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Racket (sports equipment)

A racket or racquet is an item of sporting equipment used to strike a ball or shuttlecock back-and-forth in games such as tennis, badminton, squash, racquetball and padel. The typical basic structure of a racket consists of a widened distal end known as the head (which presents a flattened firm surface designed to strike the ball or shuttlecock, known as the face), an elongated (and often cushioned) handle known as the grip, and a reinforced connection between the head and handle known as the throat or heart.

In the strictest sense, the word "racket" specifically refers to one with a mesh face made of interlaced, tightly stretched strings fixed on an ovoid frame (known as the rim). Some rackets have a rigid one-piece head with a solid or fenestrated face instead of a meshwork of strings, such as those used in table tennis, and such rackets are called a paddle or bat. Collectively, sporting games using rackets and paddles are all known as racket sports.

Racket design, materials and manufacturing has changed considerably over the centuries. The frame of rackets for all sports was traditionally made of solid wood (later laminated wood) and the strings of animal intestine known as catgut. The traditional racket size was limited by the strength and weight of the wooden frame which had to be strong enough to hold the strings and stiff enough to hit the ball or shuttle. Manufacturers started adding non-wood laminates to wood rackets to improve stiffness. Non-wood rackets were made first of steel, then of aluminum, and then carbon fiber composites. Wood is still used for real tennis, rackets, and xare. Most rackets are now made of composite materials including carbon fiber or fiberglass, metals such as titanium alloys, or ceramics.

Catgut has partially been replaced by synthetic materials including nylon, polyamide, and other polymers. Rackets are restrung when necessary, which may be after every match for a professional. Despite the name, "catgut" has never been made from any part of a cat.

Spelling
Racket is the standard American spelling of the word. Racquet is an alternative spelling more common in Britain, as evidenced by the BBC style guide. Racquet is used more commonly in certain sports, such as tennis, squash, racquetball, and badminton, and less commonly in others. However, the International Tennis Federation uses racket, which is the original spelling; dating from the 16th century. Racquet appeared in the 19th century as a French-influenced variant of racket.

Etymology
The origin of the term "racket" is unclear. It may be derived from the Flemish word "raketsen" which is itself derived from Middle French "rachasser", meaning "to strike (the ball) back".

Badminton

Badminton rackets are light, with top quality rackets weighing between about 70 and 95 grams. Modern rackets are composed of carbon fiber composite (graphite reinforced plastic), which may be augmented by a variety of materials. Carbon fiber has an excellent strength to weight ratio, is stiff, and gives excellent kinetic energy transfer. Before the adoption of carbon fiber composite, rackets were made of wood to their excessive weight and cost.

There is a wide variety of racket designs, although the badminton racket size and shape are limited by the laws of the game. Different rackets have playing characteristics that appeal to different players. The traditional oval head shape is still available, but an isometric head shape is increasingly common in new rackets. Various companies have emerged but Yonex of Japan and Victor of Taiwan are the dominant players in the market. The majority of top tournaments are sponsored by these companies. Every year new technology is introduced by these companies but predominantly, all rackets are made of carbon graphite composite.

Rackets
This predecessor to the modern game of squash, rackets, is played with 30+1/2 in wooden rackets. While squash equipment has evolved in the intervening century, rackets equipment has changed little.

Racquetball
According to the current racquetball rules there are no limitations on the weight of a racquetball racket.

"#The racket, including bumper guard and all solid parts of the handle, may not exceed 22 inches in length.
 * 1) The racket frame may be any material judged safe.
 * 2) The racket frame must include a cord that must be securely attached to the player's wrist.
 * 3) The string of the racket must be gut, monofilament, nylon, graphite, plastic, metal, or a combination thereof, and must not mark or deface the ball.
 * 4) Using an illegal racket will result in forfeiture of the game in progress or, if discovered between games, forfeiture of the preceding game."

Racquetball rackets, unlike many other types, generally have little or no neck, the grip connecting directly to the head. They also tend to have head shapes that are notably wider at the top, with some older rackets looking almost triangular or teardrop shaped.

Real tennis

In real tennis, also called court tennis, 27-inch (686-mm) long rackets are made of wood and very tight strings to cope with the game's heavy balls. The racket heads are bent slightly to make striking balls close to the floor or in corners easier.

Squash
Standard squash rackets are governed by the rules of the game. Traditionally they were made of laminated timber (typically Ash), with a small strung area using natural gut strings. After a rule change in the mid-1980s, they are now almost always made of composite materials such as carbon fiber or metals (graphite, Kevlar, titanium, and/or boron) with synthetic strings. Modern rackets are 70 cm long, with a maximum strung area of 500 square centimetres (approximately 75 square inches) and a mass between 90 and 200 grams (4–7 ounces).

Table tennis

Table tennis uses a table tennis racket made from laminated wood covered with rubber on one or two sides depending on the grip of the player. Unlike a conventional racket, it does not contain strings strung across an open frame. This is called either a paddle, racket, or a bat, with usage differing by region. In the USA the term "paddle" is common, in Europe the term is "bat", and the official ITTF term is "racket."

Table Tennis racket specs are defined at the ITTF handbook section 2.04 and currently include the following.

Tennis

Popular lawn tennis rackets vary primarily in length, weight, balance point, stiffness, beam thickness, string pattern, string density, and head size. They generally conform to unofficial standards that differ from past rackets. Currently, almost all adult rackets are made from a graphite composite. Those made from wood (the original racket frame row material), steel, fiberglass, or aluminium are considered obsolete, although those materials are technically legal for play. Inexpensive rackets often have poor performance characteristics such as excessive flexibility and inadequate weight. No recent manufacturers use single-throated beams, although Prince tried to reintroduce the single throat design in the 1990s: the only professional who used one was Mirjana Lučić. Braided graphite rackets were considered high-end until recently and molded rackets have been the norm for some time. Molding is less expensive to manufacture and offer high stiffness. Graphite-composite rackets are today's industry standard in professional tennis.

For length, 21 to 26 in is normally the junior racket range, while 27 in is for stronger more physically-mature players. Some are also available at lengths of 27.5 to 29 in. The Gamma Big Bubba was produced with a 32 in length but it is no longer legal in that length. Gamma responded by changing the length of the grip portion of the racket, to continue sales. The length restriction was based on the concern that such long rackets would make the serve too dominant, but that concern has never been objectively supported with testing. Moreover, some players, such as John Isner, are much taller and have longer arms than average professionals (and especially low stature ones), giving them a much larger advantage in terms of height for the service than is possible with several inches of racket length. This makes the length restriction more questionable. Finally, the professionals who nearly always choose to use the longest rackets typically choose them because they use two-handed groundstrokes for both forehand and backhand, using the extra length to improve their reach. An example is Marion Bartoli. As this type of player is not dominant in the sport, or even close to being average in terms of per capita representation, the length restriction seems even more unnecessary. Despite Prince's attempt to market longer length "longbody" rackets in the 1990s, standard length remains the overwhelming choice of players, further negating the argument in favor of the length restriction. When most players who choose to use a longer racket than 27 in choose one, they typically only use a 27.5 in model, rather than one approaching 30 in. Longer rackets were introduced by Dunlop

