To mark the 30th anniversary of “CityNews”, social historian and journalist NICHOLE OVERALL has written an eclectic history of Canberra and beyond over the past three decades. Here is 2019.
#ThisHappened2019
Twits and tweets became a thing in 2006 and if life is like a schoolyard, then 13 years on, Twitter is the graffiti on the toilet block wall …
@RealHughJackman continues to hold court as the most followed Aussie on the platform; #WinterIsComing – “Battle of Winterfell” the most-tweeted about bit of TV of all time (particularly after the finale sent fans madder than a Targaryen); #AvengersEndgame the most-tweeted about film in history; Rapper #LilNasX hottest music tag DownUnder (Taylor Swift only made #7); and #Auspol is the most common Australian hashtag for the sixth year running (lot to unpack there).
And on that, “The Guardian” presents: “Batshit Moments in Australian Politics … our list of the most unhinged things to ever happen in #AusPol”.
“From talking to lettuce (Bill Shorten) to the “bonk ban” (Malcolm Turnbull), “it’s fair to say Australian politics has a reputation for being loopier than a Canberra roundabout… [and] the decision to ship all our pollies to a remote paddock in 1927 may have been one of the most inspired decisions this country ever made”.
Then there’s that “miracle win”…
O/S and #BorisBrexits – following the 2016 UK referendum when almost 52 per cent of Britons voted to leave the European Union and Prime Minister David Cameron resigned. PM Theresa May now resigns and Boris Johnson bounces into the box seat.
Back home, #TaylaKickChallenge, encouraging “excellence and equality in sport” (and kicking a few trolls to boot), is the most liked Australian tweet of the year.
#IWD2019, hash-tagging achievements for International Women’s Day, #BartyParty and support for @TheMatildas, other hot topics.
In downtown Canberra, #Skywhale sails back …
And the ACT gets a 12-kilometre, 14-stop, $675 million (“under-budget”) #LightRail …
#GreenACT – cannabis laws pass allowing Canberrans to possess up to 50 grams of the green weed and grow two plants.
#CasinoCanberra is 25 (opening midnight, July 29, 1994). Its history also goes back to the dawn of Canberra with another ahead-of-the-curve concept from the Chicago-native WBG, designating a prime spot for it at the foot of Mt Ainslie. Teetotaller he was, but casinos were all the rage in the US at the turn of the 20th century.
At that official opening (and winner of the golden roulette ball used for the first spin on the night), #TheSilverBodgie.
#ExtremeWeather with bushfires going on since late July hitting frightening peaks as a new year approaches.
In the Canberra region, Mt Selwyn snow resort is the only commercial operation to be completely destroyed
#InfluenzaPandemic – a phrase not heard for 100 years – starts to circulate as quickly as the emerging virus.
The full collection of Nichole Overall’s “CityNews” anniversary columns can be seen here.
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