A LINE from Greg Ray yesterday resonated with us.
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It was in his Herald column, about how Infrastructure Australia left Newcastle off its main funding program, "Transforming our Cities".
Projects that made that list include bike lanes, roads and light and heavy rail - for Sydney.
"I guess Newcastle isn't there because it isn't a 'city' in government eyes," wrote Ray.
"It's only a 'region'."
He's right. In Australia, we're funny about the word "city". It's as if those who live outside the state capitals, even in places much bigger than, say, Hobart, are relegated to "regional", or "hillbilly", status.
So how do we elevate ourselves to the big kids' table? Topics has three ideas.
1. Hit them with the numbers
Next time your Sydney relatives coo something like "oh, it must be so nice knowing everyone you see", a default setting for some, quietly mention that the last census put Newcastle's "urban centre" population at 308,308.
Which is nice and symmetrical. It also makes us bigger than Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Jersey, Venice, Verona, Belfast, Porto, Strasbourg and Newcastle, UK.
2. Don't suffer the Newcastle deniers
By these, we mean those who insist the Lake Macquarie City local government area is in fact a city in its own right, and therefore the Hunter's capital.
Topics tackled this debate last year and concluded that the Newcastle urban centre - read: "city" - includes a swath of suburbs east of Lake Macquarie (the body of water) right down to Swansea.
But many readers still quibbled. How can we shed our "regional" tag if we can't agree on our own borders? Leaders in Canberra and Sydney must clink glasses as we squabble and miss out on projects worthy of a city.
3. Leave the country to the country
Each time we send athletes or delegates to the "Combined Country Titles" or "Country Mayors Association", we stamp ourselves as a backwater that doesn't need city funding.
The greatest farce of all might be the City v Country rugby league fixture, where 500 people somewhere like Kempsey turn out to see blokes who grew up in Newcastle and Wollongong lumped in with teammates raised in Boggabilla and Wilcannia.
In short - arise Newcastle, and break your provincial shackles. The time of this metropolis is nigh! Or maybe not.
What say you, dear reader? Is it time we fought hard for city status?
Streets of renown
WE told you about Graham Cleary who, as a young tearaway 20 years ago, drove reader Rochelle Wood to the corner of - wait for it - Graham Rd and Cleary St.
Rochelle was impressed, and so was reader Luke Robertson.
"Your story on Graham Rd and Cleary St reminded me of what is possibly my favourite intersection in the Hunter," Luke told Topics.
"The meeting of Arnold and Willis streets at Charlestown is a lovely coincidence for fans of 1980s' sitcoms."
Sound bites sell
GARY Harley's a pro. This dawned on us yesterday as the Mound of Sound took part in the new ads for Burton Toyota with Layne Beachley and Mark Richards.
"I just turn up and they hand me the scripts for these things and we do it," Harley told Topics.
See? Gets on with the job. We're told Burton customers often declare: "the big fella sent me".
The new ads, which air next month, will reunite the illustrious trio. Burton boss Kim Burton said they would focus on the dealership's links with Maitland and Port Stephens.
Topics hopes they're better than the most recent Seinfeld ads for the Greater.