Hidden Hamilton

by Ruth Cotton

Hidden Hamilton captures the highlights of Ruth Cotton's popular blog about the stories, history and people of Hamilton, New South Wales.
Richly illustrated with historical and contemporary photos, the stories tell of the vision and determination of the people that transformed Hamilton from a dusty pit village into the vibrant multicultural Newcastle suburb of today.

98 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

About the author

I grew up on a sheep and cattle property in the north-west of New South Wales, Australia. After qualifying as a secondary school teacher at the University of New England in Armidale, I set off to explore my interest in other cultures. This led me to work in Fiji and, later, Malaysia. Back in Australia, I’ve enjoyed a varied and challenging career, mainly in health services management. Since retiring, I’ve blogged and written on the local history of my suburb, my family’s history and daily life with multiple sclerosis.
I was diagnosed with this incurable autoimmune disease in 1997, at the peak of my career and with three children still at home. My latest book, A fragile hold: Living with multiple sclerosis and other uncertainties is the first time I have written about living with chronic disease and its impact on my life.
In all, I’ve written five books, including the popular local history series Hidden Hamilton: Uncovering stories of Hamilton, NSW (2014) and More Hidden Hamilton: Further stories of people, place and community (2016).
I live with my husband in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.

Reviews

[Debbie Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently had the privilege of hearing Michael Sala talk about his book that is partly set in Newcastle, The Last Thread. He also discussed his work in progress. As a writer who was born in Holland but now lives in Newcastle, place is very important to him. He teaches creative writing and tells his student to think of place as a character.
I’m sure Ruth Cotton wouldn’t disagree. Place is a character. Lots of characters in fact. For Cotton, since moving to Hamilton in 2012, interest about buildings and history has led to investigation, countless hours of research to discovering the families of those who lived and worked in the buildings and now to people that have become part of her life and the wider community that follows Ruth’s blog created in 2013.
As Cotton writes in the introduction, “As I became more and more familiar with my new home, my fascination extended beyond a personal interest. In this post-industrial city, with the bones of its heritage poking through its skin, I glimpsed stories around every corner. Wanting to know more, but overwhelmed by the complexity of Newcastle, I decided to focus on Hamilton.”
Some of the people that Cotton discovered along the way are the AA Company’s Edward Terrick Hamilton, who the town was named after in 1871. Mr and Mrs Ramsay Gow the first owners of the marvellous house Fettercairn built in 1903. George Donald, a highly successful early retailer. There’s also more recently the cartoonist and artist Vlado Krstevski, Dave Sands a boxer, the Mook family, the Yanis family and particularly George Yanis former proprietor of Cibo Tapas Bar where I have enjoyed many a meal.
Among the culturally important and popular places in Hamilton which Cotton highlights are the Italian Centre, gay Hamilton, Gelateria Arena, Gow’s Drapery, Nina’s IGA and the Northern Star Cafe where I popped into last night.
I feel lucky to have such a place as Hamilton to visit and for those who live and work in Hamilton I’m sure they are very pleased Ruth Cotton has decided to call this fascinating place home.