Weights of a racket also vary between 7 oz unstrung and 12.6 oz strung. Until the 1980s, rackets weighted at "medium" were produced. "Heavy" rackets were produced during the height of the wood era (e.g. the 1960s), very sparingly. The "medium" weight is heavier than any of the rackets produced since it was discontinued by companies. Many professionals added weight to their rackets to improve stability. Many continue to do so. Pete Sampras added lead tape to make his racket have a 14 oz weight and Venus Williams is known for using a frame modified to be quite heavy, in terms of the recent times average. By contrast, Andy Roddick surprised many when he said he used a stock Pro Drive series model, series of racket which was light when compared with the rackets used by most top professionals. In both recreational and professional tennis, the trend has been away from heavy rackets and toward lighter rackets, despite the drawbacks from light rackets, such as increased twisting. Lawn tennis rackets originally flared outward at the bottom of the handle to prevent slippage. The rounded bottom was called a bark bottom after its inventor Matthew Barker. But by 1947, this style became superfluous. More mass gives rackets "plow through", momentum that continues once the player has managed to get the racket into motion and which is more resistant to stoppage from the ball's momentum. This can give the perception that the racket produces shots with more power, although this is complicated by the typically slower stroke production. Higher mass typically involves a slower swing but more energy to execute the swing. More mass also provides more cushioning against ball impact shock, a source of injuries such as tennis elbow. However, high racket mass can cause fatigue in the shoulder area. Typically, it is safer for the body to have higher mass. More mass, additionally, provides more stability. It makes the racket more resistant to twisting forces and pushback. The drawbacks are that heavier rackets have lower maneuverability (reducing reaction time) and require more energy to move. As a racket gets heavier, the player finds it increasingly difficult to do fast reaction shots such as quick volleys and returns of serve. However, the additional mass can help with return of serve, in particular, by making the racket much more resistant to twist from a high-powered service. Light rackets have the additional drawback of making it easier for beginning players to use inappropriate wrist-dominant strokes, which often leads to injury. This is because poor stroke mechanics can be much easier to produce with a lightweight racket, such as in using one's wrist to mostly swing the racket. An extremely typical mistake beginning players make is to choke up heavily on the racket (to try to compensate for twist from a light racket, as well as too high racket angle upon impact) and use the wrist too much. The only professional well-known player to have had success with a strongly choked-up grip is Zina Garrison.

Head size plays a very key role in a racket's performance characteristics. A larger head size very generally means more power and a larger "sweet spot". This is an area in the string bed that is partially more forgiving on off-center hits and which produces more ball-reflective power from string deformation, known as the trampoline effect. However, large head sizes can increase twisting, which makes off-center hits more difficult to control and can reduce a player's overall power production due to the playing compensating for the extra inherent power, typically with stiffer strings to reduce the increased string deformation of large heads. A smaller head size generally offers more control for many shots, particularly the service and groundstrokes aimed near the lines, but can lead to more shanks (wild misses, from hitting the frame or missing the sweet spot). This drawback is most common for professional players using single-handed topspin backhands, as well as for recreational and aged players at net. Shanking due to small racket head size is typically exacerbated by racket weight, which slows the reaction time, as well as, to a lesser degree, the racket's balance point. In professional tennis, currently-used racket head sizes vary between 95 - 115 sqin, with most players adopting one from 98 - 108 sqin. Rackets with smaller and larger head sizes, 85 and 120 -, are still produced but are not used by professionals currently. A very small number of professionals, such as Monica Seles, used 125 sqin rackets during some point in their careers. Rackets with smaller heads than 85 sqin have not been in production since the 1980s and rackets with larger head sizes than 137 sqin are not currently legal for the sport, even though only elderly players typically choose to use rackets beyond 115 sqin and it is nearly unheard-of for a serious player who is not elderly to choose a racket over 125 sqin. The WEED company, founded by Tad Weed, specializes in producing very large rackets, primarily for the elderly market. Rackets that are moderately higher in power production, moderately lower in weight, moderately larger in size, and which typically possess a slightly head-heavy balance are often called "tweener rackets." Rackets that have the smallest heads in current use, the highest weights in current use, and headlight or even balance are referred to as "players' rackets". Oversize rackets, typically 110 sqin in size, were once pejoratively referred to as "granny sticks" but resistance to them being seen as illegitimate rackets for younger players decreased dramatically with the successful use of these rackets by a small number professionals such as Andre Agassi and Pam Shriver. Originally, even midsize frames (85 sqin) were considered jumbo, and some top players, such as Martina Navratilova and Rod Laver said they should be banned for making the sport too easy. Later, these same professionals, including John McEnroe, signed a letter supporting a switch back to wood frames, or a limitation to the original standard size of approximately 65 sqin. Perhaps the last professional to use a standard-size racket in professional tennis was Aaron Krickstein, known for the strongly-contested match against Connors at the 1991 US Open. He used a Wilson Ultra-II standard-size graphite racket also used in the 1980s by the hard-hitting teen Andrea Jaeger. The first oversize, the fiberglass Bentley Fortissimo from Germany, was praised by racket designers but was considered too large to be taken seriously by the small number of players who were exposed to it.

The head-light balance point is rarer in professional tennis than it once was, as the sport has converted to larger-headed rackets, stiffer rackets, stiffer strings, more western grips and accompanying stroke production, and more topspin. The head-light balance point is most optimal for the serve and volley style with a continental grip. Serve and volley is no longer a viable option for nearly all professionals as the mode of playing for most points in a match. Head-heavy rackets became popular, mainly with recreational players, primarily with the introduction of the Wilson ProFile widebody racket. The head-light balance makes volleys and serves easier to produce, while groundstrokes are less stable. The head-heavy balance makes groundstrokes more stable, which typically increases the player's comfort for swinging harder to add power, but makes serves and volleys more cumbersome. A head-heavy balance also puts more stress on the elbow and shoulder.

Vibration dampeners (also sometimes known as "gummies") may be interlaced in the proximal part of the string array, to reduce the percussive sound of the ball hitting the strings and/or to reduce perceived vibration. They do not, however, reduce impact shock significantly, so they are of no safety value. Some professionals, such as Andre Agassi, used rubber bands instead of specialized dampeners. Dampeners come in two main types. The first uses the two central main strings to hold it in place. The second is sometimes called a "worm" and it is woven between many of the main strings. Dampeners are nearly always placed very near the bottom of the racket string bed.

As rackets have become lighter, stiffer, and larger-headed, the professional game has moved, basically completely, from softer and more flexible string materials to stiff materials. This is, in large part, to tone down the additional power potential of the "modern" rackets. However, it also is related to the tendency for different string materials to move out of place when subjected to heavy topspin strokes. Polyester is the string of choice today because of that resistance, despite its increased stiffness (harsher feel and more aggravating for the joints) and reduced tension-holding ability (versus a string like natural gut, which excels at that). The top professionals of the 1970s and earlier, despite having access to stiffer materials such as nylon, nearly always chose to use the very flexible natural gut instead. String bed stiffness can be increased by using stiffer materials, such as kevlar and polyester, by increasing the density of the string pattern, and by stringing with a higher tension. Racket makers and players have experimented with very dense string patterns and very "open" patterns, beginning with the Snauwaert Hi Ten, which had a pattern with as few as 12 mains and 13 crosses. Doubles great Mark Woodforde used one of them. More recently, Grigor Dimitrov is known for having played with a very open-patterned racket during part of his career. String choice, both in thickness and material, string tension, string pattern, and string pattern density can have a very large effect on how a racket performs.

Throughout most of lawn tennis' history, most rackets were made of laminated wood, with heads of around 65 sqin. A small number of them were made of metal, such as a 1920s racket by Dayton. Some, rarely, also had metal strings. In the late 1960s, Wilson popularized the T-2000 steel racket with wire wound around the frame to make string loops, after having purchased the design from René Lacoste, who produced the racket first in a more limited run. It was popularized by the top American player Jimmy Connors and was also, prior to Connors using it, by Billie Jean King in her early career. Many players said it lacked control but had more power, when compared with wood frames of the period. Connors used the rarer "firm" model that had additional throat welds to increase its stiffness. In 1968 Spalding launched an aluminum racket, called The Smasher. Aluminum, though lighter and more flexible than steel, was sometimes less accurate than wood. The biggest complaint, however, was that metal rackets caused strong cases of tennis elbow, especially the kind that had holes for the strings directly in the frame, rather than using an external wire wrapper, as in the T-2000. Because of that drawback in particular, most of the top players still preferred to use wooden frames.

