Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
What Time is It? It is flow of a sandstorm that will on each day compress somewhere into a structure – sandstone, selected and only remembered in the longue durée.
On 10 August 1845, The French Consul in Zanzibar (M. Broquant) receives the final letter sent by Eugène Maizan, during his expedition into tropical Africa.
On 10 August 1895, The first ever indoor promenade concert, origin of The Proms, is held at the Queen’s Hall in London, opening a series conducted by Henry Wood.
On Tuesday, 10 August 1920, The Princes Highway is officially opened.
On Tuesday, 10 August 1920, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed VI’s representatives sign the Treaty of Sèvres with the Allied Powers, confirming arrangements for the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.
On Friday, 10 August 1945, WWII: Japan offers to surrender to the Allies, “provided this does not prejudice the sovereignty of the Emperor”.
On Sunday, 10 August 1980, Hurricane Allen (category 3) pounds southeastern Texas.
On Friday, 10 August 1990, The State Bank of Victoria is sold to the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for AU$1.6b, in the wake of bad debts run up by the State Bank’s Tricontinental subsidiary in the 1980s.
On Friday, 10 August 1990, Prime Minister Bob Hawke announces that Australia will send two frigates to join the naval blockade of Iraq in the Gulf War which followed Iraq’s annexation of Kuwait. Protests ensued.
On Friday, 10 August 1990, Egypt, Syria, and 10 other Arab states vote to send military forces to Saudi Arabia to discourage an invasion from Iraq.
On Friday, 10 August 1990, A passenger bus, traveling along the route “Tbilisi-Agdam”, is blown up; 20 people died and 30 were injured. The organizers of the crime were Armenians A. Avanesian and M. Tatevosian who were brought to criminal trial.
On Thursday, 10 August 2000, Beginning of the Sydney gang rapes by a group from up to fourteen men.
On Tuesday, 10 August 2010, The World Health Organization declares the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying worldwide flu activity has returned to typical seasonal patterns.
On Monday, 10 August 2015, Tony Smith is selected as the Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. Bronwyn Bishop, the previous Speaker, resigned on 2 August after revelations of seeming misuse of travel entitlements.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch