Step Back into King Street Heritage Festival set for May 21, festival ambassador sought

The festival, presented by the Rotary Club of Raymond Terrace, will return to town on Saturday, May 21 (election day) after two years of disruptions, including the cancellation of the event in 2020 due to the pandemic.

The festival, which is free to enter, will be held from 9am to 2pm during which time King Street will be closed to vehicular access.

Organiser Adam Nicholas said that in addition to the sailing vessel, other highlights on the day would include a faux wedding under the marriage trees, penny farthings, the Marching Koalas, the Men's Shed Band, the Fortieth Regiment and various market stalls.

"We are also looking for the oldest Raymond Terrace resident still alive (born, raised and long-time resident of this town) to be this year's King Street Ambassador," he said.

"They will be officially recognised and invited to be a part of the day's opening ceremony at 9.30am."

If you think you qualify for this title, contact Adam Nicholas on 0432 187 010 or email him at stepbackintokingstrt@gmail.com.

Mr Nicholas said that pre-booking tickets for the William the Fourth was essential.

"William the Fourth was a huge highlight of last year's event. The boat will once again be making its way upriver from Newcastle to Raymond Terrace for the King Street Festival."

To book the cruises visit trybooking.com/eventlist/williamthefourth.

The festival was kicked off six years ago by its original organisers Kaye Newton, Peter Robinson and Mr Nicholas.

"One of the original aims of the event was to raise awareness of the historical value of the buildings in King Street, some of which date back to the early 1890s. That goal hasn't changed as we want to make sure those buildings are preserved well into the future," Mr Nicholas said.

Next year the festival plans to bring back the street parade to involve more community groups and schools. To find out more go to kingstreetraymondterrace.org.au or Facebook.

To book a stall site visit trybooking.com/BVKZC.

In 1831, when the Australian Agricultural Company began to have a profound impact on Newcastle, a shipyard was established at Clarence Town where the original William the Fourth was constructed to operate between Sydney and Morpeth.

The replica William the Fourth that will be operating during the festival was a Port Stephens Bicentenary Project, built in Raymond Terrace, at a cost of $1.5 million. It was launched in Raymond Terrace in 1987.

The replica operated commercial cruises on the Newcastle Harbour and Hunter River until a boiler leak put it out of service in 2001. The vessel was fully restored in 2008 and now operates charters out of Newcastle.

The replica will be cruising along the Hunter and Williams rivers on Saturday, and docking at the Raymond Terrace wharf. Charters on the William The Fourth during the festival have reached capacity.

King Street is still a living piece of Port Stephens history.

For about 110 years from when Raymond Terrace was gazetted in 1837 King Street was the thriving business centre of the town, important mainly because it ran parallel with the Hunter River.

Food, produce and other materials could be loaded and off-loaded from the rear of the businesses in King Street. The Hunter River was the major transport means before decent roads linked the town with Newcastle.

Raymond Terrace became an important shipping centre in the 1840s for wool carted by road from New England. Shipping continued into the 1920s but the town had long been in decline by then as traffic was diverted to New England when the Hunter River began silting up.

But it was the big floods of 1955 which sounded the death knell for King Street as a viable commercial centre and businesses gradually moved away from the flood-prone street.

Today most of the buildings in King Street still date from the 1890s and the street was named in honour of James King, from Irrawang.

The historic marriage trees that still stand in King Street were used to wed people in the absence of churches prior to 1840.

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