Gday...

1851  -     Victorian Governor La Trobe offers a reward of 200 pounds to anyone finding gold within 200 miles of Melbourne.

Gold was first officially discovered in Australia in 1851, not far from Bathurst, New South Wales. Edward Hargraves had carefully studied the geology of the area and, convinced that it was similar to that of the California goldfields from where he had just returned, went prospecting. The discovery caused an outbreak of "gold fever" as people from all over Australia downed the tools of their own trades and picked up the necessary tools for joining the goldrush.

The subsequent exodus of the population from Victoria was significant. Already rivals with New South Wales, the Victorian government was unwilling to lose more of its population to the northern goldfields. Subsequently, on 9 June 1851, Governor Charles Joseph La Trobe assembled a gold discovery committee, and offered a reward of £200 to anyone who found payable amounts of gold within 200 miles (320 kilometres) of Melbourne. In 1851, six months after the New South Wales find, gold was discovered at Ballarat, and a short time later at Bendigo Creek.

1928  -     Charles Kingsford Smith arrives in Brisbane after completing the first flight across the Pacific Ocean. 

Charles Edward Kingsford Smith, nicknamed 'Smithy', was born on 9 February 1897 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. One of Australia's best-known early aviators, he completed the first non-stop crossing of the Australian mainland and the first flight from Australia to New Zealand. In 1930 he flew 16 000 kilometres single-handedly and won the England to Australia air race.

Kingsford Smith is perhaps best known for being the first to cross the Pacific from the United States to Australia. On 31 May 1928, he and his crew left the United States to make the first Trans-Pacific flight to Australia in the Southern Cross, a Fokker FVII-3M monoplane. The flight was in three stages, from Oakland, California to Hawaii, then to Suva, Fiji, and on to Brisbane, where he landed on 9 June 1928. On arrival, he was met by a huge crowd at Eagle Farm Airport, and was feted as a hero. Fellow Australian aviator Charles Ulm was the relief pilot, and the other two crew members were Americans James Warner and Captain Harry Lyon, who tooks the roles of radio operator, navigator and engineer for the trans-Pacific flight.

Kingsford Smith disappeared in 1935 in the Bay of Bengal whilst flying from England to Australia in the Lady Southern Cross. Wreckage from the aircraft was located off the south coast of Burma eighteen months later, but no evidence of the crew was ever found. Sydney's major airport was named Kingsford Smith International Airport in his honour. A federal electorate for the federal parliament of Australia which encompasses the airport is called Kingsford Smith. His original aircraft, the Southern Cross, is now preserved and displayed in a memorial at the International Terminal at Brisbane Airport. Kingsford Smith Drive in Brisbane passes through the suburb of his birth, Hamilton. 

1934  -     Donald Duck makes his debut in the cartoon "The Wise Little Hen". 

Donald Duck is an animated cartoon and comic-book character from Walt Disney Productions, distinctive for his sailor shirt and cap. His birthday is generally regarded as being 9 June 1934, the day his debut film was released. Disney's Donald Duck appeared for the first time in the cartoon "The Wise Little Hen". Bert Gillett, director of The Wise Little Hen, brought Donald back in his Mickey Mouse cartoon, The Orphan's Benefit, on 11 August 1934. In the film, Donald is one of a several characters giving performances in a benefit for Mickey's Orphans. Donald's act is to recite the poems Mary Had a Little Lamb and Little Boy Blue, but every time he tries, the mischievous orphans eat his specially made pie, leading Donald to fly into a squawking fit of anger. This explosive personality became his signature trademark for some decades. Eventually, Donald Duck went on to star in 128 cartoons, and appear in many more as a secondary character. Donald Duck's middle name is Fauntleroy.

1979  -     A fire on the Ghost train ride at Sydney's Luna Park kills six children and one adult.

Luna Park Sydney is an historical amusement park, located on the northern shore of Sydney Harbour, Australia. The heritage-listed park first opened in 1935, but has seen many closures over time, due to changes of ownership, legal battles and other difficulties.

On 16 April 1979, 13 people were injured on the Big Dipper ride when a steel runner came loose, halting one of the three rollercoaster trains. The following train rammed the stationary one, causing the injuries. However, any warning this may have given of potentially faulty equipment in the park was largely ignored.

On 9 June 1979, Luna Park's Ghost Train ride caught fire. Inadequate staffing and safety equipment enabled the fire to quickly spread, destroying the entire ride. Six children and one adult were killed in the fire. A coronial inquest conducted by the NSW government was unable to establish the cause of the fire, but concluded that Luna Park's managers and operators had failed in their duty of care towards the Park's patrons.

Cheers - John