This Day in History Thursday, October 31, 2013 Australian Explorers 1818 - Oxleys expedition party is attacked by Aborigines as they camp near Port Stephens. After discovering the rich, fertile country of the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales, Oxley continued east, heading back towards Sydney. On the way, he crossed the Great Diving Range and came upon the Hastings River, which he followed to its mouth, traversing what Oxley described as excellent and rich country. Early in October 1818, Oxley reached the seashore at an excellent harbour and river estuary, naming the region Port Macquarie. He then continued south towards Sydney, making camp along the way in the Port Stephens area. On 30 October 1818, a large group of Aborigines, who seemed to be from the Newcastle region, approached Oxley and his party. As they seemed to come in peace, they were also greeted in peace, with Oxleys party showering trinkets and gifts on the tribe. However, the next morning, October 31, four of the Aborigines from the group returned armed with spears, one of which was thrown, narrowly missing one of Oxleys men who had finished his mornings bathing and was attempting to get dressed. After disappearing briefly, more natives returned with spears and began attacking Oxleys entire party, which was forced to pack up and move on quickly. Australian History 1894 - Fourteen people are killed in one of Australias earliest train accidents. Opening on 26 September 1855, the New South Wales railway, Australia, was the first government-owned railway in the British Empire. The first line ran the 22km from Sydney to Parramatta. By 1862, the western line had reached Penrith. The railway continued to expand, reaching Albury in 1881, Glen Innes in 1884 and far west New South Wales at Bourke in 1886. On 31 October 1894, a country train bound for Goulburn, New South Wales, was hit at Redfern, Sydney, by a suburban train heading from Strathfield to the city. Two engine crew and twelve passengers from the suburban train were killed, and twenty-seven people were injured. The accident was caused by an incorrectly set signal. Among those killed were Edward Lloyd Jones, Chairman of David Jones & Co and son of the founder of the David Jones department store chain. Also killed was Father Callaghan McCarthy, Dean of St Marys Cathedral. 1923 - A record 160-day heatwave begins in Marble Bar, Western Australia. Marble Bar is a tiny town in the Pilbara region of north-western Western Australia. The discovery of gold in 1890 by Francis Jenkins led to the establishment of a town, which was officially gazetted in 1893. The town derives its name from a nearby jasper formation which was mistaken by early settlers for a bar of marble. This rock formation is also known as the Marble Bar, and the nearby Marble Bar Pool is a popular picnic and swimming area for both tourists and the people of the township. During the goldrushes, Marble Bar had over 5000 residents, but its population now is closer to 400. It is still a productive area, being mined for gold, tin, silver, lead, zinc, copper and jade deposits. Known for its excessive temperatures, Marble Bar achieved a new heat record in 1923-24. Beginning on 31 October 1923, the town experienced a heatwave which continued for 160 consecutive days, where the maximum temperature was 37.8 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) or higher. The last day of the heatwave was 7 April 1924 World History 1517 - Christian Protestant Reformation leader, Martin Luther, posts his 95 Theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church. Martin Luther was a German theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Reformation and deeply influenced the doctrines of the Protestant churches in general, and the Lutheran church in particular. Luther openly questioned the teachings of the Roman Catholic church, in particular, the nature of penance, the authority of the pope and the usefulness of indulgences. The Reformation of the church began on 31 October 1517, with Luthers act of posting his Ninety-Five Theses, more fully known as the Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences, on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The document contained an attack on papal abuses and the sale of indulgences by church officials. Controversy raged over the posting of the 95 Theses. Luther was excommunicated several years later from the Roman Catholic church for his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the papacy, and his belief that salvation would be granted on the basis of faith alone rather than by works. In 1521, the same year in which he was excommunicated, Luther was summoned before the Diet of Worms. The Diet was a general assembly of the estates of the Holy Roman Empire that occurred in Worms, Germany, from January to May in 1521. When an edict of the Diet called for Luthers seizure, his friends took him for safekeeping to Wartburg, the castle of Elector Frederick III of Saxony. Here, Luther continued to write his prolific theological works, which greatly influenced the direction of the Protestant Reformation movement 1913 - The first automobile road right across the United States, the Lincoln Highway, is dedicated. The Lincoln Highway is a major highway in the United States extending from Times Square in New york City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco. The highway originally ran through thirteen states - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and California, although the Colorado Loop is no longer included, and a change of route now sees the highway passing through the far north of West Virginia. The idea of a cross-America highway was first conceived in 1912. Dedicated on 31 October 1913, the Lincoln Highway was the USAs first national memorial to President Abraham Lincoln. The initial length was 5,454 km, or 3,389 miles, although improvements and realignments over the years have seen it shortened to 5,057 km, or 3,142 miles. Nicknamed The Main Street Across America, the building of the highway gave an economic boost to small towns and cities across its length, and its construction inspired the building of many other national roads. 1974 - The Rumble in the Jungle, a boxing match in Zaire that many regard as the greatest sporting event of the 20th century, saw challenger Muhammad Ali knock out previously undefeated World Heavyweight Champion George Foreman. The event was one of Don Kings first ventures as a professional boxing promoter. He managed to get Ali and Foreman to sign separate contracts saying they would fight for him if he could get a $5 million purse. However, King did not have the money, so he began looking for an outside country to sponsor the event. Zaires president Mobutu Sésé Seko asked for the fight to be held in his country, eager for the publicity such a high-profile event would bring. Ali had told his trainer, Angelo Dundee, and his fans that he had a secret plan for Foreman. As the second round commenced, Ali frequently began to lean on the ropes and cover up, letting Foreman punch him on the arms and body (a strategy Ali later dubbed the rope-a-dope). As a result, Foreman spent his energy throwing punches that either did not hit Ali or were deflected in a way that made it difficult for Foreman to hit Alis head, while sapping Foremans strength due to the large number of punches he threw. This loss of energy was key to Alis rope-a-dope tactic. Meanwhile, Ali took every opportunity to shoot straight punches to Foremans face (this quickly took a toll on his face, which was soon visibly puffy). When the two fighters were locked in clinches, Ali consistently out-wrestled Foreman, using tactics such as leaning on Foreman to make Foreman support Alis weight, and holding down Foremans head by pushing on his neck. He constantly taunted Foreman in these clinches, telling him to throw more punches, and an enraged Foreman responded by doing just that. After several rounds of this, Foreman began to tire. His face became increasingly damaged by hard, fast jabs and crosses by Ali. The effects were visible as Foreman was staggered by an Ali combination at the start of the fourth round, and again several times near the end of the fifth, after Foreman had seemed to dominate that round. Although Foreman kept throwing punches and coming forward, after the fifth round he looked increasingly worn out. Ali continued to taunt him by saying, They told me you could punch, George! and They told me you could punch as hard as Joe Louis. According to Foreman, near the end of the fight, Foreman slammed Ali with a thundering body blow, and Ali whispered to him Is that all you got, George? to which Foreman thought Yep...thats about it. After that, Ali began to dominate Foreman. As the fight drew into the eighth round, Foremans punching and defense became ineffective as the strain of throwing so many wild shots took its toll. Ali pounced as Foreman tried to pin Ali on the ropes, landing several right hooks over Foremans jab, followed by a 5-punch combination, culminating in a left hook that brought Foremans head up into position and a hard right straight to the face that caused Foreman to stumble to the canvas. Foreman did get up, but not before being counted out by referee Zack Clayton with two seconds remaining in the round. Theres enough history for todays date. Take it easy today folks.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:31:57 +0000
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