publisher for six months. 13 February – A by-election is held for the Victorian state electorate of Altona. Despite a double digit swing to the Liberal Party, the safe seat is retained by the Australian Labor Party candidate, Jill Hennessy. 19 February – Mary MacKillop is declared by Pope Benedict XVI to be a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, the first Australian so declared. A formal canonisation will take place in October 2010. 22–23 February – Police are called to Rose Bay in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the early morning hours of 23 February to remove an illuminated street sign which had been tampered with earlier in the evening so it would display to passing motorists that “Kevin Rudd Sucks". March 1–2 March – A record rainfall for a single day, since 22 December 1956, with over 100mm of rain fall across 1.7 per cent of Australian territory on 1 March, and over 1.9 per cent of the country the following day. 1–20 March – Major floods hit southern Queensland and north western New South Wales, with Charleville, Roma and St George severely affected, resulting with significant damage to properties, roads and rail lines. 6 March – Severe thunderstorms and hail hit Melbourne and central Victoria, causing flash flooding and widespread property damage. 9–11 March – Official visit to Australia of President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. During the visit he is appointed an Honorary Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) and addresses the Australian Parliament, the first Indonesian head of state to do so. 17 March – The remains of Special Air Service members Lieutenant Kenneth Hudson and Private Robert Moncrieff are found in West Kalimantan. The Australian soldiers disappeared on 21 March 1966 whilst on patrol during the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation. 17 March – The population of Heron and Lady Elliot Islands is evacuated to the mainland, in expectation of the approaching tropical Cyclone Ului. 20 March – State elections are held in South Australia and Tasmania. 21 March – The category 3 severe tropical Cyclone Ului crosses the Queensland coast near Airlie Beach, causing moderate damage. 22 March – A storm featuring torrential rain and large hailstones caused flash flooding, structural damage and loss of power to 150,000 houses in Perth. 24 March – South Australian Liberal leader Isobel Redmond concedes defeat following the 2010 state election. 25 March – The Australian Bureau of Statistics announces