Gday...

1917  -     Assassinated US President, John F Kennedy, is born.

1874  -     Australian explorer Giles finishes his last keg of water on his desperate attempt to reach his base camp.

Ernest Giles was a frontier explorer of Australia who arrived on the continent in 1850 and was employed at various cattle and sheep stations, allowing him to develop good bush skills. Exploring kargely for the love of it, Giles made several expeditions through the Australian desert. Humble though he was, he did dare to refer ti himself as the "last of the great Australian explorers".

Alf Gibson was a young stockman who begged to accompany Giles on his expedition which departed in August 1873. On this expedition, Giles was able to approach closer to the Olgas, but his attempts to continue further west were thwarted by interminable sand, dust, biting ants and lack of water. After a two month recovery period at Fort Mueller, Giles set out north towards the Rawlinson Range, from which he again tried to penetrate westwards, but was once more thwarted by Aboriginal attack and insufficient water.

In April 1874, Giles decided to make one last attempt to reach the west, taking Gibson with him. After one day, lack of water caused Giles to send the packhorses back to their camp. A day or two later, Giles's horse died, so the men began their return to the base camp, sharing Gibson's horse. Giles instructed Gibson to return to the camp for help, leaving himself to walk. Giles reached where the men had left water kegs and continued on with a supply of water that lasted him six more days. On the third day of his trek, he saw that the packhorses had veered off their original course east, and headed south, deeper into the desert, and that Gibson had followed the tracks. On 29 May 1874, Giles finished the last keg of water and, throwing away the barrel, continued on. An oasis and a dying wallaby which he devoured alive revived him so he was able to reach his base camp. After resting just one day, Giles took the experienced explorer William Teitkins and attempted to search for Gibson, but no trace of him was ever found. All Giles could do to honour the brave but unfortunate Gibson was to name the waterless country Gibson's Desert, "after this first white victim to its horrors".

1861  -     George Goyder, responsible for the controversial "Goyder Line", becomes Surveyor-General of South Australia. 

George Goyder is a significant figure in South Australian history. Born in 1826 in Liverpool, England, he arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1848, later moving to South Asutralia. He first took up the position of Assistance Surveyor, and became the state's Surveyor-General on 29 May 1861.

Goyder made frequent journeys into the South Australian countryside, assessing and surveying the land for agricultural development, railway construction, forestry and even mining possibilities. He first ventured north on horseback in 1856, reaching Lake Blanche which he reported to be full of freshwater. His report on the apparently lush countryside was premature. It led to a large number of settlers moving north and taking up land, not realising the seasonal nature of freshwater flows to the area, but who later suffered severely in the drought beginning 1863. In subsequent years he surveyed parts of the Flinders Ranges, as well as land discovered by explorers John McDouall Stuart and Peter Warburton.

Goyder is most famous for the "Goyder Line", also known as "Goyder's Line". This was a theoretical line of demarcation between the southern areas of reliable landfall, and where the vast tracts of saltbush began, signalling arid lands. Because of the severe drought and the northern farmers' calls for government assistance, Goyder was sent to assess where such a line should be drawn. Goyder determined a line that ran from the border of Victoria north of Pinnaroo, to the east of Burra, peaking north near Orroroo and Pekina, and again near Melrose and Mt Remarkable; the line then continued southwards near Moonta, on the eastern side of Spencer Gulf, and again south of Cowell, on the western shore of Specer Guld, extending towards the north-west, ending just northeast of Ceduna.

The Goyder Line was the boundary marking the northernmost limit of South Australia's wheat growing and pastoral areas, and Goyder advised against settlers taking up agricultural landholdings beyond this point as rainfall would be too unreliable. He believed that using these northern lands for agriculture would result in more desertification of the state. His line was unpopular with farmers prepared to take the risk rather than lose their lands.Even the South Australian government failed to heed the warnings: the need for more farming land in the state resulted in land being sold north of the line, amidst the promise of current good seasons. Most of these farmers were forced to move further south when the seasons settled back to "average" once more.

Goyder's predictions have proven correct, as the government even today considers whether the Goyder Line should be brought further south.

1880  -     The Great Hall of Melbourne's Royal Exhibition Building is opened to the public for the first time.

1917  -     Tasmania's coat of arms is approved by Royal Warrant from King George V. 

1953  -     Sir Edmund Hillary reaches the summit of Mt Everest. 

Cheers - John