Some are too young to remember others will never forget. On December 28 1989 at 10.27am an earthquake of 5.5 magnitude shook Newcastle.
Moments after the event, veteran award winning cameraman, Barry Nancarrow raced in from Swansea. 21 year old trainee cameraman Marty Adnum came in from Charlestown. They met at Barry’s offices in Hudson St Hamilton, picked up their cameras and captured the video and photos on this site. Dressed in only tank tops and shorts, such was the heat of the day, they had no idea what they were about to witness over the next days, weeks and months.
Much of this collection has been in storage for over 25 years. These images and videos are not embellished or sensationalised in anyway. They are offered as a respectful tribute to those who lost their lives and to acknowledge those who contributed to the rescue and recovery efforts.
30 years on Barry and Marty feel humbled to share this collection as a record of our history, as a record of a time when hearts were broken and a time when many inspirational acts of kindness occurred and we united as a city.
Feel free to share this collection. We would ask, however, it is done in a respectful and compassionate way.
Commenced his career in 1967 as a production trainee with Channel Three. However he soon found his niche in news and spent the next 14 years covering the major events in Newcastle for one of which, the Star Hotel riot, he won a Logie. In 1982 he established his own business producing corporate videos complemented by a still photographic operation.
After seventeen years he changed direction and commenced work for the University of Newcastle, initially at its Ourimbah campus then later as the Operations Manager at its Conservatorium of Music.
Now in retirement Barry plans to return to his first love, spending time going through his extensive film and video archives to tell other stories of Newcastle.
Commenced his media career in 1986 and “had the honour” of working with Barry Nancarrow Productions, Newcastle’s leading video production company, for 5 years as a sound recordist, editor and then cameraman. Marty values, to this day, the mentoring he received from Barry and the understanding he gained in the art of capturing an image and the purity behind it.
He then moved to Prime Television, when it started in Newcastle in 1991, initially as a cameraman then later as a producer / director. In 1997 after being told his ideas were too “out of the square” he founded Out of the Square Media, which has since grown to a staff of 20 and is considered a leading Creative Agency in Newcastle.
Marty’s passion for camerawork and Newcastle is still alive and well in this initiative for the city called “Newcastle Inspired”.
’89 Earthquake
