Australian Explorers
Tuesday, September 15, 1846. : Explorer Thomas Mitchell discovers and names the Barcoo River, near the present site of Blackall.
Major Thomas Mitchell was born in Craigend, Scotland, in 1792. He came to Australia after serving in the Army during the Napoleonic Wars, and took up the position of Surveyor-General of New South Wales. He undertook four expeditions into the NSW interior. His fourth and final expedition spanned 1845-46, and extended to what is now western Queensland.
Mitchell discovered and named numerous western Queensland rivers. On 15 September 1846, he discovered the Barcoo River, whilst other discoveries on this expedition include the Balonne, Culgoa and Belyando rivers, which mostly flowed south-west into the Darling. However, Mitchell originally named the Barcoo the Victoria River, believing that it flowed north into the Gulf of Carpentaria. His theory was proved incorrect when Edmund Kennedy explored the region the following year, following the Barcoo until it became part of Cooper Creek.
Although this area was not as rich as the land he had found in Victoria on his third expedition, it would prove to be excellent grazing country in the future. The town of Blackall, with its current population of a little less than 2000, grew out of the huge pastoral leases taken up in the area and is situated on the Barcoo River.
Australian History
Thursday, September 15, 1870. : Construction begins on Australia’s Overland Telegraph Line, stretching across the continent from Adelaide to Darwin.
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.
The line was 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 the necessary 3200 kilometre overland telegraph line connecting Darwin with Port Augusta, north of Adelaide. The Line would closely follow the route charted by explorer John McDouall Stuart on his final expedition in 1862.
Begun on 15 September 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.
Australian History
Sunday, September 15, 1895. : Celebrated American writer and humorist, Mark Twain, arrives in Australia on tour.
American writer Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens on 30 November 1835. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, and later worked as a licensed Mississippi river-boat pilot. Writing from a mixture of experience and imagination, the pseudonym ‘Mark Twain’ was spawned in 1863 when he signed a humorous travel account with that name. Twain is best known for stories such as “Tom Sawyer”, “The Prince And The Pauper” and “Huckleberry Finn”.
Twain arrived in Australia on a three-month lecture tour on 15 September 1895. He was fascinated by the unoccupied desert expanses of outback Australia which contrasted greatly with the populated, fertile inland areas of USA. He was captivated by the humble kookaburra, magpie, and Australian wildlife in general. He wrote extensively about his observations of Australian animals and birds, and was surprised by the problem of feral rabbits. In all, he was a man who, during his tour, displayed a keen interest to learn and explore, tempering his interest with his usual satirical comments.
Australian History
Thursday, September 15, 2011. : The discovery by Australian researchers of a previously unknown species of bottlenose dolphin is announced.
There are almost 40 species of dolphins worldwide. Bottlenose dolphins are the most common, and belong to the genus ‘Tursiops’. Found in temperate and tropical seas all over the world, for many years it was believed there were only two species of bottlenose dolphins: the Common Bottlenose Dolphin and the Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin.
On 15 September 2011, the discovery of a third species of bottlenose dolphin was announced. The new species of ‘Tursiops australis’ was named by Researcher Kate Charlton-Robb at Australia’s Monash University after she determined unique features and differences between the dolphin and other bottlenose dolphins. Also known as the Burrunan dolphin, its common name was derived from an aboriginal word in the Boonwurrung, Woiwurrung and Taungurung languages referring to a large sea fish. The species name of ‘australis’ came from the Latin adjective ‘southern’, and refers to the Australian range of this bottlenose dolphin.
Australian History
Saturday, September 15, 2018. : The Queensland Government offers a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of anyone responsible for the widespread contamination of strawberries using needles.
Strawberries are grown commercially in all states of Australia. In the 2016-17 financial year, the Australian strawberry market was worth $506.5 million, and of that, fresh strawberry exports were worth $32.6 million. Queensland produces the most strawberries, followed by Victoria and Western Australia.
The strawberry industry was severely affected following an incident on 9 September 2018, when a man was taken to hospital after swallowing part of a needle that was stuck in a strawberry he had eaten. The punnet had been bought at a Woolworths store north of Brisbane. Within three days, several more cases of needles in strawberries had been reported, with the affected strawberries not restricted to a single brand. The contamination spread to New South Wales, and numerous brands were pulled from Woolworths supermarket shelves. Copycat cases also began to emerge.
On 15 September 2018, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk approved a $100,000 reward being put up by the State Government for information leading to the arrest of a person involved with tampering with the strawberries. The following day, other supermarket chains began to remove strawberries as a precaution. As the contamination scare ran its course, there were around 200 more copycat cases which saw needles and pins being found in other fruits as well, such as apples, bananas and mangoes across all six states and the two mainland territories. Woolworths and Foodstuffs in New Zealand also began removing Australian strawberries from their stores.
Investigations led to the arrest of 50-year-old picking supervisor, My Ut Trinh, two months after the first act of sabotage. The court was told that she contaminated the fruit as an act of revenge over a workplace grievance. Ms Trinh was charged with seven counts of contamination of goods with intent to cause economic loss.
World History
Tuesday, September 15, 1885. : The largest elephant in captivity, Jumbo, is accidentally killed by a train.
“Jumbo”, born sometime in 1861, was an African bush elephant. After being transported from a Paris zoo to the London Zoo, where he was popular for giving rides, he was then sold to P T Barnum’s circus in 1882, where his huge size made him a drawcard for the circus visitors.
Standing at around 3.25 metres in height, Jumbo was the largest known elephant in captivity, and his name has become synonymous with anything of extraordinary size. On 15 September 1885, the gentle giant Jumbo was killed by a train whilst crossing the tracks at a train marshalling yard in St Thomas, Ontario, Canada, while being loaded for transport with the circus.
Of unusual interest is the fact that, whilst stuffing the elephant for posterity, a taxidermist found within Jumbo’s stomach an assortment of coins, key, rivets and even a London policeman’s whistle.