Gday...

1841  -     Eyre's expedition across the Nullarbor is saved when he meets Captain Rossiter, of the whaler 'Mississippi'.

Edward John Eyre, born 5 August 1815, was the first white man to cross southern Australia from Adelaide to the west, travelling across the Nullarbor Plain to King George's Sound, now called Albany. Eyre originally intended to cross the continent from south to north, taking with him his overseer, John Baxter, and three Aborigines. He was forced to revise his plans when his way became blocked by the numerous saltpans of South Australia, leading him to believe that a gigantic inland sea in the shape of a horseshoe prevented access to the north.

Following this fruitless attempt, Eyre regrouped at Streaky Bay on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. He then continued west, which had never before been attempted, in a gruelling journey across the Nullarbor, during which his party faced starvation and thirst. Eyre's overseer, Baxter, was killed on the night of 29 April 1841, as he tried to stop two of the expedition's Aborigines from raiding the meagre supplies. After Baxter died, Eyre was left with just one loyal companion, the Aborigine, Wylie. The two continued on, trying to outrun the Aborigines whilst susbsisting on very few rations.

The pair faced starvation a number of times during their journey, in between rest stops in places when they found food was abundant. On 2 June 1841, Eyre and Wylie were travelling along the shore near Thistle Cove when they encountered the French whaler 'Mississippi'. Attracting the attention of the ship's crew by way of a fire, they were met at the beach and taken aboard the Mississippi as guests of Captain Rossiter. Here, they were given ample food and water, and their horses even shod by the ship's blacksmith. Loaded with supplies from the ship, Eyre continued his westward journey on 14 June. Eyre named the inlet Rossiter Bay after the ship's captain, though it was later renamed Mississippi Point.

1858  -     Francis Gregory find evidence of Aboriginal cannibalism.

Francis Thomas Gregory was born at Farnsfield, Nottingham, England, on 19 October 1821 and came to Western Australia in 1829. He was the younger brother of Augustus Gregory, who explored areas of northern Australia in the mid 1800s. As a staff surveyor, Francis Gregory explored extensively throughout northwest Australia, discovering good land along the upper Murchison River.

Impressed with Gregory's discoveries, settlers financed an expedition for Gregory to explore around the Gascoyne River, around 180 kilometres further north. Commencing his explorations on mid-April, Gregory discovered a plentiful supply of fresh water between the two rivers, and a variety of flora and fauna. Dry, barren scrub prevented Gregory from penetrating further northeast. Upon his return to Mt Augustus, which he named after his brother, Gregory found evidence of Aboriginal cannibalism, on 2 June 1858. In his journal, he wrote that he noted near a campfire "bones of a full-grown native that had been cooked". The bones even showed evidence of teeth marks along the edges.

Gregory returned with reports of around four hundred thousand hectares of good land. He noted, however, that it was currently a good season, and potential graziers would be advised to wait to determine the land's fertility in a poor season before settling the area.

1874  -     Explorers John and Alexander Forrest discover Weld Springs, an oasis of clear, fresh water in central Western Australia.

John Forrest was born on 22 August 1847 near Bunbury in Western Australia. Between the years of 1869 to 1874, Forrest led three expeditions, two of them with his brother Alexander (born 1849), to explore the uncharted areas of Western Australia. On 1 April 1874, the brothers departed Geraldton with three experienced white men, two aborigines and enough supplies for eight months, in search of a stock route and pasture land to the east. It was on this journey, on 2 June 1874, that the Forrests discovered Weld Springs, which seemed to have an "almost unlimited supply of water." It was named after Frederick Weld, the Governor of Western Australia. Here the party rested for two weeks, living on pigeons, emus and kangaroos.

The explorations of John and Alexander Forrest filled in the missing gaps regarding Australia's interior, but the only good pastureland was very patchy and scattered, and not particularly conducive to settlement.

1953  -     Queen Elizabeth II is crowned, watched by millions in the first televised coronation of a monarch.

Princess Elizabeth, who became Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom, was born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor on 21 April 1926. She was proclaimed queen on 6 February 1952, following the death of her father, George VI. She ascended the throne the following year, on 2 June 1953. The Queen was crowned in a lavish coronation ceremony attended by over 8,000 guests in Westminster Abbey, London. The ceremony included the Queen being handed the four symbols of authority - the orb, the sceptre, the rod of mercy and the royal ring of sapphire and rubies. The ceremony was completed as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Geoffrey Fisher, placed St Edward's Crown on her head.

Whilst approximately three million people lined the streets of London to glimpse the new monarch travelling to and from Buckingham Palace in the golden state coach, millions more around the world watched the first ever televised coronation of a monarch in a broadcast made in 44 languages.

Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

1966  -     The US "Surveyor I" spacecraft successfully lands on the moon

Surveyor 1 was the first lunar lander in the American Surveyor program that explored the Moon. The program was managed by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Launched on 30 May 1966, the US Spacecraft Surveyor I made the first successful soft landing on the moon on 2 June 1966, in the "Ocean of Storms". The spacecraft carried two television cameras: one for approach, which was not used, and one for operations on the lunar surface, which enabled it to take clear pictures of the depth of the depression in the lunar soil made by its footpad when it soft-landed, and of the surrounding lunar terrain and surface materials.

Equipment also included 100 engineering sensors. The spacecraft also acquired data on the radar reflectivity of the lunar surface, bearing strength of the lunar surface, and spacecraft temperatures for use in the analysis of the lunar surface temperatures. Data continued to be transmitted back to Earth from shortly after touchdown until 14 July 1966, although commands were issued for no operation during the lunar night, from 14 June to 7 July 1966.

Cheers - John