► 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

► EVENTS ON 13TH FEBRUARY

In 1869, in Sydney, New South Wales, Humiliation Day had been declared, to pray for the end of a drought.  It had mixed results.  As it was a Saturday, churchgoers were few – but it poured with rain.

In 1938, in Sydney, New South Wales, the ferry Rodney, which was over-crowded with spectators farewelling a visiting American cruiser Louisville, capsized with the loss of 19 lives.

In 1954, Mawson Station in the Australian Antarctic Territory was established.  It is now the oldest, continuously operating station in Antarctica, and the westernmost of Australia’s three stations, being 5,200 km south-west of Perth.

In 1981, in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A, a series of sewer explosions destroyed over two miles of streets.

In 2008, in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia’s then Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, made a historic apology to Indigenous Australians and members of  the Stolen Generation.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE

BORN:  Ernest Jennings Ford alias Tennessee Ernie Ford, in 1919, Bristol, Tennessee, U.S.A.  He was a recording artist of the 1950s who had numerous hits in the country, pop and gospel music genres.   He died in 1991.

BORN:  Gene Urick, alias Gene Ames, in 1923, Malden, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  He was a member of the Ames Brothers singing quartet very popular in the 1950s, with million selling hits such as The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, You You You, Tammy and Melodie D’Amour.  He died in 1997.

BORN:  Dorothy McGuire, in 1928, Middletown, Ohio, U.S.A. She was a singer who was part of the MacGuire Sisters trio of the 1950s and 1960s.  Amongst their most popular songs are Sincerely and Sugartime.  She died in 2012.

BORN:  Peter Tork, in 1942, Washington DC, U.S.A.  He was a musician and actor best known as a member of the pop group The Monkees, who sold 75 million records worldwide.  Their international hits include Last Train To Clarksville, Pleasant Valley Sunday, and Daydream Believer.  He died in 1991.

DIED:  David Harold Meyer alias David Janssen, in 1980, Malibu, California, U.S.A.  aged 48.  He was a film and television actor best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Kimble, a doctor wrongly convicted of murder and on the run after escaping from custody in a train crash, in the television series The Fugitive (1963–1967).  

DIED:  Waylon Jennings, in 2002, Chandler, Arizona, U.S.A. aged 64.  He was a country singer, songwriter, musician, and actor.  

Today’s graphic, from Sarah Jones.

Today’s Playlist

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	PLAY TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Kathy Carver – Bingo Player	2026	09:05	0
70s Classic    Dermot Henry & Virginians – If Those Lips Could Only Speak	1971	09:10	5	27/4/2025
Bohemian Rogue – Hot Hot Sweaty Summers Night	2026	09:14	1	6/2/2026
Comfort Zone –Well Known Artists and Songs + Engelbert Humperdinck – Blue Eyes		09:19	1	28/9/2025
+ Harry Secombe – The Impossible Dream		09:22	1	1/8/2021
John Leyton – Don’t Let Her Go Away		09:26	1	23/1/2026
Douglas Gamley Orchestra – Smile		09:31	2	8/4/2022
Tennessee Ernie Ford – Sixteen Tons	1955	09:36	4	17/10/2025
Ames Brothers & Hugo Winterhalter’s Orchestra & Chorus – Little Serenade	1958	09:39	2	21/8/2016
For a Listener Randy C Moore – Forget Me Not	2026	09:44	0
Inge Augustina – You Needed Me	2023	09:49	0
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Help” Charting on this day 1966 Beatles – You’re Going To Lose That Girl	1965	09:55	0
Diamond Classic – From the Album “The Best of Hermans Hermits” Charting on this day 1966 Hermans Hermits – Silhouettes	1965	09:57	11	28/3/2025
Joy Adams – After All	2026	10:05	2	8/2/2026
Caoimhe Murney – Your Health Is Your Wealth	2026	10:10	1	6/2/2026
The Charlesys – Live Together	2026	10:13	0
Waylon Jennings – Rhiannon		10:20	1	13/2/2015
Vintage Vinyl   McGuire Sisters – S’Wonderful	1956	10:23	3	30/7/2023
Gary R Farmer – South of the Border	2026	10:26	2	8/2/2026
Gordon Langford Orchestra – Till The End Of Time		10:31	3	30/3/2025
William Alexander – All I Stand To Lose	2026	10:34	0
Jade Hurley – My Country	2026	10:39	0
70s Classic    Kamahl – All I Have To Offer You	1971	10:45	6	27/4/2025
Ron Christopher – Angelyne	2025	10:49	4	4/1/2026
For a Listener Bobby Goldsboro – Molly	1963	10:53	8	28/12/2025
Monkees – Daydream Believer	1967	10:56	10	21/2/2025
Sherl Cederburg – Authentic Cowgirl Boots		10:59	2	1/5/2022
Chillin’ – Straight Into Your Heart	2026	11:05	0
Country Road- Old style country songs + Jimmy Little – Gentle On My Mind		11:11	0
+ Buddy Williams – Back to Alice Springs		11:14	1	17/5/2019
For a Listener Leroy Van Dyke – Walk On By	1961	11:20	19	25/5/2025
Vintage Vinyl   Frankie Laine – Moonlight Gambler	1956	11:28	7	2/5/2025
Johnny Gibbs Orchestra – The Continental		11:33	5	15/6/2025
Diamond Classic – From the Album “People” Charting on this day 1966 Barbra Streisand – People	1964	11:38	3	1/11/2024
Diamond Classic – From the Album “South of the Border” Charting on this day 1966 Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass – South Of The Border	1965	11:41	3	8/12/2019
Anastasia Lee & Celesta da Vinci – Swan Song (Tchaikovsky)	2026	11:45	0
Johnny Gregory & His Orchestra – E.T.  Theme		11:48	0
Ol’ 55 – Raindrops	1980	11:52	9	13/7/2025
Shadows – Chelsea Boot		11:55	2	27/8/2021

