1986 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...
, then Barrie UnsworthBarrie UnsworthBarrie John Unsworth was an Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988.-Early years:... - 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 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...
– 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....
, then Stephen HattonStephen HattonStephen Paul Hatton is an Australian politician, who was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory of Australia from 1986 to 1988. From 1983 until his retirement in 2001, he was MLA for the seat of Nightcliff...
Events
- 2 February – Nurse Anita Cobby is abducted, robbed, raped and murdered by John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and Lesile, Gary and Micheal Murphy at ProspectProspect, New South WalesProspect is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prospect is located 32 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region....
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...
(all 5 men are sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, June 1987). - 8 February – Elections in 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...
& 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...
see the re-election of 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...
in WA & the 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...
in Tasmania. - 27 March – Russell Street BombingRussell Street BombingThe Russell Street Bombing refers to the 27 March 1986 bombing of the Russell Street Police Headquarters complex in Russell Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
takes place at the headquarters of the Victorian PoliceVictoria PoliceVictoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
in Melbourne. A policePoliceThe police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
constable is killed. - 4 July – After 10 years in power, Neville Wran resigns as Premier of New South WalesNew 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...
& is replaced by Barrie Unsworth. - 7 July – Barlow & ChambersBarlow and Chambers executionThe Barlow and Chambers execution refers to the hanging in 1986 by Malaysia of two Australian citizens, Kevin John Barlow and Brian Geoffrey Chambers of Perth, Western Australia, for the drug trafficking of 141.9 g of heroin....
are executed at Malaysia's Pudu PrisonPudu PrisonThe Pudu Prison was a prison in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Built in phases by the British colonial government between 1891 and 1895, it was located along Jalan Shaw. The construction began with its 394-metre prison wall at a cost of Straits $16,000, and had been adorned with the world's longest mural...
for drug trafficking. Prime MinisterPrime ministerA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Hawke condemns the move as 'barbaric'. - 16 July – An explosion at Moura No. 4 mine in Moura, QueenslandMoura, QueenslandMoura is a small town servicing the surrounding coal mining and rural activities. The town was first established in 1936 as a farming centre near the existing Moura Station.The town of Moura is located in Central Queensland, Australia...
kills 12 people. - 6 August – A low pressure system moving from 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...
and redeveloping off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimetres of rainRainRain is liquid precipitation, as opposed to non-liquid kinds of precipitation such as snow, hail and sleet. Rain requires the presence of a thick layer of the atmosphere to have temperatures above the melting point of water near and above the Earth's surface...
in a day on Sydney. Resulting floods kill 6 people. - 9 August – Sydney schoolgirl Samantha Knight disappears in Bondi, Sydney.
- 1 November – Joh Bjelke-Petersen wins his final election as Premier 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...
with his party, the National PartyNational 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...
gaining 38.6% of the vote.
Arts and literature
- Elizabeth JolleyElizabeth JolleyMonica Elizabeth Jolley AO was an English-born writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s. She was 53 when her first book was published, and she went on to publish fifteen novels , four short story collections and three non-fiction books, publishing well into her 70s and achieving...
's novel The WellThe Well (novel)The Well is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Elizabeth Jolley. It tells the story of two women, Hester and her young ward Katherine, and their relationship with one another. Hester, who has lived alone on a farm with her father for many years, is possessive of the much...
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
- 30 April – Crocodile DundeeCrocodile Dundee"Crocodile" Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as Sue Charlton....
is released in Australia. The film will go on to become a worldwide smash hit, becoming the highest grossing Australian film ever. - Malcolm
Television
- 5 January – SBSSpecial Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
ceases VHF transmissions on Channel 0 in Sydney & 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...
. - 20 January – NeighboursNeighboursNeighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
makes its debut 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...
& comes to dominate the 7 pm weeknight timeslot - February – Red SymonsRed SymonsRedmond Symons is an Australian musician, writer, actor and radio host, probably best known as lead guitarist with Skyhooks and as the snide judge of "Red Faces", a segment of the long-running Hey Hey It's Saturday variety television show...
signs to 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...
as the show launches Red Faces - April – The Movie ShowThe Movie ShowThe Movie Show is an Australian film review program that airs on SBS TV. Its history falls into three parts.-Original format:The original format, which ran from 30 October 1986 to 12 May 2004, had two presenters, David Stratton and Margaret Pomeranz. Stratton and Pomeranz left for the ABC in early...
begins on SBS - December – The Herald and Weekly Times LtdThe Herald and Weekly Times LtdThe Herald and Weekly Times Limited is a newspaper publishing company based in Melbourne, Australia. It is owned and operated by Rupert Murdoch's News Limited, who purchased HWT in 1987.-Newspapers:...
, owners of HSV-7HSV-7HSV is a television station in Melbourne. It is part of the Seven Network, one of the three main commercial television networks in Australia, and its first and oldest station, having been launched in time for the 1956 Summer Olympic Games in Melbourne....
& ADS-7ADS-10ADS Adelaide is an Australian television station, owned by, and affiliated with the Ten Network.-History:ADS-10 began as ADS-7 on 24 October 1959, before being owned by those affiliated with the Ten Network. On 27 December 1987, ADS-7 and SAS-10 switched affiliations, ADS moving to channel 10, SAS...
are sold to Rupert MurdochRupert MurdochKeith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....
