1996 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...
– Bill HaydenBill HaydenWilliam George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
(until 16 February), then Sir William Deane. - 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...
– Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
(until 11 March), then John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
Premiers and Chief Ministers
- Premier of New South Wales – Bob CarrBob CarrRobert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...
- Premier of Queensland – Wayne GossWayne GossWayne Keith Goss was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996.-Early life:He was born at Mundubbera, Queensland and educated at Inala High School and the University of Queensland...
(until 20 February), then Rob BorbidgeRob BorbidgeRobert Edward Borbidge AO , Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party... - Premier of South Australia – Dean BrownDean BrownDean Craig Brown, AO was the Liberal Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 March 2002 to Rob Kerin.-Political career:...
(until 28 November), then John OlsenJohn OlsenJohn Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years... - Premier of Tasmania – Ray GroomRay GroomRaymond John "Ray" Groom, AO is a lawyer and former Australian sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years...
(until 18 March), then Tony RundleTony RundleAnthony Maxwell Rundle AO was the Premier of the Australian State of Tasmania from 18 March 1996 to 14 September 1998. He succeeded Ray Groom and was succeeded himself by Jim Bacon. He is a Liberal who held the seat of Braddon between 1986 and 2002. A former journalist, he is married to... - Premier of Victoria – Jeff KennettJeff KennettJeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
- 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...
– Richard CourtRichard CourtRichard Fairfax Court AC , was a Western Australian politician, representing the seat of Nedlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001.Court was born into an old political... - 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...
– Kate CarnellKate CarnellAnne Katherine Carnell AO was the third Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory, serving from 1995 to 2000. She is currently Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.-Pharmacy career:... - 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...
– Shane StoneShane StoneShane Leslie Stone AC, QC is an Australian political figure. From 26 May 1995 to 8 February 1999 he was Chief Minister of the Northern Territory, representing the Country Liberal Party.-Biography:Stone was born in Bendigo, Victoria...
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Peter Sinclair (until 29 February), then Gordon SamuelsGordon SamuelsGordon Jacob Samuels AC, CVO, QC , was a British-Australian lawyer, Judge and Governor of New South Wales from 1996 to 2001. Born in London in 1923, Samuels was educated at University College School and Balliol College, Oxford. After serving in the Second World War, he was called to the bar and...
- Governor of Queensland – Leneen Forde
- Governor of South Australia – Dame Roma MitchellRoma MitchellDame Roma Flinders Mitchell, AC, DBE, CVO, QC was an Australian lawyer, judge and state governor. Mitchell was the first Australian woman to be a judge, a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the Governor of an Australian state.Roma Mitchell was born in Adelaide in 1913,...
(until 21 July), then Sir Eric NealEric NealSir Eric James Neal AC CVO was the Governor of South Australia 1996-2001, Commissioner of Sydney from 1987 to 1988, and until the start of 2010, the Chancellor of Flinders University.... - Governor of Tasmania – Sir Guy Green
- Governor of Victoria – Richard McGarvieRichard McGarvieRichard Elgin McGarvie, AC, KStJ, QC was a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria and Governor of Victoria from 1992 to 1997.-Early life:...
- Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Michael JefferyMichael JefferyMajor General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC was the 24th Governor-General of Australia , the first Australian career soldier to be appointed governor-general... - Administrator of the Northern TerritoryAdministrator of the Northern TerritoryThe Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
– Austin AscheAustin AscheKeith John Austin Asche, AC, QC is a former Administrator of the Northern Territory and was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.-Early years, education and family:... - Administrator of Norfolk Island – Alan Gardner Kerr
Events
- 19 February – Rob Borbidge becomes Premier of Queensland after winning a by-election from the 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...
and winning the support of IndependentIndependent (politician)In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
MP Liz CunninghamLiz CunninghamElizabeth Anne "Liz" Cunningham is an Australian politician. She has been an independent member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 1995, representing the electorate of Gladstone...
. - 24 February – A state election is held 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...
. 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...
government of Ray GroomRay GroomRaymond John "Ray" Groom, AO is a lawyer and former Australian sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years...
is re-elected, however Groom's promise to only govern in a majority saw him resign. - 2 March – A federal election is held. 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...
coalitionCoalition (Australia)The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a group of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition agreement since 1922...
defeats the LaborAustralian 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...
government of Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
. - 11 March – John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
is sworn in as Australia's 25th 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...
. - 30 March – A state election is held in Victoria The Liberal/National coalition government of Jeff KennettJeff KennettJeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
is re-elected for a second term. - 4 April – The WigglesThe WigglesThe Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album...