► EVENTS ON 8 February;

In 1933 Perth, West Australia, registered a record high temperature of 44.5C.  

In 1950 Throughout Australia, Wartime petrol rationing ended, almost ten years after it was introduced.

In 1960  Near Guyra, New South Wales, four year old Stephen Walls was found alive after being lost in rugged, snake infested country for four days.  This ended one of the most intensive searches in the history of New South Wales, which  involved over 3,000 people.  This event inspired the composition of a hit record Little Boy Lost.     

In 1983, Following the worst drought then on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metre deep dust cloud enveloped Melbourne, turning day to night.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON 8 FEBRUARY

BORN, 1828:  Jules Verne, in Nantes, France.  He was an author who pioneered the science-fiction genre by writing about space, air, and underwater travel, well before aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any possible means of space travel had been devised.  He died in 1905.

BORN, 1907:  Jack Davey, in Auckland New Zealand.  He became a very popular national Australian radio personality, hosting many high-rating quiz programmes during the 30s, 40s and 50s.  These included Calling All Stars, The Dulux Show, The Ampol Show, and Give It A Go.
Jack Davey also participated in the Redex Car Reliability Trials of 1953 and 1954, and other round-Australia car reliability trials in 1956, 1957 and 1958.  He died in 1959.

BORN, 1931 :  James Dean, in Marion, Indiana, U.S.A.  He was an actor whose fame and popularity rests on only three films, Rebel Without A Cause (1955), East of Eden (1955), and Giant (1956).  He starred in no others, as his career was cut short by his untimely death in a 1955 car crash.

DIED, 1990:  Charles Weedon Westover, alias Del Shannon, Santa Clarita, California, U.S.A. by his own hand, aged 55.  He was a rock and roll singer of the early 1960s, known for his many top selling hits such as Runaway, Hats Off To Larry, Handy Man and The Swiss Maid.  

DIED, 2005:  Keith Knudsen, in Kentfield, California, U.S.A. aged 56.   He was an drummer, vocalist and songwriter, member of the Doobie Brothers.

DIED, 2023:  Burt Bacharach in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A., aged 94.  He was a pianist, composer and music producer known for his hit songs and compositions from the mid-50s through the 80s, with lyrics written by Hal David.  Many of their joint hits were produced specifically for individual artists such as Marty Robbins, Gene Pitney, Cilla Black, Dusty Springfield, Jackie DeShannon and especially, Dionne Warwick.

Today’s photo: The Organ Pipes Track, Mt Wellington, Tasmania. Photographer: Ilka Munter

Today’s Playlist :

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Ron Christopher – Forever 1956	2026	06:06	3	30/1/2026
Bobby Bare – Tequila Sheila	1980	06:11	2	22/1/2017
Bucks Fizz – The Right Situation	1981	06:15	3	22/5/2015
Cliff Richard – Just A Little In Love	1980	06:20	0
Dire Straits – How Long	1991	06:23	0
Shadows – 36-24-36		06:28	0
Arthur Greenslade & His Orchestra – Little Arrows		06:32	4	19/8/2018
Excerpt:  Jack Davey – The Dulux Show		06:37
Vintage Vinyl    Rosemary Clooney – Hey There	1954	06:42	6	12/7/2019
For A Listener: Barbra Streisand – Somewhere		06:46	3	31/1/2021
Elisabeth Grey – Mrs Grey	2025	06:51	2	30/1/2026
Ashley Cook – The Waters of Lake Eyre	2026	06:57	1	30/1/2026
Sheila Pope – If Not For You	2026	07:05	1	30/1/2026
COUNTRY ROAD + Brian Letton – The Digger And His Dog		07:10	4	27/4/2025
+ Slim Dusty – A Word To Texas Jack		07:14	2	30/6/2023
For A Listener: Sandie Shaw – Please Mr Postman		07:18	2	5/10/2025
Del Shannon – Two Kinds of Teardrops	1963	07:23	6	19/5/2023
Doobie Brothers – Listen To The Music	1972	07:26	1	16/5/2014
Burt Bacharach – There’s Always Something There To Remind Me		07:33	3	12/12/2023
Debz Standen – Living Without You	2025	07:38	1	30/1/2026
Gary R Farmer – South of the Border	2026	07:41	1	30/1/2026
For A Listener: Graig Giles – Picture On The Mantle	2017	07:47	23	12/12/2025
Vintage Vinyl    Dean Martin – Hey Brother Pour The Wine	1953	07:51	4	14/9/2025
Joy Adams – After All	2026	07:54	1	30/1/2026
Chantays – Pipeline	1963	07:58	8	31/12/2023
Wendy Jewel – Are You Looking At The Same Stars	2026	08:06	1	30/1/2026
COMFORT ZONE + Jim Reeves – Make The World Go Away		08:11	1	21/6/2020
+ Freddy Quinn – Somewhere My Love		08:13	3	14/11/2025
Carrie Talarico – One Perfect Picture	2026	08:19	0
Juanito Fernandez & His Orchestra – Perfidia		08:28	1	3/4/2022
David Whitaker & His Orchestra – Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head		08:33	4	22/8/2014
Kym Cormack – Never Lie Again	2026	08:37	1	30/1/2026
Andy Williams – Holly		08:40	0
Vintage Vinyl    Nat King Cole – It’s All In The Game	1951	08:44	2	9/7/2017
Louise Morrissey – Tipperary So Rare	2026	08:47	1	16/11/2025
David McCaffrey – Walk of Life		08:52	5	30/1/2026

