Events in 1997

Yachtsman Tony Bullimore found after 5 days

Jan 9, 1997

9 January – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean

Delta II

Jan 17, 1997

January 17 – A Delta II rocket carrying a military GPS payload explodes, shortly after liftoff from Cape Canaveral.

126 Hostage Crisis

Apr 22, 1997

April 22 - A 126-day hostage crisis at the residence of the Japanese ambassador in Lima, Peru ends after government commandos storm and capture the building, rescuing 71 hostages. One hostage dies of a heart attack, 2 soldiers are killed by rebel fire, and all 14 Tupac Amaru rebels are slain.

Twon trains crash

Apr 29, 1997

April 29 - Two trains crash at Hunan, China; 126 are killed.

Altanta Braves

Apr 30, 1997

Apr 30th - Atlanta Braves win record 19 games in April

Big Ben

Apr 30, 1997

Apr 30th - Big Ben stops at 12:11 PM for 54 minutes

State of Origin

May 19, 1997

19 May – New South Wales defeat Queensland 23-22 in the longest (104 minutes) & one of the most exciting games of representative rugby league ever played.

Royal Canberra Hospital Implosion

Jul 13, 1997

13 July –A crowd of over 100,000 people watches the Royal Canberra Hospital implosion. A 12-year-old girl, Katie Bender, is killed instantly and nine others are injured when debris from the site travels across Lake Burley Griffin.

Brsbane VS Cronulla

Sep 20, 1997

20 September – The Brisbane Broncos defeat the Cronulla Sharks 26-8 at ANZ Stadium (now Queen Elizabeth II stadium) to become premiers of the Super League (Australia) season 1997. It is the first ever night grand final played in rugby league.

Air Crash

Sep 26, 1997

September 26 - An air crash in Indonesia (likely caused by smoke rising from numerous forest fires in the area) kills 235 people

Aussie Stadium

Dec 19, 1997

19 December – After a series of meetings at the Sydney Football Stadium (now Aussie Stadium), the Super League war is declared over. The ARL & Super League agree to form the National Rugby League, and the Perth Reds, Hunter Mariners & South Queensland Crushers are shut down to give a 20-team competition for 1998. The NRL is to be reduced to 14 teams for 2000 after reform.