' sixth album, Wake up JeffWake up JeffWake Up Jeff is The Wiggles' sixth album released in 1996. This album won the 1996 Aria Award for Best Children's Album.-Tracklist:# We Like to Say Hello - 1:58# Henry's Underwater Big Band - 2:31# Statue - 0:09# Everybody is Clever - 2:03...
is released. - 28 April – Port Arthur massacre: Martin BryantMartin BryantMartin Bryant is an Australian who has been convicted of murdering 35 people and injuring 21 others in the Port Arthur massacre, a shooting spree in Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, in 1996. He is currently serving 35 life sentences plus 1,035 years without parole in the psychiatric wing of...
kills 35 people and injures 21 in a shooting spree at the Port ArthurPort Arthur, TasmaniaPort Arthur is a small town and former convict settlement on the Tasman Peninsula, in Tasmania, Australia. Port Arthur is one of Australia's most significant heritage areas and the open air museum is officially Tasmania's top tourist attraction. It is located approximately 60 km south east of...
historic site 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...
. Bryant is captured the next day after an 18½ hour standoff with the Special Operations Group of the Tasmania PoliceSpecial Operations Group of the Tasmania PoliceThe Special Operations Group is the Police Tactical Group of the Australian Tasmania Police. SOG is a highly trained group within the Tasmania Police Service, made up of current serving Tasmania Police members from varied sections and branches.-Mission:...
. - 10 May – Prime Minister John Howard announces new gun controlGun controlGun control is any law, policy, practice, or proposal designed to restrict or limit the possession, production, importation, shipment, sale, and/or use of guns or other firearms by private citizens...
measures, which involve the banning of self-loading rifles, shotguns and pump-action shotguns, as well as tightening of other gun laws. - May – Floods in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales kill five people and cause more than A$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...
55 million in farm losses. - 12 June – Two Blackhawk Helicopters collide near TownsvilleTownsville, QueenslandTownsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Australia, in the state of Queensland. Adjacent to the central section of the Great Barrier Reef, it is in the dry tropics region of Queensland. Townsville is Australia's largest urban centre north of the Sunshine Coast, with a 2006 census...
, killing 18 people. - 1 July – The Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
legalises voluntary euthanasiaEuthanasiaEuthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. The legislation would be later be repealed by a conscience voteConscience voteA conscience vote or free vote is a type of vote in a legislative body where legislators are allowed to vote according to their own personal conscience rather than according to an official line set down by their political party....
in the federal 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...
in 1997. - 27 July - HMAS Collins; the first of the Collins Class Submarine, is officially commissioned into service by the RAN
- 6 August – The Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of StatisticsThe Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
conducts the 1996 National CensusCensus in AustraliaThe Australian census is administered once every five years by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The most recent census was conducted on 9 August 2011; the next will be conducted in 2016. Prior to the introduction of regular censuses in 1961, they had also been run in 1901, 1911, 1921, 1933,...
. - 6 September – The WigglesThe WigglesThe Wiggles are a children's group formed in Sydney, Australia in 1991. Their original members were Anthony Field, Phillip Wilcher, Murray Cook, Greg Page, and Jeff Fatt. Wilcher left the group after their first album...
' Wiggly Wiggly Christmas album is released. - 19 November – Martin Bryant is sentenced to 35 consecutive sentences of life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
plus 1,035 years without paroleParoleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
for the Port Arthur massacre. - 19 November – U.S PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
makes a visit to Australia in which he addresses both Houses of Parliament. - 28 November – Dean BrownDean BrownDean Craig Brown, AO was the Liberal Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 March 2002 to Rob Kerin.-Political career:...
is ousted in a party-room ballot as Premier of South Australia by John OlsenJohn OlsenJohn Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
. - 14 December – A state electionWestern Australian state election, 1996Elections were held in the state of Western Australia on 14 December 1996 to elect all 57 members to the Legislative Assembly and all 34 members to the Legislative Council...
is held 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...
. The Liberal/National coalition government of Richard CourtRichard CourtRichard Fairfax Court AC , was a Western Australian politician, representing the seat of Nedlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001.Court was born into an old political...
is re-elected.
Arts and literature
- Wendy SharpeWendy SharpeWendy Sharpe is an Australian artist. Winner of the Sulman Prize in 1986 with Black Sun - Morning and Night and the Archibald Prize in 1996 with Self Portrait - as Diana of Erskineville, she has entered the Archibald Prize at least 6 times and been hung at least 3 times...
