Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
Racewalking champion Jared Tallent was born in the city of Ballarat in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Tallent won his first Olympic medal when he finished third in the men’s 20 kilometers (km) race walk (a distance of 12.4274 miles). He earned a silver medal at those games... Continue Reading →
Image: Turning the first turf for the Sydney Railway, 1850. Lithograph by W. Harris. State Library of NSW collection. In Australia, a company to build one of the first public railway lines in the colony (now state) of New South Wales (NSW) was incorporated. The Sydney Railway Company was put into place to develop a... Continue Reading →
After three years of restoration by the South Australian Maritime Museum, the steam tugboat Yelta was relaunched for use as a floating museum for purposes such as sightseeing cruises. Yelta, which had been built in 1948 at the Cockatoo Island Dockyard in Sydney, operated in the waters of South Australia from 1949 to 1976. The... Continue Reading →
Construction on the Eyre Highway in Australia was completed with the permanent sealing of the South Australian section of this route with bitumen. This final section was the stretch of highway between South Australia’s border with Western Australia and the South Australian town of Penong. A ceremony to commemorate the event took place near Wigunda... Continue Reading →
In a major triumph, the Australian racing yacht Australia II won the America’s Cup. Australia II represented the Royal Perth Yacht Club of Australia. The America’s Cup defender, the New York Yacht Club, had held the sailing trophy since 1851. Australian sailor John Bertrand served as the skipper for Australia II, and he and his... Continue Reading →
Professional cyclist Sara Carrigan was born in the Australian town of Gunnedah. She began her cycling career in 1996 when she was only 15. Over the next decade or so, Carrigan established herself as a formidable cyclist in major competitions both within and beyond Australia. One of her biggest achievements took place in 2004 when... Continue Reading →
On New Zealand’s South Island, a railway between Christchurch and Dunedin made its official debut. “The opening of the Dunedin and Christchurch line, the great event of connecting the two commercial cities of the South Island by means of the iron horse, was consummated today,” announced the Wellington –based Evening post in its coverage of... Continue Reading →
A new lighthouse made its formal debut in Western Australia. Woodman Point Lighthouse (originally called Gage Roads Lighthouse), which is located on Woodman Point in the City of Cockburn, was built to help safely guide vessels sailing into the area’s large and busy port of Fremantle Harbour. “The light will be visible from the bridge... Continue Reading →
Just a few days after Australia entered World War I on the side of the Allied powers, the 350-fooot-long passenger steamship Grantala (an Aboriginal word for “big”) was requisitioned by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) for military service as a hospital ship. Grantala, which had been completed and launched by Armstrong Whitworth Company for the... Continue Reading →
The Otira Tunnel serving the Midland Railway line within the central part of New Zealand’s South Island was officially opened. The tunnel, which runs under the Southern Alps between Arthur’s Pass in that mountain range and the township of Otira, took approximately 15 years to build. The debut of the Otira Tunnel was hailed throughout... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 