History Buffs - 3 big days in history
Tuesday, 07 June 2011 13:58
I know this is a little late, but I ran out of time yesterday :) SOOO here is some of the facts that I found about DDay, QLD Day and WA foundation day.
Matt
(From Wikipedia)
Foundation Day, officially 1 June, but celebrated on the first Monday in June, is a public holiday in Western Australia (WA), commemorating the foundation of the Swan River Colony in 1829. Because of the celebration of Foundation Day, Western Australia is the only State or Territory of Australia which does not celebrate the Queen's (or King's) Birthday Holiday in June — it is held in September or October instead.
Background
Prior to 1829, the only European settlement in Western Australia was a British Army outpost at King George Sound (the later site of Albany), established in 1826. Captain James Stirling of the Royal Navy led explorations of the Swan River in 1827. The British Colonial Office in 1828, approved Stirling's recommendation that a colony be established in the area. Stirling was appointed Lieutenant-Governor.
HMS Challenger, under Captain Charles Fremantle, anchored off Garden Island on 25 April 1829. Fremantle officially claimed the western part of Australia for Britain on 2 May. The merchant vessel Parmelia, with Stirling, other officials and civilian settlers on board, sighted the coast on 1 June. It anchored in Cockburn Sound on 2 June. Another warship, HMS Sulphur, arrived on 6 June, carrying the British Army garrison. The Swan River Colony was officially proclaimed by Stirling on 11 June.
Ships carrying more civilian settlers began arriving in August, and on 12 August, Helen Dance, wife of the captain of Sulphur, cut down a tree to mark the founding of the colony's capital, Perth.
In 1834, Stirling decided that an annual celebration was needed to unite the colony's inhabitants, including both settlers and Aborigines, and "masters and servants" (the terms used at the time for employers and employees).[1] He decided that an annual commemoration would be held on 1 June. It appears that the date was chosen by Stirling not only because it represented the sighting of the coast from Parmelia, but because it was also the date of a significant British naval victory in 1794, the "Glorious First of June".[2]
From the QLD state Archives
Birth of Queensland
The push for separation from New South Wales began in earnest in the early 1850s. Between 1851 and 1854, a number of public meetings were held and by January 1856, a series of petitions had been sent to Queen Victoria seeking the establishment of a separate colony.
On July 10 1859, the ship ‘Clarence’ with the word ‘Separation’ painted on its hull sailed into Brisbane bringing the news that on 6 June 1859, Queen Victoria had signed the Letters Patent creating a new colony. The news was greeted enthusiastically by a jubilant crowd and the vessel was welcomed with a 14-gun salute and fireworks.
The Queen favoured the name Queensland over suggestions to call it Cooksland in honour of Captain James Cook.
Later that month there were further celebrations when news was received that Sir George Ferguson Bowen would be the colony's first Governor. Fireworks, cannon fire, flag raisings and the sound of a gun shot expressed the public's sentiment.
Elaborate plans were made for the reception of the Governor, who sailed into Brisbane with his wife, Lady Diamantina, on Saturday 10 December 1859. On arrival at the Botanic Gardens, they were greeted by over 4,000 people waiting on the river banks.
The Governor and his party proceeded to Government House in Adelaide Street (now the Deanery of St John's Cathedral) and ascended to the balcony from where the Letters Patent were read officially establishing Queensland as a separate colony. The Letters Patent were published in the Queensland Government Gazette on 10 December 1859.
The Moreton Bay Courier reported that the celebrations continued in Brisbane for several days and included formal ceremonies, boat races on the river and fireworks.
To mark the date on which Queen Victoria signed the Letters Patent, each year, 6 June is celebrated as Queensland Day. To commemorate the anniversary, the Queensland Government organises a series of statewide activities known as Queensland Week.
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From Wikipedia
The Normandy landings, also known as Operation Neptune, were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, in Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 (D-Day), beginning at 6:30 AM British Double Summer Time (GMT+2). In planning, D-Day was the term used for the day of actual landing, which was dependent on final approval.
The assault was conducted in two phases: an airborne assault landing of 24,000 British, American, Canadian and Free French airborne troops shortly after midnight, and an amphibious landing of Allied infantry and armoured divisions on the coast of France commencing at 6:30 AM. There were also decoy operations mounted under the codenames Operation Glimmer and Operation Taxable to distract the German forces from the real landing areas.[4]
The operation was the largest amphibious invasion in world history, with over 160,000[5] troops landing on 6 June 1944. 195,700[6] Allied naval and merchant navy personnel in over 5,000[5] ships were involved. The invasion required the transport of soldiers and material from the United Kingdom by troop-laden aircraft and ships, the assault landings, air support, naval interdiction of the English Channel and naval fire-support. The landings took place along a 50-mile (80 km) stretch of the Normandy coast divided into five sectors: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Afternoons
