Gday...

1836  -             The first formal European settlement in South Australia is established on Kangaroo Island.

Kangaroo Island is a protected and unspoilt island off the coast of South Australia. Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Islands, it is 112 km southwest of the state capital, Adelaide. The first European to land on the island was Matthew Flinders, doing so in 1802, and it was he who named it, after his starving crew was saved by the abundance of kangaroos they found there. The island narrowly missed becoming a French colony, as Nicolas Baudin arrived shortly after Flinders departed, and named the island LIsle Decres.

From 1803, Kangaroo Island was frequently used as a base by sealers and whalers. Escaped convicts and ship deserters also made the island their home. While farmers and other settlers established themselves on Kangaroo Island from around 1819, these were not official settlements.

The South Australia Act, enabling the founding of the colony of South Australia, was passed by British Parliament in 1834. In 1835, Scottish businessman and wealthy landowner, George Fife Angas, formed the South Australian Company to assist settlers to the new colony. The first emigrants bound for South Australia left in February 1836. On 27 July 1836, the first of the South Australian Companys ships, the Duke of York, arrived at Reeves Point on Kangaroo Islands north coast. The first official settler to step foot on the island was two-year-old Elizabeth Beare.

1850  -             The first ship carrying passengers under the Assisted Emigration Scheme arrives in Fremantle, Western Australia.

 Unlike in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania, the transportation of convicts to the colony of Swan River (Western Australia) required that there be an equal number of free immigrants. It was many years after white settlement of the western territory that convicts were sent to Swan River. In an attempt to encourage more free settlement of the remote colony, and to balance the number of free settlers and convicts, free immigrants were given passage and settlement costs at the English Government's expense.

Besides the crew of 33, there were 250 free immigrants aboard the Sophia, the first ship to arrive under the Assisted Emigration Scheme. The ship departed Plymouth, southern England, on 27 April 1850 and arrived at Australia on 27 July 1850. On arrival at Fremantle, ship's surgeon Thomas Parr was tried on charges of malpractice and neglect. He was ultimately acquitted.

1940  -             Cartoon character Bugs Bunny makes his first appearance in the animated cartoon, 'A Wild Hare'.

Bugs Bunny is a creation of the Warner Brother studios, and most famous for his appearance in 'Looney Tunes' and 'Merrie Melodies' cartoons. Bob Clampett is credited with the creation of Bugs Bunny, but numerous others had a hand in his development. These include Chuck Jones, Isadore "Friz" Freleng, Arthur Davis, Robert McKimson and Mel Blanc, the latter providing Bugs's distinctive voice.

Bugs Bunny made his debut in the animated cartoon "A Wild Hare" on 27 July 1940. Prior to the release of "A Wild Hare", Bugs Bunny appeared in four earlier cartoons, but without the appearance and personality he developed later on - in particular, his signature line of, "Eh...What's up, Doc?" In 2002, the magazine 'TV Guide', as part of its 50th anniversary special edition, compiled a list of the 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time, giving Bugs Bunny the position of number 1.

Whats up Doc? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eO1WTCX_IWE

1953  -             The Korean War comes to an end with the signing of the armistice between North and South Korea.

The Korean War was a conflict between North Korea and South Korea during the Cold War era. Some consider the war to have been a proxy war between the United States and its allies, and the Communist powers of the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union.

Korea, a former Japanese possession, was initially divided in the final days of World War II, on 10 August 1945. With the Japanese surrender imminent, the United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea along the 38th parallel: Japanese forces north of that line would surrender to the Soviet Union and those south of that line would surrender to the United States. Whilst the division was not considered to be permanent, in December 1945, the US and the Soviet Union agreed to administer the country temporarily. Subsequently, both countries established governments in their respective halves according to their political ideology.

In the early morning of 25 June 1950, North Korea launched a full-scale invasion of South Korea. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, was overrun three days later. The USA immediately pushed a resolution through the U.N.'s Security Council calling for military assistance to South Korea, and US troops arrived on the 1st of July to engage the enemy. American intervention prompted the arrival of communist Chinese forces in late 1950, and subsequently the war became a stalemate, spanning three years. During the war, South Korea suffered 1,312,836 military casualties, including 415,004 dead. This figure does not include the innocent civilians. 36,940 Americans were killed, and UN allies lost 3,094. A truce agreement was signed on 27 July 1953, and resulted in the continued division of North and South Korea.

2003  -             American comedian Bob Hope dies two months after celebrating his 100th birthday.

American entertainer Bob Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope on 29 May 1903. Although he achieved fame through his appearances in vaudeville, in Musicals on Broadway, and on American radio, television and movies, he was actually born in Eltham, London, England. His father was a stonemason and his mother was a light opera singer who later had to earn her living as a cleaner.

As a child, Hope did a lot of busking on the streets, doing dance and comedy patter. He entered numerous dancing and amateur talent contests, and won prizes for his impersonation of Charlie Chaplin. For a short period, Hope became a professional boxer under the name of "Packy East" before turning to the stage. During WWII, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, he often performed for US troops, improving their morale. He starred in many Hollywood movies, and although he never won any Oscars, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honoured him with several special awards and he served as host of the Academy Awards ceremony many times beginning in the 1950s and through the 1980s.

Hope turned 100 only two months before his death on 27 July 2003. He was survived by his wife of 69 years, Dolores, and four children, adopted from an orphanage in Evanston, Illinois. A Los Angeles airport has since been renamed Bob Hope Airport in his memory.

Cheers - John