► LOOKING at events on 6 February;

In 1936, in Swansea Tasmania, mother and daughter Kate & Jean Cotton were killed when struck by the undercarriage of a low-flying RAAF plane.

In 1938, in Launceston Tasmania – the city’s second commercial radio station, 7EX, commenced regular transmission.

In 1951, in Glenorchy Tasmania – A new high school, known as the Robert Cosgrove Modern School, was opened.  Student capacity was limited, as classes were held in ex-Army Musset huts, pending completion of the first permanent buildings.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE

BORN, 1922:  Patrick Macnee, in Paddington, London, England.  He was an actor best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the television spy series The Avengers.  Died 2015.

BORN, 1943:  Fabiano Anthony Forte, alias Fabian, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.  He was a pop singer and  teen idol of the late 1950s and early 1960s..

BORN, 1950:  Natalie Cole, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.  She was a singer, songwriter and daughter of crooner Nat King Cole and one-time Duke Ellington Orchestra singer Maria Cole.  Died in 2015.

DIED 1952:  King George VI of the United Kingdom, in Sandringham House, Norfolk, England, at the age of 56.  His daughter, then Princess Elizabeth, was proclaimed Queen the following day.

DIED 1981:  Hugo Montenegro, in California U.S.A. at the age of 55.   He was an orchestra leader and composer of film soundtracks best known  for his cover version of the theme from the 1966 film The Good The Bad And The Ugly.

DIED 1998:   Carl Wilson, in Los Angeles California U.S.A. at the age of 51.   He was a rock and roll singer, guitarist and composer, and founding member and occasional lead guitarist of the pop group The Beach Boys.

DIED 2007:  Francesco Paolo LoVecchio alias Frankie Laine, in San Diego, California U.S.A. at the age of 93.   He was a singer, songwriter and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of That’s My Desire in 2005.

Today’s photo – The eroded shoreline of Bass Strait, near Ulverstone.   Photo: Yours Truly

Today’s Playlist

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	PLAY TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Ami Leigh – Wait And See	2025	09:05	2	23/1/2023
70s Classic    Middle Of The Road – Chirpy Chirpy Cheep Cheep	1971	09:11	5	27/4/2025
Kim Copedo – Save A Little Hope for Me	2025	09:14	0
Comfort Zone –Well Known Artists and Songs + Julie Anthony – Bye Bye Love		09:19	1	26/10/2018
+ Sandy Scott – Behind Closed Doors		09:22	2	5/12/2025
Allan Caswell – The Day We Sold The Farm		09:26	2	11/1/2026
Joe Reisman & His Orchestra – Angel Of The Morning		09:31	1	10/8/2025
Fabian – Gonna Make You Mine	1965	09:35	2	5/12/2025
Natalie Cole – Almost Like Being In Love		09:40	1	25/8/2024
For a Listener Neil Sedaka – Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen	1961	09:44	6	4/10/2019
For a Listener Percy Faith Orchestra & Chorus – Ballad Of The Easy Rider		09:46	3	21/7/2023
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Rubber Soul” Charting on this day 1966 Beatles – Norwegian Wood	1965	09:51	6	1/7/2022
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Houston” Charting on this day 1966 Dean Martin – Old Yellow Line	1965	09:53	1	11/12/2022
Vernon Husky – White Silver Sands		09:57	4	26/10/2025
Dean Perrett – Road Train Country	2026	10:05	0
Taylor Brothers – Please Let Me Wonder	2025	10:10	2	27/6/2025
Toni West – If I Didn’t Love Him	2026	10:13	0
Hugo Montenegro – The Good The Bad And The Ugly	1968	10:19	7	19/8/2022
Vintage Vinyl   Frankie Laine – That’s Mr Desire	1951	10:24	1	30/3/2018
Beach Boys – Then I Kissed Her	1967	10:27	4	5/4/2024
Richard Clayderman – You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me		10:31	2	25/7/2021
Caoimhe Murney – Your Health Is Your Wealth	2026	10:35	0
Adrian Payne – If But Or Maybe	2026	10:38	0
70s Classic    John Paul Joans – The Man From Nazareth	1971	10:45	2	27/4/2025
Zither Jackson – Valleys Of Your Mind	2026	10:50	0
Andy Williams – Lips Of Wine	2026	10:53	0
Seekers – The Hammer Song		10:56	0
Andy Martin – Paint Me Blue	2025	11:05	3	1/2/2026
Country Road- Old style country songs + Jimmy Little – Sun Arise		11:10	0
+ Slim Dusty – Another Night In Broome		11:12	1	15/12/2023
For a Listener Eydie Gorme – Blame It On The Bossa Nova	1963	11:17	13	10/8/2025
Vintage Vinyl    Tony Bennett – Rags To Riches	1951	11:25	11	11/4/2025
Ronnie Kennedy – The Bluebell Polka		11:28	8	31/10/2025
James Last & His Orchestra – Barcarolle		11:33	6	26/6/2022
Diamond Classic – From the Album “The Sound of Music Soundtrack” Charting on this day 1966 Peggy Wood, Marnie Nixon, 2 x Uncredited – Maria	1965	11:37	2	30/7/2023
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Whipped Cream” Charting on this day 1966 Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass – Bittersweet Samba	1965	11:41	1	18/10/2024
Bohemian Rogue – Hot Hot Sweaty (Summers Night)	2026	11:45	0
Carol Stevens – My Dream Lover	2025	11:48	1	16/1/2026
Charlie’s Attic – Nanna’s House	2021	11:52	4	9/5/2025

