Dougwe wrote:

---

1984....only seems like yesterday.

---

Gday...

it's my topic so I guess I can go off-topic

Back before I retired (I didn't use the 'work word' ) we were standing around having a morning tea. One of the young kids from the HR area was drinking out of a white mug with 1990 written on it. It interested me and I asked the significance of 1990.

 "That's the year I was born." he replied. 

Still astounds me how many 14 year old kids are driving cars these days

cheers - John 

Gday...

1855  -             All property of the Sydney Railway Company is transferred to the New South Wales government.

The Sydney Railway Company, established for the purpose of constructing the first railway line, was incorporated on 10 October 1849. Work began on the first railway line from Sydney to Parramatta, a distance of 22km, early in July 1850.

Almost from the very beginning, the Sydney Railway Company experienced numerous obstacles and setbacks. Land required to complete the Sydney-Parramatta line became too expensive to purchase, and the company was already experiencing financial difficulties. Furthermore, the goldrush resulted in a shortage of labour as men left their jobs in droves in the hope of striking it rich. There was a shortage of timber and iron, too, as business owners took their goods to the goldfields. There, they established very profitable trading outposts where men were willing to pay more, being unwilling to travel back to the cities for supplies.

Due to the many difficulties, the construction of the Sydney to Parramatta railway line was put on hold until taken over by the New South Wales colonial government. All property owned by the Sydney Railway Company was handed over to the New South Wales government on 3 September 1855. This allowed for further development of the Sydney suburban rail network.

1894  -             The Cambus Wallace runs aground off Stradbroke Island in southern Queensland in the first of two events which cause the island to be broken into North and South.

North Stradbroke and South Stradbroke are two islands located in Moreton Bay, off southeast Queensland. In the late 1800s, the two islands were still one, joined by a narrow neck of sand known as Jumpinpin, approximately 100m wide. That changed due to a series of events between 1894 and 1896.

The Cambus Wallace was a 75 m iron hulled steamer weighing around 1 650 tonnes, carrying a load of whiskey and dynamite. It ran aground off Jumpinpin in the early morning of 3 September 1894. The ship began to break apart, six crew members were drowned, and much of the cargo was washed up on the sand. During the cleanup afterwards, the explosives were piled in a hollow between the sand dunes and detonated, blowing several craters in the sand and destabilising the dune structure in an explosion that was heard as far away as Cleveland. Over the next two years, natural forces continued to erode the seaward side of the bar. During Autumn 1896, the gale-force winds of a late-season cyclone caused the final breakthrough, creating a passage through Stradbroke Island. By 1898, the passage had increased from about 6 metres to 1500 m in width, although the depositing of sand over time has reduced that.

The breakthrough changed the nature of the southern Moreton Bay area permanently. Tidal inundation increased erosion on farmland around the mouth of the Logan River, and farmers were forced to dig canals to prevent land loss, while the oyster industry was heavily affected. Jumpinpin Channel is now a well-used fishing and boating channel, though still precarious to negotiate.

1901  -             The Australian flag is flown for the first time.

Following the proclamation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901, the Commonwealth government held a design competition for a new national flag. There were 32,000 entries in the competition, and most featured the Union Jack, the Southern Cross, or native animals.

Five almost identical entries were selected to share the 200 pound prize. The entries belonged to Ivor Evans, a fourteen-year-old schoolboy from Melbourne; Leslie John Hawkins, a teenager apprenticed to an optician from Sydney; Egbert John Nuttall, an architect from Melbourne; Annie Dorrington, an artist from Perth; and William Stevens, a ships officer from Auckland, New Zealand. On 3 September 1901, the new Australian flag flew for the first time from the top of the Exhibition Building in Melbourne. The flag was simplified, and approved by King Edward VII in 1902.

1939  -             Australian Prime Minister, Robert Gordon Menzies, announces that Australia is at war with Germany.

Robert Gordon Menzies entered politics in 1928 after being elected to Victorias Legislative Council for East Yarra. After six years in Victorian state politics as Attorney-General and Minister for Railways (192834), he was elected to federal parliament as member for Kooyong. In 1938, Menzies unsuccessfully challenged Lyons for the leadership of the United Australia Party. After he was defeated, Menzies resigned as a minister and as Deputy leader of the UAP. In April 1939, however, he was elected leader of the party following the death of Joseph Lyons, and became Prime Minister on 26 April 1939, entering into a tumultuous situation on the world stage.

