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reetings from Australia. 

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Pip Wilson

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The President of the United States ordered me to break through the Japanese lines and proceed from Corregidor to Australia for the purpose, as I understand it, of organizing the American offensive against Japan, a primary objective of which is the relief of the Philippines. I came through and I shall return.
General Douglas MacArthur's famous "I shall return" speech, speaking in Brisbane, Australia after his withdrawal from the Philippines

Until recently, 50% of the world's mammal extinctions in the last 200 years occurred in Australia. Unfortunately the rest of the world is now catching up and the number has dropped to 25%. Since the settlement of Australia by Europeans in 1788, at least 50 species of mammals and birds and about 68 species of plants have become extinct in Australia, and there are probably many more that we know nothing about. At least another 100 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, and fish are now nationally listed as endangered, and over 500 plants. Invertebrates (creatures without internal skeletons) are not included in these statistics, as relatively little information is known about these animals. However, it is likely that there are hundreds under threat (a small few have been listed). Many of our listed species could become extinct within 10 to 20 years. The total number of species nationally listed in Australia as threatened is nearing 1500.
   Additionally, 75% of our rainforests and 43% of our forests have been cleared – homes for many Australian species. There are also many important ecological communities under threat. For example less than 1% of the lowland native grasslands of south-eastern Australia remains intact.
Threatened Species Network

Where both aims, the aesthetic and the technical, were pursued together, it had the happy result of producing an harmonious relation between the subjective and the objective life, between spontaneity and necessity, between fantasy and fact.
Lewis Mumford, died January 26, 1990; Art and Technics

Layer upon layer, past times preserve themselves in the city until life itself is finally threatened with suffocation; then, in sheer defense, modern man invents the museum.
Lewis Mumford

January 26 is the 26^th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 339 days remaining (340 in leap years).
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Australia Day

January 26, Australia Day (a public holiday), commemorates the day in 1788 on which Captain Arthur Phillip organised and officiated at the first ceremony of the new British colony then called New South Wales. It was for a selected few, done with a little pomp, but generally low key, and was mainly to wish the colony good luck, as was recorded by Phillip:

In the evening of the 26^th, the colours were displayed on shore, and the Governor, with several of his principal officers and others, assembled around the flagstaff, drank the King's health, and success to the settlement, with all the display of form which, on such occasions, is deemed propitious because it enlivens the spirits and fills the imagination with pleasing presages.

More than a week earlier, on January 18, Phillip had actually landed at Yarra Bay on Botany Bay's northern shore, and later there was in fact a plaque commemorating that day, set in the wall of the first Government House, which said that on January 18 "Arthur Phillip ... arrived in this country with the first settlers". January 18, then, might have been taken up as the date of the colony's beginnings. It could have been Australia Day, but it was not.

Just as good a contender, perhaps better, might have been February 7, because on that day in 1788, Governor Phillip conducted a ceremony before a crowd of more than 1,000, virtually every European on the continent, in which the formalities associated with his royal commissions were carried out, and the assembled convicts were "harangued" (as a contemporary described his speech, though it was apparently well received by the audience). Phillip even gave the assembly the afternoon off. February 7, however, although promoted as a possible Australia Day by eminent historian CH Currey in the 1950s, never caught on.

Even in the early days there were other possible contenders for the honour of being Australia Day, such as any number of days on which Captain Cook, or even Dirk Hartog or Abel Tasman made important discoveries on the Aussie coast. Nonetheless, from very early days in the colony, January 26 was seen as the Foundation Day, or Anniversary Day, of the New South Wales colony, which in a sense 'became' Australia.

Good pedigree

The pedigree of January 26 is impeccable and unrivalled. We know from early documents such as the Sydney Gazette and the Howe Almanacs that as early as 1804, and right through the following decades, January 26 was commemorated as either 'First Landing' or 'Foundation Day'.

Governor Lachlan Macquarie recorded in his journal on January 26, 1818, the following insight and event:  

This being the 30th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Colony of N. S. Wales by Governor Phillip, who landed first at Sydney on 26th of Janry 1788, I directed 30 guns to be fired from Dawes Battery in honour of the occasion corresponding with the age of the Colony.