► 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

► LOOKING at events on 30 January;

In 1935, in southern Tasmania, regular train services on the Apsley branch railway ceased beyond Bagdad.  The Apsley railway ran from the Brighton Junction railway station, through Bagdad, Dysart and Kempton to the small township of Apsley, a few kilometres beyond Melton Mowbray.  The line closed in 1947.

And in 1945 in the Baltic Sea, off the coast of Poland, the ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff, which was overfilled with refugees and German military personnel, sank after being torpedoed three times by a Soviet submarine.
 The resulting loss of around 9,400 lives remains the largest fatality from from the sinking of one vessel in maritime history.  The wreck has been classified by the Polish Government as a war grave and diving is forbidden within a 500 metre radius of it.

In 1948, in New Delhi, India, Mohandas Gandhi, the political and spiritual leader of the Indian independence movement, was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic.

In 1965, in London, England, representatives of 110 countries attended the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, English wartime leader, which was held in St Paul’s Cathedral.  Churchill had died three days previously, aged 90.

In 1972, in Derry, Northern Ireland, fourteen unarmed demonstrators were killed by British paratroopers in an incident which became known as Bloody Sunday.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE

BORN:  Dorothy Eloise Maloney alias Dorothy Malone in 1925, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.  She was an actress whose career began in 1943.  She later acquired a more glamorous image, after her performance in the 1956 movie Written On The Wind, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.   Dorothy Malone achieved later success with her role as Constance McKenzie in the television soapie Peyton Place from 1964 to 1968.  Died 2018.

BORN:  Gene Hackman in 1930, San Francisco, California, USA.  He became an actor who starred in  80 movies, whose performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde earned his first Oscar nomination.  Died 2025.

BORN:  Horst Jankowski in 1936, Berlin, Germany.  He became a pianist famous for easy-listening music.  His fame peaked in 1965 with his tune Eine Schwarz wald fahrt, which was released in English as A Walk In The Black Forest.  Died 1998.

BORN:  Vanessa Redgrave, in 1937, Greenwich, London, England. She is an Academy-award-winning actress of stage, screen and television, and political activist.  She has starred in over 80 films and is a six-time Oscar nominee, and is the only British actress ever to win Oscar, Emmy, Tony, Olivier, Cannes, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.

DIED:  Orville Wright, in 1948, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A aged 76.  He was the aviation pioneer who, together with his brother Wilbur, is credited with building and flying the world’s first heavier-than-air aircraft.

DIED:  Ferdinand Porsche, in 1951, Stuttgart, West Germany, aged 75.  He was an Austrian automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company, which created, amongst other things, the first petrol-electric hybrid vehicle and the Volkswagen Beetle.

DIED:   Stanley Holloway, in 1982, Littlehampton, England, aged 91.  He was a stage and film actor, comedian, and singer famous for his character roles, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in the musical My Fair Lady. He was also renowned for his comic recordings throughout his 70-year career.

DIED:  Geraldine McEwen, in 2015, Hammersmith, London, England, aged 82.  She was an actress best known for her role as Miss Marple in the television series of the same name between 2004 and 2009.

Today’s photo – Early morning reflections in the Derwent River, New Norfolk.  Photo: Craig Farrell MLC

Today’s Playlist:

