In January 1977, an express train traveling from the Blue Mountains of New South Wales to Sydney derailed on a curve near Granville Station, 21 km west of the city. The train -- which was three minutes late when it left the last stop on its 2 1/2-hour journey -- smashed into the pillar of a bridge, killing 83 of those on board and injuring 213.

The cause of the accident was found to be the poor condition of the tracks on that curve, and the driver was found not guilty of negligence.

In April 1996, a man named Martin Bryant went on a rampage with semi-automatic weapons at the resort of Port Arthur in Tasmania and murdered 36 people in cold blood, including a young mother and her two little children. Bryant was captured, tried and given a life sentence.