1969 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- MonarchMonarchy in AustraliaThe Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
– Elizabeth II - Governor GeneralGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
– Lord CaseyRichard Casey, Baron CaseyRichard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
(until 30 April), then Sir Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:... - Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
– John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
State premiers
- Premier of New South Wales – Robert AskinRobert AskinSir Robert William Askin GCMG, was an Australian politician and the 32nd Premier of New South Wales from 1965 to 1975, the first representing the Liberal Party of Australia. He was born in 1907 as Robin William Askin, but always disliked his first name and changed it by deed poll in 1971...
- Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-PetersenJoh Bjelke-PetersenSir Johannes "Joh" Bjelke-Petersen, KCMG , was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving and longest-lived Premier of Queensland, holding office from 1968 to 1987, a period that saw considerable economic development in the state...
- Premier of South Australia – Don DunstanDon DunstanDonald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
- Premier of Tasmania – Eric ReeceEric ReeceEric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975.-Biography:...
(until 26 May), then Angus Bethune - Premier of Victoria – Henry BolteHenry BolteSir Henry Edward Bolte GCMG was an Australian politician. He was the 38th and longest serving Premier of Victoria.- Early years :...
- Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
– David BrandDavid BrandSir David Brand KCMG was the 19th and longest serving Premier of Western Australia and a Member of the Legislative Assembly from 1945 to 1975.-Early life:...
State governors
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden CutlerArthur Roden CutlerSir Roden Cutler, was an Australian diplomat, the longest serving Governor of New South Wales and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth armed forces.-Early life:Arthur Roden Cutler was born on...
- Governor of Queensland – Sir Alan MansfieldAlan MansfieldSir Alan James Mansfield KCMG, KCVO was Governor of Queensland, Australia between 1966 and 1972.-Family:Sir Alan Mansfield was born in Brisbane and educated in Sydney. The Mansfield family had land in Gumdale. Mansfield lived in the Mount Gravatt area for many years...
- Governor of South Australia – Major-General Sir James William HarrisonJames Harrison (Australian governor)Major General Sir James William Harrison KCMG CB CBE was an Australian military officer and the first Australian-born Governor of South Australia....
- Governor of Tasmania – Lieutenant General Sir Edric BastyanEdric BastyanLieutenant-General Sir Edric Montague Bastyan, KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB was Governor of South Australia from 4 April 1961 until 1 June 1968 then Governor of Tasmania from 2 December 1968 until 30 November 1973...
- Governor of Victoria – Major General Sir Rohan DelacombeRohan DelacombeMajor General Sir Rohan Delacombe, KCMG, KBE, CB, DSO, KStJ was a British military officer who commanded the British occupation forces in Berlin from 1959 to 1962 at the height of the Cold War...
- Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Major General Sir Douglas KendrewDouglas KendrewMajor General Sir Douglas Anthony Kendrew, KCMG, CB, CBE, DSO & Three Bars, was a British rugby player and military officer, who became Governor of Western Australia 1963-1974.- Early years :...
Events
- 7 February – The Violet Town railway disasterViolet Town railway disasterThe Violet Town rail accident, also known as the Southern Aurora disaster, was a railway accident that occurred on 7 February 1969 near the McDiarmids Road crossing, approximately 1 km south of Violet Town, Victoria, Australia.-Overview:...
: the passenger train Southern Aurora collides head-on with a freight train on the new Melbourne to Sydney train line. Nine people are killed. - 30 April – Sir Paul HasluckPaul HasluckSir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
becomes Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
after the retirement of Lord CaseyRichard Casey, Baron CaseyRichard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
. - 10 May – The 1969 Tasmanian electionTasmanian state election, 1969A general election for the Tasmanian House of Assembly was held on 10 May 1969. The incumbent Labor Party, which had been in power continuously since 1934, was led by Eric Reece, who had been premier of Tasmania since 1958. The opposition Liberal Party was led by Angus Bethune.The election resulted...
is held, resulting in a hung parliamentHung parliamentIn a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
with the ALPAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
and LiberalsLiberal Party of AustraliaThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
winning 17 seats each. The deadlock is broken when Kevin LyonsKevin LyonsKevin Orchard Lyons was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin...
of the Centre PartyCentre Party (Tasmania)The Centre Party was a minor Australian political party formed by Kevin Lyons in 1969, which held the balance of power in the Tasmanian House of Assembly following the 1969 state election in Tasmania...
forms a coalition governmentCoalition governmentA coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
with the Liberals and becomes Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune. - 12 May – The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper in Melbourne begins the process of moving from Collins StreetCollins Street, MelbourneCollins Street is a major street in the Melbourne central business district and runs approximately east to west.It is notable as Melbourne's traditional main street and best known street, is often regarded as Australia's premier street, with some of the country's finest Victorian era buildings.The...
to Spencer StreetSpencer Street, MelbourneSpencer Street is a major street in the central business district of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is named for John Spencer, 3rd Earl Spencer, Chancellor of the Exchequer under Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom....
. The move is completed on 6 October. - 3 June – Melbourne-Evans collision – The Royal Australian NavyRoyal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with the U.S. NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
destroyer USS Frank E. EvansUSS Frank E. Evans (DD-754)USS Frank E. Evans , an Allen M. Sumner class destroyer, was named in honor of General Frank Evans, a leader of the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I...
in the South China SeaSouth China SeaThe South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. Frank E. Evans is cut in half and sinks, killing 74 crew. - 19 June – The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration CommissionAustralian Industrial Relations CommissionThe Australian Industrial Relations Commission, or AIRC , was a tribunal with powers under the Workplace Relations Act 1996. It was the central institution of Australian labour law...
rules that equal pay for womenEqual pay for womenEqual pay for women is an issue regarding pay inequality between men and women. It is often introduced into domestic politics in many first world countries as an economic problem that needs governmental intervention via regulation...
doing the same work as men must be phased in by 1972. - 26 September – The Poseidon bubblePoseidon bubbleThe Poseidon bubble was a stock market bubble in which the price of Australian mining shares soared in late 1969, then crashed in early 1970. It was triggered by the Poseidon NL company's discovery of a promising site for nickel mining in September 1969....
begins when the small mining company Poseidon NL discovers a large nickelNickelNickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
deposit in Laverton, Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. - 25 October – A federal electionAustralian federal election, 1969Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...
is held. The incumbent CoalitionCoalition (Australia)The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
government led by John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
defeats the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
led by Gough WhitlamGough WhitlamEdward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
. - 29 November – The rebuilding of the Indian Pacific rail line between Sydney and PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
to standard gaugeStandard gaugeThe standard gauge is a widely-used track gauge . Approximately 60% of the world's existing railway lines are built to this gauge...
is completed. - 16 December – Prime Minister John GortonJohn GortonSir John Grey Gorton, GCMG, AC, CH , Australian politician, was the 19th Prime Minister of Australia.-Early life:...
announces that a withdrawal of Australian ArmyAustralian ArmyThe Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
troops from the Vietnam WarVietnam WarThe Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
would begin in 1970.
Science and technology
- 20 July – NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
switches the main transmission feed of the Apollo 11Apollo 11In early 1969, Bill Anders accepted a job with the National Space Council effective in August 1969 and announced his retirement as an astronaut. At that point Ken Mattingly was moved from the support crew into parallel training with Anders as backup Command Module Pilot in case Apollo 11 was...
moon landing to Honeysuckle Creek Tracking StationHoneysuckle Creek Tracking StationHoneysuckle Creek was a NASA tracking station near Canberra, Australia, which played an important role in supporting Project Apollo. The station was opened in 1967 and closed in 1981....
in Canberra, then Parkes ObservatoryParkes ObservatoryThe Parkes Observatory is a radio telescope observatory, 20 kilometres north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It was one of several radio antennas used to receive live, televised images of the Apollo 11 moon landing on 20 July 1969....
in New South Wales, which then broadcasts the mission to the world.
Arts and literature
- 4 May – An Australian production of the rock musical HairHair (musical)Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
opens in Sydney. Produced by Harry M. MillerHarry M. Miller-Early career:Born in New Zealand, Miller grew up in Grey Lynn, Auckland, and moved to Australia in 1963, where he established a company called Pan Pacific Productions with Keith and Dennis Wong, owners of the noted Sydney nightclub "Chequers"...