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	PLAY TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Starship – We Built This City	1985	09:05	1	3/3/2023
70s Classic    Lynn Anderson – Rose Garden	1971	09:13	14	27/4/2025
John McCall – Love in Katoomba	2025	09:16	3	2/1/2026
Comfort Zone –Well Known Artists and Songs + Matt Monro – This Is The Life		09:22	1	15/2/2023
+ Jon English – Six Ribbons		09:24	9	16/3/2025
Mexicans – Winds of Barcelona		09:29	13	17/8/2025
Francisco Cavez & His Orchestra – Bossa Nova Minus One		09:34	3	23/6/2023
Horst Jankowski Orchestra & Chorus – Simpel Gimpel	1965	09:39	8	12/9/2025
Debz Standen – Living Without You	2025	09:43	0
For a Listener Cliff Richard – Good Times	1969	09:47	9	21/11/2021
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Sinatra 65” Charting on this day 1966 Frank Sinatra – When Somebody Loves You	1965	09:51	1	14/5/2021
Diamond Classic – From the Album “More Hits By The Supremes” Charting on this day 1966 Supremes – Nothing But Heartaches	1965	09:53	1	12/2/2021
Foster & Allen – A Place In The Choir		09:58	0
Ron Christopher – Forever 1956	2024	10:05	2	20/12/2024
Wendy Jewel – Are You Looking At The Same Stars	2026	10:11	0
Ashley Cook – The Waters of Lake Eyre	2026	10:13	0
Stanley Holloway – Get Me to the Church on Time		10:18	2	1/10/2023
Vintage Vinyl   Jimmy Rodgers – Secretly	1958	10:22	3	18/9/2020
Gary R Farmer – South of the Border	2026	10:25	0
Johnny Douglas & His Orchestra – Small World		10:31	0
Kym Cormack – Never Lie Again	2026	10:36	0
Hein Simons – Von Herz zu Herz  (From Heart to Heart)		10:39	0
70s Classic    Billy Joel – Just the Way You Are	1978	10:44	4	29/6/2025
Electric Indian – Land Of A Thousand Dances	1969	10:48	2	17/2/2023
Joy Adams – After All	2026	10:52	0
David McCaffrey – Walk Of Life	2025	10:55	4	4/1/2026
Lawrence Welk – Blue Velvet		10:58	4	9/11/2025
Elisabeth Grey – Mrs Grey		11:05	1	16/1/2026
Country Road – Old style country songs + Lindsay Butler & Barry Thornton – Slim Dusty Medley		11:11	0
+ Slim Dusty – Sunny Northern Rose		11:14	0
For a Listener Roger Whittaker – Tanz Heut Nacht Mit Mir  (Dance Tonight With Me)		11:20	0
Vintage Vinyl    Nat King Cole – Pretend	1953	11:29	2	19/2/2025
Romantic Strings Orchestra – Mozart’s 40th		11:36	1	5/8/2022
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Dear Heart” Charting on this day 1966 Andy Williams – Dear Heart	1965	11:41	1	15/9/2019
Diamond Classic – From the Album “Going Places” Charting on this day 1966 Herb Alpert & Tijuana Brass – Cinco De Mayo	1965	11:44	3	17/7/2022
Sheila Pope – If Not For You	2026	11:48	0
Demis Roussos – Island Of Love		11:51	2	2/9/2018

► LOOKING at events on 25 January;

In 1915 Alexander Graham Bell inaugurated the U.S. transcontinental telephone service by speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.  

Eight lives were lost in 1950, at the Garden Island dockyard in Sydney, when a massive explosion occurred aboard HMAS Tarakan, a tank landing ship,.

In 1955, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet in Moscow announced the end of the war between the USSR and Germany, which began in 1941.  Until then, despite the end of World War 2, the USSR had still been formally at war with Germany. 

In 1995, Russia almost launched a nuclear attack on the United States, after a Norwegian research rocket was mistaken for an incoming Trident missile.

The Mars rover Opportunity landed on the surface of the planet Mars in 2004.  It’s mission was originally intended to last only 3 months, but it continued to transmit valuable scientific data for nearly 15 years.  Opportunity also holds the off-Earth driving distance record of over 45 kilometres.  The rover went into hibernation in June 2018 with the onset of a planet-wide dust storm, but failed to reboot afterward.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON 25 JANUARY

BORN:  Jamesetta Hawkins alias Etta James, in 1938 in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.  She was a blues, soul, rock and roll, gospel and jazz singer and songwriter, best known for her performance of At Last, which has been featured in movies, television shows, commercials, and web-streaming services.  She died in 2012.

BORN:  Kay McLaren alias Kay Cottee, in 1954 in Sydney.  She became the first female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world, which she did in 1988 in her 11 metre sloop First Lady, taking 189 days 

DIED:  Ray Peterson, in 2005 in Smyrna, Tennessee, U.S.A. at the age of 65.  He was a pop singer of the late 1950s and early 1960s, remembered for his hits Corrine Corrina and Tell Laura I Love Her.

DIED:  Demis Roussos, in 2015 in Athens Greece, aged 68.  He was a singer who had a number of hits during the 1970s, and sold over 60 million albums worldwide.

DIED:  Mary Tyler Moore, in 2017 in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.A., aged 80.   She was an actress, known for her roles in television sitcoms such as The Dick Van Dyke Show between 1961 and 1966, and for her later role in the Mary Tyler Moore Show  between 1970 and 1977 as Mary Richards, a single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis.

Today’s photo: Early morning reflections in the King River, western Tasmania.

