Strange Objects collected in Messenger's scrapbook. Steven Messenger has several psychotic episodes and eventually kills Charlie Sunrise and a lizard in Strange Objects. The book was partly a response to Australia's Bicentenary, which occurred in 1988. This event caused a revival of interest in Australian history, particularly in the "discovery" of the land. The bicentenary celebrated the landing of the "First Fleet" in 1788, and the beginning of permanent European settlement in Australia. James Cook charted the east coast of Australia in 1770, however there were a number of sightings and landings prior to this. In "Strange Objects", Gary Crew takes the
1988 in motoring a replacement for the Strada-based Regata. Toyota planned to launch their new Lexus brand. Its new brand would concentrate solely on luxury cars, and the LS 400 went on sale in 1989 to compete with the BMW 7 Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, powered by a 4.0 V8 engine. 1988 in motoring 1988 in motoring includes developments in the automotive industry throughout the year 1988 by various automobile manufacturers, grouped by country. The automotive industry designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells motor vehicles. The newly independent Leyland Bus company was acquired by Volvo Buses. The remaining Rover Group business, which by