1984 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – 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...
– Bob HawkeBob HawkeRobert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister.... - 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 – 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 – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – 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...
– Brian BurkeBrian BurkeBrian Thomas Burke was Labor premier of Western Australia from 25 February 1983 until his resignation on 25 February 1988... - Premier of Victoria – John CainJohn 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 1984 - 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....
, then Ian TuxworthIan TuxworthIan Lindsay Tuxworth is an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 17 October 1984 until he resigned on 10 May 1986....
Events
- 1 February – MedicareMedicare (Australia)Medicare is Australia's publicly funded universal health care system, operated by the government authority Medicare Australia. Medicare is intended to provide affordable treatment by doctors and in public hospitals for all resident citizens and permanent residents except for those on Norfolk Island...
comes into effect in 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...
. - 2 February – 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...
newspaperNewspaperA newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
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...
publishes phone taps incriminating an unknown judge. - 6 February – A bombBombA bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
blast wrecks the home of Judge Richard Gee in the 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...
suburb of BelroseBelrose, New South WalesBelrose is a suburb of the northern beaches, Sydney in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 19 kilometres north-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of Warringah Council, and is part of the Northern Beaches region...
. High CourtHigh 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...
Judge, Justice Lionel MurphyLionel MurphyLionel Keith Murphy, QC was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.- Personal life :...
is named in ParliamentParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
as the judge referred to in 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...
tapes published on 2 February. - 24 March – Wran Government re-elected in NSWNew South WalesNew South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
for a 4th term. - 19 April – 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...
is proclaimed as Australia's national anthemNational anthemA national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
, and green and gold as the national colours. - 14 May – The one dollarAustralian dollarThe Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
coin is introduced in Australia. - 18 July – National CrimeCrimeCrime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
Authority established - 1 August – Australian bankBankA bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s are deregulatedDeregulationDeregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or simplification of government rules and regulations that constrain the operation of market forces.Deregulation is the removal or...
. - 21 August – The Federal budget is televisedTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for the first time. - 2–7 September people shot dead and 12 wounded in bikieMilperra massacreThe Milperra Massacre was a firearm battle between rival motorcycle gang members on September 2 1984, in Milperra, a south-western suburb of Sydney...
shootout between rival bikieMotorcyclingMotorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. A variety of subcultures and lifestyles have been built up around motorcycling.-Benefits:Robert M. Pirsig's book Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance was a paean celebrating motorcycling...
gangs the BandidosBandidosThe Bandidos Motorcycle Club, also known as the Bandido Nation, is a "one-percenter" motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate with a worldwide membership. The club was formed in 1966 by Don Chambers in Texas. Its slogan is We are the people our parents warned us about. It is estimated to have...
and ComancherosComanchero Motorcycle ClubThe Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia, with chapters in Strathfield and Erskine Park. The Commancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which has recently convened a conference aimed at addressing legislation aimed against the "bikie"...
in the Sydney suburb of MilperraMilperra, New South WalesMilperra, a suburb of local government area City of Bankstown, is located 24 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district in the state of New South Wales, Australia, and is a part of the South-western Sydney region.-History:...
. - 5 September – 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...
becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishmentCapital punishmentCapital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
for ordinary crimes (i.e. murderMurderMurder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
). New South Wales maintained it as a punishment for treasonTreasonIn law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...
and piracy with violence until 1985†, when capital punishment was finally abolished in Australia. - 1 November - National Film + Sound Archives (Screensound Australia) opens in Canberra
- 26 November – Former NSW Corrective Services Minister Rex JacksonRex JacksonRex Frederick Jackson was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. He was the son of a railway fettler and born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales and educated at Harefield Public School and Junee and Sutherland High Schools. He became a rail...
appears in Court on conspiracy charges for the early release of Prisoners. - 2 December – Hawke Government re-elected with a reduced majority.
†=It was never used in those circumstances, as no-one was prosecuted for those crimes.
Television
- 30 January – Perfect MatchPerfect Match (Australian game show)Perfect Match is an Australian dating game show based on the format of The Dating Game. Perfect Match was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation.It originally aired on Network Ten for 30 minutes most weekdays from 5:30pm between 1984 and 1989...
is launched in the 5:30 pm timeslot, bringing in record ratings for that timeslot & ensuring TenTen NewsTen News is the national news service of Network Ten in Australia. The majority of its news bulletins are presented from the TEN-10 studios in Pyrmont...
's Eyewitness NewsEyewitness NewsEyewitness News is a style of news broadcasting used by local television stations in different markets across the United States. It refers to a particular style of television newscast with an emphasis on visual elements and action video...
won the 6–7 p.m. timeslot. - 3 February – Australia's first nationally-televised telethon screens on Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. It is a 26-hour effort to raise money for AustraliaAustralian Olympic CommitteeThe Australian Olympic Committee is the National Olympic Committee in Australia for the Olympic Games movement. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams, and raises funds to send Australian competitors to Olympic events organised by the International Olympic Committee .-Background:The...
's OlympicOlympic GamesThe Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
athletes. - 11 February – 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...
