Australian History
Friday, February 19, 1836. : British Parliament officially proclaims the colony of South Australia and formally defines its boundaries.
Explorer Matthew Flinders was the first European to investigate the possibilities for settlement on South Australia’s coast, doing so in 1802. The discovery and charting of the Murray River by Charles Sturt to the southern coast captured the attention of Lord Wakefield in England, who then promoted South Australia as being the ideal location for a proposed new settlement.
The South Australian Colonisation Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1834, and the first settlers arrived in 1836. South Australia is the only state in Australia not to have been populated with convicts during the colonial years. Governor John Hindmarsh arrived in the new colony on the HMS Buffalo, accompanied only by free settlers. South Australia was officially proclaimed on 19 February 1836 in England. Letters Patent were issued and attached to the 1834 South Australian Colonisation Act to legally create the Province of South Australia and to establish and define its boundaries. The Old Gum Tree at Glenelg North, South Australia, was the location of the reading of the Proclamation by Governor Hindmarsh on 28 December 1836.
Australian History
Wednesday, February 19, 1879. : The foundation stone for Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building is laid.
The Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, is one of the world’s oldest exhibition pavilions and an excellent example of the magnificent architecture of the time. It has featured strongly in significant Australian historical events. Designed by Joseph Reed, of the firm Reed and Barnes, the building features a round-arched architectural style, the dome of which was influenced by Brunelleschi’s 15th-century cathedral in Florence, Italy.
The foundation stone for the Royal Exhibition Building was laid by then-governor of Victoria, Sir George Bowen, on 19 February 1879. The Great Hall was opened to the public for the first time in May of the following year, several months prior to the first International Exhibition, which opened in October 1880. This exhibition showcased the cultural, industrial and technological achievements of over 30 nations, allowing Australians a first-hand taste of overseas. The Great Hall remains the only surviving Great Hall that once housed a 19th-century international exhibition, and which is still used for exhibitions today. In 1888, the Hall was the site of another major event when it housed the Melbourne Centennial Exhibition, celebrating the centenary of European settlement in Australia.
For several decades after it first opened, the Great Hall was the largest building in Australia. The first Australian Federal Parliament, held in the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne which was the only building in Australia large enough to house the 14,000 guests, was opened by the Duke of Cornwall and York, later King George V, on 9 May 1901. Hence, Melbourne became the seat of power for the Commonwealth of Australia until Parliament House in Canberra was built.
Australian History
Thursday, February 19, 1942. : The Japanese bomb Darwin, Australia.
In 1942, Darwin, the town on the north coast of Australia’s Northern Territory, had an official population of about 2,000. It was a strategically placed naval port and airbase. During World War II, on 19 February 1942, the Japanese attacked Darwin, launching two waves of planes comprising 242 bombers and fighters. The first wave of 188 Japanese planes was spotted at about 9.15am by civilians on Bathurst and Melville Islands, and Darwin was warned at least twice by radio. However, the warnings were not taken seriously, and the attackers arrived at their target just before 10.00am. Just before midday, there was a high-altitude attack by land-based bombers, concentrated on the Darwin RAAF Airfield: this attack lasted around 20 minutes. Although it was a less significant target, a greater number of bombs were dropped than in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
At least 250 civilians and military personnel were killed, but the real toll was probably much higher as the count did not include the many Indigenous Australians in the area; nor were the numbers among the crews in the merchant ships in the harbour fully known. Most of Darwin’s essential services were destroyed, and half of the town’s civilian population fled due to fears of imminent invasion. Darwin’s naval base was essentially abandoned following the attack, and ships were repositioned at Brisbane, Queensland, and Fremantle in Western Australia. Admiral Osami Nagano, the Chief of the Navy General Staff, was in favour of invading Australia, but the Japanese army lacked the resources for such an undertaking, and opted for the invasion of Midway Island instead. The attacks were the first of an estimated 64 air raids against Australia during 1942-43.
World History
Friday, February 19, 1937. : 3,000 Ethiopians are massacred by Italian forces.
In 1934, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was still one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Countries such as Britain and France had conquered smaller nations in the “Scramble for Africa” the previous century. In 1896, Italy had attempted to expand in eastern Africa by adding Abyssinia to her conquests (which included Eritrea and Somaliland), but the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa. Italy bided her time.
In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of friendship with Abyssinian leader Haile Selassie, but Italy was already secretly planning to invade the African nation. In December 1934, a dispute at the Wal Wal oasis along the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini an excuse to respond with aggression. Italian troops stationed in Somaliland and Eritrea were instructed to attack Abyssinia. Overwhelmed by the use of tanks and mustard gas, the Abyssinians stood little chance. The capital, Addis Ababa, fell in May 1936 and Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and replaced by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel. On 19 February 1937, Italian forces began pillaging Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. 3,000 innocent Ethiopian men, women and children were shot or beaten to death over a period of three days.
Selassie’s request for European help was largely ignored. It was not until after World War II, and the defeat of Italy, that he was returned to power.
World History
Friday, February 19, 1937. : 3,000 Ethiopians are massacred by Italian forces.
In 1934, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was still one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Countries such as Britain and France had conquered smaller nations in the “Scramble for Africa” the previous century. In 1896, Italy had attempted to expand in eastern Africa by adding Abyssinia to her conquests (which included Eritrea and Somaliland), but the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa. Italy bided her time.
In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of friendship with Abyssinian leader Haile Selassie, but Italy was already secretly planning to invade the African nation. In December 1934, a dispute at the Wal Wal oasis along the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini an excuse to respond with aggression. Italian troops stationed in Somaliland and Eritrea were instructed to attack Abyssinia. Overwhelmed by the use of tanks and mustard gas, the Abyssinians stood little chance. The capital, Addis Ababa, fell in May 1936 and Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and replaced by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel. On 19 February 1937, Italian forces began pillaging Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia. 3,000 innocent Ethiopian men, women and children were shot or beaten to death over a period of three days.
Selassie’s request for European help was largely ignored. It was not until after World War II, and the defeat of Italy, that he was returned to power.