1 February 2026
► LOOKING at events on 1 February;
In 1955 Severe storms battered the New South Wales coast from Murwillumbah to Kiama, resulting in five deaths.
In 1959 In Melbourne, the Ford Motor Company announced the first fully automatic transmission car to be built in Australia. The three speed gearbox was a £157 option on the Ford Zephyr, which would be the cheapest “automatic” car available in Australia..
In 1961, In Hobart, the first foundation tube for the first pier of the Tasman Bridge was lowered into position off the Eastern Shore. .
In 1966, in Blackmans Bay, Tasmania, bushfires, fanned by strong winds, burned to within a few metres of over 40 new homes in Roslyn Avenue. Hundreds of acres of bushland was destroyed.
In 2003, The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, with the loss of all seven astronauts aboard.
In 2004, The first Adelaide – Darwin Ghan passenger train departed from Adelaide railway station.
► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON 1 FEBRUARY
BORN: William Clark Gable, in 1901 in Cadiz, Ohio, U.S.A. He was an actor nicknamed “The King of Hollywood” who started as an extra in silent films during the 1920s, and progressed to supporting roles in 1931. The following year he landed his first major role and became a leading man in more than 60 movies over the next 30 years. (d. 1960)s. He died in 1960.
BORN: Johnny Ashcroft, in 1927 in Sydney. He became a country singer, songwriter, recording artist and musician. His 1960 hit, Little Boy Lost, was based on the true story of the search for a 4 year old boy who had become lost in rugged bushland, infested with deadly snakes and dingos. He died in 2021.
BORN: Don Everly in 1937 in Brownie, Kentucky, U.S.A. He was one of the Everly Brothers duo, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing He died in 2021.
BORN: Normie Rowe, in 1947 in Melbourne. He was one of Australia’s most popular music stars of the 1960s, but his career was cut short when he was drafted for compulsory military service in 1967. His subsequent tour of duty in Vietnam ended his pop career..
DIED: Ruth Fairfax, in 1948 in Potts Point, New South Wales, aged 70. She was a founding member of the Australian Country Womens’ Association.
DIED: Joseph Francis Keaton, alias Buster Keaton, in 1966 in Los Angeles, California U.S.A., aged 70. He was an American actor, comedian, film maker, stunt man and writer .
DIED: John Dease, in 1979 in Sydney, aged 73. He was an Australian actor, radio presenter and quizmaster of the 1940s and 50s best remembered for the radio programme The Quiz Kids, the format of which involved a panel of Sydney childen aged between 11 and 15 who answered questions sent in by listeners around Australia.
Today’s photo: The Control Room of the decommissioned Waddamana hydro power station in Tasmania’s central highlands. It is now preserved as a museum.
Photographer: Lyndon Hewitt
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | TIME | PREVIOUS PLAYS | LAST PLAYED |
| Christa Fartek – If I Could | 2025 | 06:06 | 3 | 16/1/2026 |
| Paul Cullen – Rolling Like Thunder | 2025 | 06:12 | 2 | 23/11/2025 |
| Clayton Saunders – Uluru | 2025 | 06:15 | 2 | 7/12/2025 |
| Brendan McMahon – Wild Colonial Boys | 2025 | 06:20 | 1 | 28/11/2025 |
| Nicole Conring – Weihnachtszauber | 2025 | 06:24 | 3 | 11/1/2026 |
| Trevor Dawe – Buckaroo | 06:28 | 1 | 22/3/2024 | |
| ABC Showband – Bill Peach Holiday Theme | 06:33 | 6 | 23/8/2020 | |
| Johnny Ashcroft – Little Boy Lost | 1960 | 06:39 | 7 | 21/3/2021 |
| Everly Brothers – Walk Right Back | 1961 | 06:43 | 7 | 3/1/2020 |
| For A Listener: John Lennon – Beautiful Boy | 06:47 | 0 | ||
| Normie Rowe – Shakin’ All Over | 1965 | 06:53 | 4 | 23/1/2026 |
| Connie Francis – Stupid Cupid | 1958 | 06:58 | 1 | 1/7/2016 |
| Annette & Kim – Try A Little Kindness | 2024 | 07:05 | 4 | 26/10/2025 |
| COUNTRY ROAD + Jimmy Little – Boomerang | 07:10 | 4 | 1/3/2024 | |
| + Kevin Shegog – One Small Photograph | 07:13 | 5 | 24/2/2023 | |
| For A Listener: Renee & Renato – Volare | 07:18 | 5 | 13/8/2023 | |
| Ray Malcolm – Crazy | 07:23 | 3 | 5/12/2025 | |
| Shadows – Trains And Boats And Planes | 07:26 | 5 | 6/9/2024 | |
| Baja Marimba Band – There’s Always Something There To Remind Me | 07:31 | 7 | 14/2/2020 | |
| Miss Lana – I Am Strong | 2025 | 07:35 | 2 | 2/1/2026 |
| Jimmy Buckley – A Cottage By the Sea | 07:39 | 1 | 18/12/2016 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Bill Haley & Comets – Burn That Candle | 1955 | 07:42 | 1 | 18/9/2016 |
| Ollie Austin – Roll The Rock Away | 07:46 | 1 | 15/3/2019 | |
| Owen Brannigan & James Walker Orchestra & Chorus – Waltzing Matilda | 07:49 | 0 | ||
| Andy Martin – Paint Me Blue | 2025 | 07:53 | 2 | 18/1/2026 |
| Billy Vaughn – Say Si Si | 07:56 | 8 | 18/9/2020 | |
| Julian Lennon – Too Late for Goodbyes | 1985 | 08:05 | 5 | 6/4/2025 |
| COMFORT ZONE + Jade Hurley – Do What You Do Do Well | 08:11 | 2 | 25/4/2025 | |
| + John Williamson – Home Among The Gum Trees | 08:13 | 5 | 3/3/2023 | |
| Supremes – I Hear A Symphony | 1965 | 08:19 | 5 | 28/11/2025 |
| Michael Russ – Trumpet Hearts | 2025 | 08:27 | 1 | 16/1/2026 |
| Glenn Long – Mona Lisa | 08:33 | 2 | 6/10/2023 | |
| Joy Adams – You Know Too Much | 08:37 | 1 | 26/2/2025 | |
| Hawking Brothers – Me And Bobby McGee | 08:41 | 0 | ||
| Vintage Vinyl Eddie Fisher – Any Time | 1951 | 08:46 | 3 | 22/9/2017 |
| Phoebe Hutchison – It’s The Simple Things In Life | 2025 | 08:49 | 1 | 16/11/2025 |
| Robin Wilson – A House Is Not A Home | 1968 | 08:54 | 1 | 23/2/2025 |
Thank you Ray for playing my cover of “CRAZY “ on your show much appreciated