Today’s playlist is an all-Australian/New Zealand SPECIAL, in view of the declared Australia Day tomorrow (26 January):

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Graeme Connors – The Great Australian Dream	2025	06:06	4	18/10/2024
Denis Gibbons – Botany Bay		06:13	3	26/1/2025
Harry & Wilga Williams & Country Outcasts – Blue Gums Calling Me Back Home		06:17	9	23/6/2023
For A Listener: INXS – Mystify		06:22	0
Kathy Carver – Yellow Moon On The Swan	2025	06:25	4	2/1/2026
Oodgeroo Noonuccle – Civilisation		06:29	8	26/1/2025
Alisha Smith – Man From The Never Never		06:34	9	18/10/2024
Slim Dusty – The New Australian Bushman		06:38	3	26/2/2021
Jimmy Little – Namatjiri		06:41	4	10/8/2025
Simon Gallaher – Australia Be Proud		06:44	3	26/4/2015
Lee Kernaghan – Goondiwindi Moon		06:47	0
John Williamson – True Blue		06:52	10	3/11/2024
Clelia Adams – Looking Forward, Looking Back	2022	06:57	13	6/7/2025
Seekers – I Am Australian		07:06	10	25/7/2025
COUNTRY ROAD + Alan Caswell – He Loves His Radio	2024	07:13	4	22/6/2025
+ Andrew Ryan – In The Warrego		07:16	6	13/7/2025
For A Listener: Colin Buchanan – The Local District Show		07:21	7	26/1/2025
James Blundell – Kimberley Moon		07:27	6	21/12/2025
Brian May & ABC Melbourne Showband – Beatles Medley~Eleanor Rigby~My Sweet Lord~Let It Be		07:32	1	1/12/2021
Alex Hood – Two Hundred Years Ago		07:38	2	2/10/2020
Ali Mills – Waltjim Bat Matilda		07:40	8	26/1/2025
Vintage Vinyl    Col Joye & Joy Boys – Oh Yeah Uh Huh	1959	07:46	3	7/9/2025
The Band That Never Was – Ten Thousand Miles Away		07:48	8	26/1/2024
John Clarke – The Fred Dagg Medley		07:52	10	23/2/2025
Lindsay Butler – Country Strings		07:55	0
John Sidney – Medley~Wunderbar~Wonderful Copenhagen		07:58	2	3/12/2023
Lee Kernaghan – Listen To The Radio		08:04	5	26/1/2024
COMFORT ZONE + Judy Stone – Our Day Will Come		08:10	1	5/1/2025
+ Jean Stafford & Smoky Dawson – I’ll Paint You A Song		08:13	4	8/3/2024
Slim Dusty & His Bushlanders – Medley~Along The Road To Gundagai~I’m Going Back To Yarrawonga~The Man From The Never Never~That Old Bush Shanty of Mine		08:18	2	20/4/2025
Penny Davies & Roger Ilott – Beside A Railway Line		08:25	5	17/10/2025
Mark White – Both Sides Now		08:32	3	4/3/2022
Barry Crocker – Sayonara		08:37	1	30/10/2020
Curly Rivers & Dusty Trail Ramblers – The Ferryboat Shuffle	1975	08:39	5	11/5/2025
Vintage Vinyl    Nola Hirst – Meet Me In The Chapel	1958	08:43	6	10/7/2020
Webb Brothers – The Jockeys Are Striking	1960	08:46	0
Ashley Cook – The Sydney Jillaroo		08:50	8	19/1/2024
Graeme Clarke – Living Down Under		08:54	8	24/12/2021

► LOOKING at events on 23 January;

In 1931, in Canberra, Sir Isaac Isaacs was sworn in as Governor-General of Australia, becoming the first Australian-born person to hold the position.  His appointment displeased the Leader of the Opposition, and the British Government, on account of his nationality.

Moving forward to 1956, and in Woodville, South Australia, the 250,000th Holden car was built. It was one of the FJ series, which were replaced by the all-new FE series, just six months later. 

And in 1960 Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, inside the bathyscape Trieste, descended 10,916 metres into the Marianas Trench, in the western Pacific ocean off the Marianas Islands.  The Marianas Trench is the deepest part of any ocean on Earth, and extends 2,550 kilometres and has an average width of 69 kilometres.

In 1970, the first Boeing 747 Jumbo to cross the Atlantic arrived at London’s Heathrow airport.

In 1968 a U.S. spy ship, the USS Pueblo, was seized by North Korean forces, around 28 km from the coast.  North Korea claimed the vessel was in their territorial waters, but this was denied by the U S Government.  Pueblo remains in Pyongyang, where it is used as a museum ship.

1986, and in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.  The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted its first members:  Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.

2003, and the final communication took place between Earth and Pioneer 10, the first Earthly spacecraft to travel through the asteroid belt and closely observe the planet Jupiter, which it passed on December 3, 1973.  At the time of the final communication, Pioneer 10 was 12 billion kilometres from Earth and heading towards the star Aldebaran, ETA in 2 million years time.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES ON THIS DATE

Joe Dowell, was born in 1940 in Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.A.  He was a pop singer of the early 1960s whose first release was Wooden Heart, which went to No 1 on the Billboard chart in 1961, selling over a million copies and earning a gold disc.  He died in 2016.

Barry Stanton was born in 1941 in London, England.  He became an Australian rock and roll musician, who appeared on early teen programmes on television, such as Bandstand and Six O’Clock Rock.  His first success was Don’t Let Go in 1960.  Although popular within Australia, Stanton had little international success and eventually gave up his recording career to become an electrician.  He died in 2018.

