December 30
Australian History Wednesday, December 30, 1998. : One of a set of stegosaurus prints stolen from a sacred Aboriginal site near Broome is recovered. On 16 October 1996, it was reported that a set of fossilised dinosaur footprints had been stolen from a sacred Aboriginal site in outback Australia. The footprints came from the best preserved trackway […]
December 04
Australian History Friday, December 4, 1953. : Oil is discovered in Exmouth Gulf off the coast of Western Australia. The first exploration drilling for oil in Western Australia was carried out in 1902 at Warren River in the southwest of the state. Traces of oil were located at various sites throughout western Australia in the ensuing years. […]
December 26
Australian History Wednesday, December 26, 1945. : The first Sydney to Hobart yacht race is held. The Sydney to Hobart yacht race is a major Australian event held annually on Boxing Day. Hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the race starts in Sydney on Boxing Day and finishes in Hobart, a distance of 1167km, or […]
December 12
Born on this day Sunday, December 12, 1915. : American singer and actor Frank Sinatra is born. Frank Sinatra was born Francis Albert Sinatra on 12 December 1915, in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA. He is regarded as one of the most important popular music figures of the 20th century. As a musician, he was well respected for […]
December 05
Born on this day Thursday, December 5, 1901. : American animator and film producer, Walt Disney, is born. Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on 5 December 1901. After serving with the Red Cross Ambulance Corps during World War I, he worked first as a commercial artist, then established his own studio, producing animated […]
December 20
Born on this day Thursday, December 20, 1894. : Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, twelfth and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia, is born. Robert Gordon Menzies was born in the Victorian town of Jeparit on 20 December 1894. In 1928 he entered politics after being elected to Victoria’s Legislative Council for East Yarra. After six years in Victorian […]
December 23
Australian History Saturday, December 23, 1893. : The South Australian Parliament gives assent to the Act which supports the founding of communal settlements, or village settlements, most of which are built along the Murray River. When Great Britain colonised New South Wales in 1788, it was already aware of France’s interest in the continent. Thus, it sought […]
December 09
Australian History Saturday, December 9, 1882. : One of the earliest sightings of Australia’s mythical ‘yowie’ is recorded. The yowie is a mythical Australian creature, commonly frequenting bushland on the continent’s eastern side, although the west is not without its sightings. The name “yowie” has come from the Aboriginal word for the creatures. One of the earliest […]
December 01
Australian History Friday, December 1, 1876. : Aboriginal stockman Sam Isaacs and teenager Grace Bussell rescue about 40 people from a stricken steamship off Western Australia. The SS Georgette was a steamship built in 1872, which was sold in England to Western Australia, and used as a coastal trading and passenger service between Fremantle, Albany and Champion […]
December 22
Born on this day Wednesday, December 22, 1858. : Italian operatic composer Giacomo Puccini is born. Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was born on 22 December 1858 in Lucca, Italy. He descended from a long line of musicians, so from a young age was instructed in piano and organ in Lucca, later going on to […]