Craig Hill Training Services
Australia
November 26, 1838 – A second trial finds some of the perpetrators of the Myall Creek massacre of Aborigines guilty of murder
After numerous clashes between European settlers and Aboriginals people in late 1837 in northwest New South Wales, tensions were high. On 10 June 1838, a gang of stockmen, heavily armed, rounded up between 40 and 50 Aboriginal women, children and elderly men at Henry Dangar’s Myall Creek Station, not far from Inverell in New South … Continue reading
November 25, 1880 – Reverend John Flynn, founder of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, is born
Australia’s Flying Doctor Service began with the vision of Reverend John Flynn. John Flynn was born on 25 November 1880, in the gold rush town of Moliagul, about 202 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, Victoria. Flynn’s first posting as a Presbyterian minister was to Beltana, a tiny, remote settlement 500 kilometres north of Adelaide. After writing … Continue reading
November 24, 1642 – Dutch explorer Abel Tasman reaches Tasmania, naming it Van Diemen’s Land
Abel Janszoon Tasman was a Dutch seafarer and explorer born in 1603 in the village of Lutjegast, Netherlands. In 1634 Tasman joined the Dutch East India Company and, after gaining further experience and promotions, was ordered to explore the south-east waters in order to find a new sea trade route to Chile in South America. … Continue reading
November 23, 1923 – Australia’s first public wireless broadcast begins
The development of the wireless telegraphy system, which came to be known as “radio” is attributed to Guglielmo Marconi. Marconi first demonstrated the transmission and reception of Morse Code based radio signals over a distance of 2 or more kilometres in England in 1896, and from this point began the development and expansion of radio … Continue reading
November 22, 1956 – The opening ceremony for the Melbourne Olympics is held
Melbourne was announced as the host city for the Games of the XVI Olympiad on 28 April 1949, beating bids from Buenos Aires, Mexico City and six other American cities by a single vote. The Olympic Games commenced with an opening ceremony on 22 November 1956. Because Melbourne is located in the southern hemisphere, the … Continue reading
November 21, 1936 – Victor Chang, Australian heart surgeon and one of the pioneers of modern heart transplantation, is born
Victor Peter Chang Yam Him was born in Shanghai, China, on 21 November 1936. Chang’s mother died of cancer when he was just twelve years old, and this was a deciding factor in his choice to become a doctor. He came to Australia to complete his secondary schooling in 1953, then studied medicine at the … Continue reading
November 20, 1860 – Burke and Wills first reach Cooper Creek
Robert O’Hara Burke and William Wills led the expedition that was intended to bring fame and prestige to Victoria: being the first white people to cross Australia from south to north and back again. They set out on Monday, 20 August 1860, leaving from Royal Park, Melbourne, and farewelled by around 15,000 people. The exploration … Continue reading
November 19, 1946 – Australian country music singer Slim Dusty records his first single
David Gordon “Slim Dusty” Kirkpatrick was born on 13 June 1927 in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia. The son of a cattle farmer, he was brought up on Nulla Nulla Creek dairy farm. He wrote his first song, entitled “The Way The Cowboy Dies” at age ten and took the name “Slim Dusty” when he … Continue reading
November 18, 1879 – One of Australia’s youngest bushrangers, a 15-year-old member of Captain Moonlite’s gang, is shot and killed.