Government workers were given a holiday, as well, on this 1818 'Australia Day'. It became the norm soon after for banks and public offices to be closed on January 26.

In 1885, by which time the continent was being managed as a number of separate colonies, the idea of an Australian national day was put forward by a Mr HI Swifte, and was taken to the Victorian premier, who liked the concept and put it before the other premiers. 'Foundation' or 'Anniversary' Day was soon gazetted in each of the colonies.

In 1931, NSW Premier, Jack Lang decided that from 1932, 'Anniversary Day' would be designated Australia Day. In 1934, however, his decision was reversed by Premier Sir Bertram Stevens, and until 1946 the holiday in NSW was known as Anniversary Day.

Meanwhile, the Commonwealth Government in 1935 stated that all states, except NSW, had agreed to the name 'Australia Day'. In 1945, harmony was achieved when Sir William McKell's government in NSW adopted the proposal, making January 26, 1946 the first 'official' Australia Day.

Australians' characteristic antipathy towards 'flag waving' has sometimes led to a lack of usage of the day, and editors for decades have bemoaned the lack of spirit sometimes observed. The editor of The Educational Magazine from Victoria's Education Department in 1957 suggested that the main reason for that attitude is that January 26 falls within the long school holidays. The author got behind historian Currey's unsuccessful campaign for February 7 ...

Read on at the Australia Day page in the Scriptorium

  Latest news and views from Free Speech Australia (popup)

Relative sizes of USA and Australia. Source unknown

Australia Day

The 'First Fleet' left England on May 13, 1787. Eleven ships set sail, carrying more than 1,000 passengers (convicts) and crew.

Arthur Phillip looked for a good place to land at  Botany Bay, but there was insufficient anchorage and fresh  water, and the land was rather infertile, so he took the fleet north to Sydney Cove, which he named. On January 26, 1788, he ran up old England's flag, the Union Jack, watched at distance by some local Aboriginal tribespeople.

Australia Day, as it has come to be called, is seen as a day of mourning by some, for it marks the beginning of the domination of white society over that of the Aboriginal population which had lived in Australia for perhaps 80,000 years.

On Australia Day, 1972, while many Australians were enjoying the traditional holiday festivities, and thousands were listening to the nation's top rock bands at the Sunbury Music Festival, a group of Aborigines set up an "Aboriginal Embassy" on the lawns of Parliament House.

For some years the holiday was held on the closest Monday to January 26, to provide a long weekend. It is now held on the actual anniversary, however should this happen to fall on a weekend, a public holiday is still held on the following Monday.

Aboriginal Resistance    Australia Day pictures at flickr

Why Sydney is such a party city

Arthur Phillip originally named the colony 'New Albion', but for some uncertain reason the colony acquired the name 'Sydney', after the (then) British Home Secretary, Thomas Townshend, Lord Sydney (Viscount Sydney from 1789). The city of Sydney in Nova Scotia is named after him in memory of his efforts on behalf of the loyalist settlers of Canada.

Lord Sydney's name in turn derives from St Denis, patron saint of France, whose name itself evolved from Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, revelry and ecstasy (later known to the ancient Romans as Bacchus, from whom we get the word 'bacchanalia', or drunken revel).

The old Australia Day-ja-vu

"Australia's preoccupation with simplistic national symbols borders on being infantile. The nation's young country status revisited annually on Australia Day in mantras of achievement – chanted by ruddy-faced civic leaders in community breakfasts – is anachronistic and increasingly irrelevant."   Source

