Born on this day
Tuesday, September 22, 1885. : Ben Chifley, Prime Minister of Australia from 1945-1949, is born.
Ben Chifley was born Joseph Benedict Chifley on 22 September 1885, in Bathurst, New South Wales. He was raised largely by his grandfather, and joined the railways at age 15. Moving up to the position of engine driver, he became one of the founders of the engine drivers’ union, the AFULE, and was actively involved in the Australian Labor Party. In 1928, Chifley won the Bathurst-based seat of Macquarie in the House of Representatives, and in 1931 he became Minister for Defence, under Scullin. He lost his seat again shortly afterwards when the Scullin government fell, but regained it in 1940, becoming Treasurer in Curtin’s government.
Curtin died in July 1945, and Chifley defeated Forde in the leadership ballot to become Prime Minister. He implemented necessary post-war economic controls, remaining Prime Minister until his defeat by Robert Menzies and the Liberal Party in 1949. Two years later, Chifley died of a heart attack.
Australian History
Friday, September 22, 1882. : Sydney’s magnificent Garden Palace burns to the ground.
Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens were established in 1816, although the title of ‘Royal’ was only granted in 1959. Set aside as Crown Land by Captain Arthur Phillip following the arrival of the First Fleet, the land where the Botanic Gardens sit was originally used as an initiation ground by the indigenous Cadigal people, who referred to the area as Woccanmagully. After the First Fleet arrived in 1788, the land was cleared for farming, giving rise to the name Farm Cove.
Governor Arthur Phillip laid the foundation plate for Australia’s first Government House, and reserved Farm Cove as crown land. By 1802, the gardens had begun to be planted with a collection of native and exotic plants. In 1807, Governor William Bligh began the construction of a road system which was completed under Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s tenure. 13 June 1816, when the road was completed, traditionally marks the foundation of the Gardens.
The Gardens underwent numerous changes and developments in ensuing decades, but the most significant was perhaps the construction of the Garden Palace Exhibition Building. Purpose-built for Sydney to host its first international exhibition in 1879 and the first World’s Fair to be held in the southern hemisphere, the building was designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet and modelled on London’s Crystal Palace. It featured four towers which were visible from almost any point in Sydney. The Garden Palace achieved what it was hoped it would do: it showcased the prosperity of Sydney to the world, and resulted in increased infrastructure for the city, such as a new tram network. Garden Palace continued to be utilised extensively after the international event for further exhibitions, balls, lectures and concerts, while an art gallery and the first technological museum were also housed in the building. Various Government departments established offices, storing important documents in the basement.
On 22 September 1882, a fire started in the Garden Palace shortly before 6am. Primarily made from timber rather than stone, the enormous building burnt to the ground. Valuable documents and records were lost, including the 1881 census, land occupation records, railway surveys, Aboriginal artefacts, priceless artworks, the foundation collection of the Technological and Mining Museum and a new map of the colony which had taken years to complete.
The cause of the fire was never discovered, but arson was suspected. What is even stranger is how quickly the memory of the Garden Palace was lost. Very few Australians, including Sydneysiders, are aware there was ever such a building in the Royal Botanic Gardens. At the Macquarie Street entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens stand the only visible legacy of that magnificent structure: the stone pillars of the gates which once opened to the Garden Palace Exhibition Building.
Australian History
Thursday, September 22, 1831. : The first drawing of a numbat is made, following the first recorded sighting.
The numbat is a small marsupial of Western Australia, and the faunal (animal) emblem of that state. It is distinctive for having red-brown fur with six or seven white stripes across its back, and a relatively long, bushy tail. As it feeds mostly on termites, it is sometimes referred to as the banded anteater. Unlike most marsupials, the numbat does not have a pouch for the young. The joeys cling to the mother’s underbelly fur whilst attached to a teat. Numbats used to be widespread across the southern part of Australia, but European settlement caused the extinction of the eastern colonies. Always an elusive creature, the first time this marsupial was sighted and drawn was in 1831.