By 1975, aluminum construction improvements allowed for the introduction of the first American "oversized" racket, which was manufactured by Weed. Prince popularized the oversize racket, which had a head size of approximately 110 sqin. Howard Head was able to obtain a broad patent for Prince, despite the prior art of the Bentley Fortissimo (the first oversize, made in Germany of fiberglass) and the Weed. The patent was rejected by Germany but approved in the USA. The popularity of the Prince aluminum oversize had the side effect of popularizing rackets having other non-standard head sizes such as mid-size 85 - 90 sqin and mid-plus sizes 95 - 98 sqin. Fairly quickly, midsize frames began to become the most-used frames in the pro tours. Martina Navratilova popularized the midsize graphite racket, with her wins using the Yonex R-7, the first midsize graphite racket made by Yonex. Nearly at the same time, however, she said the "jumbo" rackets (midsize included) should be removed from the sport for making it easier. She said she would use them only because other players could, as they were tournament-legal. Fewer players chose to use oversize rackets, and some switched to midplus frames after their earliest career for more control. Fiberglass frames also had a brief period of limited popularity, making fewer inroads among top players than aluminum. Also, the earliest composites, such as the Head Competition series, used by Arthur Ashe, were made without graphite. These were more flexible than a typical early graphite composite but stiffer than wood, fiberglass, and aluminum.

In the early 1980s, "graphite" (carbon fibre) composites were introduced, and other materials were added to the composite, including ceramics, glass fibre, boron, and titanium. Some of the earliest models typically had 20% or more fiberglass, to make them more flexible. Stiff rackets were typically not preferred by most players because of their familiarity with the comfortable softness of wood. These early models tended to be very flexible and not very powerful, although they were a power upgrade over wood and metal rackets. Wilson created the Jack Kramer Pro Staff, the graphite version of the wood racket of the same name extremely popular in the late 70s and early 80s. This was the origin of the extremely influential Wilson Pro Staff 85. Chris Evert's first graphite racket was this Jack Kramer version, which had 20% fiberglass. It was not a market success and she, along with everyone else, quickly replaced it with the stiffer Pro Staff 85, which had 20% kevlar. It used the same mold and had the same braided graphite, but offered a very noticeable improvement in power. The very popular Prince original graphite, an oversize in its most popular form, was also quite influential and used by many pros, especially as juniors. Jennifer Capriati and Monica Seles, for instance, used the Prince graphite to contest their influential Wimbledon match in 1991 that has often been hailed as the beginning of the power baselining game in the WTA, although that claim is somewhat hyperbolic and is, in large part, due to the mistaken impression that the players were hitting much harder when, in fact, the rackets were more powerful. However, the very large head size, when compared with the midsize and, especially, the old "standard" size, made it easier to produce power. The racket also had an open string pattern. The Prince "original" graphite name is rather a misnomer, as it went through some significant design adjustments over its lifetime. For instance, the truly original model had a reverse teardrop head shape, something no subsequent versions had. Stiffer composite rackets, when compared with the first and second generations of graphite composites, are the contemporary standard. The last wooden racket used at Wimbledon appeared in 1987, long after they were abandoned by practically all professionals. Borg tried to stage a comeback with his standard wood racket, after his premature retirement, but it quickly ended in failure, as the standard wood was no match when placed against a stiff midplus graphite. It is also commonly argued that Chris Evert would have been able to beat Martina Navratilova during the latter's most dominant period if she had switched from her wood racket years sooner. Additionally, the last influential wooden racket, the Prince Woodie, had layers of graphite to increase its stiffness and was an oversize. It was used by Tommy Haas, Gabriela Sabatini, and quite a few others. It offered very little power but did offer much more surface area than a standard-size wooden frame. Sabatini found it helpful, as compared with smaller rackets, due to her production of heavy topspin. The only woman to beat Martina Navratilova in 1984, Kathleen Horvath, used the Prince Woodie, one of only six losses Navratilova suffered in a three-year stretch involving 260 matches.

A denser pattern is often considered to deliver more control, at the expense of spin potential. A more open pattern is often believed to offer greater potential for power and spin. However, how much power is produced by a player can be strongly influenced by how a player adapts to the characteristics of the racket. Some players may hit harder with a dense string pattern, producing faster shots because of the added control from the dense pattern. Rackets, including those of much of the wood era, are marked with a recommended string tension range. The basic rule is that a lower tension creates more power (from the trampoline effect) and a higher string tension creates more control (less string deformation which results in a more predictable the power and angle of the departure from the string bed.) Some professionals used small-headed rackets with flexible-material strings (natural gut) strung at very high tension. Examples include Pete Sampras and Björn Borg. Some used large-headed rackets with very inflexible-material strings (kevlar). Andre Agassi is an example. Many professionals during the standard wood era strung at relatively low tension and used natural gut string; both decisions were to increase the trampoline effect for more power. By contrast, almost every professional player today uses the much stiffer polyester string in their much stiffer rackets which also have larger heads and which tend to be lighter. Madeline Hauptman sold a line of rackets, called the MAD RAQ, which featured a Star of David pattern (a six-pointed figure consisting of two interlaced equilateral triangles), as it used three strings instead of two for stringing the racket. This pattern is used in snowshoes. This stringing pattern was said to feature less string notching, improving string lifespan. It was even claimed that many pro shops refused to carry the racket because less string breakage would reduce string and stringing service sales. It has also been claimed that the racket is more difficult to string than a two string racket. However, the Wilson T-2000-type requires a great deal more time for stringing than a typical racket and rackets of that series were very popular. Whatever the cause of the failure of the MAD RAQ in the marketplace, it was the only time a snowshoe pattern was used in tennis. Hauptman switched her racket line to a two string diamond pattern (PowerAngle). This pattern had already been used in much earlier rackets but had not had much popularity. It is said to be easier to string than the MAD RAQ but does not have the benefit of reduced string notching, at least not to the same degree. The claim is that this diagonal pattern offers more comfort than a traditional square pattern.

The stiffest graphite racket that has been sold is the Prince More Game MP, which is rated at 80 RA on the industry-standard Babolat measuring equipment. The Prince More series used two pieces (a top side and bottom side of the racket, or a left side and a right side) and no grommet strip. Prince had briefly used a design without a grommet strip in an early version of its "original" graphite oversize. The most famous user of a More series racket was Martina Navratilova, who returned to play doubles in her 40s, using a Prince More Control DB (a midplus) for her initial wins in the mixed doubles at Wimbledon and the Australian Open with Leander Paes. She had used the stiffer More Game MP prior. Navratilova later switched to a design by Warren Bosworth (the founder of Bosworth Tennis) which had a customized asymmetric grip and an unusual geometric head shape. Stiffer rackets typically offer more power and control at the expense of increased ball shock, which can lead to injury or tennis elbow aggravation. Typically, power and control are at odds. However, in the case of stiff rackets, less energy is dissipated by the racket deforming, transmitting it back to the ball. Control is improved because there is less deformation. However, a player's overall power level may decrease due to the need to moderate ball striking effort to reduce discomfort and even injury. Although known as a hard hitter in her younger years, in her 40s she was known more as a precision player who used finesse (and especially tactics) more than power. In fact, the last doubles partner she won a major with in mixed, Bob Bryan, remarked on how slow her serve was, despite how effective she was on the court. Navratilova also used string that was much softer than what anyone else on tour used (thick uncoated natural gut), to help compensate for the stiffness of her racket. The vastly higher injury rate in tennis (when compared with the wood era) is, in part, due to the increase in stiffness, both of the racket and of the strings.

