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Check your answers to last week's Australiana crossword.

This is always a good week to reflect on Australia's past. But how much do you really know of Australia's history over the past quarter of a millenia? Print off, and test yourself on, the attached Australiana crossword.

There are 41 words, names or abbreviations to fill in. Give yourself a point for each.

A score of
10+ is a good try,
20+ is a pass,
30+ is admirable, and if you manage
40+ you can call yourself an accomplished Australian Historian.

The solution to the crossword will be published next week.

The First Fleet had arrived in this country over the three days from 18th to 20th January. It did not take long for Arthur Phillip to decide that Botany Bay was unsuitable for the settlement. After investigation, he chose Sydney Cove in Port Jackson instead.

To speed things up, Phillip decided to take the Supply up to Port Jackson first, leaving Hunter to follow with the rest of the Fleet. On January 25th, a strong flood tide and contrary winds impeded several attempts by the Supply to leave the Bay but eventually, it managed to clear the heads and...

The rain started on Thursday 5 January 2023 with the biggest falls on Saturday 7 January 2023. Our weather station in Cove Boulevarde recorded a total of 125ml with 85ml of that being on Saturday. The rain was most welcome, as the ground was dry, many gardens were suffering, and some properties were running short of tank water.

However, big rain events also affect the quality of the water in the Cove. The advice of most authorities is not to swim for 3 days after large rainfall events or until the water is clear.

One way to determine...

My ancestral connection this to wonderful land that we call Australia dates back to 8am on January 20th 1788. That 235 years may seem a long time but it is of course rather dwarfed to insignificance by the tens of millennia of ancestral connection held by families of the original inhabitants.

Why January 20th and not the 26th?

January 20th is the date that the Sirius first made landfall in Australia. Accompanied by the slower ships of the Fleet, it had arrived at the entrance to Botany Bay the evening before. Arthur Phillip, on the Supply, had reached...