Augustus Wernicke was one of Australia’s youngest bushrangers, and part of Captain Moonlite’s gang. Captain Moonlite, aka Andrew George Scott, became a bushranger upon his release from gaol, eight years after robbing the bank at Mount Egerton, Victoria. He recruited several other gang members, among them 15-year-old Wernicke, and walked to New South Wales, hoping … Continue reading
November 17, 1840 – Eyre replenishes his supplies at Fowler’s Bay, South Australia
Edward John Eyre was the first white man to cross southern Australia from Adelaide to the west, travelling across the Nullarbor Plain to King George’s Sound, now called Albany. Eyre began the journey with his overseer, John Baxter, and three Aborigines, intending to cross the continent from south to north. He was forced to revise … Continue reading
Pauline Hanson was wrong on Closing the Gap
Pauline Hanson recently responded to the latest annual Closing the Gap Report. At the outset, I am not going to call her a racist – that’s a word too often used to elicit an emotive response rather than to engage in serious debate. She is, however, part of the problem with her opinions based on … Continue reading
Julie Bishop has not changed Australia’s position on the South China Sea
Originally published by New Matilda
Australians trying to work out which government policy is an April Fools gag
One of the Australian Government’s policies is an April Fools hoax, but they won’t say which one. The Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, made the announcement early this morning, describing the prank as a bit of lighthearted fun. But the news has already caused mass confusion. Many Coalition MPs were themselves caught unawares. “Just one?” one … Continue reading
Australia to reinstate imperial measurement system
Yesterday, Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott unexpectedly announced that Australia would be returning to the appointment of Knights and Dames, an outdated system which ceased 30 years ago. This was done without any consultation, discussion or prior notice. Now comes this: Australia will revert to using miles, ounces, yards and furlongs next year, more than … Continue reading
Japan’s scientific research program yet to uncover why whales die when speared with a giant harpoon
After decades of research, Japanese scientists are no closer to discovering why whales suddenly die when tracked down, surrounded and then shot with an explosive-tipped harpoon. “It’s a phenomenon that’s baffled us to date,” said Hayato Takahashi, one of Japan’s chief whale scientists. “Every time we shoot a whale with a harpoon, it dies. That’s why … Continue reading
Syria war combatants to be shut out of Australia
Australian citizens who fight in the Syrian civil war may be shut out of the country, after Immigration Minister Scott Morrison flagged a renewed push to prevent them returning home. Mr Morrison yesterday said an influx of rebel and pro-government militants from the Middle East could “disrupt the significant social cohesion we have in this … Continue reading
Australia investigates corruption in Great Barrier Reef protection agency
Environment Minister Greg Hunt has ordered an “immediate” inquiry into the agency charged with protecting the Great Barrier Reef, after revelations that board members held interests in companies that could benefit from expanding coal and gas production near the reef. The revelations come as the Great Barrier Reef faces growing threats to its existence. Massive … Continue reading
China’s land grab in Australia hidden by “corporate veil”
Chinese investors may own less than 1 per cent of Australian farmland, but the true level is not known because it is hidden behind a corporate veil, according to a new report that offers support to the establishment of a formal register of foreign land ownership in Australia. A joint report by accountants KPMG and … Continue reading
Australia abandons Asian Century from foreign policy
The centrepiece of the Gillard government’s foreign affairs strategy – the Australia in the Asian Century white paper – has been largely jettisoned by the Abbott government. Craig Emerson, who as a senior Labor minister was responsible for the white paper’s implementation, said yesterday that he was surprised and disappointed the document and all its … Continue reading
Australian immigration minister orders asylum-seekers to be called “illegals”
Let us call a spade a spade shall we, Scott Morrison? Your edict, Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, that detention staff and members of your department now refer to asylum seekers as “illegal maritime arrivals” is shameless and shameful. It is a brutish manipulation of language to suit your, and your government’s, political purposes. … Continue reading
Australia forms anti-people smuggling deal with Malaysia
Australia has struck a series of deals with Malaysia to limit the transit of asylum-seekers across its territory to Indonesia. Immigration Minister Scott Morrison, the first Abbott government minister to visit Malaysia, has returned from meetings with Home Affairs Minister Ahmad Zahid with agreements on “operational co-operation” under his belt. “I was pleased to reboot … Continue reading
Australians don’t have skills to work on farms
Onion and carrot grower Yvonne Smith knows how hard it is to find highly skilled workers. Ms Smith, 48, grows 85ha of onions and 30ha of carrots with her husband at Bowhill, on the Murray River east of Adelaide. The couple would like to expand their production, but the main factor slowing them down is … Continue reading
Australian helicopters used in ’70s massacres in West Papua
Research into one of the most violent episodes in the history of West Papua claims that helicopters provided to Indonesia by the Australian government were used in military operations in the 1970s that amounted to genocide. According to a report by the Hong Kong-based Asian Human Rights Commission, two Iroquois helicopters supplied by Australia were … Continue reading
Australian government allows Malaysia to prevent free speech on Australian soil
Imagine this: Australian Opposition Leader Bill Shorten is visiting Malaysia to speak to Australian students studying at Malaysian universities. The Australian High Commission in Kuala Lumpur then issues a written threat to all Australian students, saying that if they hear Mr Shorten speak they will lose any government-funded scholarships. Such an action would be met … Continue reading
Australia neglects militarisation of Antarctica by foreign powers, including China
Australian academics have pointed to dangers that Antarctic bases are for the first time being militarised, despite the continent officially being called a land of peace and science. Satellite systems at polar bases could be used to control offensive weapons, according to a report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute and little could be done … Continue reading
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