This design - by Newcastle artist Birgitte Hansen - would have become a mural if not for the Newcastle earthquake.

We recently told Birgitte's story about the earthquake to coincide with the 30^th anniversary of the natural disaster.

She was commissioned to work on the mural for Newcastle Workers Club. She wanted to start work on the mural before Christmas, but the club asked her to wait until the new year.

"If I had my way, I would have been in the basement of the club when the earthquake hit," she said.

She was glad to avoid that fate, but disappointed the design never became a mural.

Instead, it became a painting for Hunter Workers [formerly known as Newcastle Trades Hall Council].

It now hangs in the Hunter Workers Library. Hunter Workers recently posted about the painting on a Friday on Facebook, saying: "This artwork is a great reminder why we work those long hours during the week".

"No matter how hard and stressful it has been, the weekend is here. It's time to kick back and relax. For those who have to work, hopefully you are getting your weekend penalty rates, if not give us a call."

Birgitte said the original mural reflected former eras, fashions and activities, along with traditional workers and union imagery.

She aimed to show the history of the club and how it was born from trade union members wanting a place to socialise, while keeping the profits within the membership.

It was about reminding Newcastle and the club's members that the club's culture was about more than poker machines.

"At that stage the club had lost much of its roots and aims," she said.

She was excited that the club was paying in full for the project. But she said there was some resistance to a worker-themed mural from the commercial side of the club.

Nevertheless, she ended up being "able to tell the story I wanted and not compromise my ideas".

"Then the unexpected happened - the quake."

When the new building was constructed, the decorating was more about the aims of the new architect and designer than traditional aspects of a club, she said.

But when the club was rebuilt, she won an Australia Council grant to work with two other artists on an art project for the new building.

"John Clift and Katheryn Grushka were my co-artists," she said.

The project was a major foyer installation that included huge ceramic pots.

Birgitte painted a large painting called "Teaching Newcastle how to swim".

"John and I did a 340-tile mural for the gaming room. It is still there but they put a false wall over the top so they could put in more gaming stuff," she said, with a wry smile.

"The social and union-based aspects of the original mural were scrapped."

This Topics columnist is heading on leave for a bit. We're taking the family to Hawaii [just kidding].

We'll take some time to smell the roses. Hopefully we won't be smelling too much smoke. Mostly we'll be hoping for rain, especially for the firies and those in the firing line.

Keep your Topics tales and tidbits coming to topics@newcastleherald.com.au.

The writers to fill our chair while we're gone would love to hear from you.