Australian Explorers
Thursday, September 4, 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.
Australian History
Monday, September 4, 2006. : Colin Thiele, author of ‘Storm Boy’ and other literature, dies.
Colin Thiele was born on 16 November 1920, in Eudunda, a small town north of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. After graduating from the University of Adelaide, he served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II. He then became a high school teacher, college lecturer, and principal. Thiele’s novels for both children and adults were heavily influenced by his own German-Australian upbringing. A number of his stories won literary awards, and several were made into films or TV series. Among his better-known children’s works are “Storm Boy”, “Blue Fin”, “Sun on the Stubble” and “Magpie Island”. In 1977 Thiele was made a Companion of the Order of Australia, the highest level of the award, for his services to literature and education. In 1999, Colin Thiele had an honorary doctorate conferred upon him by the University of South Australia, and thereafter he was known as Dr Colin Thiele AC.
After retiring from teaching and writing, Colin Thiele lived in Dayboro, Queensland, until he died on 4 September 2006. The Thiele Library at the Magill campus of the University of South Australia is named after him, an honour which predated his death by many years.
Australian History
Monday, September 4, 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 members have continued Steve’s remarkable legacy of caring for a variety of wildlife, and raising environmental awareness across the world.
World History
Tuesday, September 4, 1923. : The first American airship, the USS Shenandoah, makes its maiden flight.
The ‘Shenandoah’ was the first rigid airship to be designed and built by the United States Navy, and was the first of four such airships. It was 207m long, had a range of over 8,000km, and the speed capability of just over 100kph. The ‘Shenandoah’ was assembled between 1922 and 1923 at Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA.
The ‘Shenandoah’ made its maiden voyage on 4 September 1923. It was considered safer than other airships of the time, as it was the first rigid airship to use helium rather than hydrogen. However, on 2 September 1925, ‘Shenandoah’ launched from Lakehurst on a flight to the Midwest for training and to test a new mooring mast at Dearborn, Michigan. There were 39 sailors on board. The next day, the ‘Shenandoah’ was torn apart in a violent storm over Sharon, Ohio, killing fourteen of the men on board.
World History
Wednesday, September 4, 1957. : The governor of Arkansas, USA, orders National Guardsmen to prevent black students from attending an all-white school.
Civil rights for African-Americans was becoming a prominent issue in the 1950s. In 1954, the United States Supreme Court had granted African-Americans the right to an equal education. On the morning of 4 September 1957, 9 black students were due to enroll in the previously segregated Little Rock Central High School. The governor of Arkansas, Orval Faubus, rallied 270 armed National Guardsmen to prevent the nine students from entering the school.
President Eisenhower deliberated with the governor and the mayor of Little Rock for 18 days. During this time, there were many scenes of racial hatred and prejudice shown by the white community in Little Rock, and the fear grew that the tensions would escalate into violence. Eisenhower was forced to send in 1,100 paratroopers to establish law and order, and he federalised the Arkansas National Guard. As commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he felt this was the only way to establish law and order, although it went against his desire to avoid using armed forces to enforce desegregation.
For the entire school year, the federalised National Guard remained as a peace-keeping force, and to protect the African-American students. Rather than accept desegregation in schools, Faubus closed all Little Rock schools for the 1958-59 school year. It is a sad indictment on the society of the time that Faubus was re-elected as governor for another four terms.
World History
Wednesday, September 4, 1957. : The Ford Motor Company introduces the ill-fated Edsel.
The Ford Edsel was named after Edsel Ford, the only son of the company’s founder, Henry Ford. It was introduced in response to market research which indicated that car owners wanted greater horsepower, unique body design, and wrap-around windshields. It took five years for the car to move from mere conception to driveable reality.
By the time the Edsel was ready to be released on the US market amid considerable publicity on “E Day”, 4 September 1957, the country was in a recession and consumers were turning to smaller, more economical models. The Edsel ran for three models over three years, and only 110,847 Edsels were produced before Ford announced on 19 November 1959 that it was discontinuing the model. $350 million was lost by the company on the venture.