On the morning of 28 November 1979, Air New Zealand Flight TE901 departed Auckland Airport in Māngere on an 11-hour sightseeing journey to Antarctica. At 1:49 p.m., tragedy struck when the aircraft crashed into the lower slopes of Mt Erebus, claiming the lives of all 237 passengers and 20 crew. It remains the worst civil…
The British philosopher Antony Flew was a powerful voice against the existence of God. He was a prominent atheist known for his work in the field of philosophy of religion and his arguments against the existence of God. For more than fifty years, he promoted his atheist agenda in the universities where he taught. However,…
Since its inception in the early 1880s, Broken Hill has been a thriving mining boomtown. Its prosperity attracted able-bodied workers from across the region, quickly transforming the town into a bustling hub of activity. As its success grew, Broken Hill also became a key trading centre. Camel trains regularly passed through, using the town as…
In the early 20th century, England and Australia produced some of the world’s greatest pioneering aviators. Among them were Amy Johnson, the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia, and C. W. A. Scott (Charles William Anderson Scott), a record-breaking pilot whose daring flights captured global attention. Their stories are marked by courage,…
In 2023 the oldest Hebrew Bible in the world sold at Sotheby’s New York for over $38 million USD, making it the most valuable manuscript sold at auction. It is called the Codex Sassoon and is thought to have been written about 1,100 years ago. It is the earliest surviving example of the Hebrew Bible.…
In August 1864, three young children, Isaac, Jane, and Frank Duff, aged between four and nine, became lost in the bushland of Victoria’s Wimmera District. Their father, John Duff, launched a desperate search that stretched over nine days and eight nights. Just before sunset on the ninth day, the children were found alive, though in…
On Christmas Eve, 1953, New Zealand’s holiday celebrations were shattered by tragedy. The Wellington to Auckland night express, filled with passengers eager to be home for Christmas, was making its way north when disaster struck. A lahar (volcanic mudflow) had swept away the Tangiwai Rail Bridge, plunging the train into the raging Whangaehu River below.…
The value of the global trade of goods in the world today is approximately 30 trillion US dollars. That’s 83 billion dollars per day of goods transported worldwide across land, air and sea. However, trade is nothing new; in ancient times, trade began as a barter system in which people exchanged one object for another.…
Virtually all ancient civilisations considered the celestial bodies and their movements of great importance, even incorporating astronomical events into the design of their sacred temples and monuments. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Mesopotamians, Chinese, Incas, Mayans and Aztecs worshipped the sun, moon, and stars. They built splendid sacred monuments that reflected astronomical events associated with the movement…
In 1932, Lennie Gwyther was nine years old when he and his horse Ginger Mick embarked on a 1000-kilometre journey to Sydney to see the newly constructed harbour bridge. At the time, Australia was in the throes of economic depression, and Lennie’s journey resonated with many Australians. At the end of his journey, Lennie was…
Operation Barbarossa swept across Eastern Europe, from the borders of Germany, through todays Ukraine and deep into Soviet Russia towards Stalingrad. It became the site of some of the largest and most brutal battles, deadliest atrocities, terrible loss of life, and horrific conditions for Soviets and Germans alike – all of which influenced the course…
He is one of the most reviled and hated men in history. He was the king of the Holy Land during the time of Jesus and is best known for ordering the massacre in Bethlehem of all male children under 2 years old. His name? Herod the Great. But Herod’s cruel reputation has always hidden…
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