Wilfred GooldPrint Page 
The plaque commemorates Wilfred Goold for his generosity to the Library of the Local History Department.
Today`s anniversary offers Newcastle people the inspiration to think back and then forward about their city. The occasion we celebrate — with rather limited enthusiasms, it must be said — is Newcastle's 150th birthday. Compared with cities of the old world, ours is still very young; yet it has been for few to attain a sesquicentenary with so striking a background of toil and efiort and achievement. From the men, bond and free, who founded the first settlement to the pioneers who blazed the trail of virile industrial enterprise, Newcastle's earliest history was made by the spirit of adventure, by courage and a mighty capacity to work and conquer difficulties. It is a story from which to seek inspiration to meet the challenges of our time. The future is always more important than the past. But if the celebration of this anniversary inspires us to look forward, we will do well to remember that Newcastle, to have a future longer than its past, must be true to that past. That we have something approaching a complete story of Newcastle's first 150 years is in a large measure due to the devoted work of a dedicated man. Back in 1937 Mr. Wilfred Goold, then an alderman of the city, was deputed to represent the council at a meeting that had been called with the object of founding a historical society. At that meeting he was elected president of the Newcastle and Hunter Historical Society and he has occupied the office ever since. Over the past 17 years Mr. Goold has been tireless in collecting and collating historical documents and relics relating to Newcastle and its hinterland. For his outstanding public service in this field, he was last year made a Fellow of the Royal Australian Historical Society. This organisation is housed in Sydney in a fine building called History House, which is at once the admiration and envy of members of the local branch, faced as they are with a storage space problem that has become acute. The celebration of its sesquicentenary presents to Newcastle an appropriate opportunity to set about laying the groundwork of a similar institution.
Newcastle Sun (NSW), 12 May 1953.
Location
| Address: | Laman Street, Newcastle City Library, War Memorial Cultural Centre, Newcastle , 2300 |
|---|---|
| State: | NSW |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -32.929236 Long: 151.772262 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Community |
| Approx. Event End Date: | 1957 |
Dedication
The Local History Department
Of This Library Was Created In 1957
By The Gift Of
WILFRED J. GOOLD F.R.A.H.S.
Of His Collection Of The
History Of The District
This Plaque Records The Generosity
Of Mr Goold And The Appreciation
Of The People Of Newcastle.