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 Self Portrait – as Diana of Erskineville - William RobinsonWilliam Robinson (artist)William Robinson AO is an award-winning Australian painter and lithographer.Robinson studied art at the Central Technical College from 1955 to 1956. After graduating, he began working as an art instructor, eventually becoming head of the Painting Department at the Brisbane College of Advanced...
wins the Wynne PrizeWynne PrizeThe Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. One of Australia's longest running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne...
with Creation Landscape Earth and Sea - National Biography AwardNational Biography AwardThe National Biography Award, established in Australia in 1996, is awarded for the best published work of biographical or autobiographical writing by an Australian. It aims "to encourage the highest standards of writing biography and autobiography and to promote public interest in those genres". It...
established, first winner, Abraham Biderman for The world of my past - Highways to a WarHighways to a WarHighways to a War is a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Australian author Christopher Koch.In an interview in 2000, Koch noted that this novel, and his later work Out of Ireland, formed a diptych called Beware of the Past.-Plot summary:...
by Christopher KochChristopher KochChristopher John Koch, AO, Australian novelist, was born in Hobart in 1932. He has twice won the Miles Franklin Award. In 1995 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for contribution to Australian literature....
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
- Jessica RoweJessica RoweJessica Rowe is an Australian television news presenter. Rowe attended Sydney Girls High School in Sydney, and completed a Communications degree at Charles Sturt University in Bathurst. During her studies she was a broadcaster with on-campus community radio station 2MCE-FM...
joins Ten News Sydney in January to co-anchor with Ron Wilson for the next nine years. - Australian televisionAustralian televisionTelevision in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934....
celebrates its 40th birthday with celebrations lasting throughout the year. The actual birthday was on 16 September. - April – John BurgessJohn BurgessFor other persons named John Burgess, see John Burgess .John William Burgess was a pioneering American political scientist...
is shelved from the Seven Network after being long-time host of Wheel Of FortuneWheel of Fortune (Australian game show)Wheel of Fortune was an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The programme aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and November 2005 to July 2006, and is mostly based on the same general format as the original US version of the programme...
. The show begins to repeat the 1988 episodes. - July – Wheel Of FortuneWheel of Fortune (Australian game show)Wheel of Fortune was an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The programme aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and November 2005 to July 2006, and is mostly based on the same general format as the original US version of the programme...
returns and starts in mid 1996 with the relocation from AdelaideSAS-7SAS is a television station in Adelaide, South Australia. It is part of the Australian Seven Network.SAS-7 was originally known as SAS-10, commencing broadcasting on 26 July 1965. On 27 December 1987, SAS-10 and ADS-7 switched broadcast channels, ADS moving to channel 10, SAS moving to channel 7...
to SydneyATN-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...
. - August – After a court battle, the first series of FriendsFriendsFriends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
screens 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...
, almost two years after it premiered in the United States. Subsequent series is picked up by 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...
.
AFL
- 18 May – The Fitzroy Lions (16.11.107) defeat the Fremantle DockersFremantle Football ClubThe Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
(10.16.76) at the Whitten OvalWhitten OvalWhitten Oval is a stadium in the inner-western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia located at 417 Barkly Street, West Footscray. It is the training and administrative headquarters of the Western Bulldogs Football Club, which competes in the Australian Football League.Formerly known as the...
in what would be Fitzroy's final ever victory as a stand-alone club.
- 8 June – About 2/3 of the way into the 3rd quarter of the match between EssendonEssendon, VictoriaEssendon is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 10 km north-west from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley...
& the St Kilda Saints at Waverley ParkWaverley ParkWaverley Park was an Australian rules football stadium in Mulgrave, Victoria, Australia. For most of its history, its purpose was as a neutral venue and used by all Victorian based Victorian Football League/Australian Football League clubs. However, during the 1990s it became the home ground of...
, the ground lighting fails. The remainder of the game is played the following Tuesday, Essendon won, 13.11.89 to 9.13.67.
- 4 July – The AFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
teams endorse a merger between the Fitzroy Lions & the Brisbane BearsBrisbane BearsThe Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
.
- 17 August – FitzroyFitzroy Football ClubThe Fitzroy Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Lions, is an Australian rules football club formed in 1883 to represent the inner Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy, Victoria and was a foundation member club of the Victorian Football League on its inception in 1897...
& BrisbaneBrisbane BearsThe Brisbane Football Club, formerly nicknamed The Bears was an Australian rules football club and the first Queensland-based club in the Victorian Football League . The club played its first match in 1987, but struggled on and off the field until it made the finals for the first time in 1995...
play each other for the last time before merging. At Optus Oval, Brisbane win 29.13.187 to 14.16.100.
- 25 August – Fitzroy play their last game in 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...
, against the Richmond Tigers at the MCGMcGJoseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
. 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...
win, 28.19.187 to 5.6.36. Despite losing by 151 points, the Fitzroy song is played after the game and their fans flood the field.
