THE COAL TRADE OF NEWCASTLE.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1315, 16 October 1872, Page 4

THE COAL TRADE OF NEWCASTLE.

In a speech made at a public luncheon at . Newcastle, N.S.W., a f 6wr days ago, Sir Hercules Robinson, the new Governor of New South Wales, is reported to have said : — It was interesting to look back upon the history of Newcastle. Fifty years ago it was thought a very rash speculation, when d gentleman, whose son, he believed, was present at that gathering, built a sloop of 50 tons for the pur* pose of trading between Sydney and what was then known as the Coal River. — (Laughter and cheers. ) In the year 1 829, the quantity , of. coal raised at Newcastle was 780 tons, valued at L 394. At that time a small cutter, called the Lord Liverpool, was the only Vessel trading between this port and Sydney—a voyage which occupied, sometimes, three or four weeks.— (Laughter.) But in the year 3871, the quantity of coal raised from the northern coal Gelds was 790,143* ton's, worth L274,322.— (L0ud cheers.): Of this quantity a quarter of a million tons of coal were exported from Newcastle to intercolonial ports.— (Applause.) As regards the trade of the port, he was of opinion that it rivalled the metropolitan port of Sydney. He found that during the year 1871, 1040 vessels, representing a carrying capacity of 376,378 tons, cleared out of the port of Newcastle for foreign and intercolonial ports, as against 2123 vessels of 794,46 V tons for the,, whole of. the Colony. From this they would be able to see the progress the port of Newcastle had made. Instead of a single cutter of 80 tons trading to Sydney, they had a large trade, which brought them into direct communication with all parts of the world. The great success they had achieved was not surpassed by anything he had ever heard or read of, except, perhaps, the fortunes of Aladdin, of which they had all read in their school days. The genius of the lamp was certainly their coal.— (Cheers.)