Sparke Street Twilight Birds

The power lines along Sparke Street attract large flocks of birds around sunset. Last night the Indian Mynas (ugh!) were out in force ... silhouetted against the western sky.

Revitalisation of a city street

This article was forwarded to me by Susan, City of Newcastle, as a great example of pride of place / place making / community development. It's inspiring to read about the success of a project similar to our Bright Sparkes!

Sparke Narratives

This website: http://www.jenwilletts.com/searchaction.php is full of interesting information!
Searching this website for 'sparke' reveals a host of fragmented narratives:

Sparke	William Andrew	-	1857 23 June	Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle	Marriages Register Book of Christchurch Cathedral, Newcastle 1858 - 1868 p6
	Marriage of William Andrew Sparke, farmer aged 25, son of William and Mary Ann Sparke and Elizabeth Tighe, daughter of Robert and Sarah Tighe aged 23.

Sparke	William and Mary Anne	-	1832 28 December	Webland Park	Register Book of Christ Church Cathedral Newcastle. Baptisms p18
	Occupation: Settler. Baptism of son William Andrew (b. 24 May 1832)

Sparke	William	-	1837 15 December	Newcastle	Newcastle Bench Books. AONSW Reel 2722
	Charles McMullens and Thomas Cartwright assigned to William Sparke charged with insolence and disobedience. McMullins sentenced to 25 lashes, Cartwright 2months on the treadmill in Sydney

Sparke	William	-	1828 Census	Woodlands	1828 Census
	Born in the colony. Aged 2 in 1828

Sparke	Matilda	-	1861 3 January	Honeysuckle Point	MM
	Infant daughter of W. Sparke. Died on 29th December aged 11 months

Sparke	Mary ann	-	1853 2 April	Hexham	MM
	Death of Mary Ann, beloved wife of William Sparke, on 29th March, leaving a family of 11 children. Aged 43

Regina v. Sparke	-	-	1846 4 July	Hexham	MM
	Sparke Edward senior - 1844 28 February Hexham True Sun and New South Wales Independent Press                 Died 19th Feb at his residence after a lingering illness aged 75yrs. Leaving a widow and 4 sons. Arrived in colony 23 Feb. 1824 Edward Sparke. To be sold if quit rent not paid: 18 dairy cows, 5 steers, 5 bullocks, 9 horses, gig, dray, cart, ploughs, pigs etc Sparke - - 1845 21 June Hexham MM                 Servant Henry Munds died after being kicked by a horse Sparke - - 1846 15 April East Maitland MM                 Played in Cricket Match held in Adam's Paddock   26341 Sparke - - 1826 2 January Newcatle SG                 Escapee from Newcastle gaol Michael Welsh captured at Sparke's farm Sparke - - 1840 15 November Maitland An Organised Banditti , p18                 Robbed of horses by bushrangers John Marshall and James Everett   78586 Sparke - - 1830 24 March Newcastle Australian                 Slaughter house at Newcastle. Soldiers of the 39th slaughtered cattle on a rampage on St. Patrick's Day Sparke - - 1852 13 March Hanging Rock MM                 From Hexham. Found gold at the Hanging Rock diggings which he sold to L.W. Levy   91028 Sparke - - 1831 9 February - NGE                 William Dunne per 'Andromeda' assigned servant sentenced to 7 days solitary confinement   97614 Sparke - - 1831 3 September Newcastle NGE                 Discharged from Newcastle gaol to the private service of Mr. Sparke Sparke A.B - 1831 1 September Hunter River SG                 David Jones accused by Sparke of neglecting a flock of sheep Sparke Albert - 1848 24 April Hexham Australian Births and Baptisms - Family Search Historical Records                 Baptism of Albert, son of William and Mary Ann Sparke (born 11 November 1846) Sparke Andrew - 1828 Woodlands 1828 Census                 Born in the colony. Aged 1 month in 1828 Sparke Andrew - 1830 18 November East Maitland BR                 Buried in Glebe Cemetery Sparke Andrew - 1830 4 December Maitland SG                 Son of Edward Sparke of Sydney. Accidently drowned in a lagoon 5 miles from Maitland. Supposed to have been thrown from his horse. Inquest held at Muir's Inn Sparke Edward - 1848 8 March Maitland MM                 Employee John White died after being kicked by a cow he was milking Sparke Edward - 1852 21 October Sydney SMH                 Mary Sparke, Died at the residence of her son on 20th October age 81 years. Relict of the late Edward Sparke of Hexham and formerly of Welland Farm South Brent, Devonshire

Who was Sparke?

I contacted Newcastle Region Library about the origin of 'Sparke'. They sent me a link to the Hunter place names index:
http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/services/newcastle_library/local_studies/local_studies_e-resources/hunter_place_names_index
which states that the origin is from a 'Mr W.A. Sparke, Alderman of Waratah Council'.
From: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0013/140251/SMITH_A.pdf
are the following listings from the Newcastle Morning Herald:

So there were mentions of Capt. A.E. Sparke who died in 1927; Clara Sparke 1929; E. Sparke 1925; W. Sparke - 66 years as a legal man in Newcastle 1948 and a death the same year;  W.A. Sparke mentioned as Mayor of Wickham in 1877 and a death in 1891; and so on.