, it features the debut of young American singer Marcia HinesMarcia HinesMarcia Elaine Hines, AM is a vocalist, actress and TV personality who achieved success in her adopted homeland of Australia. Hines made her debut, at the age of sixteen, in the Australian version of the stage musical Hair and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene in Jesus Christ Superstar...
. - George JohnstonGeorge JohnstonGeorge Norman Johnston was a politician elected to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta for the first time in 1921, He served as Speaker of the Alberta Legislature from 1921 to 1936. He was defeated in 1935 when Social Credit swept to power...
's novel Clean Straw for NothingClean Straw for NothingClean Straw for Nothing is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author George Johnston. This novel is a sequel to My Brother Jack....
wins the Miles Franklin AwardMiles Franklin AwardThe Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
Film
- 27 March – 2000 Weeks2000 Weeks2000 Weeks is a 1969 Australian film directed by Tim Burstall.Paul Byrnes from the NFSA comments: "2000 Weeks was one of the first features of the modern era in Australian cinema, after decades in which almost the only productions were British and American films in search of exotic locales. .....
(directed by Tim BurstallTim BurstallTim Burstall was an Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for the motion picture Alvin Purple....
) is released. The film was one of the first features of the modern era in Australian cinema, although it was received poorly both critically and commercially.
Television
- 5 March – The last episode of spy series HunterHunter (Australian Crawfords TV series)Hunter was an Australian espionage adventure television series screened by the Nine Network from 5 July 1967 to 1969. The series was created by Ian Jones and produced by Crawford Productions....
is aired. - 11 March – Police proceduralPolice proceduralThe police procedural is a subgenre of detective fiction which attempts to convincingly depict the activities of a police force as they investigate crimes. While traditional detective novels usually concentrate on a single crime, police procedurals frequently depict investigations into several...
drama series Division 4Division 4Division 4 was an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 300 episodes....
makes its debut on the Nine NetworkNine NetworkThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. - 21 March – Graham KennedyGraham KennedyGraham Cyril Kennedy, AO was an Australian radio, television and film performer, often called Gra Gra and The King of Australian television.-Childhood:...
wins the Gold LogieGold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionThe Gold Logie Award has been awarded annually to the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television at the TV Week Logie Awards since 1960...
for In Melbourne TonightIn Melbourne TonightIn Melbourne Tonight, also known as "IMT", was a highly popular nightly variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970....
.
Sport
- 21 January – Boxer Johnny FamechonJohnny FamechonJohnny Famechon, born 28 March 1945, is a former Australian featherweight boxer, who was born as Jean-Pierre Famechon in Paris, France.He moved to Australia in 1950 at the age of five. Over his twenty-year career he developed a reputation for being a skilled boxer whose strength was his defence...
becomes world featherweightFeatherweightFeatherweight is a weight class division in the sport of boxing. There are similarly named divisions under several Mixed Martial Arts organizations and in Greco-Roman wrestling.-Professional boxing:...
champion, when he defeats CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n Jose Legra in a bout at the Albert HallAlbert HallAlbert P. Hall is an American actor.Born in Brighton, Alabama, Hall graduated from the Columbia University School of the Arts in 1971. That same year he appeared Off-Broadway in The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel and on Broadway in the Melvin Van Peebles musical Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death...
in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. - 12 April – CarltonCarlton Football ClubThe Carlton Football Club is a professional Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club competes in the Australian Football League, and was one of the eight founding members of that competition in 1897...
achieve the first double-century VFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
score when they kick 30.30 (210) against HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
, beating a previous record from 19311931 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1931.-Premiership season:In 1931, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus one substitute player, known as the 19th man...
