ON THIS DAY

1631

More than 3000 people are killed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

1653

English soldier Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

1773

At the Boston Tea Party, American colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians throw 342 chests of tea belonging to the British East India Co into Boston Harbour to protest against a tax on tea.

1817

Francis Greenway is given a conditional pardon after pleasing governor Lachlan Macquarie with South Head lighthouse (above).

1838

Voortrekkers kill 3000 Zulu at the Battle of Blood River, South Africa.

1903

The first federal election is held in which women have the same rights as men to stand for Parliament and vote. Vida Goldstein, Nellie Martel and Mary Ann Moore Bentley stand for the Senate, Selina Siggins for the House of Representatives. 1929 One miner is shot dead in a riot as 8000 miners converge on Rothbury in protest of “scab” labour after a 10- month strike. 1948 The Royal Australian Navy’s first aircraft carrier, HMAS Sydney, is handed over and commissioned in Devonport, England. It was intended for the Royal Navy under the name HMS Terrible. 1961 Medical journal The Lancet publishes a letter by Sydney doctor William McBride about thalidomide, warning many women who took the drug gave birth to children with deformities. 1971 Pakistani troops surrender to Indian forces in East Pakistan, giving birth to Bangladesh. 1976

The Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act gives Aborigines freehold title to former reserve land in the NT and provides a procedure for them to claim other Crown land.

2003

Entrepreneur Brad Cooper is arrested. He is sentenced in 2006 to up to eight years’ jail for bribery in the collapse of HIH insurance.