Presents the results of the most comprehensive survey of the Hunter Region's natural and social environments and its economic condition.

Dr Phillip O'Neill, the chief editor of this compilation, is a senior lecturer in the Department of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Newcastle.

Introduction - the Hunter Region in the nation's spotlight; the physical landscape of the Hunter Region; weather, climate and air quality - the Hunter's atmosphere; rivers, lakes and wetlands; of waves and tide; global economy, local jobs; the rural idyll; the gastronomic landscape; whatever happened to Coaltown?; material and symbolic identities of Newcastle - continuity and change; the Newcastle Knights - capturing the spirit of a nation?; sustainability and the Hunter Region.