15 February 2026
► EVENTS ON 15 February;
In 1804 Lieut David Collins founded a penal settlement beside the Derwent River, which was named Hobart Town.
In 1916 Six passengers died when a Hobart-bound express train derailed near Campania, in Tasmania’s southern midlands. The train driver and fireman escaped from the overturned steam locomotive, but the driver, Philip Louis Goodchild, returned to the locomotive cab to release steam which was still accumulating in the locomotive boiler, and which would ultimately cause an explosion.
In doing so, he received severe scalding to much of his body. He died in the Hobart General Hospital the following day.
In 1942 The Fall of Singapore occurred when, following an assault by Japanese forces, British General Arthur Percival surrendered. Some 80,000 Indian, English, and Australian soldiers became prisoners of war. This was the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
In 1965, General Motors Holdens released the new HD Holden range. New features included convex side panels and windows, an alternator, and a new two-speed automatic transmission.
In 1971, The United Kingdom and Ireland switched to decimal currency.
► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON 15 February
BORN: Ernest Shackleton, in 1874, Kilkea, County Kildare, Ireland. He was an Antarctic explorer who, in 1909 with three companions, made an expedition which established a record farthest south latitude 190 km from the South Pole, the closest convergence in exploration history up to that time. He died in 1922.
BORN: Louis Renault, in 1877, Paris, France. He was one of the founders of the Renault car company and a pioneer of the automobile industry. He died in 1944.
BORN: Roy Rene, in 1891 in Adelaide, South Australia. He was a comedian and radio pioneer who, as the character Mo McCackey, was one of the best known Australian comedians in the late 1940s and early 50s. He died in 1954.
BORN: Graham Kennedy, in 1934 in Melbourne, Victoria. He was a radio, television and film performer, often called “Gra Gra” and “The King” of Australian television. He died in 2005.
DIED: Nathaniel Adams Coles alias Nat King Cole, in 1965, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A., aged 45. He was a musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist, but he owes most of his fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres.
DIED: Jo Raquel Tejada alias Raquel Welch, in 2023, aged 82. She was an actress who has appeared in numerous movies and television productions since 1964.
Today’s photo: Inside the crater of Mt Tarawera, near Rotorua, New Zealand. Photographer: Darryl Smith
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | TIME | PREVIOUS PLAYS | LAST PLAYED |
| Ray Malcolm – Moon Over Memphis | 2025 | 06:06 | 4 | 30/5/2025 |
| Taylor Brothers – Please Let Me Wonder | 2026 | 06:11 | 3 | 6/2/2026 |
| Bohemian Rogue – Hot Hot Sweaty (Summers Night) | 2026 | 06:14 | 2 | 13/2/2026 |
| Toni West – If I Didn’t Love Him | 2026 | 06:18 | 1 | 6/2/2026 |
| Allan Caswell – The Day We Sold The Farm | 2025 | 06:22 | 3 | 6/2/2026 |
| Michael Russ – Trumpet Hearts | 2025 | 06:26 | 2 | 1/2/2026 |
| Eric Jupp & His Orchestra – Lara’s Theme | 06:32 | 1 | 6/2/2026 | |
| Zither Jackson – Valleys Of Your Mind | 2026 | 06:36 | 1 | 12/8/2022 |
| Chasing Twister – Secret River | 2026 | 06:39 | 0 | |
| For A Listener: Anne Murray – You Needed Me | 06:43 | 8 | 23/11/2025 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Don Cherry – Love Is Just Around The Corner | 1956 | 06:48 | 4 | 7/11/2021 |
| Ron Christopher – Forever 1956 | 2026 | 06:51 | 4 | 8/2/2026 |
| Christa Fartek – If I Could | 2025 | 06:56 | 4 | 1/2/2026 |
| Lee Ann Kelly – It Was Mine | 2025 | 07:05 | 2 | 16/1/2026 |
| COUNTRY ROAD + Hank Locklin – Send Me The Pillow That You Dream On | 07:12 | 4 | 15/12/2019 | |
| + Singing Kettles – Little Green Valley | 07:14 | 4 | 31/3/2023 | |
| For A Listener: Col Joye – Old Dogs Children And Watermelon Wine | 07:19 | 5 | 17/4/2020 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Nat King Cole – Too Young | 1951 | 07:24 | 2 | 31/7/2016 |
| David Hammerschlag – One Certain Thing | 2026 | 07:30 | 0 | |
| Lawrence Welk Orchestra – Calcutta | 07:35 | 2 | 4/4/2025 | |
| Dan Jones – Forever Would Be Too Long | 2026 | 07:40 | 0 | |
| Sisters In Country – Old Heart | 2025 | 07:44 | 3 | 18/1/2026 |
| Jade Hurley – My Country | 2026 | 07:49 | 2 | 13/2/2026 |
| Shirley Llewellyn – I Came From The Nambucca Valley | 2025 | 07:54 | 2 | 14/12/2025 |
| Lolita – Fahr Mich In Die Ferne Blonder Matrose (Drive Me Into The Distance Blond Sailor) | 07:58 | 2 | 5/11/2017 | |
| Andy Martin – Paint Me Blue | 2025 | 08:05 | 4 | 6/2/2026 |
| For A Listener: Foster & Allen – Nobody’s Darling But Mine | 08:10 | 11 | 31/1/2025 | |
| COMFORT ZONE + Jim Reeves & Patsy Cline – The Wayward Wind | 08:14 | 7 | 27/7/2025 | |
| + Gunter Kallman Choir – The More I See You | 08:16 | 7 | 20/4/2025 | |
| Del Shannon – The Answer To Everything | 1962 | 08:22 | 0 | |
| Anne Murray – Harmony | 08:28 | 0 | ||
| Australian National Concert Orchestra – A Little Bit More | 08:34 | 2 | 23/7/2023 | |
| Engelbert Humperdinck – A Night To Remember | 08:38 | 0 | ||
| Roger Whittaker – I Don’t Believe In If Anymore | 08:41 | 6 | 14/12/2025 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Jimmy Rodgers – Secretly | 1958 | 08:45 | 4 | 30/1/2026 |
| Mandy Storm – Locked My Heart In Prison | 2025 | 08:48 | 2 | 23/1/2026 |
| Joy Adams – The Snorer | 08:51 | 2 | 28/12/2025 | |
| Shadows – Bombay Duck | 1967 | 08:54 | 6 | 18/8/2024 |