Real tennis uses wooden rackets and cork-filled balls. It is a very different sport from today's lawn tennis.

title: Racket (sports equipment)


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Newcastle, New South Wales

Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle is a regional metropolitan area and the second-most-populous district of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the cities of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council. Newcastle is also known by its colloquial nickname, Newy.

Located at the mouth of the Hunter River, it is the predominant city within the Hunter Region. Famous for its coal, Newcastle is the largest coal exporting harbour in the world, exporting 143 million tonnes of coal in 2022. Beyond the city, the Hunter Region possesses large coal deposits. Geologically, the area is located in the central-eastern part of the Sydney Basin.

Aboriginal history
Newcastle and the lower Hunter Region were traditionally occupied by the Awabakal and Worimi Aboriginal people, who called the area Malubimba.

Based on Aboriginal-language references documented in maps, sketches and geological descriptions, eight landmarks have been officially dual-named by the NSW Geographic Names Board with their traditional Aboriginal names. They include Nobbys Head also known as Whibayganba; Flagstaff Hill also known as Tahlbihn; Pirate Point also known as Burrabihngarn; Port Hunter also known as Yohaaba; Hunter River (South Channel) also known as Coquun; Shepherds Hill also known as Khanterin; Ironbark Creek also known as Toohrnbing and Hexham Swamp also known as Burraghihnbihng.

European settlement
In September 1797, Lieutenant John Shortland became the first European to explore the area. His discovery of the area was largely accidental; as he had been sent in search of a number of convicts who had seized a locally built vessel called Cumberland as she was sailing from Sydney Cove. While returning, Lt. Shortland entered what he later described as "a very fine river", which he named after New South Wales' Governor John Hunter. He returned with reports of the deep-water port and the area's abundant coal. Over the next two years, coal mined from the area was the New South Wales colony's first export.

Newcastle gained a reputation as a "hellhole" as it was a place where the most dangerous convicts were sent to dig in the coal mines as harsh punishment for their crimes. By the start of the 19th century the mouth of the Hunter River was being visited by diverse groups of men, including coal diggers, timber-cutters, and more escaped convicts. Philip Gidley King, the Governor of New South Wales from 1800, decided on a more positive approach to exploit the now obvious natural resources of the Hunter Valley. In 1801, a convict camp called King's Town (named after the governor) was established to mine coal and cut timber. In the same year, the first shipment of coal was dispatched to Sydney. This settlement closed less than a year later.

A settlement was again attempted in 1804, as a place of secondary punishment for unruly convicts. The settlement was named Coal River, also Kingstown and then renamed Newcastle, after the English city. The name first appeared by the commission issued by Governor King on 15 March 1804 to Lieutenant Charles Menzies of the marine detachment on HMS Calcutta (1795), then at Port Jackson, appointing him superintendent of the new settlement. The new settlement, comprising convicts and a military guard, arrived at the Hunter River on 27 March 1804 in three ships: HMS Lady Nelson (1798), the Resource and the James. The convicts were rebels from the 1804 Castle Hill convict rebellion. The link with Newcastle upon Tyne, England (its namesake) and also whence many of the 19th-century coal miners came, is still obvious in some of the place-names—such as Jesmond, Hexham, Wickham, Wallsend and Gateshead. Morpeth, New South Wales is a similar distance north of Newcastle as Morpeth, Northumberland is north of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Under Captain James Wallis, commandant from 1815 to 1818, the convicts' conditions improved, and a building boom began. Captain Wallis laid out the streets of the town, built the first church of the site of the present Christ Church Cathedral, erected the old gaol on the seashore, and began work on the breakwater which now joins Nobbys Head to the mainland. The quality of these first buildings was poor, and only the (much reinforced) breakwater survives. During this period, in 1816, the first school was built in Newcastle.

Newcastle remained a penal settlement until 1822, when the settlement was opened up to farming. As a penal colony, the military rule was harsh, especially at Limeburners' Bay, on the inner side of Stockton peninsula. There, convicts were sent to burn oyster shells for making lime. Military rule in Newcastle ended in 1823. Prisoner numbers were reduced to 100 (most of these were employed on the building of the breakwater), and the remaining 900 were sent to Port Macquarie.

Civilian government and onwards
After removal of the last convicts in 1823, the town was freed from the infamous influence of the penal law. It began to acquire the aspect of a typical Australian pioneer settlement, and a steady flow of free settlers poured into the hinterland.

During the nineteenth century the formation of the Newcastle & Hunter River Steamship Company saw the establishment of regular steamship services from Morpeth and Newcastle with Sydney. The company had a fleet of freighters as well as several fast passenger vessels, including the PS Newcastle and the PS Namoi. The Namoi had first-class cabins with the latest facilities.

Because of the coal supply, small ships plied between Newcastle and Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Adelaide, carrying coal to gas works and bunkers for shipping, and railways. These were commonly known as sixty-milers, referring to the nautical journey between Newcastle and Sydney. These ships continued in service until recent times.

1920s to present
During World War II, Newcastle was an important industrial centre for the Australian war effort. In 1942, the Japanese planned to attack Sydney Harbour. On the early hours of 8 June, the Japanese submarine JAPANESE SUBMARINE I-21 briefly shelled Newcastle. Among the areas hit within the city were dockyards, the Newcastle Steelworks, Parnell Place in the city's East End, the breakwall and Art Deco Ocean baths. There were no casualties in the attack and damage was minimal. The Port of Newcastle remains the economic and trade centre for the resource-rich Hunter Valley and for much of the north and north-west of New South Wales. Newcastle is the world's largest coal export port and Australia's oldest and second-largest tonnage throughput port, with over 3,000 shipping movements handling cargo of 95.8 Mt per annum, of which coal exports represented 90.8 Mt in 2008–09. The volume of coal exported, and attempts to increase coal exports, are opposed by environmental groups including Newcastle-based Rising Tide Australia. These have undertaken various protests targeting the export of coal from the city, such as in 2023 when 3000 people took part in a water based blockade and 109 were arrested. Newcastle had a shipbuilding industry with the Walsh Island Dockyard & Engineering Works, State Dockyard and Forgacs Shipyard. In recent years the only major ship-construction contract awarded to the area was the construction of the Huon-class minehunters. The era of extensive heavy industry passed when the steel works closed in 1999. Many of the remaining manufacturing industries have located themselves well away from the city itself.

Newcastle has one of the oldest theatre districts in Australia. Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street is the oldest purpose-built theatre in the country. The theatre district that occupied the area around what is now the Hunter Street Mall vanished during the 1940s. The old city centre has seen some new apartments and hotels built in recent years, but the rate of commercial and retail occupation remains low while alternate suburban centres have become more important. The CBD itself is shifting to the west, towards the major urban renewal area known as "Honeysuckle". This renewal, to run for another 10 years, is a major part of arresting the shift of business and residents to the suburbs. Commercial renewal has been accompanied by cultural renaissance. There is a vibrant arts scene in the city including a highly regarded art gallery, and an active Hunter Writers' Centre. Recent fictional representations (for example Antoinette Eklund's 'Steel River') present a new vision of the city, using the city's historic past as a backdrop for contemporary fiction.

The old central business district, located at Newcastle's eastern end, still has a considerable number of historic buildings, dominated by Christ Church Cathedral, seat of the Anglican Bishop of Newcastle. Other noteworthy buildings include Fort Scratchley, the Ocean Baths, the old Customs House, the 1920s City Hall, the 1890s Longworth Institute (once regarded as the finest building in the colony) and the 1930s art deco University House (formerly NESCA House, seen in the film Superman Returns).