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Third and final day of the Sementivae in honour of Ceres and Terra, Roman Empire Sementivae is the Roman festival of sowing in honour of Ceres, goddess of agriculture and Tellus, or Terra (Mother Earth). There are two festivals involved. The first festival is to commemorate Tellus and runs from January 24 till January 26. The festival honouring Ceres occurs one week later on February 2. Roman festivals and notable days in the Book of Days Deities of many cultures in the Book of Days     Feast day of St Alberic of Citreaux More Feast day of St Alphonsus of Astorga Feast day of St Ansurius of Orense Feast day of St Athanasius of Sorrento  Feast day of St Bathilda (Bathilde; Baldochide; Bauteur) The wife of Clovis II, King of France, and after his death regent of the kingdom. Her festival is celebrated in France on January 30, the anniversary of her death (about 680 CE), but is named on the 26th in the Roman Martyrology. She founded many churches and religious houses especially the great abbey of Corbie in Picardy, and the church of the Holy Cross at Chelles, near Paris, where she is buried in a rich silver shrine. Le Bouf in his Histoire du Diocese de Paris asserts that six nuns were cured of inveterate distempers, attended with frequent fits of convulsions, by touching the relics of St. Bathilde, when her shrine was opened on July 13, 1631. William S Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs And of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities, JB Lippincott Company, 1897   Feast day of St Conan (Conon) of Iona Scottish, 7th-Century Bishop of the Isle of Man. "Claw for claw, Conon said to Satan, and the Devil take the shortest nails." Scottish highland proverb. Feast day of St Eystein Erlandsson Feast day of St Margaret of Hungary Feast day of St Paula of Rome, widow Feast day of St Polycarp Polycarp(us), earliest of Christian fathers. He might have known St John. Burnt at Smyrna in 167. Feast day of St Robert of Newminster Feast day of St Theofrid of Corbie Feast day of St Theogenes Feast day of St Timothy Feast day of St Titus (formerly January 4) (Hazel, Corylus avellana, is today's plant, dedicated to this saint.) "Titus shared with Timothy the confidence and affection of Saint Paul. There is little biographical detail in the New Testament. It is known, however, that he was a Gentile and converted to Christianity through Paul, and that he went with Paul and Barnabas on the mission from the church at Antioch to the Council of the Apostles in Jerusalem. Paul sent him from Ephesus on two if not three missions to the church at Corinth. He went with Paul to Crete to strengthen the churches on that island. According to tradition he was bishop of Crete and died there at the age of 93."   Source "Titus was presumably buried at Gortnya (Crete). His head was brought to Venice after the invasion of the Saracens in 823, and it is venerated in Saint Mark's (Attwater, Attwater2, Benedictines, Butler, Coulson, Delaney, Farmer, White). "Titus is portrayed in art bareheaded, in a chasuble with a pastoral staff; or with a bright, smiling face (White). According to Roeder, he is pictured as a bishop with a palm, lion of Saint Mark, and the words Provincia Candiae above him; often there is a radiance beaming from his face (Roeder). Saint Titus is invoked against free-thinkers (Roeder)."   Source Hazel folklore    More    Timothy and Titus at Wikipedia   Feast day of St Tortgith of Barking Click for Eastern Orthodox liturgical days    Shop saints Shiwasu Matsuri, Mikado Jinja, Nango, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan (Jan 20 – Feb 20) Republic Day, India One of only three state holidays in India, celebrated with pomp and a military parade in New Delhi.   Liberation Day, Uganda Winter-een-mas (Jan 25 - 31) Second day: Lilah confronts Ethan fixing the length of the celebration to seven days. More       1764 King Charles XIV John of Sweden 1786 Benjamin Haydon (d. June 22, 1846), English historical painter and writer 1880 Douglas MacArthur (d. April 5, 1964), American general, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific in World War II (he took part in two other major wars: World War I and the Korean War). I will return - so keep chewing!  