for a better future," Maree said.
"The future is based on the past in my mind."
She believes it's important not to forget people.
The back cover of volume one has two little lines of prose: "With their stories now told, they will be remembered" and "Say their names and they live on".
"That sums up the publication," Maree said.
Among the tales in volume one is the unfortunate outcome of a visit to the cinema to see a Clark Gable film, and the story of a Wagnerian artist who rose from humble beginnings to strut the world stage and sing with Nellie Melba.
There's also the story of a photographer who recorded the devastation of Europe in 1945, but sadly died in an industrial accident months after arrival in the Hunter.
Volume two includes a bushranger, civic leader, war hero and "an unfortunate lady killed by her admirer".
There's a young mineworker caught up in a strike that led to his death, and two little sisters who left home to pick wildflowers and met disaster.
There's a policeman's wife who became known as "Australia's Grace Darling" due to her bravery and Irish brothers who committed conspiracy to murder.
Getting Hitched Hits Hitch
About 79,000 marriages were registered last year in Australia, a 31 per cent fall compared with 2019, an Australian Bureau of Statistics report said.
Bureau boffin James Eynstone-Hinkins said 2020 had "the largest annual decrease in registered marriages ever reported by the ABS, and the lowest number of registrations reported since 1961".
"Marriage numbers fell in late March as lockdowns, restrictions on gatherings and travel bans impacted marriage plans, with numbers then remaining low throughout winter and spring," he said.
Saturday, October 10 was the most common day to get hitched in 2020, with 2191 marriages recorded on that day.
A further 1517 couples tied the knot on the leap-year day - Saturday, February 29.
There was no word on how many shotgun weddings occurred. As for divorce rates, well, they've gone through the roof.
