Australia has several events considered "darkest days," most notably the Battle of Fromelles (1916), its worst military defeat with over 5,500 casualties in one night, and Black Saturday (2009), the deadliest bushfire event with 173 deaths, though recent events like the Bondi Beach attack (2025) are also described as such. The specific "darkest day" depends on whether it's military, natural disaster, or recent terrorism, with Fromelles often cited for military history and Black Saturday for civilian tragedy.
Eventually 34 fatalities were confirmed in the Marysville area, with all but 14 of over 400 buildings destroyed. Other localities severely affected included Buxton and Taggerty.
The Australian summer of 2012–2013, known as the Angry Summer or Extreme Summer, resulted in 123 weather records being broken over a 90-day period, including the hottest day ever recorded for Australia as a whole, the hottest January on record, the hottest summer average on record, and a record seven days in row when ...
Ash Wednesday 1983. One of Australia's most well-known and destructive bushfire events. Ash Wednesday (16 February 1983) experienced over 100 fires swept across Victoria and South Australia, killing 75 people and causing widespread damage.
In 2009, Australia was dominated by the devastating Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, which killed 173 people, destroyed thousands of homes, and burned vast areas, setting records for tragedy and fire intensity. Other significant events included a major heatwave preceding the fires, a huge Sydney dust storm, the first case of Swine Flu, and political developments like Australia avoiding recession despite the global financial crisis.
A large high-pressure system parked itself over the Tasman Sea at the same time as there was an intense tropical low and a cyclone spinning off the north-west coast of Western Australia. Together, they funnelled hot tropical air through to the country's south-east.
Saint Patrick's Day: United States President Barack Obama meets Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Northern Irish First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness at the White House. (BBC)
This is a list of Billboard magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1983. "Every Breath You Take" by The Police (singer Sting pictured) was the number one song of 1983.
By floating the dollar, the Reserve Bank gave up any ability to control the amount of cash in money markets and thus influence the dollar's exchange rate. However, by the mid-1970s there was so much cash in global markets that the RBA was losing its capacity to regulate the exchange rate anyway.
Many of the Victorian fires were thought to have been caused by sparks between short-circuiting power lines, and tree branches connecting with power lines.
Heatwaves have been described as a “silent killer” because they do not leave the same large-scale visible scars as bushfires and floods – but extreme heat is the most common cause of weather-related hospitalisations and deaths in Australia.
Welcome to Marble Bar, officially Australia's hottest town, where the mercury regularly soars past 50 degrees Celsius, and homes can be snapped up for an astonishing average of just $150,000 – $730,000 less the average median house price.
Australia's top three causes of death consistently include Dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), Ischaemic Heart Disease, and Chronic Lower Respiratory Diseases (like COPD), though their exact ranking can shift, with dementia often leading for women and heart disease for men, but the overall gap narrowing significantly, according to recent ABS data.
Around 90% of all wildfires are caused by human activities, such as unattended campfires, discarded cigarettes, arson, and equipment use, with natural causes like lightning making up the remaining 10% for wildfires; for structure fires, cooking, heating, electrical issues, smoking, and candles are top culprits. Human carelessness, accidental or intentional, is the overwhelming driver of destructive fires, notes National Geographic and Vesternet.
As a result of the 7 February 2009 ('Black Saturday') bushfires, 173 Victorians perished in Australia's worst bushfire disaster to date. In the aftermath, attention has been focused largely on these fatalities.
On Australia's Black Saturday (February 7, 2009), Melbourne hit a record 46.4°C (115.5°F), part of a brutal heatwave with temperatures over 43°C for days, creating extreme fire conditions, low humidity (as low as 5%), and fierce winds, with some regional areas reaching nearly 49°C and unprecedented fire danger indices.
The Australian Dollar (AUD) reached an all-time peak against the US Dollar (USD) around A$1.10 in 2011, though more recently, it hit a 14-month high of approximately 0.68 USD in early January 2026, driven by strong Australian economic indicators and inflation concerns, showing its value fluctuates based on global economic conditions and central bank policies, say sources like the Reserve Bank of Australia and Trading Economics.
While the Australian dollar has been in a steady decline over the past five years, it found strength in 2025 when gaining roughly 8 per cent. In trade-weighted terms it has also moved from a low of 58.8 US cents in April 2025 to 62.3 in December 2025.
"Sugar, Sugar" is a song written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, produced by Barry and recorded by the Archies, a fictional bubblegum pop band from Archie Comics.
"Call Me" by Blondie was the number one song of 1980.
Al Martino's track "Here in My Heart" was the first single ever to top the UK Singles Chart, and the only single to reach number one during 1952.
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on March 3rd, the date that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was adopted in 1973.
Monsters vs. Aliens was released in the United States on March 27, 2009, by Paramount Pictures, to generally positive reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $381 million on a $175 million budget.
31st May 2009 - Millvina Dean - the last living survivor of the Titanic sinking dies at the age of 97 in a nursing home in Southampton. Millvina was only 9 weeks old when the Titanic set sail - and it wasn't til she was 8 she was told she had been on the Titanic and sadly that's where her father had perished.