On This Day
On this day: former PM Alfred Deakin was born
Among the things you might not know: is that Alfred Deakin helped create the first minimum wage and was prime minister three times
Category: On This Day
On This Day
On this day in history: Albert Namatjira was born
After taking up painting aged 33, pioneering artist Albert Namatjira shaped indigenous Australian art forever.
On This Day
On this day: The world first sees a live platypus
Stuffed platypus specimens had been viewed with incredulity for more than a century until a live animal was exhibited outside of Australia
On This Day
On this day: Tragic lighthouse first lit
At Bustard Head lighthouse – the site of suicide, drowning, tragic accidents and murder – the light has not been enough to stop endless waves of misfortune.
On This Day
On this day: Australia’s first indigenous MP born
Neville Bonner would go on to become our first indigenous MP and an Australian of the Year.
On This Day
On this day: Mt Kosciuszko put on the map
Sir Pauł Strzelecki was the first European to scale Australia’s highest mountain, naming it after Polish revolutionary hero Tadeusz Kościuszko.
On This Day
On this day in history: WWII Broome air raid
On 3 March 1942, the Australian mainland felt the heat of a second air raid, this time on Broome, as WWII began to heat up in the Pacific.
On This Day
On this day in history: Canberra given to NSW
To get New South Wales to agree to federation, the other colonies gave it Canberra at this ‘secret’ conference.
On This Day
On this day in history: 2004 Boxing Day tsunami
In 2004 the Boxing Day tsunami took hundreds of thousands of lives. Today, Australia spearheads a warning system for the Indian Ocean.
History & Culture
On this day in history: Cyclone Tracy
In 1974, Territorians had to pitch in together on Christmas morning after raging Cyclone Tracy flattened 70 per cent of Darwin.