In August 1943, US Colonel Courtney Whitney suggested that Macarthur's "I shall return" promise be used as propaganda to the Philippine people and that items bearing the message be dropped from planes over the Philippines. Not long after his forced departure from the Philippines, General MacArthur bought up the entire production of chewing gum made in the Wrigley's factories in Australia, and dropped the lot over the Japanese-occupied Philippines. Each piece of gum was wrapped in paper bearing the promise, "I shall return – MacArthur". The Larus tobacco company of Virginia made packs of four cigarettes that were used for the same purpose. (More) (And more) The famous 1944 image of MacArthur wading ashore in the Philippines was set up by photographer Roger Wrenn after the actual event, because the first take wasn't sufficiently photogenic. 1904 Seán MacBride (Seán MacBride), Irish and prominent international politician 1908 Stéphane Grappelli (d. 1997), French jazz violinist, composer 1918 Nicolae Ceauşescu (Nicolae Ceausescu), the leader of Communist Romania from 1965 until shortly before his execution on December 25, 1989 1925  Paul Newman, Hollywood actor 1928 Roger Vadim (d. 2000), French film director and actor 1929 Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, writer 1932 Clement Seymour 'Sir Coxsone' Dodd, Jamaican record producer 1944 Angela Davis, American activist who remained a leader of the Communist Party of the USA until 1991 1945 Jacqueline du Pré (d. 1987), cello player 1955 Eddie Van Halen, American rock musician 1958 Ellen DeGeneres, American actress, comedienne   Phew!! Have a rest before the big This day in history section Send free e-cards to friends & family for celebrations & any topic Do you forget birthdays and anniversaries? Schedule your cards to be sent during the coming year. Zodiac birthday Free astrology e-cards Chinese New Year [ Varies ] Birthdays Republic Day, India [ Jan 26 ]   Australia Day [ Jan 26 ] Varies Full Moon Day Varies Friday the 13th Varies Buddhist e-cards Varies Christian e-cards Varies Hindu e-cards Varies Jewish e-cards Varies Muslim e-cards Varies Pagan e-cards Varies Peace e-cards Varies Friendship e-cards Varies Chinese New Year January 19 Penguin Awareness Day 19 Brew A Potion Day 19 Tin Can Day 20 Cheese Day 20 Stay Young Forever Day 21 Send A Hug Day 21 Polar Bear Festival (Alaska, USA) 22 Come In From The Cold 22 Celebration Of Life Day 23 Pie Day 24 Beer Can Appreciation Day 24 Peanut Butter Day 25 Compliment Day 26 Republic Day (India) 26 Australia Day 27 Chocolate Cake Day 27 Fun At Work Day 27 Thomas Crapper Day 27 Mozart Day 28 Daisy Day 28 Blueberry Pancake Day 28 International Make Your Point Day 28 Kazoo Day 28 Kumquat Festival (Florida, USA) 28 Celtic Festival (Florida, USA) 28 Bald Eagle Day (Illinois, USA) 29 Puzzle Day 29 Bubblegum Sculpture Day 29 Kansas Day 29 Freethinkers' Day 29 Oyster Festival (South Carolina, USA) 30 Jazz Day 31 Backwards Day 31 Hell Is Freezing Over Day February 1 Freedom Day 1 Inspire Your Employees To Excellence Day 2 Groundhog Day 2 No Talk Day 2 Imbolc 2 Candlemas 3 Carrot Cake Day 3 Artist Day 3 Wedding Ring Day 4 Homemade Soup Day 4 Halfway Point Of Winter 4 Thank A Mailperson Day 4 Bald Eagle Day (Utah) 5 Super Sunday 5 Primrose Day 5 Chocolate Fondue Day ... More Events Visit the Blogmanac, where today's Almanac is 'live' And I hope you will sign my GuestMap Your family and friends will get a kick when they hear their own name being sung in 'Happy Birthday'!! You can schedule your singing cards in advance, and even add your own face to funny animations. (Pay cards)         If you are enjoying this page, click to receive similar items daily with a free subscription to Wilson's Almanac ezine Webmaster, webmasters free content, or else articles at very reasonable rates Pip Wilson's articles are available for your website or publication, on application. Further details   1340 King Edward III of England was declared King of France. 1531 Lisbon, Portugal was hit by an earthquake – about 30,000  died. 1699 Treaty of Carlowitz was signed. 1736 Stanislaus I of Poland abdicated his throne.  1765 Lord Byron killed a Mr Chatworth in a duel.