Australian Explorers
Saturday, April 20, 1839. : George Grey’s expedition is saved by friendly Aborigines.
Sir George Edward Grey, born 14 April 1812, was Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony (South Africa), Premier of New Zealand and a writer. Prior to his political career, however, he was an explorer to one of Australia’s remotest regions – the northwest.
His first expedition to the area was in late 1837, but was beset with numerous problems including Aboriginal attack and intense heat and humidity (in some areas, over 50 degrees C) compounded by lack of water. He departed on his second expedition to the northwest in February 1839. After discovering the Gascoyne River, the longest in Western Australia, Grey’s party continued southwards in two whaleboats. The boats were wrecked in the pounding surf near today’s Geraldton, necessitating an arduous journey on foot. Leaving weaker members of the party behind to be rescued later, Grey took five of his men and set off to make a final dash for Perth. They finished all their provisions in four days, and for the next three days, travelled without food or water. They were sustained briefly by a pool of liquid mud until, on 20 April 1839, friendly Aborigines found the party and gave them enough food to regain their strength to continue the journey.
In all, the expedition covered five hundred kilometres on foot. Meanwhile, all but one of the men who had been left back near Geraldton survived to be rescued by a relief party.
Australian History
Monday, April 20, 1908. : Two trains collide at the Sunshine railway station in Victoria, Australia, killing 44 people.
Sunshine is a railway station in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It serves the Sydenham suburban line and the Melton greater metropolitan line and is located in the suburb of Sunshine, about 13.5 km by rail from Flinders Street Station in the city’s centre.
On the evening of 20 April 1908, a Melbourne-bound train from Bendigo collided with the rear of a train from Ballarat, which was just leaving the station. Around 1,100 people were aboard the two trains; 44 were killed in the accident, and over 400 injured. Most of the casualties were from the Ballarat train, as the two locomotives hauling the Bendigo train took much of the impact, leaving the passengers unscathed. Subsequent investigations suggested that the accident may have been caused by the driver of the Bendigo train reading the green signals for the Ballarat train in front, and believing they were for his own locomotive.
World History
Sunday, April 20, 1862. : Louis Pasteur completes the first test of pasteurisation.
Louis Pasteur was born on 27 December 1822 in Dole, Jura, France. Known as the founder of microbiology, he moved into this field when he discovered the role of bacteria in fermentation. Pasteur’s research showed that some microorganisms contaminated fermenting beverages. Extrapolating from this knowledge, Pasteur then developed a process in which liquids such as milk were heated to kill all bacteria and moulds already present within them. This process became known as pasteurisation. The first test of pasteurisation was completed by Louis Pasteur and his associate, Claude Bernard, on 20 April 1862.
His experiments with bacteria conclusively disproved the theory of spontaneous generation and led to the theory that infection is caused by germs. Recognising that infectious diseases are caused by microorganisms, Pasteur’s research soon led others to investigate sterilisation, disinfection, vaccines, and eventually antibiotics. Pasteur created and tested vaccines for diphtheria, cholera, yellow fever, plague, rabies, anthrax, and tuberculosis.
World History
Tuesday, April 20, 1999. : Twelve students and a teacher are killed in the Columbine High School massacre in the USA.
Columbine High School is situated near Denver, Colorado, USA. On 20 April 1999, teenage students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold arrived at Columbine High School in separate cars at 11:10am. They then proceeded to the school’s cafeteria where they placed two duffel bags with 9 kg propane bombs inside set to explode at 11:17am. The teenagers hoped to kill at least 500 people. However, when the bombs failed to detonate, Harris and Klebold armed themselves with two sawn-off shotguns, a 9 mm semi-automatic carbine, and a 9 mm TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol (all placed in a duffel bag and backpack), and walked back into the school building. At 11:19am, they began their shooting rampage which ultimately left twelve students and a teacher dead, before they turned their guns on themselves and committed suicide.
One enduring legacy comes out of the shooting: that of the story of Rachel Scott, the teenager who bravely upheld her Christian beliefs in the face of death. Taunted for and questioned about her faith in God, Rachel’s last words were a confirmation of the faith she lived and was willing to die for. Her brave stand helped others by bringing hope and healing out of an otherwise senseless tragedy.