Newcastle's watermen aren't about to be forgotten anytime soon.
Newcastle Rowing Club stalwart John McLeod told Topics that his club had a statue of a waterman on the shore of Throsby Creek at Carrington.
John was replying to a piece in Topics last Friday about Newcastle's iconic watermen.
"The waterman statue has been specifically orientated to be looking out to the harbour, being his workplace," John said.
The town relied on rowing boats and oarsmen - known as professional watermen - for transport.
But it wasn't all work. They had a bit of fun, too. The watermen were known for racing each other for a wager or prize money.
In the mid-1800s, rowing for competition and recreation became popular in Newcastle. It was a time when regattas were held on waterways throughout the Hunter Region.
The Newcastle annual regatta was a major sporting and social event - attracting up to 10,000 spectators.
The "Professional Waterman" sculpture is based on oarsmen around 1870. It was a time when the watermen transported produce from fertile land upriver to boats in the port.
Newcastle has always had a deep connection to the sea, harbour and river. The statue stands as a nice reminder of that.
Poles Apart
Belmont North's Eunice Hobson-English tells Topics that - following the Herald's feature last week on pole dancing - a friend in the UK reminded her of a story about the "popular Poplars Church in Worksop, Nottinghamshire - Robin Hood country".
The church bought a defunct pub building to "convert" - pardon the pun - into new church premises.
They were surprised to learn that the Golden Ball pub had "spent its dying days as a nightclub, complete with a red-painted alcove in front of full-length Georgian windows".
It came with a half-circle stage "containing three shiny pole-dancing poles".
Some thought the poles should stay to help keep the little kids occupied during church services.
But, as Eunice quipped, "they were poles apart from hymn singing".
"The poles - not the kids - had to go."
The conversion from house of debauchery to house of faith took elbow grease. Which was no problem for the church folk. Idle hands and whatnot.
"Rescuing the dingy pub and its dark red interior from its sordid past and bringing it into the light took many voluntary hours, plus buckets and buckets of glowing magnolia paint," she said.
And praise be, before long, the Golden Ball was redeemed.
"She has regained her dignity and retained her name because the 'golden ball' is mentioned in the Bible." [Eunice urged us to look this up]
In Revelation 17.4, we found this: "Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness. There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and 10 horns.The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries".
Anyhow, Eunice says the building is now a hub of community activity. "Any lost soul who stumbles in looking for pole dancers will be welcomed in - possibly to meet my friends Joanna and her husband. They are Polish and they dance." How fitting!
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