's News LimitedNews LimitedNews Limited is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies. The publicly listed company's interests span newspaper and magazine publishing, Internet, Pay TV, National Rugby League, market research, DVD and film distribution, and film and television production trading assets.News Limited...
for $Australian 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...
1.8 billion. As News Limited owned ATV-10ATV-10ATV is a television station in Melbourne, Australia, part of Network Ten - one of the three major Australian commercial television networks.-History:...
at this time, HSV-7 is sold to Fairfax (already owners of ATN-7ATN-7ATN is the Sydney flagship television station of the Seven Network in Australia. The licence, issued to a company named Amalgamated Television Services, a subsidiary of Fairfax, was one of the first four licences to be issued for commercial television stations in Australia...
& BTQ-7BTQ-7BTQ is the Brisbane station of the Australian Seven Network. BTQ was the second television station to launch in Brisbane, going to air on 1 November 1959, after QTQ launched three months earlier....
) in February 1987 for $320 million. - 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:...
's QintexQintexQintex Ltd. was an Australian company that came to prominence during the 1980s, until its collapse in 1989. Its main shareholder and Managing Director was Christopher Skase....
company sells 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...
to Darling Downs Television, owners of DDQ-10 in Toowoomba. - AUSSATOptus fleet of satellitesThis is a list of the satellites operated by Optus, an Australian telecommunications company. The satellite communications facility is located at Belrose on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.-A-Class:*Satellite Type: Hughes HS-376...
satellites are launched, bringing televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
to remote areas for the first time.
Sport
- 16 March – Parramatta StadiumParramatta StadiumParramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
is opened. The 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 St. George DragonsSt. 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,...
36-6. - 23 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 once again Australia's best finisher at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships1986 IAAF World Cross Country ChampionshipsThe 14th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held on March 23, 1986 in Colombier . There were a total number of 670 participating athletes from 57 countries.- Individual :- Team :- Individual :- Team :...
, this time staged in Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He finishes in 14th place (36:10.9) in the long-distance race over 12,000 metres. - 8 June – Stephen Austin wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:15:59 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 Margaret Reddan claims the women's title in 2:48:28. - 29 June – Last game of rugby leagueRugby leagueRugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
is played at the Sydney Sports GroundSydney Sports GroundThe Sydney Sports Ground was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surrounded by a grass covered hill, giving it a capacity of more than...
. Eastern Suburbs RoostersSydney RoostersThe Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
defeat the North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney BearsThe North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
21-14. - 27 September – The Hawthorn HawksHawthorn 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...
(16.14.110) defeat the Carlton BluesCarlton 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...
(9.14.68) to win the 90th VFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
premiership. - 28 September – The 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 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...
4-2 in the lowest scoring grand final in history to win the 79th 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. - 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 Robert DiPierdomenicoRobert DiPierdomenicoRobert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico is a former Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL of Italian descent and a member of the VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century...
(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...
) - Farrier Command 10 "Aussie" was constructed and launched.
- At Talaq wins Melbourne Cup ridden by Michael Clarke.
Births
- 22 February – Joel BrunkerJoel BrunkerJoel Brunker is a bantamweight boxer from Australia. He competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. He was stopped in the first round of the men's bantamweight division by bronze medalist Aghasi Mammadov.-References:*...
, boxer - 8 March – Michelle SteeleMichelle SteeleMichelle Steele is an Australian skeleton racer who has competed since 2004. She finished 13th in the women's skeleton event at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin....
, athlete - 16 April – Bronwen KnoxBronwen KnoxBronwen Knox is an Australian water polo player, who joined the women's national team in 2005. She was a member of the side that won the silver medal at the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in Melbourne, Australia.-References:*...
, water polo player - 31 October – Christie HayesChristie HayesChristie Lynne Hayes is an Australian actress, best known for her work on the television series Home and Away as Kirsty Phillips who she played from June 2000 to February 2005 and again from May 2008 to October 2009. Hayes is the sister of actress Katherine Hayes.-Personal life:Hayes is the...
, actress - 2 November – Lara SacherLara SacherLara Sacher is an Australian actress who played Serena Bishop on the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 2003 to 2005.- Biography :...
, actress - 19 November – Jessicah SchipperJessicah SchipperJessicah Lee Schipper OAM is an Australian swimmer. She trained at the Redcliffe Leagues Lawnton club in Brisbane, under veteran coach Ken Wood up until the conclusion of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Schipper now trains under the guidance of Stephan Widmer with the Commercial Swimming Club...
, swimmer - 27 December – Torah BrightTorah BrightTorah Jane Bright is an Australian snowboarder. She turned pro at age 14 and finished fifth in snowboarding at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. She lives and trains in the area of Salt Lake City, Utah, USA...
, snowboarder
Deaths
- 21 October – 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 :...
(b. 1922), former Attorney-General of AustraliaAttorney-General of AustraliaThe Attorney-General of Australia is the first law officer of the Crown, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a minister of the Crown. The Attorney-General is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but there is no constitutional requirement that this be the case since the... - 7 November – Tracy PewTracy PewTracy Pew was an Australian musician, best known as the bass player for The Birthday Party.Born in Australia, Pew moved with his family to New Zealand in 1959, returning in May 1964...
, bass guitarist for The Birthday PartyThe Birthday Party (band)The Birthday Party were an Australian rock band, active from 1973 to 1983.Despite being championed by John Peel, The Birthday Party found little commercial success during their career...