A Google search of W.A. Sparke revealed much more information: http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/8809/civichistory_pre1920.pdf

Newcastle Civic and Cultural Precinct History ~ Cynthia Hunter ~ January 2003             page 14 

5.3 William Andrew Sparke’s property Webland, in Blane Street 

W A Sparke was one of the earliest purchasers of civic precinct land in Blane Street. 

In 1824 his father’s family came to New South Wales from England.  Menfolk were 

granted several large grazing estates in the Hunter Valley.  William’s father’s farm 

near Hexham was called Webland Park after Webland, their former estate in Devon. 

William Andrew Sparke married in 1857 and moved to live at Honeysuckle Point 

where he became proprietor of the largest butchering business in the district.  Sparke 

was a Newcastle alderman and mayor in 1870.  During his term in office the Borough 

Markets were built.  Members of his wife’s family also were notable in municipal and 

parliamentary affairs.  A brother-in-law was MLA for Northumberland and Post 

Master General in the 1860s and mayor of Newcastle in 1872. 

In 1870 W A Sparke built a brick two-storey Victorian residence named Webland for 

his large family.  Adjacent and at the rear were storerooms, a blacksmith shop and 

stables that housed racehorses.  In June 1889 these buildings and others adjoining

were threatened with destruction when John Ash’s nearby timber yard and sawmills 

caught fire.  Some cottages and businesses in the area were lost.9 

William Andrew Sparke died in 1891.  Although Elizabeth lived until 1906, the 

family appear to have moved from Webland because Dr D Robert Ferguson was in 

occupation in 1901.10  Webland was demolished to make way for the 1905 Frederick 

Ash retail building designed by Frederick Menkens.

So W.A. Sparke was William Andrew Sparke ... and there is more information on http://www.jenwilletts.com/williamsparke.htm.  According to this website, William Sparke (W.A. Sparke's father) was the son of Edward Sparke and Mary (nee Hosking) arriving in Australia on the 'Aguilar' 1824 and marrying Mary Ann Holt (granddaughter of 'General' Joseph Holt). They established an estate at Hexham called Webland Park and Barrahinebin (swamp land) was part of this estate. (I noticed that there was a Sparke Street in Hexham as well - that makes sense now!) William was the licensee of the Wheatsheaf Arms in the 1830s which became known as the Hexham Hotel around 1843. As mentioned above, their son William Andrew eventually referenced Webland for his home in Blane Street (Hunter Street).

Some of the mystery unravels ...

Drafting the neighbourhood invitation

Started drafting the invitation to the neighbourhood. We need to secure 75% support for the project - hopefully that won't be a problem!

Preferred Dates Set: 3 & 10 September 2011

Following a meeting yesterday, we're aiming to hold the lantern-making workshop on Saturday 3 September and the actual community-gathering on Saturday 10 September - hope that suits lots of neighbours!

What else is happening around the world on 10 September 2011 according to Google?

Place Making Principles

Here's some links from the Newcastle City Council website about the Place Making grants:

http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about_newcastle/place_making/place_making_principles

And about street parties:

http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about_newcastle/events/street_parties

Sparke Street Georgetown

Some facts about Georgetown can be found on the council's website: 

http://www.newcastle.nsw.gov.au/about_newcastle/city_and_suburbs/suburbs/georgetown

Image: Carolyn McKay 2011

Sparke Street: a brief background

Sparke Street is a quaint, narrow, residential street in the small suburb of Georgetown, Newcastle which began as a residential area in the late 1800s for industrial workers. There are approximately 64 homes in the street, with a mixture of long-term residents, families, newcomers and renovators.

Sparke Street on Google Maps

So where is Sparke Street?

http://maps.google.com/

Meeting with Newcastle Council and L!vesites

Last Tuesday, Carolyn met with Susan and Jenny from Newcastle Council as well as Paul from L!vesites to discuss Bright Sparkes. Everyone seems very enthusiastic about the project and ready to assist in making Sparke Street sparkle!

Bright Sparkes - Living Place Project

Image: Carolyn McKay 2011

Congratulations, Sparke Street Georgetown! We're the happy recipients of a grant from the City of Newcastle for the Bright Sparkes project. To summarise the event:

Bright Sparkes concept: Sparke Street residents (children and adults) will be invited to attend a 4 hour lantern-making workshop one Saturday. On the following Saturday evening, residents will decorate the street-side exterior of their homes with the lanterns, and the section of Sparke Street between Christo Road and Moate Street will be closed to traffic from 5.30 – 7.30 pm for a community gathering.  Residents can mingle on the street, meet more people from their immediate neighbourhood, enjoy the sight of tea light-lit lanterns and create a visual event for other visitors.

In order to get the ball rolling, a small group of residents will meet this weekend with a view to selecting 2 consecutive Saturdays in August 2011 for the lantern-making workshop and the actual community event.