Geography
Newcastle is on the southern bank of the Hunter River mouth. The northern side is dominated by sand dunes, swamps and multiple river channels. A "green belt" protecting plant and wildlife flanks the city from the west (Watagan mountains) around to the north where it meets the coast just north of Stockton. Urban development is mainly restricted to the hilly southern bank. The small town of Stockton sits opposite central Newcastle at the river mouth and is linked by ferry. Road access between Stockton and central Newcastle is via the Stockton Bridge, a distance of 20 km. Much of the city is undercut by the coal measures of the Sydney sedimentary basin, and what were once numerous coal-mining villages located in the hills and valleys around the port have merged into a single urban area extending southwards to Lake Macquarie. The Greater Newcastle area is situated right between the Central Coast and Mid North Coast regions, with the Central Coast bordering in the south and the Mid North Coast bordering in the north as well as other Hunter local government areas (outside of Newcastle) bordering in the west and north-west.

Parks
Newcastle has several public parks including King Edward Park, which was designated in 1863. Features of the park include coastal views, a sunken garden and a Victorian rotunda. Another noteworthy park of Newcastle is Starrett Park in New Lambton, known for its playground and lush grass.

Climate
Newcastle has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) that is typical of the Australian east coast. Precipitation is heaviest in late autumn and early winter, while the second half of the year is slightly drier on average. The climate is generally moderated by the Pacific Ocean to the east. Summers are mostly warm and humid with periods of very dry and hot weather occasionally due to hot west to north-westerly winds, which can bring temperatures in excess of 40 C. The highest recorded temperature was 42.5 C on 18 January 2013 at the Nobbys Head weather station.

Winters are generally mild with drier conditions than summer on average. Cold fronts affect the area and sometimes bring strong westerly winds behind them, but due to the foehn effect they generally provide clear conditions as the region lies leeward of the Great Dividing Range. The lowest recorded temperature was 1.8 C on 27 July 1986. East coast lows also impact Newcastle, sometimes delivering winds well above 100 kph and torrential rainfall, usually lasting a couple of days. The east coast low in May 1974, the June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms and April 2015 are extreme examples of this type of weather.

Demographics
The metropolitan area of Newcastle is the second-most-populous area in New South Wales to Sydney.

What is generally labelled as the 'Greater Newcastle Area' includes the LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock and Port Stephens. In 2021 this region had a total population of 682,465.

Of people in the Newcastle metropolitan area, 83.6 per cent were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were England 2.3%, New Zealand 1.0%, China 0.7%, India 0.5% and Philippines 0.4%. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 3.8% of the population. 88.2% of people spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Mandarin 0.7%, Macedonian 0.5%, Italian 0.4%, Greek 0.3% and Cantonese 0.3%. The most common responses for religion in Newcastle were No Religion 31.1%, Catholic 21.7% and Anglican 19.2%.

Newcastle is often quoted as being the seventh-largest city in Australia. This is misleading as the area represented extends well beyond both the City of Newcastle and the Newcastle metropolitan area. The area, officially the Newcastle Statistical District, is referred to as Greater Newcastle or the Lower Hunter Region, which includes most parts of the Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock, Maitland and Port Stephens local government areas and, as of 30 June 2009, has an estimated population of 540,796. Despite their proximity, all of the LGAs in the region maintain their own individual identities, separate from Newcastle.

The population of the suburb of Newcastle is 3,852 as of the 2021 census.

The demonym for the people of Newcastle is "Novocastrian", derived from Latin novus (new) and castra (castle or fort).

Coal
Coal mining began in earnest on 3 May 1833 when the Australian Agricultural Company received land grants at Newcastle plus a 31-year monopoly on that town's coal traffic. Other collieries were within a 16 km radius of the town. Principal coal mines were located at Stockton, Tighes Hill, Carrington and the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company's collieries at Merewether (includes the Glebe), Wallsend and the Waratah collieries. All operations had closed by the early 1960s.

On 10 December 1831, the Australian Agricultural Company officially opened Australia's first railway, at the intersection of Brown & Church Streets, Newcastle. Privately owned and operated to service the A Pit coal mine, it was a cast-iron fishbelly rail on an inclined plane as a gravitational railway.

Copper
In the 1850s, a major copper smelting works was established at Burwood, near Merewether. An engraving of this appeared in The Illustrated London News on 11 February 1854. The English and Australian Copper Company built another substantial works at Broadmeadow circa 1890, and in that decade the Cockle Creek Smelter was built.

Soap
The largest factory of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere was constructed in 1885, on an 8.9 ha site between the suburbs of Tighes Hill and Port Waratah, by Charles Upfold, from London, for his Sydney Soap and Candle Company, to replace a smaller factory in Wickham. Their soap products won 17 medals at International Exhibitions. At the Sydney International Exhibition they won a bronze medal "against all-comers from every part of the world", the only first prize awarded for soap and candles. Following World War I the company was sold to Messrs Lever & Kitchen (today Unilever), and the factory closed in the mid-1930s.

Steel
In 1911, BHP chose the city as the site for its steelworks due to the abundance of coal. The land put aside was prime real estate, on the southern edge of the harbour. In 1915, the BHP steelworks opened, beginning a period of some 80 years dominating the steel works and heavy industry. As Mayfield and the suburbs surrounding the steelworks declined in popularity because of pollution, the steelworks thrived, becoming the region's largest employer.

Economic challenges
Newcastle as a traditional area of heavy industry was not immune from the effects of economic downturns that plagued New South Wales and wider Australia since the 1970s. These downturns were particularly hard hitting for heavy industry which was particularly prevalent in Newcastle. The early 1990s recession caused significant job losses across Australia and the Newcastle region experienced a peak unemployment rate of 17% in February 1993, compared to 12.1% in New South Wales and 11.9% across Australia.

In 1999, the steelworks closed after 84 years' operation and had employed about 50,000 during its existence, many for decades. The closure of the BHP steelworks occurred at a time of strong economic expansion in Australia. At the time of the closure and since the closure Newcastle experienced a significant amount of economic diversification which has strengthened the local economy.

Since 2003, Australia experienced the effects of the 2000s commodities boom as commodities prices for major export good such as coal and iron ore rose significantly. This provided a large incentive for investment in the Newcastle and Hunter region due to its status as a major coal mining and export hub to Asian markets. Large projects related to the coal industry helped to propel the Newcastle unemployment rate to 20 year lows and allow the Newcastle region to weather the effects of the late 2000s recession better than NSW as a whole. As of 2009, the two largest single employers are the Hunter New England Area Health Service and the University of Newcastle. The National Stock Exchange of Australia (formerly Newcastle Stock Exchange) was formerly based in the city.

Government and politics
With its history as a traditionally working-class area, Newcastle has been a stronghold for the centre-left Labor Party at all levels of politics since Federation. Labor currently holds every federal and state seat that overlaps at least partially with Newcastle.

The only area of Greater Newcastle where the centre-right Liberal Party has ever been consistently competitive is the Port Stephens region in the north of the Newcastle metropolitan area, as well as in some beachside, middle-class suburbs near the Newcastle CBD such as Bar Beach and Merewether. The Port Stephens area is traditionally marginal and while historically was dominated by Labor, has been won by the Liberals.

One time the Liberals did win seats in Newcastle was at the 2011 state election. At this election, the incumbent Labor government, led by then-Premier Kristina Keneally, was defeated by the Liberal-National Coalition, led by then-Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell, in a landslide, suffering the worst ever defeat of a sitting government in New South Wales history and (at the time) the worst defeat of a sitting government anywhere in Australia since World War II. Labor won just 20 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly; of these, only two (Cessnock and Wallsend) were in the Hunter Region. Before the election, the Liberal Party only held one seat in the entire Hunter Region (the seat of Port Stephens, which the party narrowly gained from Labor in 2007). However, at the subsequent state election in 2015, although the Coalition retained majority government (and subsequently retained government again in 2019 before Labor formed a minority government in 2023), the party lost all of its Hunter-based seats.There are three federal electoral divisions that are mostly or entirely within Greater Newcastle: Newcastle (covering the inner-city suburbs; this seat has only ever elected Labor MPs since it was created in 1901), Paterson (covering the Port Stephens area as well as the nearby city of Maitland and the town of Kurri Kurri; this seat is currently a marginal Labor seat that the Liberals have won previously, though it historically included more rural areas and did not include Maitland or Kurri Kurri) and Shortland (a fairly safe Labor seat that includes the eastern suburbs of the Lake Macquarie region in southern Newcastle, and extends to the far northeastern suburbs of the Central Coast). The traditionally Labor-held seat of Hunter (now a marginal Labor seat) is based around the western portion of the Hunter, but includes some western and Southern suburbs of Newcastle.

