Y2K baby milestone: Brenton Hallam, Wimmera's first baby of this millennium

Horsham's Brenton Hallam arrived on his due date, January 1, 2000.

In a night which beckoned to cause chaos around the world, Wimmera Base Hospital experienced no serious problems as Mr Hallam arrived into the world.

The Y2K bug or Millennium Bug was a computer flaw, slated to cause problems when dealing with dates after December 21, 1999.

National Geographic's information from the event said during the 1960s when computer programs were being created, computer engineers used two-digit codes for the year. Engineers shortened the date because data storage in computers was costly and took up a lot of space. As the year 2000 approached, computer programmers realized that computers might not interpret 00 as 2000, but as 1900.

Banks, power plants and transportation services were concerned with the impacts to software - the result, minimal disruption across the globe.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said financial markets in Australia were affected in 1999 by the so-called 'Y2K' problem. The effects on financial markets were due to banks and other market participants taking steps to arrange their balance sheets and operations to limit the impact on their businesses of any serious computer malfunction.

Concerns around the transport industry were held with airlines a particular concern.

Power plants depend on routine computer maintenance for safety checks, such as water pressure or radiation levels. Not having the correct date would throw off these calculations and possibly put nearby residents at risk. A nuclear energy facility in Ishikawa, Japan, had some of its radiation equipment fail, but backup facilities ensured there was no threat to the public.

Mr Hallam was born at 3.26am.

After the birth, Mr Hallam and his parents, Sharon and Mark were invited to Melbourne for a special millennium baby feature.

Millennium babies attended Parliament House, had a picture and received a certificate.

Mr Hallam attended Horsham West Primary School and completed his secondary schooling at Horsham College.

Since finishing school, Mr Hallam has chosen a career path in aged care.

"It's a great field to be in because there is always a need for aged care workers," he said. "I enjoy interacting with the residents and learning about their life stories and knowing how much the world has changed since they were in 'their prime', so they say."

Mr Hallam said the conversation about being the Wimmera's first-millennium baby does come up, usually when he is asked for identification.

"People always take a second look and ask if that day is really my birthday," he said.

Mr Hallam is an avid darts player and holds both the singles and doubles title of Darts Victoria's 2019 25-and-under State Championships.

"I'm very keen to keep at it and see how far I can go," he said. "I would like to go back again next year and see how I go."

In the knock-out singles competition, Hallam won his first two games before holding his nerve in the grand final to take home the singles crown.

"The big final was best of nine, and I think I was leading 4-2 before the guy I was playing against came back and levelled it up at 4-4," Hallam said. "When I was 4-2 up I was getting really nervous, just thinking I just need that one more. I didn't throw too well in the next two legs."

But Hallam came through in the clutch in the final leg to win the title. Hallam also took out the victory in the doubles with Tyson Barrington who he teamed up with just prior to the event.

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