5.6 ; 5.4 ; VIII MMI Epicentre: Boolaroo Aftershocks: One aftershock (M 2.1 on the Richter scale) was recorded on 29 December 1989. Cause In early 2007, a United States academic claimed that coal mining in the region triggered the earthquake, although earthquake activity has been present in the area at least since European settlement first occurred. That is in addition to the statement by the former head of the earthquake monitoring group at Geoscience Australia, Dr David Denham, that the Newcastle earthquake occurred some distance from mining activity: "The depths of the focus of the earthquake was about 13, 14 kilometres, whereas the ones associated with mining, they're actually right close to the mine, because that's where the stress release takes place." Despite records of previous earthquakes in the area, even the most recent construction codes in Newcastle at the time of the earthquake (issued in 1979) required neither the adoption of earthquake-resistant design nor the strengthening of old buildings, although they did encourage owners to provide more than the minimum strength. In popular culture Music Songs about the Newcastle earthquake include "10:27"/"Holocaust" by "The Lost Boys",(1990) "Earthquakin'", recorded in January 1990 by Newcastle Ska Band The Porkers, "Faultline" by Australian rock band Silverchair, from 1995. Silverchair lead singer Daniel Johns lost a childhood friend during the earthquake. "Our Town" by Wilson and Lightfoot "The Newcastle Earthquake" by Gary Shearston (1990) CBS 655720 Literature "The Newcastle Earthquake Response Record - Volume 1" Prepared by Lt. Col. J.T Purser on behalf of Newcastle City Council (1990) "The Earth was Raised Up in Waves Like the Sea: Earthquake Tremors Felt in the Hunter Valley Since White Settlement" by Cynthia Hunter (1991) "What Came Between" by Patrick Cullen's features a collection of stories, that begin with the earthquake. (2009) "Quakeshake:A Child's Experience of the Newcastle Earthquake" by Dave O'Brien "Aftershock" by Peter Corris (2014) "Disasters in Australia and New Zealand" by Scott McKinnon and Margaret Cook - "Six Seconds" by Alan Sunderland (2021) Other Aftershocks, a 1991 play by Paul Brown, is based on interviews with members of the destroyed Newcastle Workers Club. A film of the same name was also released in 1998 Newcastle Museum also has a permanent exhibition The earthquake occurs in the Season 2, Episode 6 finale of the Australian and British TV series “Frayed”, set in Newcastle in 1989. See also List of earthquakes in 1989 List