18 January 2026

► LOOKING at events on 18 January;

On this day in 1788, the first ships of the First Fleet, carrying over 700 convicts from England, arrived at Botany Bay.

In 1911, in San Francisco, California, U.S.A., aviator Eugene B Ely landed on the deck of the U.S.S. Pennsylvania as it was moored in the harbour, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.

In 1919, in Cricklewood, London, England,  Walter Owen Bentley founded Bentley Motors Limited, the English luxury car manufacturer.  The company is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany’s Volkswagen.

In New Guinea, 1951, over 4,000 lives were lost, 5,000 were rendered homeless, when 30 villages were obliterated by an eruption of Mt Lamington, which had previously never been recognised as a volcano.

In 1955, bush fires raged in many parts of Tasmania, including the New Norfolk district, where the historic Bush Inn narrowly escaped destruction. 

In 1977 in Granville, New South Wales, 83 lives were lost Australia’s worst railway disaster, in which an express train derailed and struck a stanchion supporting a road overpass, causing it to collapse.

1998 in Maroubra, New South Wales,  Lifesaver Bernard Kelly died from a coronary after taking part in a mass rescue of a junior soccer team, who had been swimming in an area clearly marked as dangerous.  Police and fellow life savers later expressed anger that people continued to ignore directions to swim in the safety zone between the flags.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON THIS DAY

BORN:  Norvell Hardy, alias Oliver Hardy, in 1892 in Harlem, Georgia, U.S.A.   He was comic actor famous as half of the Laurel and Hardy classic duo, which started during the silent film era in 1926, and lasted over 31 years till his death in 1957.

BORN:  Gladys Hermiston-Hooper, in 1903 in Dulwich, London, England.  She lived to become a super-centenarian, and was the oldest living person in the United Kingdom at the time of her death in 2016, aged 113. 

BORN:  Archibald Alexander Leach alias Cary Grant, in 1904 in Horfield, Bristol, England.  As an actor, he was named the second Greatest Male Star of all Time by the American Film Institute. He died in 1986.

BORN:  David Daniel Kaminsky alias Danny Kaye in 1913 in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.  He was an actor, singer, dancer, and comedian. He died in 1987.

BORN:  Bobby Goldsboro, was born in 1941 in Marianna, Florida U.S.A.  He is a country and pop singer-songwriter who had a string of hits from 1962 to 1982, including 5 releases which achieved sales of over one million each.

DIED:  Carl Betz, in 1978 in  Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., aged 56.   He was a film and television actor best remembered for his role as Dr. Alex Stone in the sitcom The Donna Reed Show, between 1958 and 1966.
 Between 1967 and 1969, he portrayed defence attorney Clinton Judd in the drama Judd For The Defence,

DIED:  Wilfrid Brambell, in 1985 in Westminster, London, England, aged 72.  He was an Irish actor best known for his role in the British television sitcom Steptoe And Son. He also appeared with the Beatles in their film A Hard Day’s Night, in which he portrayed Paul McCartney’s  grandfather. 

DIED:  James Frederick Rodgers alias Jimmie Rodgers, in 2021 in Palm Desert, California, U.S.A., aged 87.  He was a singer and composer famed  for his late 50s/early 60s hits, such as Honeycomb, Kisses Sweeter Than Wine, Oh Oh I’m Falling In Love Again, Secretly, and Bim Bom Bey.
He has no connection to a country singer of the same name who, by co-incidence, died the same year he was born. 

Today’s Photo: Arthur Square, New Norfolk

Today’s Playlist :

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Andy Martin – Paint Me Blue	2025	06:06	1	9/1/2026
John Mullan – Summertime Blues	2025	06:11	2	19/12/2025
Toni West – Perfect Christmas Party	2025	06:14	1	5/12/2025
Grace Rivera – Eres Tu		06:19	2	2/11/2025
Johnny Mathis – Make The World Go Away		06:21	1	7/3/2025
For A Listener: Beatles – Blackbird		06:25	3	27/4/2025
Natalie Cole – That Sunday That Summer		06:28	3	6/4/2025
Pete Moore & His Orchestra – The Most Beautiful Girl		06:34	2	20/10/2023
Vintage Vinyl    Danny Kaye – The Best Things Happen While You’re Dancing		06:40	0
Bobby Goldsboro – By The Time I Get To Phoenix		06:42	3	19/1/2024
Guy Mitchell – Feet Up	1952	06:47	4	10/5/2024
Ray Malcolm – My Happiness	2025	06:51	2	7/12/2025
Walk Don’t Run – I Can Hear That Train	2025	06:55	3	12/12/2025
Bohemian Rogue – Trouble in Paradise	2025	07:05	3	21/11/2025
COUNTRY ROAD +Slim Dusty – A Girl From The Land		07:10	11	16/1/2026
+John Broomhall – Wild And Free		07:14	6	4/10/2024
For A Listener: Neil Diamond – Beautiful Noise		07:21	10	24/1/2025
Jimmie Rodgers – The World I Used To Know	1964	07:26	11	12/7/2024
Ron Grainer Orchestra – Steptoe And Son Theme		07:29	0
Henry Mancini His Piano & Orchestra – Send In The Clowns		07:34	0
Vintage Vinyl    Ames Brothers – Love Is A Many Splendoured Thing	1955	07:39	1	18/10/2013
Johnny Mathis – We Must Be Lovin’ Right		07:42	0
Joy Adams – But Wait There’s More		07:47	1	12/12/2025
Jason Owen – Islands in the Stream	2013	07:49	11	9/3/2025
J R Williams – Australia	2025	07:54	4	6/6/2025
Royal Australian Navy Band – Song of Australia		07:58	7	7/11/2025
Blue Echoes – Beautiful Sunday	1979	08:05	9	14/4/2023
COMFORT ZONE + Ollie Austin – Eighteen Yellow Roses		08:10	4	13/12/2024
+ Max Bygraves – What A Wonderful World		08:13	4	31/8/2025
Steve Bonham And The Long Road – Western Requiem		08:21	0
Brent Duncan – My Best Life	2025	08:30	1	24/10/2025
Romantic Strings Orchestra – Tie A Yellow Ribbon		08:36	0
Anthony Baxter & Peggy Gilchrist – Vincent	2025	08:39	3	11/1/2026
Sisters In Country – Old Heart	2025	08:43	2	11/1/2026
Vintage Vinyl    Monotones – Book Of Love	1958	08:49	0
Teddy Parker & Henry Mayer’s Chorus & Orchestra – Nachtexpress Nach St Tropez		08:52	6	28/5/2021
Al Caiola – You Don’t Know Me		08:54	2	24/10/2025