31 May 2026
► EVENTS ON 31 MAY;
On this day in 1878, Near Port Campbell, Victoria, the clipper ship Loch Ard was wrecked, with the loss of 50 lives. Only two of the 54 on board survived, Eva Carmichael, a passenger, and Thomas Pearce, an apprentice.
Pearce made it to shore, but returned to the rough water to rescue Carmichael, who had clung to a spar for many hours.
1889, In Johnstown, Pennsylvania U.S.A. Over 2,200 lives were lost when the South Fork Dam failed and sent an 18 metre wall of water over the town.
1911, in Belfast, Ireland, The ocean liner RMS Titanic was launched.
1927, in Michigan, U.S.A., The last Ford Model T left the assembly after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.
1928, in Oakland, California, U.S.A., Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith departed in a bid to make the first trans-Pacific flight. Accompanying him in the Fokker Trimotor monoplane, the Southern Cross, were co-pilot Charles Ulm, navigator Harry Lyon and radio operator James Warner.
1937, throughout Australia, The first episode of a new radio serial, Dad And Dave, based on Steele Rudd’s book On Our Selection, was broadcast.
1942, in Sydney Harbour, Japanese midget submarines began a series of attacks on shipping.
1963, Tasmania ended its coldest May on record, with Hobart shivering on this day in the lowest minimum temperature for the month since 1902. The -0.5C minimum recorded at the Weather Bureau was the second lowest on record for the city.
1968, in New Norfolk, Tasmania, The 150th anniversary of the start of construction of the first road between Hobart and New Norfolk, was celebrated by an assemblage at Willow Court, including a sentry in full uniform who sheltered in the original sentry box.
► ARRIVALS ON THIS DATE
1926, Patsy Adam-Smith, inNowingi, Victoria. She became an author and historian whose research took her to over 60 countries. She died in 2001.
1930, Clint Eastwood, inSan Francisco, California, U.S.A.. He is an actor, director, producer and composer. known for his roles in violent action and western films. .
1937, Robin Ramsay, in Melbourne, Victoria. He was a television, film and stage actor, who became famous in Australia for his role in the 1960s ABC TV soapie Bellbird as Charlie Cousens, who shocked the nation when the character died in a fall from a silo. Fans wrote protesting his death, and some even sent flowers to his funeral.
1938, Peter Yarrow, in New York City, U.S.A.. He was a singer famed for his role with the 60s folk music trio Peter Paul & Mary. Yarrow co-wrote (with Leonard Lipton) one of the group’s most famous songs, Puff The Magic Dragon. He died in 2025.
Today’s Photo: Collins Cap from Malbina. (Yours Truly)
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | PLAY TIME | LAST PLAYED |
| Kevin Sullivan and Stuart Joel Nuggett – Elliott | 2026 | 06:06 | 10/5/2026 |
| Shaza Leigh – Cowgirls Heart | 2026 | 06:12 | 15/5/2026 |
| Allan Caswell & Lindsay Waddington – Twelve Good Men | 2026 | 06:16 | 22/5/2026 |
| Peter Paul & Mary – Puff The Magic Dragon Peter Yarrow, of Peter, Paul & Mary fame, born on this day in 1938 in New York City, U.S.A. He died in 2025. | 1963 | 06:21 | 31/5/2024 |
| For A Listener: Fleetwood Mac – Dreams | 06:25 | – | |
| Peggy Gilchrist – Waltz With Me My Love | 2026 | 06:31 | 22/5/2026 |
| Frank Mills & His Orchestra – Blackfoot Country | 06:36 | 5/11/2023 | |
| Glenn Jones – Western Herald | 2026 | 06:40 | 24/4/2026 |
| Vintage Vinyl Patti Page – How Much Is That Doggie | 1953 | 06:43 | 1/11/2013 |
| Nancy Muller – Heartbeat | 2026 | 06:46 | 17/5/2026 |
| The Curry Mob – In The Melody | 2026 | 06:50 | – |
| Diamond 45 – Charting on this day 1966 Manfred Mann – Pretty Flamingo | 1966 | 06:55 | 29/5/2026 |
| Diamond 45 – Charting on this day 1966 Webb Brothers – Purple Petrol Eater | 1966 | 06:57 | 29/5/2026 |
| Rene Hage – Big Bad Dog | 2026 | 07:05 | 17/5/2026 |
| COUNTRY ROAD + Lance Friend – My Home Australia | 2023 | 07:10 | 5/4/2026 |
| + Graeme Clarke – Big City | 2019 | 07:13 | 16/8/2019 |
| For A Listener: Alan Price – The House That Jack Built | 1967 | 07:17 | 19/4/2026 |
| Vintage Vinyl Bill Haley & Comets – Mambo Rock | 1955 | 07:22 | – |
| Patsy & Dave with James Blundell – I’m Suddenly Old | 2026 | 07:26 | 22/5/2026 |
| Brian May & ABC Melbourne Showband – Cabaret | 07:32 | 29/6/2025 | |
| Engelbert Humperdinck – She | 07:36 | – | |
| Steve Bonham and The Long Road – Sally in Blue Flames | 2026 | 07:40 | 6/12/2024 |
| Diamond 45 – Charting on this day 1966 Tony Barber – Some Day | 1966 | 07:46 | 29/5/2026 |
| Tony Hatch & Jackie Trent – Thank You For Loving Me | 1968 | 07:49 | 12/11/2023 |
| Mary Wells – My Guy | 1964 | 07:53 | 10/5/2026 |
| Sandy Posey – I Take It Back | 1967 | 07:57 | 23/8/2020 |
| Julie Healy & George Langan – Never More To Part | 2026 | 08:05 | 22/5/2026 |
| For A Listener: Sandy Posey – A Single Girl | 1966 | 08:10 | 28/9/2025 |
| COMFORT ZONE + Fran McCoy – The Black Velvet Band | 08:12 | 30/9/2022 | |
| + Foster & Allen – The Unicorn | 08:15 | – | |
| Terry Bennetts and Ginger Cox – Mr Kimberley, Sam Lovell AM | 2026 | 08:20 | 17/5/2026 |
| Slim Dusty – My Home On The Sunburnt Plains | 1960 | 08:29 | 4/8/2024 |
| Melbourne Pops Orchestra Cond by Tommy Tycho – Fernando | 08:35 | 2/6/2024 | |
| Clelia Adams – My Mother’s Wedding Band | 2008 | 08:39 | – |
| Diamond 45 – Charting on this day 1966 Frank Sinatra – Strangers In The Night | 1966 | 08:43 | 29/5/2026 |
| Tomas Jackman – Karma Chameleon | 2025 | 08:46 | 8/8/2025 |
| Damian Davis – Donegal Katie | 2026 | 08:51 | 15/5/2026 |
| Daniel O’Donnell – Beautiful Sunday | 08:54 | 17/11/2024 |