While researching the history of the Goomburra Valley I encountered this story that captured my interest, about a storm which passed through on 19th November 1857. Clearly a story that also captured the interest of a number of newspapers at the time, as this press release appeared in no less than nine papers, with The North Australian [1] being the first to publish on 1 December ... the quote below is from this edition.
DESTRUCTION OF SHEEP BY LIGHTNING—During a violent thunderstorm which visited the Goomburra station, Darling Downs, on the night of the 19th ultimo, 300 sheep were killed by the electric fluid. It appears that at the head-station the lightning was extremely vivid and dangerous and that in one yard 270 sheep were struck dead by an electric stroke, while at another yard about seven miles distant, 30 more were destroyed at the same time by the same destructive agency. The flocks in great terror were huddled together, and it required the greatest exertions of the watchmen and shepherds, who were summoned to their assistance, to prevent a large portion of the flocks from being smothered. At the time the accident occurred at the head-station, the man in charge of the flock, much to his credit, was standing by the flock keeping vigilant watch, and discerned the effect of the lightning in sufficient time to give the alarm ; and it is owing to this circumstance that the loss was not greater. Mr. Patrick Leslie, the newly elected member for the United Pastoral Districts, is the proprietor of the station where the disaster occurred.Next to publish was the Sydney Morning Herald [2] on the 7th December. Then deriving from the publication in the Herald the following papers, The Argus [3] on the 12th December, The Ballarat Star [4] on 14th December, The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser [5] (which references The North Australian ) on 16th December, Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser [6] on 18th December, also on the 18th December The Bendigo Advertiser [7]. Followed by the The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser [8] on 19th December. Finally the Ovens and Murray Advertiser devotes some space to the report in its Christmas Day edition (also quoting the North Australian). And so the 'news' cycle stops more than one month after the event took place.
While the story itself is interesting it is not unique. Use the phrase "sheep killed by lightning" in the Trove search tool and over 500 results appear. This set of articles about a specific event in Goomburra is also interesting as a reflection on the speed of media today. In 1857 both reports and the papers themselves would have been mostly delivered by horseback, today 'news' of such age would probably be deemed too old to publish.
References
[1] LOCAL AND DOMESTIC. (1857, December 1).The North Australian, Ipswich and General Advertiser (Ipswich, Qld. : 1856 - 1862), , p. 4. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article78850984
[2] MORETON BAY. (1857, December 7). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), , p. 8. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article13003657
[3] NEW SOUTH WALES. (1857, December 12). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), , p. 5. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article7143285
[4] Local and General news. (1857, December 14). The Star (Ballarat, Vic. : 1855 - 1864), , p. 3. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article66045626
[5] FORGED £10 NOTES. (1857, December 16). The Goulburn Herald and County of Argyle Advertiser (NSW : 1848 - 1859), , p. 2. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article118248536
[6] NEW SOUTH WALES. (1857, December 18). Portland Guardian and Normanby General Advertiser (Vic. : 1842 - 1876), , p. 2 (EVENING.). Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64570054
[7] INDIA. (1857, December 18). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), , p. 3. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article87977577
[8] New South Wales Intelligence. (1857, December 19). The Armidale Express and New England General Advertiser (NSW : 1856 - 1861; 1863 - 1889; 1891 - 1954), , p. 3. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article189959432
[9] LOCAL COURT. (1857, December 25). Ovens and Murray Advertiser (Beechworth, Vic. : 1855 - 1918), , p. 2. Retrieved June 29, 2016, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113235931
