Born on this day
Tuesday, May 29, 1917. : US President, John F Kennedy, is born.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, on 29 May 1917. After completing his schooling, and prior to enrolling in Princeton University, he attended the London School of Economics for a year, where he studied political economy. Illness forced him to leave Princeton, after which he enrolled in Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in international affairs in June 1940, then joined the US Navy, only entering politics after WWII.
After declaring his intent to run for President of the United States, Kennedy was nominated by the Democratic Party on 13 July 1960, as its candidate for president. He beat Vice-President Richard Nixon by a close margin in the general election on 9 November 1960, to become the youngest elected president in US history and the first Roman Catholic.
Kennedy’s presidential term was cut tragically short when he was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on Friday, 22 November 1963 while on a political trip through Texas.
Born on this day
Sunday, May 29, 1921. : Norman Hetherington, creator of the ABC’s longest-running television series ‘Mr Squiggle’, is born.
“Mr Squiggle and Friends” was a long-running children’s television series on Australia’s ABC. It featured a marionette with a large pencil for its nose, who flew to Earth from the Moon on his spaceship named Rocket. In each episode, Mr Squiggle would produce creative and recognisable drawings from squiggles sent in to the programme by children from across Australia.
The concept of Mr Squiggle was created by Norman Hetherington, who manipulated the marionette from overhead. Norman Frederick Hetherington was born on 29 May 1921 in Lilyfield, New South Wales. Hetherington had a full and busy career as a teacher, graphic designer, puppeteer, and cartoonist with Sydney’s “The Bulletin”.
Hetherington was awarded the OAM (Order of Australia Medal) in the 1990 Queen’s Honours List for his services to illustration. He died on 6 December 2010, aged 89. In May 2014, Hetherington was posthumously honoured with a “Google doodle” celebrating his life and work.
Australian Explorers
Friday, May 29, 1874. : Australian explorer Giles finishes his last keg of water on his desperate attempt to reach his base camp.
Ernest Giles was a frontier explorer of Australia who arrived on the continent in 1850 and was employed at various cattle and sheep stations, allowing him to develop good bush skills. Exploring largely for the love of it, Giles made several expeditions through the Australian desert. Humble though he was, he did dare to refer ti himself as the “last of the great Australian explorers”.
Alf Gibson was a young stockman who begged to accompany Giles on his expedition which departed in August 1873. On this expedition, Giles was able to approach closer to the Olgas, but his attempts to continue further west were thwarted by interminable sand, dust, biting ants and lack of water. After a two-month recovery period at Fort Mueller, Giles set out north towards the Rawlinson Range, from which he again tried to penetrate westwards, but was once more thwarted by Aboriginal attack and insufficient water.
In April 1874, Giles decided to make one last attempt to reach the west, taking Gibson with him. After one day, lack of water caused Giles to send the packhorses back to their camp. A day or two later, Giles’s horse died, so the men began their return to the base camp, sharing Gibson’s horse. Giles instructed Gibson to return to the camp for help, leaving himself to walk. Giles reached where the men had left water kegs and continued on with a supply of water that lasted him six more days. On the third day of his trek, he saw that the packhorses had veered off their original course east, and headed south, deeper into the desert, and that Gibson had followed the tracks. On 29 May 1874, Giles finished the last keg of water and, throwing away the barrel, continued his journey. An oasis and a dying wallaby which he devoured alive revived him so he was able to reach his base camp. After resting just one day, Giles took the experienced explorer William Teitkins and attempted to search for Gibson, but no trace of him was ever found. All Giles could do to honour the brave but unfortunate Gibson was to name the waterless country Gibson’s Desert, “after this first white victim to its horrors”.
Australian History
Wednesday, May 29, 1861. : George Goyder, responsible for the controversial “Goyder Line”, becomes Surveyor-General of South Australia.
George Goyder is a significant figure in South Australian history. Born in 1826 in Liverpool, England, he arrived in Sydney, Australia in 1848, later moving to South Asutralia. He first took up the position of Assistance Surveyor, and became the state’s Surveyor-General on 29 May 1861.