George Fletcher Moore was one of the early settlers in Western Australia. He was involved in several expeditions to explore the region, and on one occasion accompanied explorer Robert Dale in surveying and cutting a road from Guildford to the Avon Valley in the southwest. On 22 September 1831, after seeing a numbat for the first time, Moore drew and described the creature, including in his text that accompanied the drawing the following:
“… chase another of those little animals into a hollowed tree, succeed in getting it, suppose it to be an ant eater from the length of its tongue & other reasons – its colour is yellowish barred with black & white streaks across the hinder parts of its back – length about 12 inches.”
Australian History
Friday, September 22, 1882. : Sydney’s magnificent Garden Palace burns to the ground.
Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens were established in 1816, although the title of ‘Royal’ was only granted in 1959. Set aside as Crown Land by Captain Arthur Phillip following the arrival of the First Fleet, the land where the Botanic Gardens sit was originally used as an initiation ground by the indigenous Cadigal people, who referred to the area as Woccanmagully. After the First Fleet arrived in 1788, the land was cleared for farming, giving rise to the name Farm Cove.
Governor Arthur Phillip laid the foundation plate for Australia’s first Government House, and reserved Farm Cove as crown land. By 1802, the gardens had begun to be planted with a collection of native and exotic plants. In 1807, Governor William Bligh began the construction of a road system which was completed under Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s tenure. 13 June 1816, when the road was completed, traditionally marks the foundation of the Gardens.
The Gardens underwent numerous changes and developments in ensuing decades, but the most significant was perhaps the construction of the Garden Palace Exhibition Building. Purpose-built for Sydney to host its first international exhibition in 1879 and the first World’s Fair to be held in the southern hemisphere, the building was designed by Colonial Architect James Barnet and modelled on London’s Crystal Palace. It featured four towers which were visible from almost any point in Sydney. The Garden Palace achieved what it was hoped it would do: it showcased the prosperity of Sydney to the world, and resulted in increased infrastructure for the city, such as a new tram network. Garden Palace continued to be utilised extensively after the international event for further exhibitions, balls, lectures and concerts, while an art gallery and the first technological museum were also housed in the building. Various Government departments established offices, storing important documents in the basement.
On 22 September 1882, a fire started in the Garden Palace shortly before 6am. Primarily made from timber rather than stone, the enormous building burnt to the ground. Valuable documents and records were lost, including the 1881 census, land occupation records, railway surveys, Aboriginal artefacts, priceless artworks, the foundation collection of the Technological and Mining Museum and a new map of the colony which had taken years to complete.
The cause of the fire was never discovered, but arson was suspected. What is even stranger is how quickly the memory of the Garden Palace was lost. Very few Australians, including Sydneysiders, are aware there was ever such a building in the Royal Botanic Gardens. At the Macquarie Street entrance to the Royal Botanic Gardens stand the only visible legacy of that magnificent structure: the stone pillars of the gates which once opened to the Garden Palace Exhibition Building.
World History
Friday, September 22, 1499. : Switzerland gains its independence from the Holy Roman Empire.
Switzerland is a landlocked country of central Europe, positioned at the crossroads of northern and southern Europe. Originally known as Helvetia, the land was Romanised after being overrun by Julius Caesar during the 1st Century BC. When the Roman Empire began to decline three centuries later, the area was invaded by Germanic forces, under which it remained until 1276, when the Austrian House of Habsburg took over the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. The Swiss struggled for independence against the Austrians for two hundred years, and the Swiss Confederation was founded in 1291 as a defence measure. Originally uniting three cantons, other localities also joined, eventually enabling the Swiss to bring down the Austrian forces.
Following the Battle of Dornach, in which Emperor Maximilian I’s troops were decisively beaten, the Swiss Confederacy, or Confederation gained its independence from the Holy Roman Empire. This was sealed in the treaty of Basel on 22 September 1499, although the Treaty was not formally recognised until the Peace of Westphalia, two peace treaties of 1648 which affected a number of European states.
The Confederation was replaced by a central federal government following a new constitution in 1848, which was updated in 1874.
World History
Tuesday, September 22, 1914. : During WWI, a German U-boat sinks sinks three British cruisers, killing over 1400 sailors.
The German U-boat was a submarine utilising the latest technology of the time, and able to travel underwater for two hours at a time. In the early days of WWI, three British cruisers, the “Aboukir”, the “Hogue”, and the “Cressy” were sunk by the German U-9 submarine, all within a period of about an hour.
