No matter where life took him throughout his illustrious career, Scott Bevan’s hometown was never far from his mind.

It’s probably why the respected writer, broadcaster, playwright and journalist’s latest book, Newcastle: The Lives and Times of a City, means so much to him.

In fact, he explores the character and soul of the town he grew up in, its history, its transformation and its future.

The Merewether native journeys from early contact between the Awabakal people and missionary Lancelot Threlkeld, through Newcastle’s convict and industrial past, to its famous sons and daughters (from Silverchair and the Knights to William Dobell).

He also examines how the city now balances its identity as the world’s largest coal export port with its emergence as a creative and cultural hub.

Through dozens of local voices – community leaders, surfers, musicians, architects and environmentalists – Bevan reveals how the place once known as “Steel City” is presently showing the “new” in Newcastle.

After traversing the globe, from Japan to Russia and all parts in between, he noticed something different on his return in 2016.

And, that sparked another moment of inspiration… his eighth tome.

“Wherever I’ve gone in the world, I’ve always had a connection with home,” Bevan said.

“However, coming back it was more obvious to me how much the city was changing.

“In a physical sense and in character.

“Of course, I knew I was changing, too.

“So, that was the starting point.

We have always produced some incredible cultural leaders, we’ve always had people who’ve expanded the thinking of our region on a national and international level, and we have always boasted those who’ve put Newcastle on the map globally.

Scott Bevan

“I tried to understand how the place I left had changed, what it was still going through, and wondered where we were headed.

“Obviously, there’s the on-surface transformations.

“Buildings have risen… and Newcastle is becoming more vertical.

“So, I guess it was the changing face of the city that struck me first, which surprised me.

“I always felt we were happy to remain close to the ground, so to speak.

“Then I started thinking about the people.

“And, in many ways, they’ve changed for the better, too, like the city.

“We have people moving here with new, fresh ideas and broadening our vision, which is wonderful.

“So, we’re developing into a more complex and cosmopolitan place.

“Then that raised the whole issue of the traditional concept of the ‘Novocastrian’.

“It used to be the label for someone born, and who has always lived, here.

“But, who’s a Novocastrian these days?

“Is it the old way of thinking?

“Or, because Newcastle is now a city people drive to – and end up staying, has the meaning changed?

“Is the term Novocastrian broadened to ensure we encompass everyone who comes here, lives here and contributes here?”

And, what did Bevan discover?

“I think we’ve become more broad-minded and broader in our vision,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.

“It’s funny, even now I hear it in commentary that we’re still the gritty, working-class town.

“However, in my mind, we’ve never been just that.

“We have always produced some incredible cultural leaders, we’ve always had people who’ve expanded the thinking of our region on a national and international level, and we have always boasted those who’ve put Newcastle on the map globally.

“Yet, we’re not acknowledged or recognised for it.

“I firmly believe we have just happily accepted the tags put on us, like Coal City or Steel City.

“But, now, visitors have this view of Newcastle… and they’re going ‘look at all this amazing stuff, not only in Newcastle, but what comes from Newcastle’.

“And, from a local’s perspective, we’re growing in confidence in who we are and what we are about.”

Bevan’s already written seven books: The Hunter; Return to The Hunter; The Harbour: A City’s Heart, A Country’s Soul; Battle Lines: Australian Artists at War; Water from the Moon: A Biography of John Fawcett; Bill, The Life of William Dobell; and The Lake: Exploring a Splendid Sheet of Water.

However, despite his obvious love of Newcastle, he admitted he was reluctant to broach the subject on this occasion.

“It’s literally close to my heart and soul,” he said.

“Wherever I’ve gone in the world, I’ve been a proud Novocastrian… I’ve taken Newcastle with me everywhere.

“I was in Helsinki once.

“Then I realised I didn’t just love it because it’s a nice place, it reminded me of home.

“I’m looking at Helsinki thinking ‘it makes me feel like I used to feel down at the harbour in Newcastle’.

“I always thought about things like that.

“So, throughout my travels, I’ve gone with this idea of being a Newcastle boy.

“It’s been, for the want of a better term, my passport because it’s defined how I see the world… and it’s shaped me in so many ways.

“Because of that, I was always loath to write about it.

“However, in my journey to try and reconcile and understand the changes I was going through, and the changes the city was going through, I started writing.

“That’s what I do to make sense of stuff.

“And, as a result of that, came the book.”

In spite of some trepidation, Bevan confessed he was “very satisfied” with the final product.

“Honestly, it’s only afterwards where I go ‘maybe I should have done this or done that’… I’m sure every writer goes through it.

“As a journo, you’d know what I was talking about,” he added with a laugh.

“But, if you’re new to the area, maybe Newcastle: The Lives and Times of a City is a good thing to read as it tells you more about where you’ve come to.

“And, I really hope, for fellow Novocastrians, that it adds to discussions about who we are, why we’re so proud of this place, and why we should be proud of this place?

“I’d like to believe it’s a conversation-starter for that really important question: where do we want to head?

“Like I said previously, we’ve often had the tags imposed on us in the past, we’ve been told who we are or what we are.

“I think we should now have the confidence, as a city and as a group of people, to say ‘alright, where are we going to take this place in the future? What do we want to be? Who do we want to be?’

“Because, if we don’t answer those questions for ourselves, others will decide for us.

“We live in an extraordinary place… and those who’ve come before us have given us this wonderful legacy we can build on.

“So, we should determine what we are in the future – and write our own story.”

Newcastle: The Lives and Times of a City will be released on 1 October, with the official launch taking place at Newcastle Museum on 16 October.

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