Almost a month ago, the bulk carrier Solomon Trader was driven onto a reef on Rennell Island in the Solomon Islands by Cyclone Oma. Since then the 74,000 DWT ship has been leaking oil which threatens to destroy a world … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Australia
Yesterday we posted about the replica of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour which will be circumnavigating Australia to commemorate the 250th-anniversary of Cook’s arrival. Some critics have noted that Captain Cook did not actually sail around Australia. Coincidentally and almost simultaneously, archaeologists in London … Continue reading
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage to Australia, HMS Endeavour, a replica of Cook’s ship, will circumnavigate the continent. Prime minister Scott Morrison has announced the Australian government will be providing 6.7 million Australian dollars (£3.72 million) … Continue reading
Last week, the YM Efficiency, a 4250 TEU container ship bound from Taiwan to Sydney, Australia lost 83 containers in heavy seas while 30km off the coast of Port Stephens. In addition to the containers lost overboard, 30 other containers were … Continue reading
There is a new newest oldest message in a bottle. In 2014, we posted about a German fisherman who found a 101-year-old message in a bottle, making it the oldest message ever found in a bottle at that time. Then … Continue reading
Joseph Conrad once wrote about a conversation with an old sailor who had just signed off a ship. The sailor said something to the effect that “the ship was alright. The problem was the people on it.” The comment seems to … Continue reading
Amazon is currently testing using drones to deliver packages. Recently in Australia, lifeguards used a drone to deliver something far more vital than a package from an online retailer. They successfully used a Little Ripper drone to drop a flotation rescue … Continue reading
After being lost for 103 years, the wreck of Australia’s first submarine, HMAS AE1, has finally been located in almost 1,000 feet of water east of Rabaul, not far from Duke of York Islands in Papua New Guinea. The submarine, built in the Vickers … Continue reading
Australian waters can be dangerous. Over the years we have posted about attacks by crocodiles, sharks and deadly jellyfish. This hazard, however, is new, at least to us. Recently, Australian media was flooded with photos of the bloodied legs … Continue reading
Some complain that responding to climate change will damage the economy and cost jobs. Others counter that not responding effectively to climate change will do even greater economic damage. Recently an analysis of the social and economic value of the … Continue reading
We have learned that Danny Spooner died last week. Spooner was a well loved singer of traditional and contemporary folk songs of Britain and Australia. As a social historian, he explored British and Australian culture through folk music. Leaving school at … Continue reading
Recently, a 63 year old British tourist died suddenly while snorkelling on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. He is the fifth tourist to die in the last three months. In November, a 60-year-old British man and two French tourists, aged 74 and … Continue reading
In February 2014, the City of Adelaide, the world’s oldest surviving composite clipper ship, returned to her namesake city. Now almost three years later, she still have not quite found a home. The ship is sitting on a deck barge … Continue reading
Australia is, literally, on the move. A year ago, we posted about how the Prime Meridian, the arbitrary line in Greenwich, UK, marking 0 degrees of longitude, had to be adjusted by slightly over 100 meters after the discrepancy was … Continue reading
The City of Adelaide is the world’s oldest surviving clipper ship and one of only three remaining composite clipper ships. She was built in 1864, in Sunderland, England by William Pile, Hay and Co. for transporting passengers and goods between … Continue reading