1982 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Sir Zelman Cowen, then Sir Ninian Stephen.
- 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 – David TonkinDavid TonkinDr David Oliver Tonkin AO was the 38th Premier of South Australia, serving from 18 September 1979 to 10 November 1982. He was elected to the House of Assembly seat of Bragg at the 1970 election, serving until 1983. He became the leader of the South Australian division of the Liberal Party of...
, then John BannonJohn BannonJohn Charles Bannon AO is a former Australian politician. He was the 39th Premier of South Australia, leading the Labor Party to government at the 1982 election. The Bannon Labor government was re-elected at the 1985 election and the 1989 election... - 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 Tasmania – Harry HolgateHarry HolgateHarold Norman "Harry" Holgate AO was an Australian Labor Party politician and Premier of Tasmania from 11 November 1981 to 26 May 1982....
, then Robin GrayRobin Gray (Australian politician)Robin Trevor Gray is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Tasmania from 1982 to 1989. A Liberal, he was elected Liberal state leader in 1981 and in 1982 defeated the Labor government of Harry Holgate on a policy of "state development," particularly the building of the Franklin Dam, a... - 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 CourtCharles CourtSir Charles Walter Michael Court, was a Western Australian politician, 21st Premier of Western Australia and member for the seat of Nedlands for the Liberal Party for nearly 30 years.-Early life:...
, then Ray O'ConnorRay O'ConnorRaymond James "Ray" O'Connor was the 22nd Premier of Western Australia.-Pre-political life:He was born in Perth and attended schools in towns of Narrogin and York, and St Patrick's Boys' School in Perth... - Premier of Victoria – Lindsay ThompsonLindsay ThompsonLindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG , Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 40th Premier of Victoria from June 1981 to April 1982...
, then John Cain IIJohn Cain IIJohn Cain , Australian Labor Party politician, was the 41st Premier of Victoria, holding office from 1982 to 1990.-Biography:... - Chief Minister of the Australian Capital TerritoryChief Minister of the Australian Capital TerritoryThe Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role...
– Post did not exist in 1982. - Chief Minister of the Northern TerritoryChief Minister of the Northern TerritoryThe Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...
– Paul EveringhamPaul EveringhamPaul Anthony Edward Everingham AO was the first Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia when it was granted self-government in 1978....
Events
- 3 April – After almost 27 years in power, the LiberalLiberal 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...
coalitionCoalitionA coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
government is voted out in Victoria & is replaced by 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... - 11 May – High Court upholds the Racial Discrimination Act 1975Racial Discrimination Act 1975The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 is a statute passed by the Australian Parliament during the Prime Ministership of Labor Gough Whitlam....
in Koowarta v Bjelke-PetersenKoowarta v Bjelke-PetersenKoowarta v Bjelke-Petersen was a significant court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 11 May 1982. It concerned the constitutional validity of parts of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and the discriminatory acts of the Government of Queensland in blocking the purchase of land by...
, effectively extending Commonwealth power. - 15 May – In the middle of the Franklin DamFranklin DamThe Franklin Dam or Gordon-below-Franklin Dam project was a proposed dam on the Gordon River in Tasmania, Australia, that was never constructed. The movement that eventually led to the project's cancellation became one of most significant environmental campaigns in Australian history.The dam was...
dispute, the Labor government of Harry Holgate is voted out in TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
& replaced by the Liberal Party, led by Robin Gray. - 12 October – Elizabeth II opens the new building of the National Gallery of AustraliaNational Gallery of AustraliaThe National Gallery of Australia is the national art gallery of Australia, holding more than 120,000 works of art. It was established in 1967 by the Australian government as a national public art gallery.- Establishment :...
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...
. - 6 November – Elections 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...
see the voting out of the Liberal/National coalition, led by David Tonkin & the election of the ALP, led by John Bannon - 14 December – The Tasmanian Wilderness Society, led by Bob BrownBob BrownRobert James Brown is an Australian senator, the inaugural Parliamentary Leader of the Australian Greens and was the first openly gay member of the Parliament of Australia...
, stages a blockade of the Franklin Dam site in Tasmania which continues into 1983. On the same day, UNESCOUNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
agrees to list the Tasmanian Wild Rivers as a World Heritage Site. - 17 December - Random Breath Testing is introduced in NSW
- One of AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's worst ever droughts strikes the country.
Arts & Literature
- Rodney HallRodney Hall-Biography:Born in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, Hall came to Australia as a child after World War II and studied at the University of Queensland . In the 1960s Hall began working as a freelance writer, and a book and film reviewer. He also worked as an actor, and was often engaged by the...
