Grazier’s broken axle helped airline take off
A broken car axle led to the chance meeting that brought grazier Fergus McMaster into the story of the founding of Qantas
Today In History
Fear of French fuelled race to settle the west
Captain Charles Fremantle raised the British flag to establish the Swan River Colony 190 years ago today, after a race to beat the French
Daring French aeronaut floated to fame and love
A crowd of onlookers gasped as Andre-Jacques Garnerin severed a rope holding his basket to a balloon. But he plummeted safely back to earth thanks to a parachute he had invented
80 years later: Creepy message in a bottle
It’s been over 80 years since the mysterious disappearance of a Brisbane public servant and socialite who vanished from a train station.
More Stories
Concrete ships proved a dead weight for US
WHEN metal proved scarce during World War I, the US government turned to building ships from concrete.
Plot to blow up Hitler lost its spark in midair
ON March 13, 1943 Adolf Hitler boarded a plane with a bomb aboard, but the plot to kill him fizzled out in the air.
Prince Alfred survived picnic assassination
WHEN a young Prince Alfred attended a beachside picnic in Sydney’s picturesque suburb of Clontarf, it was unthinkable at the time that he faced mortal danger.
Deadly flu epidemic killed millions more than in WWI
THE grandfather of US President Donald Trump in 1918 was an early victim of deadly Spanish flu.
Innisfail didn’t see killer cyclone coming
THE sugar town of Innisfail was hit by a major cyclone a century ago that killed dozens in the town and dozens more in surrounding area
Adams sent listeners hitchhiking to the stars
LISTENERS tuning in to a radio series about the story of a book 40 years ago were treated to something that was so much more.
US mission rode into legend against Taliban
WHEN images of US ground forces in Afghanistan first surfaced, just a month after the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001, they showed a remarkable sight — Green Berets on horseback.
Norfolk Island first settledas a farm not a prison
THE ship circled Norfolk Island for days before Philip Gidley King could find a place to land his small band of colonists to establish what was more of a farming settlement than a penal colony.
No mercy for yacht race Atlantic mariner
HIS family describe lone sailor Donald Crowhurst as the modern Ancient Mariner, drifting aimlessy in solitary confusion on the high seas.
Burly US geologist found Saudis’black gold
HE left his family’s farm in Oregon aged 12 to haul logs in California in 1910, but Max Steineke arrived in Saudi Arabia in 1934 and changed the course of modern history.
Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/today-in-history/page/33