13th March in Oz History

1810 - In court evidence, botanist George Caley (Kaley) says he saw Tedbury remove a lead bullet from his mouth. Luttrell, who claims he thought Tedbury had speared his sister, is acquitted. Writing in later years, John Macarthur Junior thinks Tedbury died ‘a year or two afterwards’ from the effects of his wounds.

1827 - Sydney's general street lighting was turned on for the first time....and the populace said,
"Oh, goody, I can see the rabid kangaroos coming for me this time,".

1828 - Charles Connor was Hanged at Sydney for burglary from the house of James Mackenzie at Windsor.

1829 - There was a report of Bushrangers at Illawarra.

1837 - Seamen on whaling ships docked in Sydney Harbour went on strike for an increase in wages from 3 shillings and six pence to 4 shillings plus “victuals and grog.” Quite right!

 1847 - Explorer Edmund Kennedy sauntered away from Parramatta to trace the course of the Barcoo River, hoping it would lead to the Gulf of Carpentaria in the north.

1852 - Edward Bulwer Lytton Dickens was pupped. Youngest and favourite son of author Charles Dickens, Eddie upped sticks and parked himself on Aussie soil with another brother Alfred. Edward became well-known in the Aussie wool industry and a politician.

1856 - You can stop dressing up like dear old Ned when casting your vote - the Victorian Electoral Bill was passed with the breakfast prunes to allow for a secret ballot!

1860 - The first hotelkeeper's licence for the Overland Corner Hotel, South Oz, was granted to William Brand on this day.

1865 - On the steep and narrow road from Araluen to Majors Creek Ben Hall and Johnny Gilbert, with the assistance of Tom Clarke, attempted to hold up the Araluen Gold Escort.They shot at the guards, Constable Kelly, who was shot in the shoulder and Constable Byrne , who was shot in the foot but they were outflanked by the remaining two troopers and were forced to flee from the scene.

1866 - Female reported that she had been with bushranger Thunderbolt for ten months engaged to assist Mary Ann Bugg during her confinement and that Thunderbolt had kept her with them since then, tied up, that she had escaped from their camp near the headwaters of the Little Manning River on this day.

1875 - Explorer Ernest Giles shot through from Fowlers Bay on his third expedition (greedy bugger) to cross the western deserts.

1877 - The railway line from Winchelsea to Birregurra (Vic) was opened.

1884 - Don't start throwing the rice and confetti just yet - Daisy Bates got hitched to Breaker Morant but she soon kicked him to the kerb after he "forgot" to pay for the wedding and nicked some oinkers and a saddle.

1885 - The first Employers' Union was established in Melbourne.

1892 - Constable Arthur William Brown, Victoria Police; Constable Brown was walking in Williamson Street, Bendigo when he was unexpectedly struck in the mouth by a man called David Storey. Such was the violence of the blow, that Brown fell and struck his head on the stone water channel. His skull was fractured and he died as a result of the injury.

1939 - The request that a new Military District to be created comprising the whole of the Northern Territory was supported by Cabinet and approval in principle was granted for the creation of the 7th Military District. Darwin had prior to this decision been administered from 1st Military District in Queensland.

1942 - The 102nd Anti Aircraft Battalion of the New York National Guard of Buffalo was moved to Darwin to provide anti aircraft defence for aerodromes in that area. The movement by air to Darwin commenced on 13th March and was completed by 8th April 1942. In total =  31 officers and 560 enlisted men.

1943 - Japanese reconnaissance flight over Darwin

1958 - The last ever Aussie-built steam train went to work on the Brisvegas network.

1963 - The government excised land from the Arnhem Land reserve, without consulting the traditional owners. When bauxite mining at Yirrkala went ahead, the Yolngu took their case against the Nabalco mining company to the Northern Territory Supreme Court. In its 1971 decision, the court did not recognise their claim.

1967 - Record floods hit northern Queensland.

1969 - Back away slowly from the tin of baked beans - they finally started piping natural gas from Bass Strait, into Brisvegas saving many from being dutch ovened on a cold winters night.
Natural gas was also piped into Victoria from the Bass Strait fields for the first time.

1973 - The homosexuality of Jeff Hayler was made an issue of in the Student President elections at Macquarie University in Sydney.
Hayler eventually won the election.

1975 - Split Enz arrived in Sydney from New Zealand.

1975 - Enactment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act.

1977 - The New Christ Church Cathedral was consecrated in the presence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Cathedral replaced the church that was destroyed in Cyclone Tracy.

1983 - The Task Force, a support group to raise funds for the Club 80 Legal Defence Fund met at the Sydney Gay Centre.

1985 "Neighbours....everybody needs gooood neighbours, with a little understanding..."
Yes, Jim Robinson moved his brood of offspring and entire street into our lounge rooms, without a by-your-leave I might add, and there the whole damn lot has taken root ever since.

1988 – West Australian yachtsman Jon Sanders, completed the first solo triple circumnavigation of the world.

1993 – The Paul Keating-led Australian Labor Party returned to power after federal election.

1996 - 150 people rallied to save the Block around Eveleigh Street, Redfern. Organised by the Redfern Aboriginal Housing Coalition, the rally condemned plans to relocate up to 100 Aboriginal families from housing owned by the Aboriginal Housing Company in Redfern and to commercially develop the land.

2000 - The newly renovated Positive Living Centre which provided a meeting place, meals and referral services for HIV+ clients, in the old Surry Hills Police Station, was opened by Justice Michael Kirby.

2001 - An Aboriginal rights group occupied Cockatoo Island and submitted a land claim under the Native Title Act 1993. On this day the High Court refused the group’s application and the group vacated the Island.

2003 - ABC TV's science program Catalyst aired finds that Australia's Aboriginals,the Gunditjmara people around Lake Condah, farmed eels and built stone dwellings in the southeast of the country for 8,000 years.

2004 - Hundreds gathered to celebrate the opening of the new Redfern Community Centre.

2015 - A landmark NT Aboriginal Housing Forum in Darwin resolved to form a new NT Aboriginal Housing Body to tackle the worsening Aboriginal housing crisis in the NT.

2015 - The Matagarup Aboriginal Refugee Camp was set up on Heirisson Island in Perth, and was issued with an ultimatum by the City of Perth to dismantle all permanent structures at the site by 12 pm on this day. When this was not adhered to around 50 police moved in with horses and dogs. They began dismantling the embassy, seizing mattresses, chairs and a marquee, which they loaded into trucks.

2016 - The Mullagh Wills Foundation celebrated the 150th Anniversary of the 1866 Boxing Day match between the MCC and the All Aboriginal Cricket Team with the official launch at the annual Johnny Mullagh cricket match in Harrow.
The launch involved local Aboriginal community leaders and descendants of the original Aboriginal Cricket Team and the original property settlers who taught the Aboriginals to play cricket. Other dignitaries included Member for Wannon Hon Dan Tehan and State Member for Lowan Emma Kealy MP and representatives of five Councils.

2017 - A record number of Indigenous students from The University of Western Australia graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree this year, the highest number of Indigenous Law graduates in UWA's history.

2020 - The Melbourne Covid Grand Prix was cancelled at the last moment just as fans were queueing up outside for fears it would be a super-spreader event. 

March 12 in Australian History

1773 - Tobias Furneaux, second in command on Cook's second jaunt to the Pacific, was so impressed with Adventure Bay in Tassie that he parked his boat there for 5 days where he explored the bright lights and big city in other words he had the rigging overhauled, with wood and water collected .

Bet he still painted the town red.

1827 - William Leddington was Hanged at Sydney for piracy on the brig Wellington at Norfolk Island.

1827 - James Smith was Hanged at Sydney for piracy on the brig Wellington at Norfolk Island.

1827 - John Edwards was Hanged at Sydney for piracy on the brig Wellington at Norfolk Island.

1827 -Richard Johnson was Hanged at Sydney for piracy on the brig Wellington at Norfolk Island.

1827 - Edward Coulthurst was Hanged at Sydney for piracy on the brig Wellington at Norfolk Island.

I think there may have been a conspiracy...

1842 - First issue of Launceston Examiner.

1853 - William Wright was Hanged outside Adelaide Gaol for a murder committed at East Wellington.

1868 - We know what Henry James O'Farrell was up to on this day as he so thoughtfully made his mark in history for future historians by attempting to assassinate the 2nd male pup of Queen Vicky, Prince Alfred, as he swanned about a picnic at Clontarf in Sydney.
The prince fully recovered from the shooting but, alas, the deemed insane O'Farrell failed to recover from the hangman's noose.

1877 - The Main South Railway Line (NSW) was opened in all its glory.

1883 - Murrumgunarriman, known as Twopenny, who was a member of the famous Aboriginal Cricket Team of 1868, passed away.

1885 - Const 1/C John Mitchell, NSW Police, was shot by an escaping prisoner.

1903 - Constable John Hamley, WA Police, drowned at Roebourne.

1904 - Australia's first car race was held near current-day Sandown Park, Victoria, with Harley Tarrant rocketing across the line to the chequered flag in a twin cylinder car he built himself with the top engine pulling power of 8hp.

1906 - John Kelly (King) brother of Ned Kelly, regimental number 880, became a probationary constable in the WA Police Force.

1913 - Canberra was christened before it was actually built, with Mrs. Governor- General Lady Denman unveiling the foundation stones and the secretly-held moniker for our nations capital.

1916 - A Model T Ford left Glenelg, with five adults, three children and a pile of luggage, bound for Birdsville. The driver was Joseph Kelly, an employee of Ford agents Duncan and Fraser, who undertook to drive the owner, Jack Gaffney, licensee of the Birdsville hotel, and his family, in the new vehicle up the notorious Birdsville track.
After 1200 tortuous kilometres, they reached Birdsville.
The only problem with the car was one puncture.

1921- Edith Cowan was our first chickybabe elected to an Oz Parliament on this day in Westralia.

1923 - Frank Matamin alias Rosland was hanged at Fremantle Prison for the murder of Zareen at Nullagine.

1936 - Westralia made voting compulsory in state elections so they equally share the blame around for whoever gets in.

1953 - 40 intermarried couples - that is, Aussie servicemen who married Japanese gals whilst stationed in Japan - departed from Kure, Japan on this day.
Sadly, some chose not to travel to Oz for various reasons and 52 children were left behind by Australian fathers.

1955 - Constable Richard Mills, WA Police, murdered at Nyabing.

1957 - The inaugural meeting of the The Society for Growing Australian Plants was held in the Horticultural Hall, Victoria Street, Melbourne, on this day at 8 p.m.

1960 - The first Adelaide Festival of Arts was opened by the Governor- General, Viscount Dunrossil, from the Sound Shell in Elder Park, on this day.

1961 - Swan Hill wasn't a sleepy hollow on the banks of the Murray River any longer - it was proclaimed a Town!

1967 - Even though the trustees of the Myer Music Bowl stated they wouldn't sanction the 1967 Moomba Pop Concert it went ahead anyway with The Seekers headlining before a record-making 200,000 audience.

1968 - The Federal government paid a reported $50,000 compensation to Captain John Robertson, who was commanding HMAS Melbourne at the time of the Voyager disaster.

1980 – James Miller was sentenced to life in prison for committing the Truro murders.

1991 - The President of the Court of Appeal of NSW, Justice Michael Kirby, raised the issue of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act covering HIV-AIDS in the first Tim Wilson Memorial Lecture.

2006 - The Country Fire Authority (CFA) said a large fire burning out of control in over 2,000 hectares of bush near Ballarat in Victoria's west was proving difficult to contain.

2007 - The Gunbalanya Council in the Top End community of oenpelli was asking charities and the public to donate much-needed kitchen items and clothing to flood-affected residents.

2008 - The New South Wales Government said it was looking at a Melbourne scheme which allows train commuters to travel free early in the morning, but the Opposition said it would not work.

2009 - A major oil slick from a damaged cargo ship spread from Moreton Island, off Brisbane, to the Sunshine Coast.

2010 - China's refusal to allow HIV-positive Australian author, Robert Dessaix, to enter the country led to calls for the Beijing Government to change the law.

2011 - The Department of Immigration said about 150 men broke out of a Christmas Island detention centre.

2012 - Gay rights activists slammed an anti-gay marriage ad by Katter's Australian Party for the Queensland election.

2013 - The centenary of Canberra was marked with an official ceremony on the lawns of Parliament House.

2014 - Warren Mundine from the Prime Minister's Indigenous Advisory council discussed Rosie Anne Fulton's case and other cases of indigenous people being held in prison without being tried because they were deemed unfit to plead.

2015 - Renowned Australian pianist David Helfgott was asked to choose soothing classical music as part of an innovative research project to help reduce stress levels in children with autism.

2016 - Suicide survivor Ingrid Cumming told her story in the hope of raising awareness and tackling the high rate of suicide in remote Aboriginal communities.

2017 - New Zealand cartoonist Murray Ball, who created long-running comic strip Footrot Flats, died aged 78 after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease.

11th of March in The History of The Fair Isle of Oz

1813 - The first cattle fair was held, no doubt starring someone's mother in law, at Parramatta NSW.

1843 - Scratching about in the dirt during a brief 5 min break, tin was discovered near Beechworth in Victoria.

1845 - The first Maori War took place, with British troops sent from Australia over to NZ's North Island to suppress an uprising by the Maori's against European settlers breaches of the Waitangi Treaty.

1848 - The Savings Bank of South Australia opened its doors in rented premises in Gawler Place on this day.

1857 - William Twigham (or Twiggem, alias Lexton) was Hanged at Melbourne Gaol for the murder of Sergeant Bernard McNally at the Cathcart Diggings, near Ararat.

1862 - John Seaver was Hanged at Adelaide Gaol for the murder of Richard Pettinger at Adelaide.

1871 - WA's first ever railway which toottled from Busselton to Yonganup was opened by a private timber company (it was dobbin-powered until August of that year).

1871 - The Overland Telegraph Party, having grown tired of square dancing their way across the desert, tripped over a spot now known as Alice Springs.

1873 - Samuel Wright was Hanged at Castlemaine for the attempted murder of a man Named Hagan (or Hogan) at Dead Horse Flat, near Eaglehawk.

1892 - Nasty piece of work Frederick Deeming was arrested at Southern Cross - the Westralian town, not the Melbourne train station - for murder most foul aka being a serial killer.  More of the creature's details HERE.

1914 - Joseph Belbin was Hanged at Campbell Street Gaol for the murder of Margaret Ledwell at Deloraine.

1940 - Coalminers spat the dummy and went on strike for higher wages and shorter working hours; as it was during a war this brewed not a little resentment and ill-will. The strike wasn't sorted out until May.

1942 - Everyone over the age of 16 excitingly got to be registered and to carry ID cards.

1957 - The Aleutian Islands sent forth a tsunami that was felt along the coastline of NSW.

1961 - Monash Uni, in Melbourne and named after soldier and engineer Sir John Monash, was officially opened for all who sail in her with a red ribbon, scissors (and a bottle of champers flung against its side) by Vic Premier Sir Henry Bolte.

1969 - Division 4, a cop drama set in Melbourne, arrested the viewing audience when it debuted on the idiot box today.

1972 - The Womens’s Right March in Sydney, with support from the Sydney Gay Liberation.

1980 - A Summer Offensive event, a forum Gays in our schools was held at Federation House. The booklet Young, Gay and Proud was discussed.

1983 - Bob Hawke tried on the crown as the 23rd Prime Minister of Oz.

1984 - Premier Wran and Police Minister Anderson announced the setting up of the Community Relations Bureau, including a Police-Gay Liaison Unit.

1984 - Almost 3,000 attended the International Women’s Day March from the Town Hall to Hyde Park.

1994 - The Chullora - Sefton Goods Railway Line (NSW) was closed.

1996 - John Howard tried on the crown also as 25th Prime Minister of Oz.

2001 - Needing somewhere to store the relics that were once former PM's of Oz, the National Museum of Australia opened its doors for business.

2011 - NSW and Tasmania experienced the effects of a tsunami that began in Japan from the massive 8.9 earthquake ; 56cm wave at Norfolk Island, 35cm wave at Port Kembla NSW, and a 23cm wave at Spring Bay TAS. Unusual currents noted at Port Kembla and Sydney Harbour. Several swimmers washed into a lagoon at Merimbula NSW.

2015 - Traditional owners in WA launched a class action over deregistration of sacred sites.

2015 -Tony Abbott, the Australian Prime Minister who aspires to be known for his contribution to Indigenous affairs was criticised for suggesting that Indigenous people who live on remote homelands are making a lifestyle choice. He said “it is not the job of the taxpayer to subsidise lifestyle choices”.

What a drop-kick.

March 10 in Oz history

1788 - French ships left Botany Bay never to be seen again (wrecked in Vanuatu with all lives lost).

1794 - The Flogging Parson aka Rev Samuel Marsden rocked up in Port Jackson aka Sydney.

1801 - Lieutenant James Grant and the Lady Nelson arrived at Jervis Bay, with Ensign Barrallier and botanist George Caley on board. The latter took the opportunity to explore the foreshores and meet the local Aboriginal people.

1804 - John Brannan, Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Hanged at Sydney.

1804 - Timothy Hogan , Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Hanged at Sydney.

1805 - Report of the return of Meehan and Kent to Sydney aboard the Ann.

1834 - William Ward was Hanged at Launceston for burglary.

1834 - Samuel Newman was Hanged at Launceston for burglary.

1834 - Thomas Dawson was Hanged at Launceston for burglary.

1836 - The Tolpuddle Martyrs were all granted pardons. News of them reached Sydney in June.

1840 - John (or James) Hunt ("The Doctor") Hanged at Sydney for murder of Dan McCarthy at Regentville.

1852 - Today saw the sad demise of a little Wotjobaluk boy, William Wimmera, who had been taken from near Antwerp, Victoria, following the killing of his mother by the local station owner, to the UK by a reverend to be educated but quickly contracted and succumbed to TB.

His story is available HERE

1866 - Long Poy was Hanged at Castlemaine for the murder of Ah Yong at Emu Flat.

1874 - Explorer Ernest Giles stumbled over the Petermann Range in south west Northern Territory.

1877 - A shearing machine invented by Robert Savage was first demonstrated at Walgett, NSW.
On a sheep, of course.

1877 - Residents of Cloncurry, in Qld, were no longer villagers, they were city folk with the declaration of Cloncurry as a city site.

1882 - The Camden Railway Branch Line (NSW) was opened all the way to Camden.

1884 - Another ugly bit of history- Pacific Islanders were forbidden, by an outrageously racist law, to obtain any work other than that of a plantation hand. This law was a result of a riot that broke out at the Mackay Racecourse after Pacific Islanders were refused service at a bar where whites were drinking.

1902 - The Inverell Branch Railway Line (NSW) was opened allllll the way to Inverell.

1908 - Douglas Mawson, Edgeworth David and Ernest Shackleton were tired of playing "I Spy" so they climbed Mount Erebus in Antarctica.

1913 - The Ayrfield Colliery Railway Branch Line (NSW) was opened all the way to Ayrfield No 3 Colliery.

1918 - An extremely intense, severe tropical cyclone crossed the North Queensland Coast near Innisfail where almost every building in the town was flattened. Winds of 240-288 km/hour battered the area. Over 305 mm (12 inches) of rain fell on that Sunday, with the eye passing close to the Hull River at about 10 pm. Many trees were uprooted and strewn on the ground, broken or bent right over and those remaining were stripped of leaves.

1919 - The Victoria Railways opened an extension of the tram service from Sandringham to Black Rock.

1931 - Tired of waiting for the govt to actually do something constructive and wanting to lend a helping hand, the first Apex Club was born in Geelong.

1938 - An infantile paralysis (poliomyelitis) epidemic claimed its 1,983rd victim.

1942 - Department of Defence cabled the High Commissioner in London as to whether war gases can be supplied.

1946 – An Australian National Airways (ANA) DC3 aircraft crashed near Hobart, killing 25.

1949 - Lake George in Canberra felt the earth move when an earthquake shook its booty at 5.3 on the Richter Scale.

1949 - The town of Nightcliff, NT, was gazetted.

1949 - A Queensland Airlines Lockheed Lodestar crashed at Coolangatta, Qld, killing 21 people.

1959 - Obviously looking into their crystal balls and listening to various pollies to spawn more offspring , the Aussie population officially reached 10 million odds, bods and sods.

1965 - The first National Service birthday-draw was held.