Goyder made frequent journeys into the South Australian countryside, assessing and surveying the land for agricultural development, railway construction, forestry and even mining possibilities. He first ventured north on horseback in 1856, reaching Lake Blanche which he reported to be full of freshwater. His report on the apparently lush countryside was premature. It led to a large number of settlers moving north and taking up land, not realising the seasonal nature of freshwater flows to the area, but who later suffered severely in the drought beginning 1863. In subsequent years he surveyed parts of the Flinders Ranges, as well as land discovered by explorers John McDouall Stuart and Peter Warburton.
Goyder is most famous for the “Goyder Line”, also known as “Goyder’s Line”. This was a theoretical line of demarcation between the southern areas of reliable landfall, and where the vast tracts of saltbush began, signalling arid lands. Because of the severe drought and the northern farmers’ calls for government assistance, Goyder was sent to assess where such a line should be drawn. Goyder determined a line that ran from the border of Victoria north of Pinnaroo, to the east of Burra, peaking north near Orroroo and Pekina, and again near Melrose and Mt Remarkable; the line then continued southwards near Moonta, on the eastern side of Spencer Gulf, and again south of Cowell, on the western shore of Spencer Gulf, extending towards the north-west, ending just northeast of Ceduna.
The Goyder Line was the boundary marking the northernmost limit of South Australia’s wheat growing and pastoral areas, and Goyder advised against settlers taking up agricultural landholdings beyond this point as rainfall would be too unreliable. He believed that using these northern lands for agriculture would result in more desertification of the state. His line was unpopular with farmers who were prepared to take the risk rather than lose their lands. Even the South Australian government failed to heed the warnings: the need for more farming land in the state resulted in land being sold north of the line, amidst the promise of current good seasons. Most of these farmers were forced to move further south when the seasons settled back to “average” once more.
Goyder’s predictions have proven correct, as the government even today considers whether the Goyder Line should be brought further south.
Australian History
Saturday, May 29, 1880. : The Great Hall of Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building is opened to the public for the first time.
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, in February 1879. The Great Hall is a major feature of the Royal Exhibition building. Made of brick, it is set on a bluestone base, and has long central naves, with four triumphal entrance porticoes, one on each side. The Great Hall was opened to the public for the first time on 29 May 1880, 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.
Australian History
Tuesday, May 29, 1917. : Tasmania’s coat of arms is approved by Royal Warrant from King George V.
Tasmania is a small island state located off the southeast coast of Australia. Originally named Van Diemen’s Land by Abel Tasman in 1642, Tasmania is the second oldest state in Australia to have been settled.
Unlike the other states and territories of Australia, Tasmania does not have an official animal emblem, although the Tasmanian devil is the “unofficial” emblem of the state. The extinct Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, also symbolises the state on the Tasmanian coat of arms. The coat of arms features a shield supported by two thylacines. On the shield are wheat, apples, hops and sheep, all symbols of Tasmania’s main rural industries. Above the shield is a red lion holding a pick and shovel, which symbolises the rich mining history of the state. The Latin motto underneath is Ubertas et fidelitas, meaning ‘Fertility and Faithfulness’.
Tasmania’s coat of arms was approved by Royal Warrant from King George V on 29 May 1917, and proclaimed in 1919.
World History
Sunday, May 29, 1453. : Constantinople, capital of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire, finally falls to the Ottoman Empire.
The Byzantine Empire generally refers to the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. Its date of origin is a subject of much debate, but some consider Constantine the Great its founder. Others place its origin during the reign of Theodosius I (379–395) and Christendom’s victory over Roman religion or, following his death in 395, with the division of the empire into western and eastern halves. Regardless of its origin, it existed for approximately 1000 years, during which it was besieged many times, and captured just once, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
The Byzantines re-established themselves in Constantinople in 1261. In the following two centuries, the much-weakened empire was gradually taken, piece by piece, by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans began their final siege of the city on 2 April 1453, attacking in waves, but being beaten back each time. A lunar eclipse on the night of May 22 seemed to portend the end of the city, as the thin crescent moon displayed was symbolic of the Turkish standard flying over Mehmed’s camp. On 26 May, a thick fog descended on Constantinople, and when it lifted at dusk, the citizens were appalled to see the city’s buildings glowing an ominous red colour as the city began to burn under the attack of the Ottomans. On 29 May 1453 the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Sultan Mehmed II, finally conquered Constantinople. The city was renamed Istanbul, and it remained capital of the Ottoman Empire until the empire’s dissolution in 1922.