's novel Just RelationsJust RelationsJust Relations is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Rodney Hall.The novel won the Miles Franklin Award, the FAW ANA Literature Award, and the FAW Barbara Ramsden Award for the Book of the Year, in 1982.-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
- 18 January – Sons and DaughtersSons and Daughters (Australian TV series)Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
premieres on the Seven NetworkSeven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
. - 28 June – 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...
premieres its new breakfast TV show, National News Today, which is later shortened to TodayToday (Australian TV program)Today and Weekend Today are Australian breakfast television programmes, the show is often referred to as The Today Show. The show has been broadcast live by the Nine Network each morning since 1982... - Nine, Seven & the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
conduct stereoStereophonic soundThe term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
test transmissions
Sport
- The South Melbourne SwansSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
move to 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...
& become the Sydney SwansSydney SwansThe Sydney Swans Football Club is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club, founded in 1874, was known as the South Melbourne Football Club until it relocated to Sydney in 1982 to become the Sydney...
. - 21 March – 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...
represents Australia at the tenth IAAF World Cross Country Championships1982 IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 10th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 21, 1982 in Rome, Italy. There were a total number of 380 participating athletes from 33 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
, staged in Rome, Italy. He finished in tenth place (34:20.5) in the race over 11,978 metres. - 28 March – The Newtown JetsNewtown JetsThe Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season...
& Canterbury BulldogsCanterbury BulldogsThe Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
fight out the only (to date) scoreless draw in NSWRLNew South Wales Rugby LeagueThe New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided...
first grade history. - 24 July – The Sydney Swans (13.12.90) defeat the North Melbourne KangaroosNorth 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...
(8.10.58) to win the VFL night premiershipAustralian Football League pre-season competitionThe Australian Football League pre-season competition, which is known at present as the NAB Cup, is a competition held before the beginning of the Australian Football League premiership season...
. It is the first major trophy for the Swans since they moved to Sydney. - 25 July – Robert WallaceRobert WallaceRobert Wallace was a Scottish politician. He was an electoral franchise reformer and agitator for postal service reform.He was elected to the Westminster Parliament as the member for Greenock in 1832, sitting for that constituency until 1845.Robert Wallace was the founder of the campaign for cheap...
wins the his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:16:02 in BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, while Barbara McKerrow claims the women's title in 2:50:28. - 25 September – Carlton Blues (14.19.103) defeat the Richmond Tigers (12.13.83) to win the 86th VFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
premiership. It is the second consecutive premiership for CarltonCarlton, VictoriaCarlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
& the last grand final appearance to date for RichmondRichmond, VictoriaRichmond is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra...
. - 26 September – Parramatta EelsParramatta 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...
defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesManly-Warringah Sea EaglesThe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
21-8^ to win the 75th NSWRL premiership. It is their second consecutive premiership. - 30 September – 9 October – The 1982 Commonwealth Games1982 Commonwealth GamesThe 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia from 30 September–9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium , in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the venue which was used for the athletics and archery competitions during the...
are held in BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, 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... - 18 December – The Kangaroos complete a tour of Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
& FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
undefeated for the first time.
^-Scored under outdated scoring system.
Births
- 25 April – Victoria MitchellVictoria MitchellVictoria Mitchell is an Australian long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase.She took part in the World Student Cross Country Championships in 2002 and finished in eleventh place.Her first international medal was a silver at the 2005 Summer Universiade. She was the 2007...
, long-distance runner - 25 August – Nick GillNick GillNick Gill is an Australian Rules football player currently playing for the North Adelaide Roosters who also played for the Adelaide Crows before being delisted at the end of 2009. He was originally drafted by Melbourne in the 2000 pre-season draft but was delisted at the end of 2001...
, Australian rules footballer - 13 October – Ian ThorpeIan ThorpeIan James Thorpe OAM , nicknamed the Thorpedo and Thorpey, is an Australian swimmer who specialises in freestyle, but also competes in backstroke and the individual medley. He has won five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any Australian, and with three gold and two silver medals, was the most...
, swimmer - 9 November – Eloise WellingsEloise WellingsEloise Wellings is an Australian long-distance runner. She represented her country at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and at the 2010 edition in New Delhi. She was the gold medalist over 5000 metres at the 2003 Summer Universiade...
, long-distance runner - 13 December – Anthony CalleaAnthony CalleaAnthony Cosmo Callea is an Australian singer-songwriter who rose to prominence in the 2004 season of Australian Idol when he became runner up. He was signed to Sony Music Australia until 2009 and is now an independent artist...
, singer
Deaths
- 14 June – Arthur ColesArthur ColesSir Arthur William Coles was a prominent Australian businessman and philanthropist.With his brothers Coles founded the Coles Variety Stores in the 1920s, which were to become one of the two largest supermarket chains in Australia now known as Coles Group...
, businessman and philanthropist