On the state level, there are five electoral districts that are located entirely within Greater Newcastle; of these, four (Charlestown, Newcastle, Port Stephens and Swansea) are Labor seats while the remaining seat (Lake Macquarie) is held by an independent.

Greater Newcastle also includes three local government areas (LGAs): the City of Newcastle, the City of Lake Macquarie and the Port Stephens Council.

Primary and secondary schools

Newcastle High School, which was formed by the merger of three schools, traces its lineage to a secondary school section initially founded on the grounds of Newcastle East Public School.

There are three selective state schools in the area:
 * Hunter School of the Performing Arts, a fully selective Years 3–12 school, taking students only by audition
 * Merewether High School, a fully selective high school in the suburb of Broadmeadow
 * Hunter Sports High School, a partially selective sporting high school, accepting around half its students from the local area and around half by audition

The three main independent schools in Newcastle are Newcastle Grammar School Hunter Valley Grammar School, and St Philip's Christian College, both coeducational K–12 schools.

The local area is also home to two Steiner schools: the Newcastle Waldorf School at Glendale in Lake Macquarie, and the Linuwel Steiner School in East Maitland.

Tertiary and further education
The city's main provider of tertiary education is the University of Newcastle. It was established in 1951 as a satellite campus of the University of New South Wales and obtained autonomy in 1965. The university now offers over 150 undergraduate and graduate courses to a student population of more than 38,000, including 7,000 international students from more than 113 countries. The main campus is in the suburb of Callaghan about 12 km from the CBD.

There are three campuses of the Hunter Institute of TAFE, one located in the Newcastle CBD, one in the suburb of Hamilton East and the other located in the suburb of Tighes Hill. The Tighes Hill campus is the network's largest campus and offers courses in business, hospitality and various trades.

Festivals
Newcastle holds a variety of cultural events and festivals.

The Newcastle Regional Show is held in the Newcastle Showground annually. There are a mixture of typical regional show elements such as woodchopping displays, showbags, rides and stalls and usually fireworks to complement the events in the main arena. The Mattara festival, founded in 1961, is the official festival of Newcastle with a more traditional "country fair" type program that combines a parade, rides, sporting events, band competitions and portrait and landscape painting exhibitions. Mattara means "hand of friendship" in the local Awabakal language. Originally held at Civic Park and then moved to Newcastle foreshore in 2006 In 2017 the festival was moved to Wallsend Park.

The Newcastle Jazz Festival is held across three days in August, and attracts performers and audiences from all over Australia. The first festival was held in September 1988 as part the NSW Bicentenital Festival of Music which was organised by the Newcastle Jazz Action Society.

The Shoot Out 24 Hour Filmmaking Festival, first started in Newcastle in 1999. This is the film festival where film-makers come together in one place to make a short film in 24 hours. It is run annually in July.

This Is Not Art is a national festival of new media and arts held in Newcastle each year over the October long weekend. Since its humble beginnings in 1998, it has become one of the leading arts festivals in Australia dedicated to the work and ideas of communities not included in other major Australian arts festivals. The umbrella program includes the independent festivals Electrofringe, the National Young Writers' Festival, Critical Animals, Sound Summit, Crack Theatre Festival and other projects that vary from year to year.

The Newcastle Entertainment Centre, located inside the Newcastle Showground is a popular venue for regular events including wrestling, concerts and monster truck shows.

Music
Newcastle has an active youth music culture, as well as a Conservatorium of Music which is part of the University of Newcastle. It continues to support local bands and has a large underground music scene. The members of Silverchair, the highly successful Australian band, hail from Newcastle, as do the Australian bands The Screaming Jets and Vacations (band). It has a fertile punk rock and hardcore scene, which has spawned successful local acts and national acts. Newcastle was also home to the short-lived band Velvet Underground (no relation to the famous American band The Velvet Underground) which featured future AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young. The region also has its own youth marching band, the Marching Koalas, in which Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies began his drumming career.

Visual arts and galleries
Notable modernist artists associated with Newcastle are seascape sketcher Shay Docking (1928–1998), the cubist-influenced abstract painter William Rose (1929–1999), landscape painter John Olsen, who was born in Newcastle in 1928, still-life painter Margaret Olley, portraitist William Dobell and figurative painter John Montefiore lived at Lake Macquarie to the south of the city. Art collector William Bowmore resided in Newcastle and collected Brett Whiteley paintings as well as owning a large collection of international art and artefacts. The Von Bertouch Galleries was a commercial gallery founded by Anne Von Bertouch and for more than forty years from 1963 exhibited nationally and locally known artists.

The Newcastle Art Gallery is home to one of Australia's most substantial public art collections outside a major capital city, and its extensive collection of works by contemporary and historical Australian visual artists presents an overview of Australian art. Due to an ongoing space issue, the gallery is planning a major redevelopment. The Lock Up is a multidisciplinary contemporary art space located in the inner city and hosts local, national and international artists to exhibit in the historic former Newcastle Police station.

Theatre
Newcastle has a variety of smaller theatres, but the main theatre in the CBD is now the Civic, at Wheeler Place, (seating capacity about 1,500), one of Australia's great historic theatres built during 1929 in Art Deco style. It hosts a wide range of musicals, plays, concerts, dance and other events each year. Newcastle previously boasted several large theatres, among them the oldest purpose-built theatre in Australia, the Victoria Theatre on Perkins Street (built 1876, capacity 1,750), saw touring international opera companies such as the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, and other troupes, and played host to some of the greatest stars of the age, such as Dame Nellie Melba, Gladys Moncrieff and Richard Tauber (it is now closed and derelict); the Century, Nineways, Broadmeadow (built 1941, capacity 1,800)—although largely used as a cinema—was a popular Symphony orchestra venue (demolished 1990 after being severely damaged by the 1989 earthquake); the Hunter (capacity 1,000) at The Junction, had advanced modern stage facilities, but was eventually sold and demolished to make way for a motel that was destroyed by the 1989 earthquake. The decline in theatres and cinemas from the 1960s onwards was blamed on television.

Newcastle has also been home to noted Australian actors, comedians and entertainers, including Sarah Wynter, John Doyle (part of comic act Roy & HG), Susie Porter, Celia Ireland, Yahoo Serious and Jonathan Biggins. The cast of the Tap Dogs show also come from Newcastle.

Media arts
Newcastle is home to the Octapod Association, a New Media Arts collective established in 1996. Octapod presents the annual This Is Not Art Festival and is also home to the Podspace Gallery.

Museums
The Newcastle Museum was founded in 1988 in the former headquarters of the Great Northern Railway and stewards local history, culture, industry and science. It features permanent exhibitions relating to coal mining and steel production, Aboriginal history and the area's history, as well as a hands-on science centre.

Libraries
Newcastle has a public library system, Newcastle Libraries. The main branch is in the Newcastle War Memorial and Cultural Centre, and opened in 1957. There are eleven branches: Adamstown, Beresfield, The Digital Library (Newcastle West), Hamilton, Lambton, The Local History Library, Mayfield, New Lambton (with the Newcastle Toy Library), Stockton, and Wallsend. The library has a collaborative collection with the libraries at Dungog and Port Stephens. Though Newcastle Libraries are lending libraries, The stack (City Library basement) has over 100,000 non-lending items which include old Newcastle Morning Heralds, NBN film reels, land title documents, maps, and limited edition books.

The Auchmuty Library at the University of Newcastle is also open to the public, though only students may borrow items.

Transport
Like most major cities, the Newcastle metropolitan area has an extensive system of both road links and road based public transport services (bus, taxi etc.) which cover most areas of both Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and which extend beyond the metropolitan area itself. Rail transport, however, is accessible to only a relatively small percentage of the population along the major rail transport routes and ferry services are restricted to those commuting between Newcastle and Stockton. Within the metropolitan area the car remains the dominant form of transportation. Newcastle, like all major Australian urban centres, had a tram system, but it was closed in 1950. In February 2019, trams returned to the city with the opening of the Newcastle Light Rail.

Road
Newcastle is connected to surrounding cities by the Pacific Motorway (south), Hunter Expressway (west), New England Highway (west) and the Pacific Highway (north and south). Hunter Street is the main shopping street in the Newcastle CBD and, along with King Street, is one of the major links to the Pacific Highway from the CBD. King Street provides direct access to the Newcastle Link Road and then the Pacific Motorway and Hunter Expressway.

Bus

Bus services within Newcastle are operated by Newcastle Transport. Prior to July 2017, these were operated by Newcastle Buses & Ferries. Hunter Valley Buses, Port Stephens Coaches and Rover Coaches also operate services into the CBD from other parts of the Hunter Region.

The network radiates from a bus terminal at Newcastle Interchange. Major interchanges are located at the University of Newcastle, Wallsend, Glendale, Warners Bay, Belmont, Charlestown Square and Westfield Kotara.

Greyhound Australia, Premier Motor Service and Sid Fogg's long-distance services serve Newcastle.

Rail
The Newcastle area is serviced by two NSW TrainLink intercity lines providing local and regional commuter services terminating at Newcastle Interchange along the Newcastle line. The Central Coast & Newcastle Line has twice-hourly train services to Sydney and the Central Coast. The Hunter Line has twice-hourly services to Maitland and less frequently to Scone and Dungog. Two long-distance lines operate through the Newcastle area using Broadmeadow station. These provide services to Moree, Armidale, Brisbane and Sydney. Newcastle once had rail passenger services to Belmont and Toronto, on Lake Macquarie, Wallsend, Kurri Kurri and several towns and villages between Maitland and Cessnock on the South Maitland Railway, but these lines have been closed. In the late-1990s there was intense debate about the future of the rail line into central Newcastle.

In December 2014, the Newcastle line was curtailed to Hamilton. A new Newcastle Interchange opened on 15 October 2017. The Newcastle Light Rail line also operates from here.

From 1924 until 1994, Broadmeadow Locomotive Depot was the main railway centre for the Hunter region. Cardiff Locomotive Workshops opened in 1928, primarily as a major repair centre for New South Wales Government Railways locomotives, although it did build twelve 38 class and two 58 class locomotives. Today it is operated by Downer Rail and along with UGL Rail's Broadmeadow plant, remains active as a locomotive and rolling stock manufacturer and repairer.

Water
The Port of Newcastle is crucial to the economic life of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley region beyond. Over 90 million tonnes of coal is shipped through the facility each year—making it the largest coal exporting port in the world. The Port of Newcastle claims to be Australia's first port. Coal was first exported from the harbour in 1799.

Newcastle Transport operates a ferry service across the Hunter River between Newcastle's CBD and Stockton.

Airport
Newcastle Airport is located 15 km north of the Newcastle CBD (27 km by road). The airport, which is a joint venture between Newcastle City Council and Port Stephens Council, has experienced rapid growth since 2000 as a result of an increase in low-cost airline operations. The airport is located at RAAF Base Williamtown, a Royal Australian Air Force base on land leased from the Department of Defence.

Newcastle Heliport operates alongside the lower section of Newcastle Harbour.

The suburb of Broadmeadow is home to the base of the Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service. The Helicopter service is one of the longest running services of this type in the world. Two helicopters operate out of this base and operate 24 hours a day.

The closure of Belmont Airport, commonly referred to as Aeropelican, in the Lake Macquarie suburb of Marks Point has caused Williamtown to become Newcastle's only major airport and residents in the south of the Newcastle metropolitan area must commute up to 55 km by car to reach Williamtown.

Rugby league
Rugby league is the most popular sport in Newcastle, with the Newcastle Knights representing the city in the National Rugby League. The Knights play at the 33,000-capacity McDonald Jones Stadium, situated in the suburb of.

The Newcastle Rugby League holds local club competition and has done so since the early 1900s. Touring domestic and international teams would play against Newcastle's representative team which was made up of players from this league. The Newcastle & Hunter Rugby League is a community competition also based in the region which was created from a merger in 2007 of leagues which ran under various names since the mid-20th century, and is the largest community rugby league competition anywhere in the world. It generally features smaller teams compared to the Newcastle Rugby League.

McDonald Jones Stadium hosted the 2016 Anzac Test between Australia and New Zealand.

Soccer

The Newcastle Jets Football Club, which plays in Australia's highest-level soccer competition, the A-League, also play at McDonald Jones Stadium. The Newcastle Jets won the A-League competition in their third season, defeating local rivals the Central Coast Mariners in the grand final.

The city also played host to 4 games of the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, including the semi-final between Australia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the third-place playoff between the United Arab Emirates and Iraq.

Basketball
Newcastle has had two teams in the top tier of Australian Men's basketball, the National Basketball League. They were the Newcastle Falcons (NBL) and later the Hunter Pirates. Both teams folded due to financial difficulties. Newcastle is still represented in the 2nd tier, the NBL1. The Newcastle Basketball club field Men's and Women's teams, using the Newcastle Falcons (NBL1) name again.

The city co-hosted the 1985 FIBA Oceania Championship where Australia's national basketball team won its seventh straight title.

Cricket
A bid for Newcastle to establish a 2012 team in the national Twenty20 competition the Big Bash League, with games played at either Hunter Stadium or No.1 Sports Ground was unsuccessful.

Australian rules
The sport of Australian rules is played in Newcastle and administered by AFL Hunter Central Coast. Australian Football League (AFL) pre-season matches have been held at the No.1 Sports Ground.

Rugby union
Rugby union is a football code that has been played in Newcastle since at least 1869, with the Newcastle Football Club formed in 1877. Newcastle and Hunter Rugby Union is the main body overseeing the sport in the region. In 2019, the New South Wales Waratahs of the professional Super Rugby competition played a competition match in Newcastle at Hunter Stadium for the first time.

Horse racing
Newcastle Racecourse is in the suburb of Broadmeadow. It is home to the Newcastle Jockey Club, established in 1907, which races 35 times annually at the spacious 2000 m turf track with a 415 m home straight. It is the venue for three Group 3 races: in March is the 1400 m Newcastle Newmarket Handicap; and in September the 1,400-metre Cameron Handicap, and the 2300 m Newcastle Gold Cup. In 2015 work an inner track, known as the Beaumont Track, was added.

Aboriginal jockey Merv Maynard commenced his career at Newcastle Racecourse, under Keith Tinson. Maynard enjoyed his first success in the 1948–49 season there, and went on to have a career spanning 50 years, winning the Newcastle Premiership twice, along with 1,500 winning rides in four countries.

Ice hockey and skating
The Newcastle North Stars are Newcastle's representatives in the Australian Ice Hockey League championships. Originally based in Newcastle West in the 1970 and '80s, the North Stars now play out of the Hunter Ice Skating Stadium in Warners Bay.

Motorsport
Newcastle hosted the final round of the Supercars Championship in 2017. The Newcastle 500 is held on the Newcastle Street Circuit in the East End of the city. The city previously hosted the Mattara Hillclimb which was held in King Edward Park, and has hosted the F1 Offshore Powerboats in the harbour.