Vic Urick, alias Vic Ames, died in 1978 in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.A., aged 52.  He was a member of the Ames Brothers singing quartet, which was very popular in the 1950s, with million selling hits such as The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane, You You You, Tammy and Melodie D’Amour. 

Horst Wende, alias Roberto Delgado, died in 1976 in Hamburg, Germany at the age of 77.  He was a bandleader, arranger and composer, part of the wave of easy listening artists popular in the 1960s and 1970s.

Gordon Fitzgerald Kaye died in 2017 in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire, England, aged. 75.  He was a comic actor of Maltese descent, best known for playing Rene Artois in the English TV comedy ‘Allo ‘Allo  

Also in 2017, Bobby Freeman died in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. aged 76.  He was a soul singer, songwriter, and record producer best known for his 1958 hit Do You Want To Dance? 

Patricia Ann Ruth Noble alias Patsy Ann Noble, alias Trisha Noble, died this day in 2021, aged 76.  She was a singer and actress who rose to fame as a teenager in the early 1960s and frequently appeared on Brian Henderson’s Bandstand.  She was signed to the HMV label where she released her first single Like I’m In Love b/w I Love You So Much It Hurts in 1960. 

Today’s photo – Stanley, in the far northwest of Tasmania

Today’s Playlist

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	PLAY TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Robert Ross – People Like Me	2025	09:05	2	14/12/2025
70s Classic    Barry Manilow – Can’t Smile Without You	1978	09:11	10	29/6/2025
Franky B and the Shadowriders – Soul Limbo	2025	09:14	3	4/1/2026
Comfort Zone –Well Known Artists and Songs + Brothers Four – Girl		09:19	0
+ Simon May Orchestra & Marti Webb – Always There		09:22	5	20/4/2024
Victoria Eman – Lost My Heart At Christmas	2025	09:26	1	16/1/2026
Billy May & His Orchestra – Theme From A Summer Place		09:32	9	10/11/2023
Joe Dowell – Wooden Heart	1961	09:36	4	7/4/2024
Barry Stanton – Beggin’ On My Knees	1961	09:38	0
For a Listener Nat King Cole – Looking Back	1958	09:43	1	15/1/2021
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Al Martino – What Now My Love	1966	09:45	6	8/6/2025
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Herman’s Hermits – A Must To Avoid	1966	09:49	7	26/12/2025
Shaza Leigh – Rodeos To Rainbows		09:52	3	5/12/2025
Jason Owen – Thank God I’m A Country Boy		09:56	7	2/11/2025
Ami Leigh – Wait & See	2025	10:05	1	7/12/2025
Watling & Bates with Shelly Jones Band – West Out Of Redrock	2025	10:10	2	11/1/2026
Mandy Storm – Locked My Heart In Prison	2025	10:13	1	9/1/2026
Vintage Vinyl   Ames Brothers – The Naughty Lady Of Shady Lane	1954	10:19	2	26/4/2024
Ben Walker – Be Different	2025	10:22	2	11/1/2026
Chet Atkins – Freight Train		10:27	6	4/7/2025
Roberto Delgado & His Orchestra – Save Your Kisses For Me		10:31	2	19/7/2024
Mike Sammes Singers – Red Sails In The Sunset		10:36	0
Clare Sisters – Bei Mir Bist Du Schon		10:39	0
70s Classic    Samantha Sang – Emotions	1978	10:44	8	20/4/2025
Dana – It’s Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas		10:49	0
John Leyton – Don’t Let Her Go Away		10:54	0
Patsy Ann Noble – Better Late Than Never		10:57	0
Col Millington – Travelling Man	2017	11:05	2	1/10/2023
Country Road- Old style country songs + Chris Strohfeld – At Home In The Mountains	2018	11:10	5	11/3/2025
+ Trevor Knight – I Love A Sunburnt Country		11:13	4	26/1/2024
For a Listener Lonnie Lee – Starlight Starbright	1960	11:19	10	12/4/2024
Vintage Vinyl    Bobby Freeman – Do You Wanna Dance	1958	11:26	1	13/6/2021
Anne Murray – Bring Back The Love		11:30	0
David Whitaker Orchestra – The Boxer		11:35	5	3/3/2023
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 P J Proby – Maria	1965	11:39	2	6/11/2020
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Normie Rowe – Shakin’ All Over	1965	11:43	3	1/2/2019
Daniel O’Donnell – A Song For The World		11:48	0
Tom Pickering & Pierce Pickering Ragtime Five – Just Imagine		11:51	2	7/10/2022

► 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

► LOOKING at events on 16 January;

On this day in 1957  in Liverpool, England, the Cavern Club opened.  This was the venue where, on  9 November 1961, music entrepreneur Brian Epstein first saw The Beatles performing,   

In 1965, the new Empress of Australia RO-RO ferry made its first voyage from Sydney to Hobart, resuming a sea link which had been abandoned over 20 years previously. 