1971 - Billy McMahon put on the crown to become Australia's 20th Queen PM.

1974 - Prince Philip officially opened Darwin Community College.

1986 - Carrick Hill, a grand estate at Springfield, bequeathed to the people of South Australia by Sir Edward Hayward who died in 1983, was opened to the public for the first time on this day.

1997 - Alcan South Pacific Pty Ltd entered into a detailed Heads of Agreement with the Aboriginal community in Weipa, Cape York, Queensland, for a proposed bauxite mining and shipping operation from Alspac’s existing mining lease at Ely, north of Weipa.

2006 - The Northern Territory Department of Health and Community Services said the potentially fatal virus, Murray Valley encephalitis, had been found in chickens in the Darwin region.

2007 - A nine-year-old girl died from a brown snake bite in northern New South Wales.

2008 - A group of young Aborigines attending a Royal Lifesaving Society course asked for a formal apology after being asked to leave an Alice Springs backpacker hostel allegedly because of the colour of their skin.

2009 - A coronial inquest into the death in custody of an Aboriginal elder heard the air conditioning in the back of the prison van in which he was travelling was broken.

2010 - Two NT Police constables told an inquest they were embarrassed by the way they treated a man who later died in custody.

2011 - A major supermarket chain said its stores throughout Western Australia were still dealing with the fall out from a flooded rail line in South Australia.

2012 - Residents in the Perth suburb of Gosnells were being told to leave their homes or get ready to defend them as fire crews worked to contain a blaze in a wildlife reserve.

2013 - Australia's netball team was pursuing a pay rise after no increases in six years.

2014 - Australia's last police tailor, Paull Houston, had moved to new job.

9th March in hysterical, err...historical history in Oz

1787 – Dear Diary.....In Portsmouth, England, Lieutenant Ralph Clark began journalling the voyage of the First Fleet and the early years of British settlement.

1798 - John Wilson led a party including Henry Hacking to present-day Goulburn. According to Judge-Advocate David Collins he was "a wild, idle young man who preferred living among the natives to earning the wages of honest industry".

1804 - William Johnson, Convict, a principal along with Phillip Cunningham participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Executed at Castle Hill, then hung in chains (gibbeting).

1804 - John Neal , Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Hanged at the Government Farm, Castle Hill.

1804 - George Harrington, Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Hanged at the Government Farm, Castle Hill.

1807 - John Macarthur had 2 illegal stills imported, which weren't for producing tea and crumpets, so they were marked for immediate deportation.

1812 - John Gould soldier of the 73rd Regiment of Foot. Hanged in Sydney for the murder of Margaret Finnie, the wife of a fellow soldier.

1826 - The Letters Patent was issued in London to form a Church and School Corporation, giving the Anglican Church the status of an established religion in New South Wales with the right to vast areas of Crown land and control of the school system.

1830 - Standing around bragging about who's nag was the fastest was getting predictable so those in Launceston put their money where their mouths were and formed the Cornwall Turf Club, which held its first gee-gee race today.

1835 - Sir Thomas Mitchell shot through from Sydney for an exploratory trip down the Bogan and Darling Rivers.

1836 - He who would not let a drop pass his lips, temperance campaigner John Tawell ordered *sob* 600 gallons (or for the metrically minded souls, 2,271 litres) of the good stuff rum *sob* to be emptied into Sydney Harbour. *sob*
Pickled herring was on the menu for many a month afterwards.

1845 - Thomas Mitchell poured out his heart to his diary that his expedition party ‘had followed the well-beaten paths of the natives during the whole of this day’s ride, and most anxious my guides and I to see them; but they avoided us’.

1856 - Determined not to let the South Oz populace enjoy their scarce spare time from hard work, an election was held for the very first South Oz parliament.

1857 - Hobart was ever-so-gently lit by gas light.
The sort of gas we tear farmland apart for...not the baked beans kind.

1870 - Maria Smith did the soft shoe shuffle as she shuffled off  this mortal coil today. You might know her better as Granny Smith who lent her moniker to an apple of a greenish hue.

1870 - Splish, splash I was takin' a bath.....Gympie's first recorded flood reached a height of 71 feet (21.64m).

1878 - Cyclones damaged the town of Cairns, Qld.

1880 - Newly created Pioneer Divisional Board (later Pioneer Shire Council) met for the first time.

1886 - The South Coast Railway Line (NSW) was opened all the way to Waterfall.

1886 - The Royal National Park Branch Railway Line (NSW) was opened all the way to...guess?! - The Royal National Park !

1902 - British New Guinea was passed, like a parcel, to Australia but the Govt played coy and didn't formally accept this little trinket until 1906.

1903 - Cyclone Leonta damaged Townsville, Qld, 10 died.

1909 - Blessing those who flew kites with keys in thunderstorms, the electric tram service began scooting around Adelaide.

1909 - The Endeavour, an Australian-built hydrographic survey vessel, was the Commonwealth’s first seagoing ship. Its research work included locating fishing grounds off the east coast and in the Great Australian Bight.

1910 - Mitchell Library, Sydney, opened.

1924 - Const James Flynn, NSW Police, was shot by an escaping prisoner.

1928 - The Armidale Teachers College, NSW, was established.

1928 - Sergeant Alexander Mark, WA Police, was shot in the line of duty.