's Hey Hey It's SaturdayHey Hey It's SaturdayHey Hey It's Saturday was a long-running variety television program on Australian television. It initially ran for 27 years , debuting on the Nine Network on 9 October 1971 and broadcasting its last episode on 20 November 1999. Its host throughout its entire run was Daryl Somers, who would later...
moves from Saturday mornings to the 9:30 pm timeslot and renamed Hey Hey It's Saturday Night. - Christopher SkaseChristopher SkaseChristopher Charles Skase was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Majorca in Spain.-Early life:...
purchases TVQ-0TVQ-10TVQ is the Brisbane television station of Network Ten in Australia.The channel was allocated channel 0 on the VHF band and was launched on 1 July 1965 as TVQ-0... - Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
televises the 1984 Summer Olympics1984 Summer OlympicsThe 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...
from Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Also, all stations adopt a uniform on-air look for the first time. - The first televised federal election debateDebateDebate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
takes place.
AFL
- 29 September – EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
(14.21.105) defeat 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...
(12.9.81) to win the 88th VFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
/AFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
premiership - Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
awarded to Peter Moore (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....
)
Rugby
- 23 September – 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...
defeat 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...
6-4 to win the 77th 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...
premiership.
Other
- 25 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...
is Australia's only competitor at the twelfth IAAF World Cross Country Championships1984 IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 12th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 25, 1984 in the Meadowlands Sports Complex . There were a total number of 442 participating athletes from 40 countries.- Individual :- Team :...
, staged in New YorkNew YorkNew York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, USA. He finishes in 21st place (34:08.0) in the race over 12,086 metres. - 10 June – Andrew LloydAndrew LloydAndrew Lloyd is best known for coming from behind in the last lap to take the 5000m gold medal in the 1990 Auckland Commonwealth Games....
wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:36 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...
, while Moira Main claims the women's title in 2:46:00. - 6 November – Black Knight 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
- 1 January – Michael WittMichael WittMichael Witt is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Harlequins RL in the Super League...
, rugby league player - 30 March – Samantha StosurSamantha StosurSamantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...
, tennis player - 3 April – Allana SlaterAllana SlaterAllana Amy Slater is a retired Australian artistic gymnast. The Australian senior all-around National Champion in 2000, 2003 and 2004 and a multiple medalist at the Commonwealth Games, Slater is considered to be one of Australia's most internationally successful gymnasts.-Early life and...
, gymnast - 13 April – Kris BrittKris BrittKris Lynsey Britt is an Australian cricketer who debuted for the Australian women's cricket team in 2002 in the second test against England in Sydney. She is a right-handed batsman for the team. She currently plays and captains the ACT Meteors in the Women's National Cricket League, she has also...
, cricketer - 26 April – Petrina PricePetrina PricePetrina Price is an Australian high jumper.Price was born in Greenacre. She finished seventh at the 2000 World Junior Championships, won the silver medal at the 2001 World Youth Championships and the bronze medal at the 2002 World Junior Championships, and finished ninth at the 2006 Commonwealth...
, high jumper - 4 May – Kiel BrownKiel BrownKiel Brown is a field hockey midfielder from Australia, who won a gold medal with the Men's National Team at the 2008 Champions Trophy in Rotterdam and has been selected for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing...
, field hockey midfielder - 10 May – Alana BoydAlana BoydAlana Boyd is an Australian Olympic pole vaulter.The 2008 Australian Champion, Boyd was selected for the 2007 World Championships, but did not make the final.Her personal best jump is 4.56 metres, achieved in July 2008 in Monaco...
, pole vaulter - 31 May – Jason SmithJason Smith (actor)Jason Smith is an Australian actor and singer, best known for his roles in Home and Away and Power Rangers: Jungle Fury.-Career:...
, actor - 17 October – Michelle AngMichelle AngMichelle Ang is a New Zealand film and television actress.-Life and career:Ang was born in Christchurch of maylandn descent. She got her start in television at a young age through the hit family series McDonald's Young Entertainers. Here she got to show her skills at singing and dancing, much like...
, actress - 9 November – Delta GoodremDelta GoodremDelta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
, singer and actress - 25 November – Peter SiddlePeter SiddlePeter Matthew Siddle is an Australian Test cricketer. He is a specialist right-arm fast-medium bowler who plays for Victoria and the Australia national cricket team.-Early life and career:...
, cricketer - 28 November – Andrew BogutAndrew BogutAndrew Michael Bogut is an Australian professional basketball player. He plays for the Milwaukee Bucks of the United States' National Basketball Association....
, basketball player - 12 December – Sophie EdingtonSophie EdingtonSophia Jane Edington is an Australian backstroke and freestyle swimmer.She trained at the Kingscliff ASC club under Greg Salter. After Greg took up an overseas coaching role Sophie moved to Queensland to train under the QAS program from the end of 2008...
, swimmer - 25 December – Lisa and Jessica OrigliassoThe VeronicasThe Veronicas are an Australian electrorock, pop-punk and rock band. Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso formed the band in 1999 in Brisbane. They have their own line of clothing which was released in 2007....
, singer/songwriters
Deaths
- 10 December – Grace Cossington SmithGrace Cossington SmithGrace Cossington Smith AO OBE was an Australian artist and pioneer of modernist painting in Australia and was instrumental in introducing Post-Impressionism to her home country...
(b. 1892), artist - unknown – Bob DyerBob DyerRobert "Bob" Dies OBE , who took the stage name of Bob Dyer, was an American-born vaudeville entertainer, radio personality, and radio and television quiz show host who made his name in Australia. Dyer is best known for the long-running radio and then television quiz show, Pick a Box...
(b. 1912), TV Host