Nobby’s Headland Open Days & Special Photography Exhibition

by Laura Wilson on March 9, 2011

You can now go up to Nobby’s Headland, one of the focal points of the City of Newcastle, and into a signal master’s cottage.

The Signal Master’s Cottage has been vacant for the past 15 years, and the headland hasn’t been open to the public in over 100 years. Thanks to the successful collaboration of Renew Newcastle, the Land and Property Management Authority (LPMA), Livesites, and SES volunteers, it is currently available for public access through a series of Open Days.

If the opportunity to see world-class views of the ocean, harbour, city and Nobbys beach are not enough, add an art exhibition with a difference - a series of photos taken by the Novocastrian public and published to Twitter (#newcastlemorningphoto) and Flickr. The images are some of the best you will see of Newcastle, from different areas, some quite insightful. The Newcastle Sundance Flickr group, led by John Valentine, is responsible for a large portion of the selected photos. The 320 members of the group get together, as the name suggests, at sunrise to take photographs and the results are truly beautiful.

In my excitement, I gathered some friends and went during the first public open day a few weeks ago. I was impressed by the overall organisation, found the natural beauty of the location incredible and the photography exhibition a delight.

Close Shave (below) by Corinne Patterson was not only humorous but also a unique insight into the back streets of Newcastle. Christopher May’s Heatwave was just so Aussie & the light and desolation of the street made the recent heatwave reappear in my mind. Siobhan Curran captured the interior of an old theatre in Islington depicting a vibrant past life. I found a particular attraction to Gerry Bobsien’s Home of the Brave after my recent article on graffiti. Ronnie Watts portrayed a flock of Red Necked Avocets from the Hunter wetlands in an image that had rhythm, balance, colour harmony, and pattern against the sky beyond. Kerry Mountford-Baylor’s Merewether Baths (below), which shows only the toes of the person floating in the blue water, was refreshing. John Valentine’s Timing 3, an image of Susan Gilmore beach, was a particular favourite.

Without getting too technical, it just works. As I was admiring the photographs, I found myself in conversation with one of the artists, Bernie Gibson, who is a keen member of the Sunrise Flickr group. Taken from a high vantage point, Gibson’s Gaggle of Photographers captures the group on the beach setting up for their morning photo. I enjoyed this picture as it reminded me of the technical skills, determination, and sheer work involved in carting the equipment that is behind these photographs, which, like a ballet, appear effortless.

If you’d like to see the view and this unique exhibition in person, there are some more Open Days coming up from 11 - 13 March 2011. Open from 10am - 4pm each day, entry is restricted to 125 people at any one time and you’ll need to book a (free) ticket (which you can do via Ticketek or on the day near Nobby’s Beach Car Park). This is a great opportunity to get inside our most recognisable landmark, so don’t miss out!