1937 - Construction began on the University of Queensland buildings, St Lucia.

1940 - The coal strike went national.

1949 - The Council for Industry and Scientific Research (CSIR) was re-organised (don't you just love a good reorganisation?) and extended as the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

1951 - The High Court said Pig Iron Bob Menzies' Govts' Communist Party Dissolution Act was very naughty and suggested he should learn to share his toys.

1955 - The Powers That Be won again through general apathy and ceased the Hamilton to Balmoral (Vic) train passenger service.

1966 - Australia's immigration laws were relaxed to allow non-European residents to apply for citizenship after five years instead of 15 years.

1967 - Johnny Young headlined the 3CV Spectacular at the Capital Theatre, Bendigo.

1974 - Prince Philip and Earl Louis Mountbatten began a two-day visit to Darwin.

1974 - Changing their hemlines along with their title The Country Party became The National Party.

1979 - The right to six weeks of unpaid maternity leave was granted to Australia's working women by the Arbitration Commission.

1980 - The Lambda Radio CB Group held a Forum with speakers from community and business and the Anti-Discrimination Board at the Acceptance Centre 46 Oxford Street.

1982 - Enactment of Australia’s first Freedom of Information Act.

1982 - The Gay Rights Lobby (GRL) and the HLRC held a public meeting and reported on the results of lobbying against the Unsworth bill.

1984 - The title deeds for the Cummeragunja Reserve land passed to the Yorta Yorta people through the newly created Yorta Yorta Land Council. Today, many Aboriginal families reside on Cummeragunja.

1987 - The demon of homophobia was exorcised from Darlinghurst Police Station by the Sisters of the Order of Perpetual Indulgence before it was closed and incorporated into St Vincents Hospital.

1995 - Oh look, even more apathy saw another railway line shut for good with the closure of the Maffra to Stratford Junction (Vic) track.

1996 - A public rally was organised by the Aboriginal History Committee (AHC) to protest against the planned demolition of the historically significant Cyprus-Hellene Club building, the site of the 1938 Day of Mourning protest.

1997 - Cyclone Justin I. Large cyclone but stayed offshore. Mackay wave station recorded peak wave measurements at 8.45 meters. Some wind damage around the Whitsunday Group.

2000 - Telstra Dome was open for boring the pants off tourists aka business in the even bigger eyesore Docklands area, in some bizarre alternate reality Melbourne.

2001 - Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know, an exhibition that covers 100 years of Lesbian, gay and transgender history in NSW opened in the Fountain Court of the NSW Parliament House.

2006 - Harry Seidler, the Austrian-born but beloved Aussie architect, passed into the great scale of beyond.

2006 - The Balranald Railway Line (NSW) was kicked off the Chrissy card list when it was closed from Caldwell to Moulamein.

2013 - Lodge Kirrawee commissioned an oil painting of Bungaree, to represent the Indigenous person on their crest, which was unveiled on this day with an Aboriginal smoking ceremony conducted by Uncle Max Dulumunmun Harrison and a welcome to country by Mr Bursill.

March 8 in events in Oz

1801 - Lt James Grant, having slapped together a simple renovator's delight cottage, sowed the first seeds of corn, wheat and a small flower garden on what he dubbed Churchill Island, Victoria.

1802 - Lt John Murray, having some free time and empty space in his back shed, took formal possession of the Port Phillip area.

1804 - Charles Hill , a freeman who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion, was Hanged at Parramatta.

1804 - Samuel Hughs ,Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion, was Hanged at Parramatta.

1804 - Samuel Hume , Convict, a principal and informant who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion. Executed at Parramatta, then hung in chains (gibbeting).

1804 - John Place, Convict who participated in the Castle Hill Rebellion, was Hanged at Parramatta.

1827 - Whilst Cap. James Stirling and 18 others were poking about on the Swan River, having a good stickybeak near current-day Claisebrook they stumbled over 3 armed Noongar blokes... “they seemed angry at the invasion of their territory, and by their violent gestures gave him reason to rejoice at the space of water, which divided them from the boat."

1828 - Aussie Post, which wasn't Aussie Post at the time, released the first Aussie stamps, which were actually the first postal markings for the Sin-City aka Sydney area.

1830 - Mark Byfield was Hanged at Sydney for the theft of a silver watch.

1832 - Thomas Wood (alias Carberry) was Hanged for highway robbery outside Parramatta.

1837 - Governor Bourke liked Hoddle's doodles on the back of the envelope and approved the plans for the village he named Melbourne.

1840 - A mere 6.5 kms from Coleraine in Victoria, on Konongwootong Station at a spot titled The Hummocks (but renamed The Fighting Hills) a massacre of between 40 to 80 Konongwootong gundidj men, women and children took place by three Whyte brothers and three employees in retaliation for Aboriginal women making off with some sheep.
Despite the relevant authorities being informed of the massacre no action was taken.

1875 - There was a Royal Commission appointed to consider lighting and ventilation of the Victorian Legislative Assembly chamber, possibly due to the ginormous amount of hot air being percolated within.

1894 - The Melbourne CBD was all sparkly and glittery when it was lit up with electricity for the first time from the Melbourne City Council generators.

