Born on this day
Tuesday, October 6, 1914. : Thor Heyerdahl, the Norwegian explorer who led the Kon-Tiki expedition, is born.
Thor Heyerdahl, born on 6 October 1914 in Larvik, Norway was an anthropologist and marine biologist who developed an interest in the origins of settlement in the islands of the south Pacific. In 1947, he proposed an expedition to prove that people from South America could have settled Polynesia in the south Pacific before European exploration made any impact in the area. He and a crew of 5 sailed on the Kon-Tiki, a simple balsawood raft made in a design similar to that used by South American natives. Heyerdahl sailed the Kon-Tiki for 101 days over a distance of nearly 7,000km across the Pacific Ocean before crashing into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands on 7 August 1947.
Heyerdahl believed this proved his theory of the origins of the south Pacific peoples, and the subsequent documentary he produced received wide acclaim. However, more recent research and DNA testing has shown that the natives of the area bear more similarities to the people of southeast Asia than to the people of South America.
Australian History
Monday, October 6, 1862. : Australia’s first zoo opens in Melbourne.
Australia has a large number of zoos. Many of these are to show exotic animals from around the world; many others have the purpose of helping to provide a sanctuary for Australia’s own endangered and threatened native species.
The first zoo in Australia was Melbourne Zoo, which opened on 6 October 1862. Modelled after the London Zoo, it featured formal Victorian-era gardens and just a few specimens of monkeys, as well as a limited display of native animals. The zoo began to change in character with the appointment of Albert le Souef as Director in 1870. He began to acquire a wider variety of exotic animals such as black bears, lions and tigers. As the zoo gained in popularity, the gardens were extended, more animals added and, in 1881, an entry fee introduced. Once elephants were added to the displays, elephant rides were even offered to the patrons.
The modern Melbourne Zoo has come a long way since the early years. Animals are housed in more natural settings where they are seen less as ‘showpieces’, and features unique to their native habitat are incorporated into the display. The grounds feature an extensive Australian native animals display area.
Australian History
Thursday, October 6, 1898. : Catherine “Kate” Kelly, sister of bushranger Ned Kelly, goes missing.
Ned Kelly is regarded as Australia’s most notorious bushranger, but less is known about his family.
Ned Kelly had five sisters, two half-sisters, two brothers and one half-brother. His sisters were Maggie, who was born in 1857, three years after Ned, and Catherine, variously nicknamed Kate, or Kittie, who was born in 1863. In addition, there were Mary, who died as a baby, Anne and Grace. Ned Kelly’s two brothers were Daniel, who joined Ned in the Kelly gang, and James. Some time after Ned Kelly’s father died, his mother remarried, and bore another two daughters, Ellen and Alice and a son, John, also known as Jack.
Kate Kelly was perhaps the best known of Ned Kelly’s siblings. Legend claims that she was the fiancee of Aaron Sherritt, notorious for betraying the Kelly gang to the police, and being shot for his trouble. Kate also had another admirer, Alexander Fitzpatrick, who attempted to ingratiate himself into the Kelly family. After making unwelcome advances towards young Kate, he was attacked by Ned’s mother, beaten by one brother and allegedly shot by Ned, although the doctor who attended Fitzpatrick did not confirm a gunshot wound. The event resulted in Ned’s mother being arrested, and the brothers being hunted further by police. Kate was a central catalyst to these circumstances.
After helping hold the family together following the arrest of their mother, at the age of 25, Kate married William Henry Foster of Forbes. She was a skilled and respected horsewoman, and perpetuated the family line by bearing six children, three of whom survived to adulthood.Kate’s colourful life ended tragically when she was just 35 years old. Some two years after her sister Maggie died, Kate went missing, on 6 October 1898. Eight days passed before her body was located in a lagoon at Condobolin Road near Forbes. Initial indications were that she died of drowning, but the Magisterial inquiry that was held into her death on 15 October did not indicate how or why this could have occurred. Kate’s death certificate stated there was no evidence, but family and friends believed her depression following Maggie’s death contributed to her own death.
World History
Monday, October 6, 1890. : Jacob Schweppe demonstrates his process for manufacturing the world’s first artificially carbonated mineral water.
Jacob Schweppe was born in 1740 in Witzenhausen, Germany. Although Schweppe was a jeweller, he had an interest in science, and his experiments led him to try infusing water with carbon dioxide. In 1783, he invented an efficient system for the manufacture of carbonated mineral water. Initially he gave away the carbonated water for free, but as it gained popularity he began charging for the privilege.
Schweppe then sought a way in which to keep the bubbles in the water. This led to the development of a bottle that could retain the carbonation, thus starting the Schweppes soft drink business. The Schweppes company was founded in London in 1789. On 6 October 1790, Schweppe demonstrated for the first time his process for manufacturing carbonated water.
World History
Saturday, October 6, 1962. : Joseph Charles, California’s famous “waving man”, begins his waving ritual which would continue for 30 years.
Joseph Charles was an unassuming employee of the Oakland Naval Supply Centre who brought joy to complete strangers through his ritual of waving to them, often with a cheery greeting. Charles began his routine on the morning of 6 October 1962 when a neighbour waved to him, and he reciprocated. Returning the wave the next day began an institution that extended to friends and strangers as they passed by, and lasted thirty years.
Every morning until October 1992, a period of thirty years, Charles waved from his front yard on the corner of Martin Luther King Jr Way and Oregon St in Berkeley, California. He donned bright yellow gloves for his waving, and called out cheery greetings, such as “Have a good day!”
Charles died a decade after he stopped waving, on 14 March 2002. At his funeral, which was attended by over 200 people, he was honoured by mourners waving at his casket as it left McGee Avenue Baptist Church. Mayor Shirley Dean encouraged others to continue Charles’s legacy of bringing joy by showing kindness and goodwill to all in such a simple but effective way.
World History
Tuesday, October 6, 1981. : Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is assassinated.
Anwar Sadat, born 25 December 1918, was President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981. Sadat was the first Arab leader to recognise Israel since its re-creation in 1948, becoming the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel when he met with Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in 1977. This visit – an attempt to broker peace between Egypt and Israel – was unpopular with much of the Arab world. However, it did result in Israel’s agreeing to gradually withdraw from the Sinai Peninsula, returning the entire area to Egypt by 1983.
On 6 October 1981, President Sadat was shot by gunmen as he watched an aerial display at a military parade. Two grenades exploded nearby, also killing and wounding numerous other foreign diplomats. More gunmen then opened fire with automatic weapons in front of the presidential reviewing stand, killing ten others. Security guards returned fire, killing two of the gunmen and seizing the rest.
The nature of the attack led to suspicion that the gunmen had information from high-level intelligence. 700 people were subsequently detained and interviewed; 25 of these were placed on trial, and 5 ultimately executed for their part in the assassination. It transpired that Sadat was assassinated by army members who were part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation, who opposed his negotiations with Israel, and felt that he was not acting within the interests of the Arab and Muslim people.