Netball
The Hunter Jaegers (Commonwealth Bank Trophy – Netball) were based at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre. They became defunct in 2007 after merging with the Sydney Swifts to become the New South Wales Swifts. Officially opened in June 1992, the Entertainment Centre offers 5,000 square metres of clear-span floor space and is capable of catering for capacities from 2,000 to 6,500 for entertainment-style events. The Centre was built to house the now-defunct Newcastle Falcons National Basketball League team and was also home to the Hunter Pirates before a lack of sponsorship forced them to close after the 2005–06 season, with the licence sold to the Singapore Slingers. The Slingers played one home game at the Centre during the 2006–07 season.

Water sports
Newcastle has an abundance of beaches and surf breaks for which the city is internationally well known. Newcastle hosts the annual surfing contest Surfest on the world professional surfing tour. Four-time world champion surfer Mark Richards grew up surfing at Newcastle's Merewether Beach, and is a local icon, appearing at many local functions, and supporting local charities. Nobbys Beach is a very popular kitesurfing spot, especially during the warm summer months when there are north-easterly sea breezes.

Media
Newcastle is served by a daily tabloid, The Herald (formerly The Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate and then The Newcastle Herald), several weeklies including the Newcastle Star, The Post and the bi-monthly The Hunter Advocate.

Other alternative media in the city include the university's student publications Opus and Yak magazine, Newcastle Mirage (a local arts and culture zine) and Urchin (a zine published by the media and arts organisation Octapod).

The city is also served by several local radio stations, including those owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and SBS. Newcastle is also served by five television networks, three commercial and two national services:
 * AM stations
 * 2HD (commercial) 1143 AM – Australia's second oldest existing radio station.
 * Radio 1629 Newcastle (off band commercial) 1629 AM
 * FM stations
 * Triple M Newcastle (commercial) 102.9 FM
 * hit106.9 Newcastle (commercial) 106.9 FM
 * New FM (commercial) 105.3 FM
 * 2NUR (community) 103.7 FM
 * Rhema FM Newcastle (Christian) 99.7 FM
 * Government broadcasters
 * Australian Broadcasting Corporation
 * ABC Newcastle local radio 1233 AM
 * ABC Radio National 1512 AM
 * ABC NewsRadio (News and Parliament) 1458 AM
 * Triple J (youth station) 102.1 FM
 * ABC Classic FM (classical music) 106.1 FM
 * Special Broadcasting Service
 * SBS Radio (foreign-language service) 1413 AM
 * Narrowcast stations
 * Sky Sports Radio (as part of statewide network) 1341 AM
 * Newy 87.8 FM
 * Raw FM 88.0 FM

 * Nine Northern NSW – Nine Network owned and operated. Pre-aggregation, NBN Television was the incumbent commercial station in the Newcastle region.
 * WIN Television's 10 Northern NSW – Network 10 affiliate
 * Seven Northern NSW – Seven Network owned and operated
 * ABC Television
 * SBS Television

Nine airs NBN News live from their Honeysuckle studios each night at six. The bulletin is a mix of its own locally produced stories mixed in with national and international stories sourced from the Nine Network. Local news updates are aired by the Seven, Nine (as NBN News) and WIN Television throughout the day to fulfil local content quotas.

1989 earthquake
On 28 December 1989, Newcastle experienced an earthquake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, which killed 13 people, injured 162 and destroyed or severely damaged a number of prominent buildings. Some had to be demolished, including the large George Hotel in Scott Street (city), the Century Theatre at Broadmeadow, the Hunter Theatre (formerly 'The Star') and the majority of The Junction school at Merewether. Part of the Newcastle Workers' Club, a popular venue, was destroyed and later replaced by a new structure. The following economic recession of the early 1990s meant that the city took several years to recover. However, Beaumont Street, Hamilton, where many buildings sustained major damage, became a thriving cosmopolitan restaurant strip after the earthquake and is still going strong today. The earthquake helped to rekindle business in this suburban strip.

June 2007 Hunter Region and Central Coast storms

On 8 June 2007 the Hunter and Central Coast regions were battered by the worst series of storms to hit New South Wales in 30 years. This resulted in extensive flooding and nine deaths. Thousands of homes were flooded, and many were destroyed. The Hunter and Central Coast regions were declared natural disaster areas by the State Premier, Morris Iemma, on 8 June 2007. Further flooding was predicted by the Bureau of Meteorology but was less severe than predicted.

During the early stages of the storms, the 225 m bulk carrier ship Pasha Bulker ran aground at Nobbys Beach after failing to heed warnings to move offshore. After the first few attempts failed, the Pasha Bulker was refloated on the third salvage attempt on 2 July 2007 despite earlier fears that the ship would break up. After initially entering the port for minor repairs, it departed under tow on 26 July 2007 for major repairs in Asia.

Maritime
On 12 July 1866, a paddle steamer the SS Cawarra, on its way to Brisbane from Newcastle carrying 60 passengers, was caught in a storm as it made its way out of the harbour. Sixty people died; coincidentally, one survivor, Frederick Hedges, was plucked from the water by the sole survivor of the Dunbar that had sunk in Sydney Harbour nine years earlier.

The most tragic maritime accident of the 20th century in Newcastle occurred on 9 August 1934 when the Stockton-bound ferry Bluebell collided with the coastal freighter, Waraneen, and sank in the middle of the Hunter River. The Bluebell Collision claimed three lives and fifteen passengers were admitted to the Newcastle Hospital, with two suffering severely from the effects of immersion. It was later found that the ferry captain was at fault.

These are only two events in Newcastle's very long history of shipwrecks including the 1974 beaching of the MV Sygna, and the 2007 beaching of the Pasha Bulker.

Aviation
On 16 August 1966, an RAAF CAC Sabre crashed into the inner-city suburb of The Junction. The pilot, Flying Officer Warren William Goddard, experienced engine troubles and unsuccessfully tried to get the plane over the Pacific Ocean. The Junction is a highly populated suburb of Newcastle and most of the plane wreckage landed in the shopping area of the suburb. In 2007 a memorial plaque was unveiled for the killed pilot.

Heritage listings
Newcastle has a number of heritage-listed sites, including:

 * Argyle Street: Argyle House
 * 48–50 Bolton Street: David Cohen & Co. Warehouse
 * 58 Bolton Street: Old Newcastle East Public School
 * Bond Street: Coutt's Sailors Home
 * 1 Bond Street: Newcastle Customs House
 * 51 Brown Street: Newcastle Reservoirs
 * Church Street: Church and Watt Street Terrace Group
 * 9 Church Street: Newcastle Court House
 * Great Northern railway: Honeysuckle Point Railway Workshops
 * Great Northern railway: Newcastle railway station
 * 21 Hillcrest Road: The Ridge
 * 45 Hunter Street: T & G Mutual Life Assurance Building
 * 96 Hunter Street: Newcastle Post Office
 * 359–361 Hunter Street: Frederick Ash Building
 * 289 King Street: Newcastle City Hall
 * 300 King Street: Nesca House
 * 434 King Street, Newcastle West: Miss Porter's House
 * Nobby's Road: Coal River Precinct
 * Pacific Street: Old Newcastle Club Building
 * 8–10 Perkins Street: Victoria Theatre
 * 89 Scott Street: Great Northern Hotel
 * 98 Scott Street: Convict Lumber Yard
 * Shortland Esplande: Bogey Hole
 * 41 The Terrace: Shepherds Hill military installations
 * 35–37 Watt Street: Manufacturers House
 * 72 Watt Street: Newcastle Government House

Twin towns – sister cities

 * 🇬🇧 Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
 * Pohang, North Gyeongsang, South Korea
 * 🇯🇵 Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
 * 🇺🇸 Arcadia, California, United States

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Newcastle, New South Wales