Following increased aggression by Hitler's forces and the German invasion of Poland, Great Britain declared war on Germany on 3 September 1939. Without consulting Cabinet, not all of whom shareed his views, Menzies immediately announced Australia's support of Britain. The Australian government sent Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircrews and a number of Royal Australian Navy (RAN) ships to fight for Britain, as well as raising a volunteer force, the Second Australian Imperial Force (AIF). In the speech he made on 3 September 1939 Robert Gordon Menzies, the Australian Prime Minister, announced:

"Fellow Australians, it is my melancholy duty to inform you officially, that in consequence of a persistence by Germany in her invasion of Poland, Great Britain has declared war upon her and that, as a result, Australia is also at war. No harder task can fall to the lot of a democratic leader than to make such an announcement."

1976  -             U.S. spacecraft Viking 2 lands on Mars to take the first close-up photographs of the planet's surface.

Each Viking mission to Mars consisted of an orbiter and a lander. Viking 1 was the first to arrive on the surface of Mars, on 20 July 1976, making history as the first time a robotic spacecraft touched down on the planet. Viking 2 was launched on 9 September 1975 and entered the orbit of Mars on 7 August 1976. The Viking 2 Lander touched down at Utopia Planitia a month later, on 3 September 1976.

The Viking landers contained instruments for examining the physical and magnetic properties of the soil and for analysing the atmosphere and weather patterns of Mars. They transmitted images of the surface, took surface samples and analysed them for composition and signs of life, and deployed seismometers. The Viking 2 Lander operated on the surface for 1,281 Mars days and ended communications on 11 April 1980 when its batteries failed.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1873  -             Colonel Warburton captures an Aboriginal woman with the intent of forcing her to reveal the whereabouts of native wells.

Peter Egerton Warburton was born on 15 August 1813, at Northwich, Cheshire. He joined the navy at the tender age of 12 and served for many years in India before retiring in 1853. He then came to Australia, whereupon he was appointed to command the Police Forces of the Colony of South Australia, an office he held until 1867. It was during this time that he developed his love of exploring.

Warburton's goal was to complete the first crossing of the central Australian continent from east to west. In 1872 he was selected by Sir Thomas Elder, a Member of the Legislative Council, to lead an expedition in an attempt to find a route from central Australia to Perth, and to report on what sort of country lay in between. Warburton's expedition was the first in Australia to use only camels, and no horses at all. Travelling through the desert was hard-going, and scarcity of water was huge problem. Warburton was notorious for capturing Aboriginal women hoping to force them to reveal where native wells were located. On 30 August 1873, Warburton captured one young native girl, but she escaped by gnawing through the thick hair rope used to secure her to a tree. On 4 September 1873, Warburton recorded the following:

"A howling hideous old hag was captured, and worried by the former escape, we secured this old witch by tying her thumbs behind her back, and haltering her by the neck to a tree;during which time we had to watch her by turns, or she would have got away also."

In the end, the old woman was released, as she was clearly leading the party away from native wells.

2006  -             Australian icon, Steve Irwin, is killed by a stingray.

Stephen Robert "Steve" Irwin was born on 22 February 1962 in Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria. He moved to Queensland when he was still a child, where his parents developed and ran the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. For his sixth birthday, young Steve received his greatest wish - his very own 3.6m long scrub python for a pet.

Steve grew up learning how to catch and care for crocodiles. He used his skills to assist the Queensland Government's East Coast Crocodile Management program, which involved, among other ventures, catching North Queensland crocodiles. In 1991, Irwin took over the running of the reptile park, which was later renamed "Australia Zoo".

As a passionate environmentalist, Irwin became known for the television program "The Crocodile Hunter", an unconventional wildlife documentary series which he hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. Irwin's outgoing personality, energetic vitality and outrageous antics in the series made him an international celebrity. He also starred in Animal Planet documentaries, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets.

