Australian History
Friday, January 13, 1939. : 71 people die in Victoria in bushfires on ‘Black Friday’.
Friday the thirteenth is considered by the superstitious to be a day associated with bad luck. Friday, 13 January 1939, was indeed a devastating day, when a firestorm swept across southern Victoria, killing 71. The state had already experienced a hotter and drier than usual winter and spring. The effects of this were exacerbated in the first week of January 1939 when an almost stationary high pressure system established itself over the Tasman Sea, bringing very hot air from the continental interior across southeastern Australia. In Adelaide, South Australia, temperatures had reached a searing 47.6 degrees Celsius on the 12th. Heatwave conditions in Victoria caused several spot fires across the state. On Friday the 13th, a strong northerly wind hit the state, causing several of the fires to combine into one massive front, fanning the fires into a wall of flame.
Many people living in sawmilling towns in the mountains were killed. Fifteen died at Fitzpatrick’s mill near Matlock. The townships of Narbethong, Noojee, Woods Point, Nayook West and Hill End were burnt to the ground while Warrandyte, Yarra Glen, Omeo and Pomonal were badly damaged, as were settlements in the Yarra Ranges, such as Toolangi, Matlock, Rubicon, the Acheron valley, Tanjil and Thomson valleys and Warburton. Alpine areas in the North East such as Bright, Cudgewa and Corryong were affected, along with the Otway Ranges, the Grampians and areas in the southwest. Some of the resultant ash and smoke fell as far away as New Zealand. The bushfires were only doused by welcome rains on January 15.
The land took several decades to recover from the devastation. Ash and debris washing into catchment areas contaminated some water supplies for years. The only good to come out of the disaster was that the fires contributed directly to the passing of the Forests Act, which gave the Forests Commission responsibility for forest fire protection on public land.
Australian History
Tuesday, January 13, 2004. : The Spirit of Tasmania III makes the first Sydney to Tasmania voyage.
Ferry services first began operating regularly between Melbourne and Tasmania in 1921. With the increasing popularity of the automobile, it became apparent by the 1950s that a vehicular service would be required. Early travellers wishing to drive their own cars in Tasmania had to arrange for passage on the “Taroona” from Melbourne, and cars had to be loaded and unloaded using the ship’s cranes.
The “Princess of Tasmania”, which commenced operations in 1959, was the first Roll-on/Roll-off vessel to employ technology developed in Europe during the postwar period. Commissioned by the Federal Government, and operated by the government-run Australian National Line, the Princess of Tasmania could carry 333 passengers and 130 cars. Various other passenger and vehicular ferries followed.
In 1985, the Australian National Line ceased its Bass Strait operations. The Federal Government funded the establishment of the TT-Line, which was to be owned by the people of Tasmania, and operated by a Board of Management that reported directly to the State Government. The “Abel Tasman” was the first vessel to run under the new TT line, doing so until it was replaced in 1993 by the “Spirit of Tasmania”. The company expanded its operations to include a faster passenger-only catamaran, and eventually increased its vehicular services with twin vessels the Spirit of Tasmania I and II, with nightly services between Port Melbourne and Devonport commencing on 1 September 2002.
World History
Thursday, January 13, 1205. : The “Great Frost” begins in England.
Hundreds of years ago, the British climate was much colder than it is now. It was so cold that, for many Winters, the Thames River in London froze over completely.
The winter of 1204-05 was exceptionally cold. 13 January 1205 (some sources quote 14 January) marked the beginning of the coldest known season in England, and “the Great Frost”. It was the first recorded instance when the Thames river froze over completely, and drinks solidified into ice. Ale and wine, being ice, were sold by weight rather than by capacity. The frost continued for over two months, until 22 March, and during that time the ground could not be tilled. Employment hit farmers’ workers, and there was a severe food shortage which, in turn, drove up the price of wheat and vegetables.
World History
Tuesday, January 13, 1942. : Car-maker Henry Ford patents the plastic automobile body.
Henry Ford, born in 1863, was the founder of the Henry Ford Motor Company. He was one of the first to apply assembly line manufacturing to the mass production of automobiles. This had the effect of making the automobile more affordable for the average consumer. Ford was interested in plastics developed from agricultural products, especially soybeans. Ford utilised soybean-based plastics throughout the 1930s in plastic parts such as car horns and in paint. He took this to new levels when, on 13 January 1942, he patented a plastic-bodied automobile which was 30 percent lighter than ordinary cars. The design never became popular, but whilst most car bodies today are still made of metal, plastic components are becoming more common.
World History
Sunday, January 13, 1985. : 392 people are killed when a train derails in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia is a country of 1,127,127 km² in size, situated in the Horn of Africa. It is one of Africa’s poorest nations, with millions dying from the effects of famine since the early 1980s. Infrastructure in the country is insufficient to meet the needs of the population. On 13 January 1985, the nation was hit by another disaster, when a train derailment killed 392. The train was about 200km from Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, when it derailed at a crossing, sending several carriages plunging into a ravine. The actual death toll remains unknown, as some reports estimated it at 428; regardless, the accident was the world’s third worst.
World History
Friday, January 13, 2012. : Italian cruise ship, the Costa Concordia, runs aground near shore, killing 32.
The cruise ship Costa Concordia, built in Italy in 2004, was launched in September 2005 and delivered to Costa Costa Crociere, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation, in June 2006, at a cost of 450 million Euros. The ship was 290.20 metres long, had a beam of 35.50 m, and boasted thirteen decks. A luxury ship, the Costa Concordia had 1500 cabins, four swimming pools, five restaurants, five jacuzzis, five spas, casino, disco, a tri-level theatre and a poolside movie theatre on the main pool deck.
The Costa Concordia departed Civitavecchia, Italy at 21:18 local time on 13 January 2012 for a 7-night cruise, with over 4000 passengers and crew on board. Shortly afterwards, at 21:45, it hit a rock off Isola del Giglio, after making an unauthorised deviation from its planned route. The Captain, Francesco Schettino, ordered the ship to be steered close to the island to show the locals. The collision created a 53 metre long gouge in the port side hull along 3 compartments of the engine room. After power to the engines and ship services was cut off, the ship began to take on water, finally rolling over onto its starboard side, where it lay atop an underwater rocky ledge, from where it was feared it could sink into deeper water. At 22:54, Captain Schettino gave the order to evacuate. Many passengers escaped in lifeboats, a procedure rendered difficult by the angle of the listing ship. Rescue crews were quickly despatched, but 300 passengers remained aboard after both the captain and the second master abandoned the vessel. 32 passengers perished, with two not being found until some time after the rescue operations ended.
Costa Concordia was officially declared a “constructive total loss” by the insurance company, while Captain Schettino was later charged with failing to describe to maritime authorities the scope of the disaster, and for abandoning incapacitated passengers. The parbuckle salvage of the ship was undertaken in the largest salvage operation of its kind to date, and the Costa Concordia was set upright on 17 September 2013. In July the following year, the vessel was refloated and towed to Genoa, where the dismantling process began.