Australian Explorers
Thursday, December 21, 1837. : Eyre attempts the first overlanding venture from Sydney to South Australia.
Edward John Eyre was born on 5 August 1815 in Hornsea, Yorkshire. After coming to Australia, he gained valuable bush skills whilst droving cattle overland from Sydney through to the Liverpool Plains, Molonglo and Port Phillip. He was keen to open new stock routes through the country, and aimed to be the first to overland cattle from Sydney to the fledgling colony of South Australia.
On 21 December 1837, Eyre departed from Limestone Plains where Canberra now stands, with one thousand sheep and six hundred cattle. His route took him first to Melbourne where he replenished his supplies, then he hoped to head directly west to Adelaide, thus avoiding returning along the better-known route of the Murray River. Conditions were difficult, with the countryside in the grip of late summer drought, and he was beaten back by the impenetrable mallee country of western Victoria. Eyre was forced to retrace his steps to the Murray River. The overlanding venture ended up covering close to 2,500 kilometres and took nearly seven months. Because of his unsuccessful short-cut, Eyre was not the first to overland cattle to South Australia: he was beaten by drovers Joseph Hawdon and Charles Bonney.
Australian History
Sunday, December 21, 1817. : Governor Macquarie recommends the use of the name ‘Australia’ instead of New Holland for the continent.
The first known Europeans to set foot on Australia’s shores were the Dutch, doing so over 150 years before English explorer James Cook ever sighted eastern Australia. In 1642, Abel Tasman sighted and named Van Diemen’s Land. After Tasman had established in 1644 that the continent was separate from other land masses to the north, south and east, he referred to the entire continent as “Nova Hollandia”, rather than the previously used “Terra Australis Incognita”, meaning ‘unknown southern land’. Thus, the continent became known as New Holland, a name recognised by other European explorers, including the first English visitor, William Dampier, in 1688.
Although the continent was known as New Holland, James Cook claimed the eastern seaboard for Great Britain under the name of New South Wales. When Governor Phillip arrived with the First Fleet, he was instructed to extend the claim further west, but the western half remained known as New Holland.
In 1802-1803, explorer Matthew Flinders circumnavigated the entire continent, making meticulous observations while charting the coastline. In a letter he wrote to the British Admiralty from the island of Mauritius in 1804, Flinders used the name “Australia” rather than “Terra Australis” or “New Holland”. Some years after his exploration, Flinders wrote an account of his voyages just after his return to England. “A Voyage to Terra Australis” was published in July 1814, just before Flinders died. It was in this account that Flinders proposed that the name “Terra Australis” should be adopted for the southern continent. In the introduction to “A Voyage to Terra Australis”, Flinders wrote: ‘Had I permitted myself any innovation upon the original term, it would have been to convert it into Australia; as being more agreeable to the ear, and as an assimilation to the names of the other great portions of the earth.’
Discussion still ensued upon the naming of the continent. In an official despatch dated 21 December 1817, then-Governor of New South Wales, Lachlan Macquarie, recommended Flinders’ proposal that the continent should be named “Australia”, rather than “New Holland”. The name was later officially adopted by the British Admiralty in 1824.
Australian History
Friday, December 21, 1894. : The South Australian government becomes one of the first in the world to grant women the right to vote.
Women in South Australia gained the right to vote in 1894, and voted for the first time in the election of 1896. It is generally recognised that this right occurred with the passing of a Bill on 18 December 1894. However, a letter from the Attorney-General advising Governor Kintore that Royal Assent would be required to enact the Bill, is dated 21 December 1894. The Bill was enacted when Queen Victoria gave Royal Assent on 2 February 1895.
South Australia was the first colony in Australia and only the fourth place in the world where women gained the vote. The issue of women voting had been discussed since the 1860s, but gained momentum following the formation of the Women’s Suffrage League at Gawler Place in 1888. Between 1885 and 1894, six Bills were introduced into Parliament but not passed. The final, successful Bill was passed in 1894, but initially included a clause preventing women from becoming members of Parliament. Ironically, the clause was removed thanks to the efforts of Ebenezer Ward, an outspoken opponent of women’s suffrage. It seems that Ward hoped the inclusion of women in Parliament would be seen as so ridiculous that the whole Bill would be voted out. The change was accepted, however, allowing the women of South Australia to gain complete parliamentary equality with men.
World History
Saturday, December 21, 1140. : Today marks the start of the legend of the Castle of the Faithful Wives.
Weinsberg is a historic town in southern Germany which was once the site of a long siege. Legend has it that the Duke of Welf inadvertently offended King Konrad III, who proceeded to berate the Duke in front of his own men. Humiliated by the incident, the Duke stormed from the castle, declaring he would never again pay any tribute (tax) to the royal crown. Consequently, the King sent an army to surround the Duke’s castle with the intent to force the surrender of his entire estate.
Unbeknownst to the King, the Duke was well stocked with both secret tunnels and supplies and was therefore able to wait out the siege for many weeks. The King’s men eventually discovered all secret entrances and tunnels, and barricaded the family and workers inside the castle. Threatening to set the entire village of Weinsberg alight, the King demanded the surrender of the men, although the wives and children would be free to leave.
On the morning of 21 December 1140, the women sent a message to the King, requesting that they be permitted to take whatever they could carry with them. The King agreed to these terms, not anticipating any difficulties. When the women exited the castle, the wives were carrying their husbands, while single women carried brothers or fathers. Dumbfounded, the King permitted them to leave in this way, refusing to dishonour his own promise.
In gratitude at the King’s integrity, the Duke and his entire estate renewed their pledges of allegiance to the King. King Konrad III renamed the castle “The Castle of the Faithful Wives,” the name by which it is still known today.
World History
Monday, December 21, 1620. : The Pilgrim ship ‘Mayflower’ arrives at Plymouth Rock in North America.
The ‘Mayflower’ was the first ship containing emigrants to arrive on American shores. It departed Plymouth, England, on 6 September 1620 with 102 men, women and children passengers. This group was known as the Pilgrims. The Pilgrims departed England because of their desire for religious freedom. All religion in England was strictly dictated by the government, and all were required to conform to such dictates and restrictions. Individual beliefs and forms of worship were actively discouraged, by jailing, torture or, at worst, execution.
On 21 December 1620, the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in south-eastern Massachusetts. They established a settlement that became the seat of Plymouth Colony in 1633 and part of Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1691.
World History
Wednesday, December 21, 1988. : Pan Am Flight 103 explodes over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270.
In the evening of 21 December 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 from London to New York crashed 38 minutes after take-off. The plane was at an altitude of 31,000 feet when a bomb hidden inside an audio cassette player detonated inside the cargo area. All 259 aboard the plane were killed, together with another 11 on the ground who died as the debris showered down. A large portion of the plane crashed into a petrol station in central Lockerbie, exploding into a 90m fireball. Aeroplane parts were scattered across 1,360 square kilometres and the impact from the crash reached 1.6 on the Richter scale.
After several years of investigation, Libyan intelligence agents Abdel Basset Ali al-Megrahi and Lamen Khalifa Fhimah were identified as suspects. When Libya refused to hand over the suspects to be tried in the USA, the United Nations imposed sanctions against Libya. The sanctions were only lifted when Libyan leader Colonel Gadhafi agreed to turn the suspects over to Scotland for trial in the Netherlands using Scottish law and prosecutors. Following a three month trial, Abdel Basett ali al-Megrahi was jailed for life in January 2001. His alleged accomplice, Lamen Khalifa Fhimah, was found not guilty.