Gday...

1770  -             James Cook takes possession of the eastern coast of "New Holland".

Captain James Cook was not the first to discover Australia, as he was preceded by numerous Portuguese and Dutch explorers. However, he was the first to sight and map the eastern coastline. Cook's ship, the 'Endeavour', departed Plymouth, England, in August 1768. After completing the objective of his mission, which was to observe the transit of Venus from the vantage point of Tahiti, Cook continued on his mission to find out more about Terra Australis Incognita, the great unknown south land. He first came across New Zealand, which had already been discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. He spent some months there, charting the coastline. Nearly a year later, he set sail east.

In mid-April 1770, officer of the watch, Lieutenant Zachary Hicks, sighted land and alerted Captain Cook. Cook made out low sandhills which he named Point Hicks, although he did not yet know whether they formed part of an island or a continent. Point Hicks lies on the far southeastern corner of the Australian continent, and Cook chose to fly before unfavourable winds up the eastern coast.

Cook went on to chart the east coast of what was then known as New Holland, mapping numerous inlets and bays as he headed north. On 22 August 1770, at Possession Island in Torres Strait, Cook claimed the eastern coast of the continent for Great Britain under the name of New South Wales. The territory he claimed included "the whole eastern coast, from latitude 38 degrees S to this place, latitude 10.5 degrees S, in right of His Majesty King George the Third. This essentially meant just the eastern parts of what are now New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Cook recorded the following:

"Notwithstand[ing] I had in the Name of His Majesty taken possession of several places upon this coast, I now once more hoisted English Coloures and in the Name of His Majesty King George the Third took possession of the whole Eastern Coast by the name New South Wales, together with all the Bays, Harbours Rivers and Islands situate upon the said coast, after which we fired three Volleys of small Arms which were Answered by the like number from the Ship."

1847  -             John Forrest, Australian explorer and the first Premier of Western Australia, is born.

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, to explore the uncharted areas of Western Australia. In 1869, he led the search for Ludwig Leichhardt's party which had gone missing on their trek across Australia from east to west, a search which was unsuccessful. In 1870, he surveyed the route which Edward Eyre had taken in 1840-41 from Adelaide to Albany, across the Great Australian Bight.

In 1883, Forrest was awarded the positions of surveyor-general and commissioner of crown lands, which, by virtue of the power and prestige they represented, accorded him a seat on the colony's Executive Council. He was also nominated to the Western Australian Legislative Council. After the colony became self-governing in 1890, Forrest was elected unopposed to the seat of Bunbury in the Legislative Assembly. On 22 December 1890, he was appointed as the first Premier of Western Australia. 

1864  -             The International Red Cross is founded.

The Red Cross is an international organization that cares for the wounded, sick, and homeless in wartime. On 22 August 1864, twelve nations adopted the Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick of Armies in the Field. This agreement called for medical personnel to remain neutral, giving aid to the sick and wounded during war, regardless of the country or allied group from which they came. It also proposed the use of an international emblem to mark medical personnel and supplies. The emblem chosen was a red cross on a white background.

The Red Cross was originally known as the International Red Cross, as it encompassed branches all over the world. In 1986, the name "Red Cross" was changed to the "International Movement of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent" in order to cover also numerous Arab branches.

1872  -             Giles begins his first expedition into the Australian desert.

Ernest Giles was born William Ernest Powell Giles on 7 July 1835 in England. He emigrated to Australia in 1850 and was employed at various cattle and sheep stations, allowing him to develop good bush skills.

Giles made several expeditions in the Australian desert. The first expedition departed from Chambers Pillar on 22 August 1872 and resulted in the discovery of an unusual oasis in the desert, the Glen of Palms, now called Palm Valley. Also on this journey, Giles named Gosse's Range, now called Gosse's Bluff. He discovered Lake Amadeus, a huge saltpan in central Australia, which he named after the King of Spain, and he first sighted Mount Olga, which he named after the king's wife. Giles arrived back at Charlotte Waters from his first expedition on 1 December 1872.

1872  -             The Northern and Southern sections of the Overland Telegraph Line, crossing the Australian continent, are joined.

The Overland Telegraph Line was a major feat of engineering, which connected Australia to the rest of world via a single wire. The motivation for building the Overland Telegraph Line came from the fact that a submarine cable already reached from England to Java, and the British-Australian Telegraph Company was prepared to lay a submarine cable from Java to Darwin. It remained only to connect Darwin to the rest of Australia.

It was logical for the line to connect first with Adelaide, as Adelaide was the closest point linking to the major centres of Melbourne and Sydney. Thanks to the influence of Charles Todd, superintendent of telegraphs and government astronomer in South Australia, the South Australian government agreed to build a 3200 kilometre overland telegraph line connecting Darwin with Port Augusta. The Line would closely follow the route charted by explorer John McDouall Stuart on his final expedition in 1862.

Begun in 1870, the Overland Telegraph Line was completed in 1872. It was an exceptional feat, carried out in searing heat through the Australian desert, and six men lost their lives during the construction. The northern and southern sections were joined on 22 August 1872, finally bringing Australia into telegraphic communication with the rest of the world.   

Cheers - John