Today in History - January 5 | Half-century since horror tragedy killed a dozen Australians
January 5, 1975
Today marks 50 years since a ship ran into a pylon on the Hobart Bridge in Tasmania, causing one of its spans to collapse.
Twelve people were killed.
Two cars teetered on the edge of the bridge, just inches from plunging into the water below.
The bulk carrier the Lake Illawarra caused the disaster about 9.30pm.
Seven of the boat's crew were killed, along with five motorists.
City authorities will close the bridge to traffic for a short period today, dim its lights and hold a minute's silence to remember the tragedy.
A car belonging to one Murray Ling, together with a station wagon was left dangling over the abyss.
The cars were later winched to safety. January 6, 1975.
MInutes after the ship hit the bridge on a drizzly night, only the stern remained visible.
This is one of the only photos of the ship in the aftermath of the accident, taken just minutes after the crash.
Surviving members of the crew of Lake Illawarra are seen huddling in an ambulance following rescue from the water.
The smashed superstructure is seen at the base of bridge.
The repairs took over two years.
Here, crews finish the final assembly of the first bridging span.
The bridge was reopened in October 1977.
Pioneering aviatress Amy Johnson, was known for being the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
On this day in 1941, on another flying mission, her aircraft crashed into the River Thames.
She died after bailing out, but because her body was never recovered, her cause of death is unknown.
In 1999, it was reported that Johnson's death may have been caused by friendly fire.
On this day in 2005, the dwarf planet Eris was discovered by astronomers - the next biggest thing orbiting our Sun after Pluto.
The discovery would lead astronomers to create the definition of a dwarf planet.
After Eris was discovered, since they did not want to classify it as a tenth major planet, both Eris and Pluto were downgraded to "dwarf planets".
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