The “Aboukir” was the first to be hit, at around 6:25am on 22 September 1914. Captain Drummond ordered everyone to abandon ship, but most of the crew had to jump into the sea, as only one boat survived the attack. The “Hogue” stopped to lower its boats to rescue the men of the “Aboukir” and, unaware of the torpedo attack, was hit next. The “Cressy” had also stopped to lower its boats, and sighted the U-boat’s periscope too late to evade attack. 1459 men died, whilst 837 men were rescued.
German U-boat attacks almost isolated Britain, until unprovoked attacks on American vessels travelling to Britain prompted the entry of the USA into the war. American weaponry proved too great for Germany, and helped turn the war in favour of the Allies.
World History
Monday, September 22, 1980. : The first Persian Gulf War – not the “Gulf War” – between Iran and Iraq begins.
The First Persian Gulf War originally referred to a different incident to that of 2 August 1990, in which Iraqi troops and tanks invaded Kuwait, in the Persian Gulf. The war between Iran and Iraq, also known as the First Persian Gulf War, began when Iraq invaded Iran on 22 September 1980.
The two countries had a long history of border disputes, going right back to when the countries were the kingdoms of Mesopotamia (modern Iraq) and Persia (Iran). Catching Iranian forces by surprise, Iraq held the advantage early in the war. However, Iran mounted a successful counteroffensive in 1982, regaining lost ground. The United Nations Security Council repeatedly called upon both countries to end the conflict, but it was not until August of 1988 that a ceasefire was agreed to. Ultimately, the war changed the balance of power in the Persian Gulf, and led to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
The 1980 Iran-Iraq war was initially called the Gulf War, amongst other names, and then referred to as the First Gulf War for a time after the Iraq-Kuwait conflict of 1990. This latter conflict was initially referred to by the name Operation Desert Storm. After the 1990 war, the 1980 war then became known as the Iran-Iraq war and the 1990 war became known as the First Gulf War.
World History
Sunday, September 22, 1985. : France admits to bombing the Greenpeace flagship, the ‘Rainbow Warrior’, in Auckland Harbour.
The Greenpeace flagship, the ‘Rainbow Warrior’, was named after a North American Indian legend, and launched in 1978. The ship arrived in New Zealand in July 1985 in preparation for leading a flotilla of boats to Mururoa Atoll in the Pacific Ocean to protest French nuclear tests on the atoll.
Just before midnight on 10 July 1985, underwater charges which had been placed by frogmen on the hull of the Rainbow Warrior, exploded, sinking the vessel while it was in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. One person was killed in the explosion, Portuguese photographer Fernando Periero. On 22 September 1985, Prime Minister of France Laurent Fabius admitted that the bombing had been carried out by 2 secret agents belonging to the French foreign intelligence agency, DGSC, or Directorate-General for External Security. This was despite a major cover-up operation in which the French Government denied its involvement.
Within months, the French defence minister Charles Hernu had resigned and New Zealand was paid $7m in compensation by the French Government. A new ‘Rainbow Warrior’ was launched in 1987.
World History
Friday, September 22, 2000. : Today is World Car Free Day.
22 September is celebrated every year as World Car free Day. Car Free Days are held to encourage motorists to do without their cars for a day, in order to promote walking, cycling and to reduce the amount of pollution caused by cars.The concept of World Car Free Days was initiated following the global oil crisis in 1973. Over the next two decades, small-scale projects were developed to encourage people to use either car-pooling or alternative, cleaner methods of transportation. In October 1994, the concept developed further when American Political scientist and sustainability activist, Eric Britton, addressed the issue at the International Ciudades Accesibles (Accessible Cities) Conference hosted in Spain. Britton’s keynote speech promoted strategies for planning and implementing Car-free days, and led to the inception of the first large-scale Car-Free Days held in individual cities such as Reykjavík (Iceland), Bath (Britain) and La Rochelle (France).
Britain became the first to launch a national campaign geared towards a Car-free Day, in 1997, with the French developing their own national campaign the following year. By 2000, Car-Free Day was established as a Europe-wide initiative, occurring on 22 September each year.