The TE Guide provides weekly entertainment listings and appears in Wednesday's Post free newspaper and Thursday's Newcastle Herald in print and online. The online version is not always kept up to date, so it is best to get hold of a print copy. Alternatively, look for Uturn streetpress, which is widely distributed to shops and libraries around town.
See Newcastle's Cathedral. Tour the inside and climb the tower, with a guided map.
Nobbys Island is connected to the mainland by a pier built using convict labour (completed in 1846). The pier is accessible to pedestrians, and is flanked by Nobbys Beach. It provides an excellent vantage point to take in views of the harbour and Stockton Beach across the water.
Opened in 2011, this museum is spread across three historic railway workshop buildings with permanent exhibitions on local history, the BHP steelworks and coal mining, and interactive science.
A historic site which now houses a military museum. The fort defended Newcastle in 1942 when a Japanese submarine surfaced shelling the city. Fort Scratchley has been refurbished and is open to the public, great views to the north and over the city are a highlight as is the history. Just east of the fort is Newcastle ocean baths a great place to swim and meet some local characters.
Incorporates a police museum and the John Paynter Gallery, which hosts resident artists all year round.
Well worth a visit. The gallery houses a high quality collection of works by Australian artists, and stages its own and travelling exhibitions.