Australia lost one of its most popular icons and ambassadors in the early afternoon of 4 September 2006. Steve Irwin was filming an underwater documentary off the Great Barrier Reef, when he was fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray barb. He is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Bindi, born in 1998 and son Robert (Bob), born in 2004. The family intends to continue Steve's remarkable legacy of caring for a variety of wildlife, and raising environmental awareness across the world.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1699  -             Sea explorer William Dampier departs 'New Holland' after sailing along the western coastline for five days.

The first European to "discover" Australia was not Captain Cook. Numerous Dutch and Portuguese explorers had mapped sections of coastline of the "Great South Land" prior to Cook. Nor was he the first English sea captain to land on Australian soil. That honour went to William Dampier.

Dampier was born in 1652. As an experienced sea captain and pirate, he became the first Englishman to explore and map parts of New Holland and New Guinea. In 1688, he landed briefly at King Sound near Buccaneer Archipelago on the north-west coast of Australia. He was unimpressed by the dry, barren landscape, the lack of water and what he described as the "miserablest people in the world" - the native population.

Eleven years later, he was back, after the British Admiralty commissioned Dampier to chart the north-west coast, hoping to find a strategic use for 'New Holland'. He arrived at Shark Bay in the west, and spent five days exploring north. Having failed to find any fresh water, Dampier departed Roebuck Bay in disgust on 5 September 1699.

1880  -             The first Salvation Army meeting in Australia is held in Adelaide.

The Salvation Army began on 2 July 1865 when William Booth preached the first of nine sermons in a tattered tent on an unused Quaker cemetery in London. Initially running under the name of the East London Christian Mission, Booth and his wife held meetings every evening and on Sundays, to offer repentance, Salvation and Christian ethics to the poorest and most needy, including alcoholics, criminals and prostitutes. Booth and his followers practised what they preached, performing self-sacrificing Christian and social work, such as opening Food for the Millions shops (soup kitchens), not caring if they were scoffed at or derided for their Christian ministry work. In 1878, the organisation became known as the Salvation Army. They adopted a uniform and adapted Christian words to popular tunes sung in the public bars.

The first Salvation Army meeting in Australia was conducted from the back of a greengrocer's truck in Adelaide Botanic Park on 5 September 1880. It was initiated by Edward Saunders and John Gore, two men with no theological training, but who both had a heart for their fellow man's physical and spiritual condition. Saunders and Gore had been converted by the Salvation Army in London. With the words "If theres a man here who hasnt had a square meal today, let him come home to tea with me", the men began a ministry that was soon to expand throughout Australia.

1885  -             In the US, the first petrol pump, manufactured by Sylvanus F Bowser, is sold.

When automobiles were invented, the need became apparent for alternative fuel sources to power them. Coal gas, camphene and kerosene were inefficient fuels for the purpose, so petroleum became the fuel of choice. Early refiners could convert only a small percentage of their crude oil to petrol for cars. As automobiles became more common, there was increased need for higher quality in the fuels, to enhance the efficiency and power of engines. Once the refining system was improved, supply also became an issue. Whilst automobiles had not yet become available to the "man on the street", petrol-driven engines were emerging as more common in industry.

The first petrol pump (called gasoline in the USA) was manufactured by Sylvanus F Bowser of Fort Wayne, Indiana, in his barn. It was delivered to the very first petrol-pump owner, Jake D Gumper, on 5 September 1885. The pump tank used marble valves and wooden plungers, and had a capacity of one barrel or 42 gallons of petrol.

1994  -             Australia's first political assassination occurs.

John Newman was born John Naumenko on 8 December 1946 to Austrian and Yugoslavian parents. He already had a strong history of involvement in the Australian Labor Party and the union movement by the time he opted to change his surname by deed poll to Newman in 1972. From 1970 to 1986, he was a State union organiser with the Federated Clerks Union, and he undertook post-graduate studies in industrial law at the University of Sydney, along with numerous Trade Union Training Authority education programs.

Newman first represented Fairfield Council in 1977, a position he retained until 1986. He was Deputy Mayor in 198586 and also served as Acting Mayor in 1986. A by-election in the seat of Cabramatta saw Newman elected to the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales early in February 1986. Here, in an electorate populated by a wide range of southeast Asians, and in which there were underlying racial tensions, Newman undertook a protracted campaign to fight Asian organised crime and corruption: a fight for which he would pay the ultimate price.

