This Day in Australian History - 16th October

1794 - Hanged at Sydney, John Hill, for murder in the course of robbery. He had fatally stabbed Simon Burn in the left side of the chest at Parramatta.

1800 - The first wool and fleece, with a report on sheep and wool, left Sydney in the H.M.S. Buffalo, sent by John Macarthur to Sir Joseph Banks.

1802 - George William Evans arrives in Sydney with a commission as deputy-surveyor. He confirmed and extended the work of Blaxland, the first European man to cross the Blue Mountains. Evans died in Hobart on the 50th anniversary of his arrival in Australia— viz., October 16, 1852.

1818 - William Forster is born at Madras, India, coming to Australia at 11 years of age. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly for 22 years, Premier of New South Wales, a Cabinet Minister, and the Agent-General in London for three years. With Robert Lowe (afterwards Lord Sherbrooke) he conducted the "Atlas" periodical in Sydney.

1819 - Admiralty Group of islands is named by Lieutenant P. P. King.

1823 - Lieut. Oxley was ordered by Governor Brisbane to inspect Moreton Bay. In the following year he established the first settlement at Redcliffe.

1826 - Publicly hanged at Burwood, Daniel Watkins, for the armed robbery of Thomas Bartie Clay at Burwood; and Thomas Mustin and John Brown, for robbery and putting in fear at the house of Richard Morgan on the Liverpool Road.

1826 - Publicly hanged outside Parramatta, Matthew Craven, for "divers robberies"; and Thomas Cavanaugh, for armed robberies.

1837 - The first group of German migrants arrives in the new colony of South Australia.

1844 - For 22 ½ hours, ending 2.30 p.m., 2041 points of rain (518.41mm) was recorded at South Head station, Sydney, and 540 points (137.16mm) fell during two hours on the same day.

1848 - The first Church of England confirmation service is held in Melbourne.

1852 - George W. Evans, noted Australian explorer, dies at Hobart. He was the European discoverer of the Lachlan River and the Castlereagh. He was associated with John Oxley in the great expedition that led to European discovery of the Peel and other rivers, along with Port Macquarie.

1858 - Sir Augustus Charles Gregory's expedition reaches Burdekin River.

1863 - Daisy Bates, Australian journalist and welfare worker, is born.

1873 - Hanged at Perth Gaol, Yarradeee and Muregelly, for the murder and cannibalism of three-year-old Edward William Dunn at Yanganooka, Port Gregory on 5 October 1865.

1877 - The first woollen mills in Queensland are opened at Ipswich.

1883 - The first Newcastle Eight-hour sports are held at the Crystal Palace Gardens, Waratah.

1888 - Great flood at Goondiwindi, Queensland.

1889 - The first through train runs between Burrundie and Port Darwin.

1889 - Hanged at Melbourne Gaol, Robert Landells, for the murder of Peter Sherlock at Chamber's Paddock, about 6 km from Ringwood.

1893 - Cable communication with New Caledonia opened via Bundaberg, Queensland.

1915 - General C. C. Monro succeeds Sir Ian Hamilton as commander of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force.

1928 - The Anthropological Society of New South Wales is founded.

1944 - The Liberal Party of Australia is formed.

1967 - Royal Australian Navy Helicopters deploy to Vietnam. RAN Helicopter Flight Vietnam (RANHFV '67) joins the US Army's 135th Aviation Company at Vung Tau, supporting American troops in South Vietnam.

1975 - The Balibo Five, a group of Australian television journalists based in the town of Balibo in the then Portuguese Timor (now East Timor), are killed by Indonesian troops.

1996 - It is reported that thieves stole a set of fossilised dinosaur footprints from a sacred Aboriginal site.

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Sources:

1. Australian War Memorial 
2. This Day in History 
3. National Museum Australia 
4. Anniversaries To-Day (1933, October 16). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. 
5. Anniversaries To-Day (1934, October 16). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. 
6. Anniversaries To-Day (1935, October 16). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. 
7. Today's Yesterdays (1936, October 16). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 6. 
8. To-day's Yesterdays (1933, October 16). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), p. 8. 
9. Today's Yesterdays (1934, October 16). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), p. 6.
10. To-day's Yesterdays (1934, October 16). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 12. 
11. To-day's Anniversaries (1931, October 16). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 8. 
12. To-day's Anniversaries (1930, October 16). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 8 (5 O'CLOCK CITY EDITION).