1895 - Another amazing episode in *drumroll* "When Victorian Railway Networks Were Extended" *cue dramatic music*
An extra 77 kms of track was rolled out between Wycheproof and Sea Lake.

1905 - Const 1/C William Justin, NSW Police, died in a horse riding accident whilst on patrol.

1921 - Well, bugger the orchids up the garden wall and over the other side, yet another railway line was extended when Manangatang to Annuello line grewed an extra 24 kms.

1925 – Melbourne's first commercial ratio station, 3UZ, began broadcasting.

1965 - QANTAS flapped its arms really hard and made the first non-pit-stop commercial flight from USA to Oz.

1966 - The Oz Govt announced it would triple the number of troops in Vietnam.

1973 – The Whiskey Au Go Go fire occurred in Brisbane's Fortitude Valley, 15 of the club's patrons were killed.

1975 - Crickey, watch out - us sheilas are rioting in the kitchens again.
Today saw the first edition of ABC Radio's The Coming Out Ready Or Not Show. Later shortened to The Coming Out Show, it was the first radio program to concentrate exclusively on women's issues and feminist politics.

1976 - Darwin Motor Vehicle Registry commenced business in a new building on Goyder Road.

1983 - This day was the official end of the blockade of the proposed Franklin Dam construction site which had drawn huge media attention around the world; involving much debate in both Tassie and Federal Parliaments the dam was never going to fly with the huge volume of destruction of natural wilderness it entailed.
The damming of Tasmania's Lake Pedder had shown us how natural beauty would be lost forever.

1989 - An exhibition of artworks by the late Michael Horne were held at the Oaklands Gallery, 55 Ross Street, Glebe.

1989 - John Howard was kicked to the kerb as leader of the Liberal Party.

1989 - A meeting at the Heffron Hall, Darlinghurst expressed a need for a gay and lesbian community centre and for SGLMG to investigate how it will be set up and operated.

1989 - Panels from Victoria were added to the Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt and a ceremony was held in front of the new Parliament House. The Quilt is now 100 square metres.

1990 - Sergeant Rodney Desmond Evans, NT Police, died whilst on duty.

1998 - The Abattoirs Branch Railway Line (NSW) was opened.

2007 - At least two people were killed when a cyclone slammed into Australia's northwest coast, paralyzing mining operations and leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

2014 - Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 fell off radar screens less than an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing. 

The aircraft carried 239 people. 

2017 - The Aboriginal Heritage Project, led by the University of Adelaide’s Australian Centre for Ancient DNA published their findings in the journal Nature on this day indicated that cultural connection to country has existed for as many as 50,000 years.

2018 - The Australian Parliament’s Standing Committee on Indigenous Affairs held a public hearing regarding the inquiry into the proliferation of inauthentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander style art and craft products, the focus being on protecting Indigenous cultural intellectual property.

2019 - To celebrate International Women's Day, the National Centre of Biography, Inside Story and the Canberra Times have published obituaries of 28 Australian women whose achievements have been forgotten over the passage of time. You can read them HERE 

2020 - The Australian Museum marked IWD by announcing a $5,000 sponsorship for scientific illustration to remember the work of Harriet and Helena Scott.

March 7 in Oz history

1791 - Mrs. Elizabeth Macarthur wrote in a letter to gal pal Bridget Kingdon,"Mrs. Coleby, whose name is Daringa, brought in a new born female infant of hers, for me to see … it was wrapp’d up in the soft bark of a Tree, a Specimen of which I have preserved, it is a kind of Mantle not much known in England, I fancy. I order’d something for the poor Woman to Eat, and had her taken proper care of for some little while, when she first presented herself to me she appear'd feeble and faint, she has since been regular in her visits. The Child thrives remarkably well and I discover a softness and gentleness of Manners in Daringa truly interesting."
Coleby or Colebee was a leading Aboriginal of Sydney and was captured along with Bennelong by Cap. Phillips although Colebee later escaped, while Elizabeth Macarthur was the real power behind the throne of the infamous Merino sheep.

1817 - The Bible Society of NSW was formed in Sydney.

1826 - Duncan McCallum was Hanged at Sydney for robbery at South Creek.

1826 - Peter Roberts was Hanged at Sydney for robbery at South Creek.

1826 - William Patient was Hanged at Sydney for robbery at South Creek.

1826 - William Morrison was Hanged at Sydney for robbery at South Creek.

1831 - Control of the King Georges Sound settlement was transferred from NSW to WA.

1832 - The first issue of the Government Gazette was published in Sydney as part of the Sydney Gazette.

1833 - John Bowen was Hanged at Sydney for burglary and putting in fear at Inverary.

1836 - Doodling in the back of an envelope with his pencils Robert Hoddle laid out the streets of Melbourne 1.5 chains wide (30 mts) with each block of land 10 chains wide.

1837 - George Capsey was Hanged at Sydney for the robbery and assault of Henry Jarvis near Berrima.

1857 - The Seabelle was a ship that left Rockhampton on this day only to be wrecked off Fraser Island the next day; rumours ran rife in the following years that a white woman and 2 white girls were seen living with the Fraser Island Aboriginal people so the NSW authorities had a word to a ships captain to have a look-see ...
The captain brought back two young girls who were placed in an institution, never to be returned to their parents as he'd promised, and both died at an early age.