At around 9:30pm on 5 September 1994, Newman was shot twice in the driveway of his home. This was Australia's first political murder.

It was four years before an arrest was made. In 2001, after three earlier trials, two of which were aborted and another which ended in a hung jury, former Fairfield City Councillor and local club owner, Phuong Ngo, who had a history of conflict with Newman, was convicted of the assassination.

1997  -             Mother Teresa, famous for ministering to lepers, the homeless and the poor in the slums of Calcutta, dies.

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu on 27 August 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. When she was just 17, she joined the Sisters of Our Lady of Lareto, a Catholic order that did charity work in India. She founded the Missionaries of Charity in 1950, which was a new order devoted to helping the sick, disabled and poor, and continued to tirelessly minister to the world's most needy people. The Missionaries of Charity now operates schools, hospitals, orphanages, and food centres in over 100 cities worldwide. Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979, "for work undertaken in the struggle to overcome poverty and distress, which also constitute a threat to peace".

Mother Teresa died on 5 September 1997. She was given a full state funeral by the Indian Government, an honour normally given only to presidents and prime ministers. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 2003.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1620  -             English emigrants on the pilgrim ship, the Mayflower, depart from Plymouth, England, on their way to the New World in America.

The 'Mayflower' was the first ship containing emigrants to arrive on American shores. It departed Plymouth, England, on 6 September 1620, with 102 men, woman and children passengers. This group is known as the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims departed England because of their desire for religious freedom. All religion in England was strictly dictated by the government, and all were required to conform to such dictates and restrictions. Individual beliefs and forms of worship were actively discouraged, by jailing, torture or, at worst, execution.

The Pilgrims wished to return to the simplicity of the church as seen in the example of the early churches in the New Testament; they did not want the rituals and restrictions of the Church of England. It was this freedom the Pilgrims sought when they left the shores of their homeland for the last time in 1620.

1941  -             Nazi Germany dictates that all Jews over the age of 6 must wear the Star of David in public.

The World War II holocaust was the mass genocide of European Jews and others by the Nazis during World War II. Prior to the execution of hundreds of thousands of Jews, policies paved the way for the Nazis to quickly identify the people they sought to decimate.

On 6 September 1941, the German SS announced the policy of compulsory display of the Jewish symbol, the Star of David, to take effect on September 19, in all German-occupied areas. The policy stated that Jews who were over six years old were forbidden to show themselves in public without the Jewish Star. This consisted of a six-pointed star, outlined with black superscription, and with the word "Jude" (German for Jew) inscribed. It was required to be sewn on securely, and clearly visible on the left breast of clothing. At the same time, the policy was also announced prohibiting Jews from leaving their residential areas without police permission.

1972  -             Nine Israeli athletes being held hostage are killed in a bungled rescue attempt during the Munich Olympic Games.

The 1972 Olympic Games were held in Munich, Germany. On September 5, with six days of the Olympics left to run, 8 Palestinian terrorists stormed the apartment building that housed the Israeli athletes in the Olympic Village. Two Israeli athletes were killed and nine more were taken as hostages. The terrorists demanded the release of over 200 Palestinians serving time in Israeli jails. Negotiations continued over the next 24 hours, but unsuccessfully. The next day, 6 September 1972, the terrorists took the hostages to the Furstenfeldbruck military airbase, where they intended to procure a flight back to the Middle East.

At the airport, police snipers opened fire, killing three of the Palestinians. In the ensuing gun battle, the terrorists blew up a helicopter with the hostages inside and then opened fire on the wreckage with automatic weapons. All nine of the hostages were killed, together with one policeman and two more terrorists. The remaining terrorists were captured, but eight weeks later were released when two Palestinians hijacked a plane in Beirut and demanded their release. The West German government immediately agreed to their demands, and they were flown to Libya. After this, Mossad, the Israeli Secret Service, formed a special unit to hunt down and kill all those responsible for the deaths of the Israeli athletes.

Cheers - John