In 1969,  two cosmonauts spacewalked from Soyuz 5 to Soyuz 4 while the two craft were docked together.  This was the first time a docking of two manned spacecraft or crew transfer took place, and it remains the only time when an external transfer was made, all subsequent crew exchanges having been made internally.
Soyuz 4 later returned to Earth and had a soft landing, whilst Soyuz 5, crewed only by Commander Boris Volynov, made a harder than intended landing some distance from its planned target site, due to a malfunction.  Volynov abandoned the capsule and walked several kilometres in -36C temperatures to a farmhouse to await rescue. 

In 1981 the Space Shuttle Columbia made its maiden flight, the first by a re-usable spacecraft.  And on this day in 2003 Columbia took off from Cape Canaveral on its final, fateful mission.  It disintegrated during re-entry to Earth’s atmosphere 16 days later, with the loss of all crew.

► ARRIVALS AND DEPARTURES

Lorraine Bayly was born on this day in 1937 in Narrandera, New South Wales.  She is an actress best known for her portrayal of Grace Sullivan, in the television drama The Sullivans, which was centred on the life of an Australian family during World War 2.
 She was also a presenter on the children’s programme Play School from 1966 till 1978, and has appeared in Neighbours and the films Fatty Finn and The Man From Snowy River.

Ronnie Milsap was born on this day in 1946 in Robbinsville, North Carolina, U.S.A.  He is a singer and songwriter, blinded since birth by a congenital disorder.  Milsap is one of the most successful and versatile country crossover singers, appealing to both country and pop music markets with hits which incorporated pop, rhythm and blues and rock and roll 

Duncan Bell, was born on this day in 1955 in Glasgow, Scotland.  He is an actor who appeared in several English television series, but is best known as Sergeant Dennis Merton in the TV drama  Heartbeat .

No departures noted for this date.

Today’s photo – Storm clouds over the Derwent River and Meehan Range, Tasmania.

Today’s Playlist

This week, introducing the new Comfort Zone, and Country Road segments.
The Comfort Zone is a double-play of familiar artists, and/or familiar music. The Country Road likewise, of older-style country music.

Both these will also be included in the playlists for Valley Sunrise.

TRACK	RELEASE YEAR	PLAY TIME	PREVIOUS PLAYS	LAST PLAYED
Carol Stevens – My Dream Lover	2025	09:05	0
70s Classic    Leif Garrett – Runaround Sue	1977	09:12	8	20/4/2025
Lee Ann Kelly – It Was Mine	2025	09:14	1	28/12/2025
Comfort Zone –Well Known Artists and Songs +Seekers – The Last Thing On My Mind		09:20	11	17/10/2025
+Percy Faith Orchestra & Chorus – Leaving On A Jet Plane	1967	09:23	2	24/8/2018
Ray Lani – If It Were Not For You	2025	09:28	0
Pete Moore & His Orchestra – Islands In The Stream		09:33	1	10/8/2025
Ronnie Milsap – Daydreams About Night Things		09:38	8	7/7/2023
Elisabeth Grey – Mrs Grey	2025	09:42	0
For a Listener Louis Armstrong – Blueberry Hill	1949	09:46	1	4/8/2023
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Manfred Mann – Hi Lili Hi Lo	1965	09:50	2	29/10/2017
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Toys – A Lovers Concerto	1965	09:53	13	31/10/2025
Orchester Hugo Strasser – Pariser Tango		09:57	1	25/7/2025
Christa Fartek  – If I Could	2025	10:05	2	2/12/2025
Lindsay Waddington – Rush Hour	2025	10:10	3	21/11/2025
Walk Don ‘t Run – Backroads and Moonshine	2025	10:13	1	14/12/2025
For a Listener Johnny Horton – When It’s Springtime In Alaska		10:21	10	29/6/2025
Vintage Vinyl   Diana Coupland – A Guy Is A Guy	1952	10:25	6	5/3/2023
Bing Crosby – Morgen		10:29	2	9/7/2023
Romantic Strings Orchestra (Pierre Belmonde, Pan Flute) – Sailing		10:34	0
Paul Ricketts – I’m Just Like You	2025	10:39	2	11/1/2026
Victoria Eman – Lost My Heart At Christmas	2025	10:43	0
70s Classic    Carly Simon – Nobody Does it Better	1977	10:48	4	20/4/2025
Bluestone – Road To Nowhere	2025	10:53	0
Michael Russ – Trumpet Hearts	2025	10:56	0
Faron Young – Hello Walls		11:05	7	20/6/2025
Country Road- Old style country songs +Slim Dusty – A Girl From The Land	1988	11:09	10	24/2/2023
+Alex Hood – Flash Jack From Gundagai		11:13	1	30/6/2023
For a Listener Patrizio Buanne – A Man Without Love		11:17	4	22/5/2020
Vintage Vinyl    Peggy Lee, Mel Torme & Mellomen – The Old Master Painter	1950	11:26	3	19/5/2024
Australian National Concert Orchestra – Truly		11:32	0
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Gene Pitney – Princess In Rags	1965	11:36	0
Diamond Classic – Charting on this day 1966 Seekers – Well Well Well	1965	11:39	7	23/3/2025
Joe Reisman & His Orchestra – The Look Of Love		11:42	1	28/5/2023
John Denver – Jenny Dreamed Of Trains		11:45	0
Troy Cassar-Daley – Something About Trains		11:50	5	2/2/2024
Leroy Anderson Orchestra – The Typewriter		11:54	14	18/5/2025