Gday...

1827  -     Australian explorer Allan Cunningham discovers the Gwydir River in northern NSW, opening up the area for grazing and pastureland.

Australian explorer Allan Cunningham was born on 13 July 1791 in Wimbledon, England. He came to Australia in December 1816, suffering from tuberculosis. An avid botanist who worked to classify many of Australia's unique plant species, he had been selected by Sir Joseph Banks to be an overseas collector of specimens in his position as 'Botanist to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew'. Australia's climate helped Cunningham regain some of his health, and he was anxious to discover more of the country he came to love. He explored much of northern NSW and southern Queensland (which, at that stage, was still part of the NSW colony) and discovered pastureland and rivers which helped open up the area for farming.

On 9 July 1827, Cunningham discovered the Gwydir River, around which the town of Moree is now built. He named it after Lord Gwydir after his patron Lord Gwydir, who took his title from Gwydir Castle in Wales. It is interesting to note that Gwydir is also an Aboriginal name meaning 'river with red banks'.

Cunningham returned to England in 1831, but came back to New South Wales in 1837 as Government Botanist, a position he resigned after a year.

1838  -      Ferdinand, Graf von Zeppelin is born.

Zeppelin began working with balloons for human transport as an observer during the American Civil War. In 1891, he retired from the Prussian army to devote himself to building motor-driven airships. Zeppelin invented the first rigid airship in 1900, but the experiment exhausted his funds. Luckily, public opinion was so strongly in favor of his airship project that donations largely financed his future work.

1857  -     The Municipality of the Town of Gawler, South Australia, is proclaimed.

 South Australia is the only Australian state to have been founded by free settlers, remaining entirely free of convicts during its early history. The site of its capital, Adelaide, was originally determined by Captain Collet Barker in 1831 and subsequently surveyed by Colonel William Light five years later.

Gawler is a Local Government Area (LGA) located 44km north of Adelaide. The year after Colonel Light surveyed the capital, he and his assistant, Boyle Travers Finniss, travelled through the area north of Adelaide. Light saw the benefits of establishing a town which would be the gateway to the north, and to the Murray River, the water and transport lifeline for South Australia. Light's recommendation for a survey of the area was initially not taken up, but Henry Dundas Murray, John Reid and a syndicate of ten other colonists noted Light's recommendation and applied for a Special Survey of 4000 acres (1618 hectares). Following this, Light was commissioned to survey the town. William Jacob then laid out the town from Light's plan and the town was officially established on 31 January 1839. It was named Gawler after Lieutenant-Colonel George Gawler, second Governor of South Australia.

The first settler in Gawler was John Reid, who arrived in February 1839 to take up his selection near the North Para River. Reid's property became a stopover for new pioneers to the area and overlanders from New South Wales. Gawler developed slowly until the discovery of copper at nearby Kapunda in 1842 sent its growth soaring. When the copper mines were established at Burra in the north, Gawler's importance as a trade and stopping centre increased. The establishment of agricultural areas to the north cemented Gawler's position as a permanent settlement.

With the introduction of Local Government to the region in 1853 and 1854, the districts of Munno Para East, Mudla Wirra, Barossa West (which included Gawler) and Munno Para West were formed. Residents of Gawler, however, were unhappy with the services provided by Barossa West, and lobbied for separation. The Municipality of the Town of Gawler was proclaimed on 9 July 1857.

1894  -     Percy LeBaron Spencer, the inventor of the microwave oven, is born.

Percy LeBaron Spencer, inventor of the microwave oven, was born on 9 July 1894 in Howland, Maine, USA. Orphaned when he was young, he was raised by his aunt and uncle. Spencer left school at age 12 to work in a mill, then joined the US Navy in 1912 to learn wireless telegraphy. He joined the Raytheon Company in the 1920s.

He was working as an engineer with the Raytheon company when he was experimenting with and testing a magnetron. The magnetron was invented during WWII and allowed the Allies to pinpoint the exact locations of Nazi war machines and arsenals, as the magnetron produced microwaves which radar then bounced off the arsenals, and back to the Allies. Whilst testing the magnetron after the war, Dr Spencer reached into his pocket for his chocolate bar, and discovered it had completely melted. He made the connection between the melted chocolate and the heat-producing magnetron, and tested his theory on a bag of unpopped corn kernels, which then popped. Next, he placed an egg in front of the magnetron. The egg exploded.

Dr Spencer is therefore credited with discovering one of the critical components of the microwave oven. Development of the microwave oven grew out of his observations, and by 1947 a commercial oven was being sold by Raytheon.

1900  -     Queen Victoria approves the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Bill.

Prior to 1901, Australia was made up of six colonies which had partial self-government, but which were also under British authority. Although the continent had officially been known as Australia since 1824, there was no nation or government of Australia. The Federation movement gained momentum during the 1880s, but before Federation could occur, it was necessary to draft an Australian Constitution - a process which took almost a decade.

Seven delegates were selected from each of the colonies to formulate a draft constitution, along with three delegates from New Zealand. The first constitutional convention, known as the National Australasian Convention, was held from March to April 1891, and at this convention it was agreed to adopt the name 'Commonwealth of Australia'. Further conferences were held in 1893, 1895 and 1896. The final National Convention was held in three sessions over 1897-98, and by early 1898, a draft constitution had been agreed upon. It was brought before each of the colonial parliaments for approval. The constitutional system protected the rights of the states, while establishing a national government to represent their common interests.

Initially rejected by the states, amendments were made at a 'Secret Premiers' Conference early in 1899. The final draft was then approved by the Australian people via referenda held in each colony. It was necessary for the British Parliament to also agree to the constitution, so further alterations were negotiated before the British Parliament passed the bill in July 1900. On 9 July 1900 Queen Victoria signed the Royal Commission of Assent and the bill became the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act 1900.

Interestingly, Western Australia only agreed to the bill several weeks after it was given Royal Assent. Section 9 of the Australian Constitution Act stated that on and after 1 January 1901, the colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania would be united and known as the Commonwealth of Australia, but the Act made provision for Western Australia to still join the Commonwealth. On 1 January 1901, federation of the six colonies was achieved and the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed.

Cheers - John