New South Wales

Historical eventAugust 61986

New South Wales

A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

40th anniversary in 2026

Everything on August 6Original source

In context

When
Wednesday, August 6 198640 years ago
Category
Historical eventA dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Era
20th century · 1980s
Anniversary
40th in 2026
Recorded from
Wikipedia “On this day” feed

At a glance

Dates: From 1986.

What happened

New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. The Australian Capital Territory and Jervis Bay Territory are enclaves within the state. New South Wales' state capital is Sydney, which is also Australia's most populous city. As of September 2025, the population of New South Wales was over 8.6 million, making it Australia's most populous state.

August 6 through the years

Other entries on the same calendar day, in order.

  1. 1986New South Wales
  2. 1997Korean Air Flight 801
  3. 2001Erwadi fire incident
  4. 2008Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi
  5. 2008Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz
  6. 20102010 Ladakh floods
  7. 2011War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
  8. 20112011 England riots
  9. 2012NASA
  10. 20132013 Rosario gas explosion
  11. 20152015 Abha mosque bombing

Also in 1986

  • September 131986 Kalamata earthquakeA magnitude 6.0 earthquake strikes Kalamata, Greece with a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing at least 20 and ca…
  • September 5Pan Am Flight 73Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.
  • November 17Japan Air Lines Cargo Flight 1628The flight crew of Japan Airlines Flight 1628 are involved in a UFO sighting incident while flying over Alaska.
  • October 20Aeroflot Flight 6502Aeroflot Flight 6502 crashed on approach to Kurumoch Airport in Samara, Russia (then Kuybyshev in the Soviet Union), killing 70 people on…
  • May 25Hands Across AmericaThe Hands Across America event takes place.
  • June 14Mindbender (Galaxyland)The Mindbender derails, killing three riders and severely injuring one at the Fantasyland (known today as Galaxyland) indoor amusement pa…
  • November 5USS RentzUSS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao, China; the first US naval visit to China since 1949.
  • July 9New Zealand ParliamentThe New Zealand Parliament passes the Homosexual Law Reform Act legalising homosexuality in New Zealand.

Everything we record for 1986 →

Sources

Cite this page

“New South Wales”, What's On This Date, https://whatsonthisdate.com/app/event/new-south-wales-1986-august-6, accessed October 25, 2026.

Cite the underlying source as well — the source links above go to the record this entry is adapted from.

Questions about this entry

When did New South Wales happen?

August 6 1986 — 40 years ago, on a Wednesday.

Where does this text come from?

Wikipedia “On this day” feed. Summaries are short adaptations that link back to the source, not reprints.

How do I cite this page?

Use the ready-made citation near the sources at the bottom of the page, and follow the source link to cite the underlying record as well.

Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.