. - 6 September – RichmondRichmond Football ClubThe Richmond Football Club, nicknamed The Tigers, is an Australian rules football club which competes in the Australian Football League. Richmond shares healthy rivalries with Carlton, Collingwood and Essendon. After winning five premierships between 1967 and 1980, the club hit the depths in 1990,...
sets a new record VFL finals winning margin when it beats GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
by 118 points. it is the first century winning margin in a finals match and beats the previous record margin of 88 points by MelbourneMelbourne Football ClubThe Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
against CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in the 1964 Second Semi1964 VFL seasonResults and statistics for the Victorian Football League season of 1964.-Premiership season:In 1964, the VFL competition consisted of twelve teams of 18 on-the-field players each, plus two substitute players, known as the 19th man and the 20th man...
. - 20 September – The Balmain TigersBalmain TigersThe Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
defeated South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
in the NSWRL Rugby League Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. - 27 September – Richmond 12.13 (85) beats Carlton 8.12 (60) for its seventh premiership.
- 2 October – TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
player Rod LaverRod LaverRodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...
beats fellow Australian Tony RocheTony RocheAnthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...
in the men's singles final of the U.S. OpenU.S. Open (tennis)The US Open, formally the United States Open Tennis Championships, is a hardcourt tennis tournament which is the modern iteration of one of the oldest tennis championships in the world, the U.S. National Championship, which for men's singles was first contested in 1881...
, achieving his second Grand SlamGrand Slam (tennis)The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...
(having also won the Australian OpenAustralian OpenThe Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...
, the French OpenFrench Open (tennis)The French Open |Roland Garros]]) is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks between late May and early June in Paris, France, at the Stade Roland Garros. It is the premier clay court tennis tournament in the world and the second of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments – the other three are...
and WimbledonThe Championships, WimbledonThe Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
in that year). - 11 October – John FarringtonJohn FarringtonJohn Allan Farrington is a former long-distance runner from Australia, who represented his native country in the men's marathon at the 1968 Summer Olympics. There he finished in 43rd position, clocking 2:50:16.8. He came fifth in the same event at the 1974 Commonwealth Games...
wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:21:02.8 in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. - 4 November – Rain LoverRain LoverRain Lover was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse. He was one of the very few horses to win the Melbourne Cup more than once. Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover his dam Rain Spot was by Valognes .He was owned and bred by Clifford A. Reid, who won the 1945 Melbourne...
wins the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
.
Births
- 19 January – Luc LongleyLuc LongleyLucien James "Luc" Longley is a retired Australian professional basketball player, who was the first Australian to play in the NBA, where he played for eleven seasons...
, basketball player - 22 January – Shelley SandieShelley SandieShelley Ann Gorman-Sandie is a retired female basketball player from Australia, who played for the Canberra Capitals. A three-time Olympian she was a member of the national women's team that claimed the bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.-References:*...
, basketball player - 23 January – Danielle WoodhouseDanielle WoodhouseDanielle Woodhouse is an Australian water polo player from the gold medal squad of the 2000 Summer Olympics. Along with Liz Weekes, Woodhouse was the goal keeper for the Australian team in 2000.- References :...
, water polo player - 7 February – Fiona RobinsonFiona RobinsonFiona Mary Robinson-Hannan is a retired female basketball player from Australia, who played for the Perth Breakers....
, basketball and handball player - 3 March – Tony ModraTony ModraAnthony 'Tony' Dale Modra is a former Australian rules football player, known for his spectacular marks. He played for the Adelaide Football Club and Fremantle Football Club in the Australian Football League, mainly at full forward. Modra had the physical strength and size to match the best...
, Australian Rules football player - 17 March – Alison FormanAlison FormanAlison Forman is a retired Australian international football player. Among her accomplishments, Forman played for the Australian women's national football team at the 1995 and 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup finals and at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.-External links:* *...
, football (soccer) midfielder - 1 April – Andrew VlahovAndrew VlahovAndrew Mitchell Vlahov is a retired Australian professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball League of Australia from 1991 through till the 2001/2002 season...
, basketball player - 3 April – Ben MendelsohnBen MendelsohnPaul Benjamin "Ben" Mendelsohn is an Australian actor.-Early life:Mendelsohn was born in Melbourne, Australia, the son of Carole Ann and Frederick Mendelsohn. He attended Heidelberg Primary School and Banyule High School. His father is a prominent medical researcher who heads the Howard Florey...
, actor - 14 May – Cate BlanchettCate BlanchettCatherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
, actress - 31 May – Juliet Haslam, field hockey defender
- 30 June – Mark GarnerMark GarnerMark Garner is a retired sprinter from Australia, who represented his native country at two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1988 . His best result was winning the silver medal in the men's 4x400m relay at the 1988 World Junior Championships.-Achievements:-References:*...
, track and field sprinter - 7 July – Rina Bradshaw-HillRina HillRina Bradshaw-Hill is an Australian/British athlete, who competes in triathlon, international running, and tennis....
, triathlete - 30 July – Simon BakerSimon BakerSimon Baker is an Australian actor. Since 2008, he has starred in the CBS television series The Mentalist.-Early life:...
, actor - 15 August – Bernard FanningBernard FanningBernard Joseph Fanning is a musician and singer-songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer and frontman of Australian alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989 to its dissolution in 2010....
, singer - 6 September – Michellie JonesMichellie JonesMichellie Yvonne Jones is an Australian triathlete. She has won two ITU Triathlon World Championships, an Olympic Silver Medal, and the 2006 Ironman World Championship.-Athletic career:...
, triathlete - 9 September – Natasha Stott DespojaNatasha Stott DespojaNatasha Jessica Stott Despoja AM is an Australian former politician and former leader of the Australian Democrats. She was a Democrats senator for South Australia from 1995 to 2008...
, politician - 13 September – Shane WarneShane WarneShane Keith Warne is a former Australian international cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest bowlers in the history of the game. In 2000, he was selected by a panel of cricket experts as one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century, the only specialist bowler selected in the quintet...
, cricketer - 18 September – Brad BevenBrad BevenBrad Beven in Mirriwini) is a retired triathlete from Australia.- External links :*...
, triathlete - 19 September – Kostya Tszyu, boxer
- 20 October – Laurie DaleyLaurie DaleyLaurie Daley OA is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player of Indigenous Australian descent. He represented Australia on 26 occasions and has since been named as one of the nation's finest players of the 20th century...
, rugby league football commentator and former player - 25 October – Alexander S. FoxhallAlexander S. Foxhall-Life:Foxhall was born to Peter Christopher Foxhall and Glenda Jill "Jill" Foxhall née Pender in 1969, the eldest of four children of that marriage, his father having a son by his first wife....
, author
Deaths
- 14 May – Frederick LaneFrederick LaneFrederick Claude Vivian Lane was an Australian swimmer.Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was the first Australian to represent his country in swimming at the Olympic Games, although he was actually a part of the British team when he competed at the 1900 Paris Games and won two gold medals.He...
(b. 1888), swimmer - 3 August – Alexander MairAlexander MairAlexander Mair was an Australian politician and served as the Premier of New South Wales from 5 August 1939 to 16 May 1941. Born in Melbourne, working in various businesses, Mair moved to Albury, New South Wales and went on to be a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly for fourteen...
(b. 1889), Premier of New South Wales (1939–1941) - 25 August – Robert CosgroveRobert CosgroveSir Robert Cosgrove KCMG was an Australian politician, trade unionist, and twice Premier of Tasmania from 18 December 1939 to 18 December 1947 and 25 February 1948 to 26 August 1958....
(b. 1894), Premier of Tasmania (1939–1947, 1948–1958) - 17 November – Sir Malcolm Barclay-HarveyMalcolm Barclay-HarveySir Charles Malcolm Barclay-Harvey, KCMG was a British politician and Governor of South Australia from 12 August 1939 until 26 April 1944....
(b. 1890), Governor of South Australia (1939–1944) - 21 November – Norman LindsayNorman LindsayNorman Alfred William Lindsay was an Australian artist, sculptor, writer, editorial cartoonist, scale modeler, and boxer. He was born in Creswick, Victoria....
(b. 1879), artist - 27 November – May GibbsMay GibbsCecilia May Gibbs MBE was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best-known for her gumnut babies , and the book Snugglepot and Cuddlepie....
, (b. 1877) children's author.