Australian History
Sunday, May 13, 1787. : The First Fleet of convicts departs Portsmouth, England, bound for Botany Bay.
Conditions in England in the 18th century were tough: the industrial revolution had removed many people’s opportunities to earn an honest wage as simpler tasks were replaced by machine labour. As unemployment rose, so did crime, especially the theft of basic necessities such as food and clothing. The British prison system was soon full to overflowing, and a new place had to be found to ship the prison inmates. The American colonies were no longer viable, following the American war of Independence. Following Captain Cook’s voyage to the South Pacific, the previously uncharted continent of New Holland proved to be suitable.
On 18 August 1786 the decision was made to send a colonisation party of convicts, military and civilian personnel to Botany Bay, New South Wales, under the command of Captain Arthur Phillip, who was appointed Governor-designate. The First Fleet consisted of 775 convicts on board six transport ships, accompanied by officials, crew, marines and their families who together totalled 645. As well as the convict transports, there were two naval escorts and three storeships.
The First Fleet assembled in Portsmouth, England, and set sail on 13 May 1787. They arrived in Botany Bay on 18 January 1788. Phillip immediately determined that there was insufficient fresh water, an absence of usable timber, poor quality soil and no safe harbour at Botany Bay. Thus the fleet was moved to Port Jackson, arriving on 26 January 1788. Australia Day, celebrated annually on January 26, commemorates the landing of the First Fleet at Port Jackson, and the raising of the Union Jack to claim the land as belonging to England.
Governor Phillip was a practical man who suggested that convicts with experience in farming, building and crafts be included in the First Fleet, but his proposal had been rejected. He faced many obstacles in his attempts to establish the new colony. British farming methods, seeds and implements were unsuitable for use in the different climate and soil, and the colony faced near-starvation in its first two years. Phillip also worked to improve understanding with the local Aborigines. The colony finally succeeded in developing a solid foundation, agriculturally and economically, thanks to the perseverance of Captain Arthur Phillip.
Australian History
Sunday, May 13, 1792. : The first confirmed sighting of the elusive Tasmanian Tiger is made.
The Tasmanian tiger, known also by its palaeontological nickname of Thylacine, was a carnivorous marsupial of Australia. It was once believed to roam the entire Australian mainland, as well as parts of New Guinea. Its disappearance from the mainland is believed to have been due to increased competition for food which resulted from the introduction of the dingo by the Aborigines. The Thylacine was up to 110cm in length, with a strong, stiff tail that was half the length of its body again. At its shoulder, it stood about 60cm tall. The Thylacine had tawny grey-brown fur, and around 16 black or brown stripes on its back, mainly at the tail end.
The first evidence of the existence of such a creature came when Abel Tasman discovered Tasmania, which he named Van Diemen’s Land, in 1642. Upon the shores of the island, one of Tasman’s crewman, F.Jacobszoon, described seeing “footprints not ill-resembling the claws of a [tyger]”.
French exploration provided confirmation of the Tasmanian tiger when French naturalist Jacques-Julien Houtou de Labillardière, who was on Rear Admiral Bruni d’Entrecasteaux’s expedition to “New Holland”, made what is considered to be the first definitive sighting of the Tasmanian tiger, on 13 May 1792.
The last known Thylacine died in the Hobart Zoo on 7 September 1936, a victim of exposure and starvation caused by lack of understanding of the animal’s needs. Since then, there have been numerous sightings of the Thylacine, but none have been confirmed.
Australian History
Sunday, May 13, 1984. : The Australian $1 banknote is replaced with a $1 coin.
Decimal currency was first introduced in Australia on 14 February 1966. The new Australian dollar replaced the Australian pound, which was different to the Pound Sterling, and introduced a decimal system. Australian Prime Minister at the time, Robert Menzies, a devout monarchist, wished to name the currency “the Royal”, and other names such as “the Austral” were also proposed. Menzies’s influence meant that the name “Royal” prevailed, and trial designs were prepared and printed by the printing works of the Reserve Bank of Australia. The name “Royal” proved unpopular, and it was later shelved in favour of “Dollar”.
The Australian $1 banknote was replaced by a coin on 13 May 1984. The original standard coin depicts five kangaroos, but the one dollar coin is also used to carry commemorative designs. Such commemorative designs include the International Year of Peace in 1986, Australia’s bicentenary in 1988, the 1992 Barcelona Games, Landcare Australia in 1993, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith in 1997, International year of older persons in 1999 and the International Year of Volunteers in 2001.
World History
Wednesday, May 13, 1981. : An attempt is made to assassinate Pope John Paul II.
Pope John Paul was elected to the papacy on the third ballot of the 1978 Papal Conclave, but the popular man who came to be known as the “Smiling Pope” died after just 33 days in office. Pope John Paul was succeeded on 16 October 1978, by Cardinal Karol Wojtyla of Poland, who took the name of Pope John Paul II in deference to his predecessor. At just 58 years old, the new Pope also became the youngest pope to be elected in the twentieth century.
As Pope, John Paul II’s reign was marked by his untiring ecumenical approach to accommodate other Christian sects as well as to forge a better understanding with the Islamic world, without compromising his own Catholic stance. A major theme of his papacy was also his fight for freedom of religion in the Communist bloc and during his term as Pope, he was significant for his contribution to the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe. On 13 May 1981, the Pope was shot and seriously wounded while passing through St Peter’s Square in Rome in an open car. The Pope was rushed by ambulance to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he underwent surgery as the bullet had entered his abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs.
The would-be assassin was 23-year-old escaped Turkish murderer Mehmet Ali Agca. Bystanders quickly overcame Agca and detained him until police arrived. Four days later, the Pope offered forgiveness from his hospital bed. Agca was sentenced to life imprisonment, and it remains uncertain what his motive was for the attempted assassination.