14 June 2026
► EVENTS ON THIS DATE, 14 JUNE;
1883, A railway connection was opened between Albury, New South Wales, and Wodonga, Victoria, completing the Sydney to Melbourne rail link.
1887, The South Australian railways were linked to New South Wales with the opening of a railway between Port Pirie and the New South Wales border town of Cockburn.
1893, Kalgoorlie, West Australia Paddy Hannan discovered gold and, in the ensuing gold rush, over 700 men were prospecting in the area three days later.
1919, St Johns, Newfoundland, Canada, John Alcock Brown and Arthur Whitten Brown departed on the first non-stop trans-Atlantic flight in a modified World War I Vickers Vimy bomber.
They flew for 15 hours 57 minutes at an average speed of 185 km/h at altitudes varying between sea level and 3,700 m (12,000 ft) before crash-landing near Clifden, County Galway, Ireland.
Their aircraft, which was rebuilt by the Vickers Company, is displayed in the London Science Museum in South Kensington, London.
1962, Sydney, New South Wales – A QANTAS Boeing 707 airliner named City of Sydney landed after the longest non-stop flight by an Australian commercial aircraft, having flown from Singapore in 9 hours 33 minutes.
1969, Sydney, New South Wales – A fire partially destroyed the Roselands shopping centre, then the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere. The blaze was first noticed by police in a helicopter on road patrol.
► ARRIVALS ON THIS DATE
Burl Ives, in 1909 New York, U.S.A.. He was a actor and singer, of radio, stage and television. In the 1950s and 60s, Burl Ives had a number of top hits, including Marianne, It’s My Funny Way of Laughing, A Little Bitty Tear, Maryanne Regrets, and Mr In-Between. He died in 1995, aged 85.
Ross Higgins in 1930, Sydney, New South Wales He was a pioneering Australian vaudevillian, actor, comedian, and singer best known as Ted Bullpitt in the sitcom Kingswood Country. He also provided the voiceovers for Louis the Fly in Mortein commercials, as well as Mr Pound when decimal currency was introduced in Australia. He died in 2016, aged 85.
Colin Tarrant, in 1952, Shirebrook, Derbyshire, England, He was an actor best known for his portrayal of the authoritarian Inspector Andrew Monroe in 583 episodes of the television series, The Bill. The character he portrayed, Inspector Monroe, was written out of the series by dying in a petrol-bombing attack on the Sun Hill police station in 2002. He died in 2012, aged 59.
► DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE
John Logie Baird, in 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, England. aged 57. He was a Scottish television pioneer and inventor of the first publicly demonstrated colour television system; and the first purely electronic colour television picture tube.
Alan Jay Lerner, in 1986, New York, U.S.A., aged 67. He was a composer and lyricist who, together with Frederick Loewe, created some of the most popular works of musicals for stage and film.
Henry Mancini, in 1994, Los Angeles, California, aged 54. He was an Italian-American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. His best-known works are the theme to The Pink Panther film series, the Peter Gunn Theme from the television series, and Moon River.
Today’s Photo: The planets Venus and Jupiter, as seen recently in the Valley. (Yours Truly)
Today’s Playlist :
| TRACK | RELEASE YEAR | PLAY TIME | LAST PLAYED |
| Vernon Huskey – White Silver Sands | 2025 | 06:06 | 6/2/2026 |
| Go On ‘n Fly – Leavin’ Page Town | 2026 | 06:11 | 15/5/2026 |
| Margarita De La Vega – Love Me With All Your Heart | 2025 | 06:15 | 5/9/2025 |
| Burl Ives – Pearly Shells Burl Ives, born on this day in 1909 in New York, U.S.A.. He died in 1995, aged 85. | 1964 | 06:20 | 6/9/2024 |
| Brothers Four – Nowhere Man | 06:23 | 24/4/2016 | |
| Sandpipers – Rain Rain Go Away | 06:27 | 9/5/2025 | |
| Richard Clayderman – Till | 06:32 | 13/8/2023 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Mills Brothers – Glow Worm | 1952 | 06:35 | 13/10/2013 |
| Arucamba – I Wish You Were Here | 2026 | 06:38 | 24/5/2026 |
| Katelynn Marie – Gonna Find Me A Country Boy | 2025 | 06:44 | 5/9/2025 |
| Diamond 45 – From the L P “I HEAR A SYMPHONY” Charting on this day 1966 + Francoise Hardy – Only You Can Do It | 1966 | 06:48 | 12/6/2026 |
| + Vic Dana – I Love You Drops | 1966 | 06:51 | 12/6/2026 |
| Sabrina Fallon – Mississippi | 06:52 | 11/10/2024 | |
| Tomas Jackman – Only You | 2024 | 07:05 | 2/3/2025 |
| COUNTRY ROAD + Glenn Jones – Are The Good Old Days Gone Forever | 2026 | 07:11 | 24/5/2026 |
| + Dean Perrett – Phantoms of the Snowy | 2026 | 07:14 | 12/6/2026 |
| For A Listener: Jade Hurley – Old Dogs Children and Watermelon Wine | 07:21 | 15/10/2021 | |
| Henry Mancini & His Orchestra & Singers – Swinging On A Star | 07:27 | 12/11/2023 | |
| Roberto Delgado & His Orchestra – Guantanamera | 07:32 | 31/7/2022 | |
| Vintage Vinyl Dave King – Memories Are Made Of This | 1956 | 07:38 | 23/4/2017 |
| Tom Jones – Help Yourself | 1968 | 07:40 | 1/10/2021 |
| Diamond 45 – From the L P “I HEAR A SYMPHONY” Charting on this day 1966 + Nancy Sinatra – The City Never Sleeps At Night | 1966 | 07:45 | 12/6/2026 |
| + Gene Pitney – Backstage | 1966 | 07:47 | 12/6/2026 |
| Gareth Jones – Home to Aherlow | 2026 | 07:51 | 24/5/2026 |
| Tim Hemme – Believe In You | 2025 | 07:55 | 29/8/2025 |
| Rene Hage – Big Bad Dog | 2026 | 08:05 | 31/5/2026 |
| COMFORT ZONE + John Williamson – True Blue | 08:11 | 25/1/2026 | |
| For A Listener: *Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton – You Can’t Make Old Friends | 08:15 | 11/1/2026 | |
| For A Listener: *Col Joye – Fools Like Me | 08:19 | 17/5/2026 | |
| COMFORT ZONE + Nana Mouskouri – The Last Thing On My Mind | 08:23 | 22/12/2013 | |
| Ray Jones – Northern Stars | 2026 | 08:31 | 15/5/2026 |
| Vintage Vinyl Peter Sellers & Sophia Loren – Goodness Gracious Me | 1960 | 08:36 | 28/2/2014 |
| James Last & His Orchestra – Elizabethan Serenade | 08:42 | 13/12/2021 | |
| Joel Harvey – Botany Bay | 08:45 | 27/6/2025 | |
| Enya – A Day Without Rain | 08:49 | – | |
| Behind the Sea – Kiss Kiss Moi | 2026 | 08:53 | 12/4/2026 |