Australian History
Tuesday, November 15, 1791. : Australia’s first successful grape vine is planted.
When the first Fleet landed in New South Wales in 1788, the members of the colony were poorly equipped for the Australian conditions. The colony needed to be self-supporting, but the seeds which had been brought from England had either gone mouldy on the long sea voyage, damaged by the salt and humidity, or simply could not survive in the harsh Australian soil and climate. English tools were also unable to stand up to the rocky soil, and broke easily, while the convicts themselves were unwilling workers.
In April 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip explored beyond Port Jackson. He travelled as far as he could by boat up Sydney Harbour, tracing the Parramatta River to the point where Parramatta itself was established six months later, as Rose Hill. Here, grape vines were planted. Grape vines had been planted in Sydney from the colony’s earliest days, but were unable to survive. On 15 November 1791, the first grape vine to survive in Australia was planted at Parramatta – the beginning of a later thriving industry.
Australian History
Thursday, November 15, 1838. : The perpetrators of the Myall Creek Massacre in New South Wales are acquitted.
On 10 June 1838, a gang of stockmen, heavily armed, rounded up between 40 and 50 Aboriginal women, children and elderly men at Myall Creek Station, not far from Inverell in New South Wales. 28 Aborigines were murdered. It was believed that the massacre was payback for the killing of several colonists in the area, yet most of those massacred were women and children.
At a trial held on 15 November 1838, twelve Europeans were charged with murder but acquitted. Another trial was held on November 26, during which the twelve men were charged with the murder of just one Aboriginal child. They were found guilty, and seven of the men were hanged in December under the authority of Governor George Gipps.
Australian History
Saturday, November 15, 2008. : Today is Steve Irwin Day.
Stephen Robert “Steve” Irwin was born on 22 February 1962 in Essendon, Melbourne, Victoria. He moved to Queensland when he was still a child, where his parents developed and ran the Queensland Reptile and Fauna Park. In 1991, Irwin took over the running of the park, which was later renamed “Australia Zoo”.
As a passionate environmentalist, Irwin became known for the television program “The Crocodile Hunter”, an unconventional wildlife documentary series which he hosted with his wife Terri Irwin. Irwin’s outgoing personality, energetic vitality and outrageous antics in the series made him an international celebrity. He also starred in Animal Planet documentaries, including The Croc Files, The Crocodile Hunter Diaries, and New Breed Vets.
Australia lost one of its most popular icons and ambassadors in the early afternoon of 4 September 2006. Steve Irwin was filming an underwater documentary off the Great Barrier Reef when he was fatally pierced in the heart by a stingray barb. He is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Bindi, born in 1998 and son Robert (Bob), born in 2004.
Many have sought to commemorate Steve Irwin’s unique and powerful influence as an environmentalist. As of 2008, November 15 was designated Steve Irwin Day, an annual celebration of Irwin’s remarkable life and personality.
World History
Friday, November 15, 1940. : During the Blitz, the German air-force bombs the city of Coventry, almost completely destroying it.
The Blitz was an intense bombing campaign in England in World War II by the German air force, the Luftwaffe. The Blitz took its name from the German word Blitzkrieg, meaning ‘Lightning War’. Hundreds of civilians were killed, and many more injured, in the initial attack on London which took place on 7 September 1940. The first raids were concentrated on the heavily populated East End, as about 300 bomber planes attacked the city over a 90-minute period.
On 15 November 1940, the Luftwaffe bombed the city of Coventry in a raid which lasted more than 10 hours. Between 380 and 554 people were killed and several hundred injured. The city’s 14th century cathedral was virtually destroyed, along with over 4300 homes and three-quarters of the city’s factories. A new cathedral has since been built, standing alongside the ruins of the old cathedral as a monument to courage and sacrifice.
Prior to the attacks on England, the German air force had spent a month attempting to decimate the British air force. Failure to achieve this objective had resulted in the Blitz, designed to crush the morale of the British people. The Blitz lasted for over 8 months, killed about 43000 civilians, and destroyed over one million homes. During the Blitz, the Luftwaffe lost most of its experienced aircrew and hundreds of aircraft. By drawing the focus away from the British air force, it gave the RAF time to regroup and rebuild. Despite the Luftwaffe’s best attempts, the British people never lost their morale or their fighting spirit.
World History
Thursday, November 15, 2001. : A stowaway cat nicknamed “Colin’s” accidentally begins an epic journey from Port Taranaki in New Zealand to South Korea.
A stray cat nicknamed “Colin’s” made international fame when she accidentally stowed away on a tanker at Port Taranaki, in New Plymouth, New Zealand, bound for South Korea, 9,600km away. Named after the manager of the Port Taranaki tanker terminal in New Plymouth, New Zealand, who originally owned her, Colin’s Cat had lived at Westgate Port’s tanker terminal, Port Taranaki, after her owner moved on nine years earlier, and soon became popular with the employees.
On 15 November 2001, a South Korean sailor took Colin’s on board the tanker “Tomiwaka” to feed her, and both employee and cat fell asleep: when they woke, the tanker was already sailing. The Port staff quickly missed their mascot moggy, checking immediately with all tankers that had visited the port to see whether the cat was on board. After she was located, a concerted effort was organised to reunite Colin’s with her numerous owners. The tanker captain, Chang Seong-mo, emailed photos of her back to the port to reassure staff that she was alive and had even found her “sea-legs”.
The Whiskas pet food company played a crucial role in reuniting Colin’s with the Port staff, organising flights for Westgate’s duty superintendent Gordon MacPherson to collect the cat in Korea and fly her back to New Zealand. On 4 December 2001, Colin’s arrived in Yeosu, South Korea; quarantine officers in South Korea and New Zealand allowed the cat to return home immediately.
For many years, Colin’s cat enjoyed a peaceful retirement at the port, guaranteed a lifetime supply of pet food from Whiskas, and yearly veterinary checks funded by the pet food company. She died at the age of 16 on 15 May 2007, and was buried in the garden close to the entrance to the watch house, which was her favourite spot. A plaque commemorates the unusual story of Colin’s.
New Zealand History
Wednesday, November 15, 1769. : James Cook takes formal possession of New Zealand
In 1769, Lieutenant James Cook was appointed to chart the transit of Venus. After completing his scientific mission of observing the transit of Venus from the islands of Tahiti, James Cook then was under secret orders to search for Terra Australis Incognita, the great continent which some believed to extend round the pole. Shortly after observing the transit of Venus, Cook came across New Zealand, which had already been discovered by Abel Tasman in 1642. Early in October 1769, a 12-year-old cabin boy named Nicholas Young first sighted New Zealand, and two days later the ‘Endeavour’ anchored in Poverty Bay, which Cook originally named as Endeavour Bay. Cook and two botanists, Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander, went ashore at the future site of Gisborne on 9 October.
Cook went on to spend some months in New Zealand, charting the coastline. On 15 November 1769, James Cook took formal possession of New Zealand, raising the British flag at Mercury Bay, on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula.