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 15 December 1895, The railways of the Cape of Good Hope, Colony of Natal, the Orange Free State, the South African Republic and southern Mozambique are all linked at Union Junction near Alberton.
On Wednesday, 15 December 1920, Start of the Brussels Conference establishes a timetable for German war reparations, intended to extend for over 42 years.
On Thursday, 15 December 1960, King Mahendra of Nepal deposes the democratic government in his country and takes direct control himself.
On Thursday, 15 December 1960, King Baudouin of Belgium marries Doña Fabiola de Mora y Aragón.
On Tuesday, 15 December 1970, The USSR’s Venera 7 becomes the first spacecraft to land successfully on Venus and transmit data back to Earth.
On Tuesday, 15 December 1970, The South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsizes off Korea Strait; 308 people are killed.
On Monday, 15 December 1980, The Azaria Chamberlain inquest begins in Alice Springs.
On Monday, 15 December 1980, The Academia de la Llingua Asturiana (Academy of the Asturian language) is created.
On Friday, 15 December 1995, The Queensland Labor Party replaces former member and current candidate for Mundingburra, Ken Davies, with Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney, provoking a voter backlash.
On Friday, 15 December 2000, The third and final reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down and the station is shut down completely.
On Wednesday, 15 December 2010, A boat carrying up to 80 asylum seekers crashes into a cliff face on Christmas Island, killing at least 30.
On Tuesday, 15 December 2015, Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison delivers the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook which predicts a deficit of $37.4 billion for the 2015–16 financial year. The Federal Government has made cuts in the health and welfare budgets to pay for new spending on immigration, innovation and pharmaceutical subsidies.
On Tuesday, 15 December 2015, BHP Billiton shares sink to a 10-year low as the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index drops below 5,000.
On Tuesday, 15 December 2015, The Islamic Military Alliance is formed in order to fight terrorism.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch