New Year's day
 

Just a bit of trivia . If my calculations re. time zones and longitude are correct then the passengers and crew on board Fiji Airlines Flight 811 were the first to see New Years day. They crossed the International Date line Westbound just on 1300Z so would be the first to celebrate the new year.
I got this info from Flt Radar Playback so I hope it is a correct assumption.
Maybe my maths are wrong but I think it's correct.
Anyway Happy New Year to all Pilots and other Airline Crew.

Possibly, but I'd wager a couple of the guys and girls at the South Pole who could have gone outside and had a foot either side of the 180 meridian. They could be be the last too. HNY.

Same to you, Rod. The SHB fireworks were pretty speccy!

and totally inappropriate given the state of the nation.

Disagree. Awesome for morale and the country. We may be burning like an afterburner, be we can still put on a great show, a great example of grit.

Fireworks - utterly tasteless and with no sense of compassion, given what's happening. It just stresses the "us and them" mentality.

You are probably correct. The only two bases anywhere near the IDL on the Antarctica are the South African one ( nearest NZ side ) which is fairly close and the NZ one which is on the other side and is a fair hike to get to the IDL.
Never the less if they did get to the IDL then you are correct.
The most comfortable winners though are the ones in Fiji Flt 811.

RodH

Admundsen-Scott is at the south pole and either on or very near to the international date line.

Yeh ! You're correct.
I did not see that on the map.
That sure makes for an interesting NYE and birthday celebrations for the staff.
Was reading they have 1 long 6 moth day when the sun never sets and 1 long night when it never rises.
Don't think I would like that.

Agree with those sentiments 100%. Melbourne's NYE firework's display was just as compromised as Sydneys' for the same reason!

Pathetic!

$700,000.00 raised at the fireworks for the bushfire appeal.

Let's ban the fireworks because there are bushfires.............

Let's ban the fireworks cos Sydney real estate prices were down for a year or so.

Let's ban the fireworks because Johnny stubbed his toe.

Hey, let's ban the fireworks because 1137 people were killed on the roads Australia-wide 2018........? No? That's different?

You miserable, miserable, whinging, outraged misery guts'es.

Let's harangue a PM because he takes a break during bushfires = Let's harangue a PM because he fights bushfires.

FFS, a country of outraged snowflakes.

RodH: Further nitpicking, the IDL is the 180 meridian which runs north / south to the east of NZ (besides some wobbling for geographic convenience around the mid and North Pacific) and its southern end is at the south pole . Within Antarctica, that runs (True) south through the Ross Ice Shelf, which puts it about 190nm to the (True) east of the Scott / McMurdo bases. The South African base is actually near the Prime Meridian... the 0 degree line of longitude on the opposite side of the continent. It and Troll, (at just over 2° W and E respectively) are closest to the prime meridian but this has no relevance for the start or the end of the "day"!

I have it on good authority that folk at Amunsdsen Scott base at the South Pole do stand on the dateline and play time travel games, especially around NYE.

Oh - Did you factor in the NZ time is GMT+13? :)

and who do not know, or care, how the Commonwealth/State relationships work.

Porter:

People are losing lives, homes, properties and livelihoods in an unprecedented and horrible fashion. Have you ever been even near a bush fire? I did say insensitive, and you've just proved it.

How right you are , completely overlooked the fact that the 180 longitude becomes 0 after it crosses the pole and the Sth. African base is close to the prime meridian not the IDL.
Yes, I did at least get something right and did factor NZ time as GMT + 13.
It's an interesting piece of trivia that does involve a bit of proper map reading and time zone understanding.
Good fun though.

Now if you really want to have fun 3 times over on New Years Eve go to Camerons Corner.
Celebrate New Year in NSW (GMT+11).
Hop over the fence (Border) into South Australia and celebrate again 30mins later (GMT+10 1/2).
Hop over the fence (if you're are still able) into Queensland and have another celebration 30mins later again (GMT+10).

There you have 3 New Years Eve celebrations in the space of 1 hour. Depending how hard one celebrates will dictate in what "state" one wakes up.

CC

I don't see the distinction between uprecedented and horrible fashion and a traumatic motor vehicle accident. Tragic any way a life is lost and it will affect communities either way. I don't see the outrage when anyone loses their life on the road daily.

Have I been near a bushfire? I don't publicise what I do in these times, but yes, I attempted (and got about half way) to pick up a person and her dog from Mallacoota today. This person lost everything in the fires. I don't know her but was asked by a friend if I could help. I did it at my significant cost.

No, I'm not one of those outraged city types who haven't a clue about the bush, have never seen a drought close up, I mean real close. The devastation it causes and the human cost.

But the sad, sad fact of life is, it must go on. And some imbecile plant on facebook creating an 'outrage' over a PM taking a few days off, over a PM fighting fires, over people having the temerity to celebrate a new year is a joke. And the gullible masses fall for this garbage every time.

Manufacture outrage all you like, but what does it do? Divides people, that's what we want more of, division.

What is the difference between 1 (one) sheep in a paddock, and 50,000 (50 Thou) sheep in a paddock..??

Around 49,999 sheep I reckon, and I reckon that is about the measure of the mentality of many of those so called 'protestors'...…

FWIW.....NO Cheeerrrsss…..

Didn't QF do a special new years flight years ago (80s I think), where you all went to a shindig in SYD, Then all piled into a 747 after midnight and went to HNL to do it all again. Obviously, needed special approval due to curfew.

I still don't agree with you, but I take my hat off to you for doing that.

Neither am I.