This Day in Australian History - 30th October

1811 - Governor Macquarie lays the foundation stone of the Sydney Infirmary and Dispensary (later known as the General Hospital, Sydney). Governor Macquarie had entered into a contract with Garnham Blaxcell and Alexander Riley for the work of erecting the Infirmary, in return for which he granted them a monopoly of the importation of 45,000 gallons of spirit for three years, the term being afterwards extended to four years. Blaxcell and Riley paid 10/ a gallon for the spirits, and sold it at £2/17/6. In consequence of the "spirits contract" the hospital was known for years as the Rum Hospital. The building was completed in 1817, but was partly occupied in 1816. It remained under the direct control of the British Government until 1848.

1841 - The municipality of Adelaide is gazetted.

1852 - Influenza is prevalent in Brisbane.

1869 - The ship "Lightning" is destroyed by fire at Geelong, while loading wool. She was the most famous of the Black Ball Line of clippers, wood-built, copper fastened - and fast. She was so fast under sail that she is credited with having out sailed all her rivals. In 1857, while running her casting down to Melbourne, the ship's newspaper, "Lightning Gazette," recorded 430 miles in 24 hours, the best day's run ever made under sail, and in 1853 she made the passage from Melbourne to Liverpool in 83 days. 

1881 - Mr. Thomas Archer, a pioneer pastoralist, is appointed as Agent General of Queensland.

1882 - William Forster, who was the member for Murray in the first New South Wales Legislative Assembly, dies.

1890 - Oodnadatta, in far north South Australia, is surveyed and declared a township, ahead of becoming a significant railway terminus.

1895 - First direct steamer to Manchester from Brisbane.

1898 - Wool sales are inaugurated in Brisbane.

1900 - The Australian Historical Society is established. It is now known as the Royal Australian Historical Society.

1903 - A Bill which provided for the Adelaide Fruit and Produce Exchange to be established, was passed in the South Australian Parliament.

1905 - Boyd Dunlop Morehead, responsible for the passing of the first Queensland Payment of Members Bill, dies.

1918 - An armistice is signed with Turkey, ending Turkish involvement in the First World War. Australian troops had taken a prominent part in the war against the Ottoman empire, especially on Gallipoli and in Sinai-Palestine.

1920 - The Communist Party of Australia was formed.

1920 - First prohibition poll in Queensland; defeated by about 30,000 votes.

1942 - Australian 9th Division reaches sea in Battle of El Alamein.

1965 - Jean Shrimpton bares her knees at the Victoria Derby race during Melbourne Cup week.

1969 - Death of Vic Richardson, Australian cricketer and outstanding all-round sportsman, aged 75.

1988 - Expo '88 in Brisbane draws to a close after running for six months.

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Sources:

1. Australian War Memorial 
2. South Australian Historians 
3. This Day in History 
4. Anniversaries To-Day (1933, October 30). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. 
5. Anniversaries To-Day (1934, October 30). Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners' Advocate (NSW : 1876 - 1954), p. 6. 
6. Today's Yesterdays (1933, October 30). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 6. 
7. To-day's Yesterdays (1933, October 30). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1931 - 1954), p. 8. 
8. To-day's Yesterdays (1933, October 30). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 10. 
9. Today's Yesterdays (1935, October 30). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 6. 
10. To-day's Yesterdays (1934, October 30). The Courier-Mail (Brisbane, Qld. : 1933 - 1954), p. 12. 
11. To-day's Anniversaries (1930, October 30). The Telegraph (Brisbane, Qld. : 1872 - 1947), p. 8.