On this page members of the Maitland and District Historical Society are sharing their research into a variety of aspects of the history of our locality. New stories will be added as they become available.

Use search to find stories about the person, place, topic or keyword you are interested in.

Lawrence Henderson 26/5/22 Lawrence Henderson 26/5/22

East Maitland to Hexham railway 1855-1857

Part 2 of Lawrence Henderson’s account of the building of the Great Northern Railway.

Lawrence Henderson 26/5/22 Lawrence Henderson 26/5/22

Hunter River Railway Company 1853-1855

Part 1 of an account of the building of the Great Northern Railway.

Chas Keys 23/5/22 Chas Keys 23/5/22

Nowland’s Gap

William Nowland is credited with pioneering a major crossing of the Great Dividing Range near today’s Murrurundi.

Chas Keys 23/5/22 Chas Keys 23/5/22

Sex in the town

Prostitution flourished in early Maitland and Morpeth, aided by an unbalanced gender ratio and a lack of employment opportunities for women.

Chas Keys 23/5/22 Chas Keys 23/5/22

The first failed attempt to move Maitland

Two early proposals to relocate West Maitland as a means of eliminating or reducing the severity of the flood problem were flawed and fruitless.