1989

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Entry posted by 400Z9 · October 19, 2011

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On the warm afternoon of December 31st, 1988 - a huge earthquake severely hit Newcastle, and killed at two residents without any warning or signs. The earthquake in Newcastle have immediately attracted an international attention and sending as many as 500 S.E.S. rescue voultneer workers to find and rescue people who are stuck under the cement, or is dying somewhere in the "totally-torn" town. When two dead residents were discovered, the whole town was wailing in the front of the town hall (where funeral was serviced). I was eleven, I stood against the crowd and remembers feeling constant water dripping on my head from adults crying above me. I was looking around pondering what is going on, I never realised that someone died because I never really know what "dying" means to me. Now, I suffer the grief over losing my two locals who died in Newcastle Earthquake.

In 1989, the new beginning was very different to a year before, and before that. The lifestyle in Newcastle after the earthquake is getting more depressing, boring and "life-less". On the Tuesday afternoon after school (school was damaged, so we do our school work and learning at the small room at Community Centre), I took a stroll down to the ice cream store down at Miller Street near North Beach with my friend Samuel, I look at the severely damaged houses along the street, people were sitting on the front crying and questioning themselves over what to do afterwards, leave the town or rebuild? As from what I remember, 15 residents left the town and start a new life in the big city.

I found this small peice of map, the Map of Newcastle in 1988, I kept it in the box under my bed and never opened the box for 22 years till now, 2011.