1860 - Lieutenant Carr and his troopers of the Native Police shot dead 15 Aboriginals at Bendemere just north of Yuleba. Carr had tracked down and surrounded their camp containing around 100 people because the local squatter, William Sim, complained that they were "annoying the shepherds and demanding rations." Upon seeing the troopers they threw their nulla-nullas at them, to which Carr responded with sustained gunfire for over an hour.

1870 - Gee Lee was Hanged at Toowoomba Gaol for the murder of Louis Vernon at Caroline sheep station on the Burenda run, in the Warrego district.

1870 - Jacky Whitton was Hanged at Toowoomba Gaol for the rape of Henrietta Reiss at Bodumba station near Warwick.

1881 - A Victorian Royal Commission looking into this problem of the Kelly Gang outbreak and the state of the police force began asking questions and probably didn't like the answers they were given.

1882 - The north west of Western Australia was hit by a major cyclone which caused damage to the towns of Cossack and Roebourne.

1883 - NSW Premier Henry Parkes threatened to limit Irish migration to NSW if Irish people did not stop transplanting their old world animosities to the new.

1891 - The Toronto Branch Railway Line (NSW) was opened.

1894 - A Victorian Royal Commission looking into the water supply problem was established...obviously we're still waiting to hear the results!

1894 - South Australia won the 2nd Sheffield Shield cricket competition.

1896 - Victoria passed legislation that opened the way for Federation.

1896 -Japan opened its first consulate in Australia, in Townsville, Qld.

1907 - A fire at the Elwood tram depot destroyed the entire Victoria Railways tram fleet of 17 cars.

1911 - Alexander Smart was Hanged for the murder of Ethel May Harris at 5 Cowle Street, West Perth.

1921 - The Commonwealth Department of Health was formed. It took over the quarantine service of the Department of Trade and Customs, the Australian Institute of Tropical Medicine and the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories. It also became responsible for national health functions such as the treatment of infectious diseases in returned soldiers.

1936 - A short-lived experiment involved the exclusive use of six Tait carriages on a special train running from Flinders Street to Port Melbourne, to meet passengers off international ships. Called The Boat Train, the first run departed Flinders Street station at 9:10am for Station Pier, to meet the Italian liner Esquilino. The return trip departed station pier at 10:15am.

1954 - The Sydney Morning Herald reported about a new souvenir craze that saw people plopping pennies onto the railway tracks ahead of the Royal Train of Queen Elizabeth II during her Royal Tour Down Under in order to flatten the coins to create a very unique momento.

1958 - BHP and the South Australian Government agreed on the establishment of a steel plant and rolling mills at Whyalla, SA.

1959 - Chickybabes were doin' it for themselves when Jessie Cooper and Joyce Steele were the first gals elected to the South Oz Parliament.

1961 - Const. Kenneth Flatt, WA Police, died whilst on duty.

1965 - The Qantas Boeing 707 passenger jet 'City of Townsville' completed the first continuous flight across the Pacific. It roughly followed the course taken 37 years earlier by Charles Kingsford Smith in Southern Cross.
The 'City of Townsville' was later purchased by actor John Travolta.

1966 - The Arbitration Court, at long last, finally awarded equal pay to NT Aboriginal Pastoral workers BUT it was to be phased in over a three year period and came with the exemptions that Aboriginal employees could be classed as "slow workers".

1966 - The first academic year at Flinders University, South Oz, began with the enrolments of 382 first year under graduates and 35 graduate students.

1973 - The headquarters of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in Melbourne were raided by police led by the Attorney-General, Lionel Murphy.

1975 - The Australian Film Commission was established.

1976 - Forbes House, in Makerston Street, Brisbane was purchased and converted into Queensland Police Headquarters and officially opened on this day.

1977 - QEII and Prince Phil started touring all over Or-stray-lia, but without the caravan and boat, to celebrate Liz's Silver Jubilee year.

1979 - The Peak Branch Railway Line (NSW) was closed.

1989 - Larry Kramer’s play The Normal Heart opened for a season directed by Wayne Harrison and starring John O’May and Graham Harvey.

1994 - Over 1/2 million people took part in the 5th Clean Up Australia Day.

1997 - In Australia it was disclosed that the reputed Aboriginal painter Eddie Burrup was actually 82-year-old Elizabeth Durack.

1998 - Entry to the work of lesbian photographer depicting a group of queer women performers, was restricted by the Stills Gallery.

2000 - The Aussie Federation Guard was pupped at Parliament House in Canberra today.

2008 - Captain Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a protest ship harassing Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean, said he was shot in a high-seas clash and his crew members pelted with flash grenades, injuring one. Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith and Japanese officials insisted only warning devices were fired.

2009 - Nations United was the theme for the Mardi Gras.

2010 - A severe storm that began its rumblings on March 6th and continued on its merry way on this day saw thunderbolts and lightning (very, very frightening) with large hail stones, flash flooding and a slightly dampish start to Autumn all over Melbourne.
Who could forget the hail that broke the roof of So Cross station and piled up like snow drifts on the platforms, the flooded city line of Hawksburn Station et el, or the streets of Melbourne becoming the new Olympic swimming training facility?!

2015 - That years Mardi Gras in Sydney saw the theme of Passion adopted.