World History
Friday, May 29, 1914. : One of shipping’s greatest peace-time disasters occurs as the Empress of Ireland collides with a Norwegian freighter, killing over 1000.
The RMS Empress of Ireland was a steamship owned by Canadian Pacific. Launched on 26 January 1906, she was commissioned by Canadian Pacific Line for the northern trans-Atlantic route between Quebec, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The Empress of Ireland set out on her first trans-Atlantic crossing on 29 June 1906, and soon proved herself as a reliable ship and one of the largest and fastest ships on the northern route.
On 28 May 1914, the Empress of Ireland departed Quebec City with 1,477 passengers and crew, bound for Liverpool, England. Around 2:00am on the morning of 29 May 1914, the ship was proceeding down the channel in the Saint Lawrence River near Pointe-au-Père, Quebec in a heavy fog bank when it collided with the Norwegian coal freighter Storstad. The Storstad did not sink, but the Empress of Ireland sustained severe damage to its starboard hull, turned on its side as it rapidly took on water, and sank within 14 minutes, killing 1,012 passengers and crewmen. Only seven lifeboats escaped the rapidly sinking vessel, but the crew of the Storstad pulled scores of survivors out of the icy waters. There were only about 473 survivors.
The actual position of the Empress of Ireland has not been determined. According to testimony, the Captain claimed that he stayed close to shore, encountered the fog, reversed his engines to stop for about 8 minutes, and was rammed by the Storstad, who was executing a hard, 90-degree turn to the starboard. Another theory states that the Empress sailed north-northeast into the centre of the channel, right into the path of the Storstad. The tragedy was compounded by the fact that the watertight doors had not been closed, and nor had the portholes on board the ship been closed.
World History
Friday, May 29, 1953. : Sir Edmund Hillary reaches the summit of Mt Everest.
Mount Everest is the highest mountain on Earth, meaning its summit is higher above sea level than that of any other mountain. Its summit ridge marks the border between Nepal and China. The summit of Mount Everest, which currently stands at 8,844.43 m high, is rising at a rate of around 2.5 centimetres per year.
On 8 June 1924, UK climbers George Mallory and Andrew Irvine made an attempt to reach the summit from which they never returned. It is believed that Irvine’s body may have been found, though not recovered, by Chinese climbers in 1960 while Mallory’s body was only recovered in 1999. In subsequent years, many more attempts were made to summit Mt Everest, but that achievement finally went to mountaineer Edmund Hillary in 1953.
Edmund Hillary was born on 20 July 1919 in Tuakau, south of Auckland, New Zealand. Hillary’s interest in climbing was sparked at age 16 during a school trip to Mt Ruapehu. Despite not being an athletic teenager, he found that he was physically strong and had greater endurance than many of his fellow climbers. During World War II he became a RNZAF navigator. He was part of an unsuccessful New Zealand expedition to Everest in 1951 before attempting again in 1953. Hillary became the first explorer to reach the summit of Mt Everest at 11:30am local time on 29 May 1953. He was accompanied by Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, as part of a British expedition led by John Hunt. Hunt and Hillary received knighthoods on their return.
Hillary climbed 10 other peaks in the Himalayas on further visits in 1956, 1960-61 and 1963-65. He also reached the South Pole, as part of the British Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition, on 4 January 1958. He devoted much of his life to helping the Sherpa people of Nepal through the Himalayan Trust which he founded and to which he gave much of his time and energy. Through his efforts he succeeded in building many schools and hospitals in this remote region of the Himalayas. Hillary lived in quiet retirement at his home in Auckland, New Zealand, appearing for occasional official engagements, until his death on 10 January 2008. Hillary became the only living New Zealander to appear on a banknote.