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 Wednesday, 14 September 1960, Colonel Joseph Mobutu takes power in Republic of the Congo via a military coup.
On Wednesday, 14 September 1960, The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is founded. The countries of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela form OPEC.
On Friday, 14 September 1990, Following the blockading of Parliament House, Canberra by hundreds of logging rigs, Federal Cabinet agrees to interim logging in 15 National Estate areas.
On Friday, 14 September 1990, Westpac puts Network Ten into receivership.
On Monday, 14 September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull calls upon Prime Minister Tony Abbott to spill the leadership of the Liberal Party, with Abbott calling a party room meeting for later that evening. Turnbull wins the leadership ballot 54–44, becoming leader of the Liberal Party. Turnbull was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia on 15 September.
On Monday, 14 September 2015, First observation of gravitational waves: Gravitational waves are detected for the first time, by LIGO. This is not announced until February 11, 2016.
On Monday, 14 September 2015, Malcolm Turnbull defeats Tony Abbott in a Liberal Party leadership ballot. Turnbull becomes Prime Minister of Australia, being sworn in the following day.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch