1977 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – 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...
– Sir John Kerr up to 8 December, Sir Zelman Cowen from 8 December - 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...
– Malcolm FraserMalcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role... - Premier of New South Wales – Neville WranNeville WranNeville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986...
- 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 Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – Bill NeilsonBill NeilsonWilliam Arthur "Bill" Neilson AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1975 to 1977.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, and educated at Ogilvie High School, Neilson became a postman. He married Jill Benjamin, daughter of Phyllis Benjamin, in Melbourne in 1948...
to 1 December, Doug LoweDoug Lowe (Australian politician)Douglas Ackley "Doug" Lowe AM was the 35th Premier of Tasmania, from 1 December 1977 to 11 November 1981. His time as Premier coincided with controversy over a proposal to build a dam on Tasmania's Gordon River, which would have flooded parts of the Franklin River...
from 1 December - 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...
– Sir Charles Court - Premier of Victoria – Rupert HamerRupert HamerSir Rupert James Hamer, AC, KCMG, ED , generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 39th Premier of Victoria, serving from 1972 to 1981.-Early years:...
Events
- 5 January – Australia's only aircraft suicide attack carried out by a disgruntled former employee of Connellan Airways takes place. The Connellan air disasterConnellan air disasterThe Connellan air disaster was a suicide attack at Alice Springs Airport, Northern Territory, Australia on 5 January 1977. Carried out by a disgruntled former employee of Connellan Airways , who flew a Beechcraft Baron into the Connair complex at the airport, the attack killed four other people...
claims the life of 6 people including the pilot. - 10 January – The Easey Street murdersEasey Street murdersThe Easey Street murders refer to the killing of Suzanne Armstrong and Susan Bartlett, who were stabbed to death on 10 January 1977 in their home at 147 Easey Street in the inner Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. The crime remains unsolved as of 2010....
take place, an unsolved crime in which two women were brutally stabbed to death in their home in the inner-MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
suburb of CollingwoodCollingwood, VictoriaCollingwood is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. - 18 January – Australia experiences its worst railway disaster at GranvilleGranville railway disasterThe Granville rail disaster occurred on 18 January 1977 at Granville, a suburb in western Sydney, when a crowded commuter train derailed, running into the supports of a road bridge which fell down onto two of its passenger carriages...
, near Sydney, in which 83 people died. - 1 February – The Federal Court of AustraliaFederal Court of AustraliaThe Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
began to exercise its jurisdiction. - 15 May – A new political party, the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
is launched by former Liberal MP Don ChippDon ChippDonald Leslie Chipp, AO was an Australian politician, and the inaugural leader of the Australian Democrats.-Early life:...
at Melbourne Town HallMelbourne Town HallMelbourne Town Hall is the central municipal building of the City of Melbourne, Australia, in the State of Victoria. It is located on the northeast corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, in the central business district. It is the seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Melbourne...
. - 21 May – A referendumAustralian referendum, 1977The 1977 Australian Referendum was held on 21 May 1977. It contained four referendum questions and one non-binding plebiscite.Referendums:* Simultaneous Elections * Senate Casual Vacancies ...
is held. Questions on Senate casual vacanciesAustralian referendum, 1977 (Senate Casual Vacancies)The referendum of 21 May 1977 approved an amendment to the Australian constitution concerning the filling of casual vacancies in the Senate. Technically it was a vote on the Constitution Alteration 1977 which, after being approved in the referendum, became law on 29 July of the same year.Prior to...
, referendumsAustralian referendum, 1977 (Referendums)Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed to allow residents in the territories to vote in referendums. Residents in territories were to be counted towards the national total, but would not be counted toward any state total...
and retirement of judgesAustralian referendum, 1977 (Retirement of Judges)The legislation Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed to create a retirementage of 70 for judges in federal courts.The question was put to a referendum in the Australian referendum, 1977.-Results:...
are passed. A question on simultaneous electionsAustralian referendum, 1977 (Simultaneous Elections)Constitution Alteration 1977 proposed for the second time that the Constitution be altered to ensure that elections for both houses of parliament occurred simultaneously...
for the House of Representatives and the Senate fails. A plebisciteAustralian plebiscite, 1977 (National Song)As an additional question in the 1977 referendum, the voters were polled on which song they would prefer to be used to mark occasions where a particularly Australian national identity was desired. Voting on this question was not compulsory...
to decide Australia's national song is won by "Advance Australia FairAdvance Australia Fair"Advance Australia Fair" is the official national anthem of Australia. Created by the Scottish-born composer, Peter Dodds McCormick, the song was first performed in 1878, but did not gain its status as the official anthem until 1984. Until then, the song was sung in Australia as a patriotic song...
". - 1 July – The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is established.
- 15 July – Anti-drugs campaigner Donald Mackay disappears near Griffith, New South WalesGriffith, New South WalesGriffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...
. He is presumed to have been murdered. - 4 September – The Queensland governmentGovernment of QueenslandThe Government of Queensland is commonly known as the "Queensland Government".The form of the Government of Queensland is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1859, although it has been amended many times since then...
bans street marches and demonstrationsDemonstration (people)A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
. - 17 September – A state electionSouth Australian state election, 1977State elections were held in South Australia on 17 September 1977. All 47 seats in the South Australian House of Assembly were up for election...
is held in South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. The incumbent 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 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...
is returned to power. - 8 October – The Tasman BridgeTasman BridgeThe Tasman Bridge is a five-lane bridge crossing the Derwent River, near the CBD of Hobart, Tasmania. The bridge has a total length of 1,395 metres . It provides the main traffic route from the CBD to the eastern shore - particularly Hobart International Airport and Bellerive Oval...
in HobartHobartHobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
re-opens after repair to the damage sustained in the Tasman Bridge disasterTasman Bridge disasterThe Tasman Bridge disaster occurred on the evening of 5 January 1975, in Hobart, the capital city of Australia's island state of Tasmania, when a bulk ore carrier travelling up the Derwent River collided with several pylons of the Tasman Bridge, causing a large section of the bridge deck to...
when the bridge was struck by the bulk ore carrier MV Lake IllawarraMV Lake IllawarraThe MV Lake Illawarra was a Handysize bulk carrier of 7,274 tons in the service of the Australian National Line shipping company. This ship is known for causing the Tasman Bridge disaster when it collided with pylon 19 of Hobart's giant high concrete arch style Tasman Bridge on the evening of...
on 5 January 1974. - 12 November – A state electionQueensland state election, 1977Elections were held in the Australian state of Queensland on 12 November 1977 to elect the 82 members of the state's Legislative Assembly.The election resulted in a fourth consecutive victory for the National-Liberal Coalition under Joh Bjelke-Petersen...
is held in QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, with the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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...
-NationalNational Party of AustraliaThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition led by 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...
gaining their fourth successive victory. - 30 November – The High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
rules in the case of Cridland v Federal Commissioner of TaxationCridland v Federal Commissioner of TaxationCridland v Federal Commissioner of Taxation was a 1977 High Court of Australia case concerning a novel tax scheme whereby some 5,000 university students became primary producers for tax purposes, allowing them certain income averaging benefits...
that a group of university students avoiding tax by claiming to be farmers were acting legally under provisions of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936Income Tax Assessment Act 1936Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 is an act of the Parliament of Australia. It's one of the main statutes under which income tax is calculated. The act is gradually being rewritten into the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, and new matters are generally now added to the 1997 act.The reason for...
. - 1 December – Bill NeilsonBill NeilsonWilliam Arthur "Bill" Neilson AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1975 to 1977.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, and educated at Ogilvie High School, Neilson became a postman. He married Jill Benjamin, daughter of Phyllis Benjamin, in Melbourne in 1948...
resigns as Premier of Tasmania, and is replaced by Doug LoweDoug Lowe (Australian politician)Douglas Ackley "Doug" Lowe AM was the 35th Premier of Tasmania, from 1 December 1977 to 11 November 1981. His time as Premier coincided with controversy over a proposal to build a dam on Tasmania's Gordon River, which would have flooded parts of the Franklin River...
. - 10 December – A federal electionAustralian federal election, 1977Federal elections were held in Australia on 10 December 1977. All 124 seats in the House of Representatives, and 34 of the 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election....
is held, with the incumbent Liberal PartyLiberal 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...
led by Malcolm FraserMalcolm FraserJohn Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
with coalition partner the NationalNational Party of AustraliaThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
led by Doug AnthonyDoug AnthonyJohn Douglas Anthony, AC, CH , is a former Australian politician. He was leader of the National Party from 1971 to 1984, and Deputy Prime Minister from 1971 to 1972 and again from 1975 to 1983.-Early life:...
returned for a second term.
Arts and literature
- Kevin Conno wins the Archibald PrizeArchibald PrizeThe Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
with Robert Klippel - Ruth ParkRuth ParkRuth Park, AM was a New Zealand-born author, who spent most of her life in Australia. Her best known works are the novels The Harp in the South and Playing Beatie Bow , and the children's radio serial The Muddle-Headed Wombat , which also spawned a book series .-Personal history:Park was born in...
's novel Swords and Crowns and RingsSwords and Crowns and RingsSwords and Crowns and Rings is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Ruth Park.-References:...
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 ...
Television
- Popular soap operaSoap operaA soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s Bellbird, Number 96Number 96 (TV series)Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
, and The Box, are all cancelled. - Television soap operas The Restless YearsThe Restless YearsThe Restless Years is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and young adults. It was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for Network Ten. It debuted December 1977 and ran until late 1981. It was not renewed by the network due to declining ratings...
and Cop ShopCop ShopCop Shop was an Australian police drama television series produced by Crawford Productions that revolved around the everyday operations of both the uniformed police officers and the plain-clothes detectives of the fictional Riverside Police Station....
begin.
Sport
- 12 March – The Centenary TestCentenary TestCentenary Test refers to two matches of Test cricket played between the English cricket team and the Australian cricket team, the first in 1977 and the second in 1980. These matches were played to mark the 100th anniversaries of the first Test cricket matches played in Australia and in England ...
commences between England and Australia at the Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light... - 20 March – Australia is represented by nine long-distance runners (all men), including Robert de CastellaRobert de CastellaRobert Francois de Castella, MBE is an Australian former world champion marathon runner. He is widely known as "Deek" or "Deeks" to the Australian public, and "Tree" to his competitors due to his thick legs and inner calm...
, at the fifth IAAF World Cross Country Championships1977 IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 5th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 20, 1977 in Düsseldorf, Germany.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- External links :*...
in DüsseldorfDüsseldorfDüsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
, West GermanyWest GermanyWest Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
. Steve AustinSteve Austin (athlete)Stephen John "Steve" Austin is an Australian athlete. He competed in the 5000m and 10000m at the 1980 Summer Olympics.-References:...
is Australia's best finisher, claiming the 15th spot (38:26.0) in the race over 12,3 kilometres. - 2 April – The National Soccer LeagueNational Soccer LeagueThe National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
kicks off, as the first league of any football code to become national. The opening game sees West AdelaideWest Adelaide SCWest Adelaide Soccer Club is an Australian football club from Adelaide, Australia. Currently it plays in the FFSA State League Competition. It participated in the National Soccer League from the 1977 season until the end of the 1998/99 season, except for the periods 1987-89 and 1990-91. It was...
defeat Canberra City 3-1 at Manuka OvalManuka OvalManuka Oval is a 13,550 capacity ground located in the suburb of Griffith, adjacent to Manuka, a business district of Canberra, Australia's capital....
in CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. - 7 May - 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...
set two VFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
records when they kick 41 behinds and have a total of 66 scoring shots against St. KildaSt. Kilda Football ClubThe St Kilda Football Club, nicknamed The Saints, is an Australian rules football club based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The club plays in the Australian Football League, the sport's premier league....
. These totals remain six ahead of the second-most behinds and scoring shots. - 6 August – Robert Wallace wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:20:11.2 in Cressy, TasmaniaCressy, TasmaniaCressy is a small town located south-west of Launceston, Tasmania. It came into existence in the 1850s to service the surrounding wheat farms. At the 2006 census, Cressy had a population of 670...
. - England defeat a weakened Australia team 3-0 in The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
test series - 17 September - St. GeorgeSt. George DragonsThe St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
and ParramattaParramatta EelsThe Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
play a 9-9 draw after 100 minutes in the NSWRLNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
Grand Final. It is the first Grand Final to be tied after 100 minutes including extra time. - 24 September
- St. George thrash Parramatta 22-0 in the Grand Final replay
- North MelbourneNorth Melbourne Football ClubThe North Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Kangaroos, is the fourth oldest Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League and is one of the oldest sporting clubs in Australia and the world...
and CollingwoodCollingwood Football ClubThe Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
play only the second VFL Grand Final draw in history.
- 1 October - North Melbourne defeat Collingwood in the Grand Final replay
- 2 October – In motor racing Ford team-mates Allan MoffatAllan MoffatAllan George Moffat, OBE is an Australian racing driver known for his four wins in the Australian Touring Car Championship, six wins in the Sandown 500 and his four wins in the Bathurst 1000...
and Colin BondColin BondColin John Bond is a retired Australian racing driver. Bond reached the highest levels in Australian motorsport in 1969 when he was recruited by Harry Firth to the newly formed Holden Dealer Team...
finish side by side to complete a 1–2 Formation Finish at the Bathurst 1000Bathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
. - Gold and BlackGold and BlackGold and Black was a New Zealand racehorse, ridden by Johnny Duggan who won the 1977 Melbourne Cup for the "Cups King" Bart Cummings....
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... - Western Australia wins the Sheffield ShieldPura CupThe Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
- Kialoa II wins the Sydney to Hobart Yacht RaceSydney to Hobart Yacht RaceThe Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
Births
- 14 February – Cadel EvansCadel EvansCadel Lee Evans is an Australian professional racing cyclist and winner of the 2011 Tour de France. Early in his career, Evans was a champion mountain biker, winning the World Cup in 1998 and 1999 and placing seventh in the men's cross-country mountain bike race at the 2000 Summer Olympics in...
, cyclist - 24 February – Jason AkermanisJason AkermanisJason Dean Akermanis is an Australian rules football player. He is a Brownlow Medallist and triple premiership player who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Western Bulldogs...
, Australian Rules footballer - 25 February – Joanne BanningJoanne BanningJoanne Banning is a female field hockey striker from Australia, who made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the Argentina Tour in 2001. Nicknamed Joey she was a member of the Hockeyroos at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, where the team ended up in third place in...
, field hockey striker - 24 March – Darren LockyerDarren LockyerDarren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...
, Rugby league footballer - 31 March – Garth TanderGarth TanderGarth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...
, racing driver - 10 May – Chas LicciardelloChas LicciardelloChas John Licciardello is a comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, comedian - 14 May – Ada NicodemouAda NicodemouAda Nicodemou is a Greek Cypriot-born Australian actress, best known for her role as Leah Patterson-Baker in the soap opera Home and Away.-Early life:Nicodemou was born in Larnaca, Cyprus. She has been an Australian resident since 1987....
, actress - 11 June – Geoff OgilvyGeoff OgilvyGeoff Charles Ogilvy is an Australian professional golfer. He won the 2006 U.S. Open and has also won three World Golf Championships.-Professional career:...
, golfer - 10 July – Schapelle CorbySchapelle CorbySchapelle Leigh Corby is an Australian woman convicted of drug smuggling who is imprisoned in Indonesia.Corby is serving a 20-year sentence for the importation of of cannabis into Bali, Indonesia...
, drug trafficker - 11 August – Byron PickettByron PickettByron Pickett is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played with three clubs in the AFL. He was known as a big game player as well as for his strength, hard bumps and tough approach to the game. Pickett is one of 12 players with two premiership medallions, a Norm Smith Medal...
, Australian Rules footballer - 13 August – Michael KlimMichael KlimMichael Klim OAM is a Polish-born Australian swimmer. He was born in Gdynia. He was educated at the University High School, Melbourne and Wesley College, Melbourne where he is currently employed as the College's elite Head Coach of swimming...
, swimmer - 14 August – Justin AnlezarkJustin AnlezarkJustin Anlezark is a male shot putter from Australia. His personal best throw is 20.96 metres, achieved in April 2003 in Brisbane....
, shot putter - 15 August – Anthony RoccaAnthony RoccaAnthony Rocca is a former Australian rules footballer who has played with the Sydney Swans and Collingwood in the Australian Football League...
, Australian Rules footballer - 1 September – Henry CollinsHenry Collins (boxer)Henry Collins is a former light welterweight boxer from Australia, who represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics...
, boxer - 6 September – Peter WakefieldPeter WakefieldPeter Wakefield is a retired male light flyweight boxer from Australia. He competed for his native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where he was stopped in the second round of the men's light flyweight division by Namibia's Joseph Jermia.-References:*...
, boxer - 23 October – Brad Haddin, cricketer
- 30 October – Charmian FaulknerLouise and Charmian Faulkner disappearanceLouise Yvonne Faulkner and Charmian Christabel Alexis Faulkner were a mother and daughter who disappeared without a trace from outside their residence at 39 Acland St, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia in 1980...
, missing toddler - 16 November – Gigi EdgleyGigi EdgleyGigi Edgley is an Australian actress and recording artist. She is best known for her roles as Chiana on the series Farscape and Lara Knight in Rescue: Special Ops.-Early life:...
, actress - 6 December – Peta GallagherPeta GallagherPeta Gallagher is a female field hockey striker from Australia, who made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the Argentina Tour in 2001...
, field hockey striker