Within living memory . . .
TODAY is Saturday, May 20, the 140th day of 2023. There are 225 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date:
— King Henry III, of England, gives Normandy to France.
— Explorer Vasco da Gama arrives at Calicut, India, completing his voyage around
Africa and becoming the first European to reach India by sea.
— King Henry VIII, of England, marries Jane Seymour.
— After docking at Ship Cove two days earlier, Captain Cook orders the release of a ram and a ewe, the first sheep in New Zealand. However, both die within three days.
— William Fox assumes office as New Zealand’s second prime minister. The first of his four terms, like that of his predecessor, Henry Sewell, lasts just short of two weeks.
— Julius von Haast discovers the main bituminous coal seam of the Brunner field in the Grey River, leading to the development of a large mining operation.
— The paddle steamer City of Dunedin leaves Wellington with 39 passengers and crew and disappears without trace. The ship is believed to have foundered in Cook Strait.
— The bridge in St David St and portions of Castle St are washed away in heavy flooding around Dunedin; New Zealand receives its first known shipload of labourers from the Pacific Islands when the clipper schooner Lulu docks in Waitemata Harbour.
— Albert (Bert) Henry Baskerville, New Zealand rugby league pioneer and manager of the 1907 All Golds tour to Britain and Australia, dies aged 25 from pneumonia.
— US aviator Charles Lindbergh begins a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
— US aviatrix Amelia Earhart takes off from Newfoundland for Ireland, hoping to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic.
— A regular transatlantic air service begins as a Pan American Airways plane, Yankee Clipper, takes off from Port Washington, New York, bound for Europe.
— The airborne invasion of Crete by German forces begins. The Battle for Crete raged for 12 days before the Allies were driven off the island. Casualties were high on both sides. More than 650 New Zealanders were killed and 2000 taken prisoner.
— Access into Milford Sound is made easier when the enlargement of the Homer tunnel is completed. The process took two and ahalf years and ended a project that originally began in November 1937, but was halted when the Government cut funding between 1941 and 1950.
— Britain accepts New Zealand’s offer of HMNZS Canterbury in a noncombat role during the Falklands War.
— The Hubble Space Telescope transmits its first photographs from space.
— A peakhour commuter train packed with hundreds of passengers derails at Kaiwharawhara, just north of Wellington station, injuring four passengers.
— Google stops support for Huawei’s Android system in an escalation of the tech war between US and China.
— The World Health Organisation reports the most new cases of Covid19 in a single day — 106,000 worldwide.
Today’s birthdays:
Alfred Domett, New Zealand’s fourth premier (181187); John Selwyn, second bishop of Melanesia (184498); Sir Woolf Fisher, New Zealand businessman and cofounder of Fisher & Paykel (191275); Cher, US actress/singer (1946); Dame Margaret Wilson, New Zealand academic/politician (1947); Timothy Olyphant, US actor (1968); David Smail, New Zealand professional golfer (1970); Louis Theroux, British documentary filmmaker/ journalist (1970); Busta Rhymes, US rapper (1972); Raf de Gregorio, New Zealand football international (1977); Nikki Hamblin, New Zealand middledistance runner (1988); Jack Gleeson, Irish actor (1992).
Quote of the day:
MONDAY
A cold wind blew down the main street of Dodge. It picked up dust, tumbleweeds and fallen leaves, and swung the FOR SALE signs hanging in front of many of the houses.
Noone was buying.
Sheriff Chippy put his boots up on his desk and lit a cheroot. He looked out the window from his office. His deputies, who stood around all day long, followed his gaze.
They were thinking about their jobs. An election was coming up.
Quite a few of the townsfolk had made it known they were getting mighty tired of Sheriff Chippy’s administration. Many of them preferred the ideas of Big Baldy Luxon, the railway baron who was running for the sheriff’s office, and promised better times for Dodge.
‘‘We need to send the townsfolk a message of hope and happiness,’’ said Sheriff Chippy.
He kept his eyes on the main street. It looked like rain was coming.
‘‘Any one of you fellahs got a bright idea?’’
Rain drummed on the tin roofs of the dark and quiet houses of Dodge.
TUESDAY
Sheriff Chippy’s team resumed standing around his office. Now and then pistol shots rung out in the streets; townsfolk were having to defend themselves against the Ramraid Gang.
‘‘I’m hungry,’’ said the sheriff. He sent word for the cook, Chef Grant, to bring in morning tea.
Chef Grant arrived with a plate of bread and butter.
‘‘What the hell you call this,’’ said the sheriff.
‘‘No frills,’’ said Chef Grant.
Sheriff Chippy smiled. ‘‘I like the sound of that,’’ he said, ‘‘and I reckon the townsfolk will, too.’’
He picked up a slice of bread and took a bite. ‘‘Fellahs,’’ he announced, ‘‘this is the taste of hope and happiness.’’
WEDNESDAY
Sheriff Chippy and his team spent all day working on a nofrills fiscal plan that would help the townsfolk of Dodge through hard times, and signal a brighter future.
‘‘But not too bright,’’ he warned his