1818:In 1818 John Oxley made an expedition inland with the aim of tracing and mapping the Macquarie River. On October 8, 1818, Oxley reached the seaside, which had an excellent harbor and estuary. Oxley named the area Port Macquarie. His discovery was significant because it opened up the interior of New South Wales from the coast to the Macquarie River.


1897:The Australasian Athletic Union was established in Sydney. In 1989 the name was changed to Athletics Australia. The organization is the national sporting organization recognized by Sport Australia to govern athletics in Australia and is responsible for managing a sporting event with more than 16,000 registered athletes, coaches and officials. In 2000, Athletics Australia established the Hall of Fame to recognize the outstanding achievements of some of Australia's greatest athletes.


1939:Australian actor and comedian Paul Hogan was born. He starred in Crocodile Dundee as outback explorer Michael "Crocodile" Dundee, who traveled from the Australian outback to New York City. As a result, he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy. This film is still Australia's most successful film.


1978:Australia's Ken Warby set the current world water speed record of 510 km/h (317.60 mph) at Brolin Dam in New South Wales. He also became the first and only person to exceed 300 mph (482.8 km/h) on water and survive. By 2003, Warby had designed and built another boat, the Aussie Spirit , with which he planned, but failed, to break his own record.


2020:Former Labor minister Joel Fitzgibbon has accused the Australian government of "starting a war with China", sending relations between the two countries to their lowest level since the Tiananmen massacre. In a scathing attack on the government's handling of the relationship so far, it was also suggested the Coalition should use this week's budget to compensate Australian barley growers hit by China's 80 per cent tariffs.