- 1 September – Fitzroy play their last ever game of Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
as a stand-alone entity. Against FremantleFremantle Football ClubThe Fremantle Football Club, nicknamed The Dockers, is an Australian rules football team which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in the port city of Fremantle at the mouth of the Swan River in Western Australia...
at Subiaco OvalSubiaco OvalSubiaco Oval , known colloquially as Subi, is the highest capacity sports stadium in Perth, Western Australia...
, Fremantle win, 24.13.157 to 10.11.71.
- 21 September – Tony LockettTony LockettAnthony Howard "Tony" Lockett is a former Australian rules football player. Lockett is the highest goal scorer in the history of the VFL/AFL with 1,360 goals in a career of 281 games, that commenced in 1983 with the St Kilda Football Club, and finished in 2002 with the Sydney Swans...
kicks a memorable behind to ensure the SwanSwanSwans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae...
s (10.10.70) defeat the Essendon Bombers (10.9.69) & thus qualify for 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...
's first grand final appearance since 1945.
- 28 September – 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...
(19.17.131) defeat 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...
(13.10.88) to win the 100th VFL/AFLAustralian 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 KangarooKangarooA kangaroo is a marsupial from the family Macropodidae . In common use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of the genus Macropus, Red Kangaroo, Antilopine Kangaroo, Eastern Grey Kangaroo and Western Grey Kangaroo. Kangaroos are endemic to the country...
s third premiership and they are presented with the only gold premiership cup to mark the centenary season.
Cricket
- 17 March – Sri LankaSri Lankan cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team is the national cricket team of Sri Lanka. The team first played international cricket in 1926–27, and were later awarded Test status in 1981, which made Sri Lanka the eighth Test cricket playing nation...
win the Cricket World CupCricket World CupThe ICC Cricket World Cup is the premier international championship of men's One Day International cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council , with preliminary qualification rounds leading up to a finals tournament which is held every four years...
, defeating AustraliaAustralian cricket teamThe Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
in the final.
Rugby
- 23 February – Super LeagueSuper League (Australia)Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
's challenge to club loyalty contracts signed with the ARLAustralian Rugby LeagueThe Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
is ruled out of order & orders banning Super League until 2000 are made.
- 22 March – Clubs aligned with the Super League forfeit opening round of matches in the ARL competition.
- 26 May – Melbourne KnightsMelbourne KnightsMelbourne Knights Football Club is a football club representing Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Premier League . The club is one of the most successful football clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League...
win the NSLNational 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...
for the second season in a row, defeating minor premiers Marconi Fairfield 2–1 in the Final at Olympic ParkOlympic ParkAn Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics complex in the case of the summer games, or the main...
.
- 29 September – 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...
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,...
20–8 to win the 89th 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...
/ARL premiership.
- 4 October – The full bench of the Federal CourtFederal 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...
overturn the earlier decision to ban Super League, meaning the competition can start in 1997.
Motorsport
- 10 March – The first Australian Grand PrixAustralian Grand PrixThe Australian Grand Prix is a motor race held annually and is held to be the pinnacle of motor racing in Australia. The Grand Prix is the oldest surviving motor racing competition held in Australia having been held 76 times since it was first run at Phillip Island in 1928. Since 1985 the race has...
to be held at the AlbertAlbert ParkAlbert Park may refer to:In Australia:* Albert Park, Lismore, home to international baseball stadium Baxter Field* Albert Park, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne** Albert Park and Lake, the park itself...
ParkAlbert Park and LakeAlbert Park and Albert Park Lake are situated in the City of Port Phillip, Victoria, Australia, 3 km south of the Melbourne CBD....
grand prix circuitMelbourne Grand Prix CircuitThe Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit is a street circuit around Albert Park Lake, only a few kilometres south of central Melbourne. It is used annually as a racetrack for the Australian Grand Prix and associated support races.-Design:...
takes place. Damon HillDamon HillDamon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...
, of the WilliamsWilliamsF1Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
team wins.
Track And Field
- 7 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1995–1996 season, which are held at the Sydney Athletic Field 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...
. The 10,000 metre championship was conducted at the Zatopek Meet in Melbourne, Victoria on 14 December 1995.
- 21 July – Magnus Michelsson wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:20:20 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 Sylvia RoseSylvia RoseSylvia Rose is a German rowing coxswain.- References :* at sports-reference.com...
claims the women's title in 2:40:17.
Racing
- 5 November – SaintlySaintlySaintly was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who was named Australia's champion racehorse in 1997. A giant chestnut gelding by Sky Chase out of All Grace , he was bred by his trainer, Bart Cummings, who owned him in partnership with a Malaysian businessman, Dato Tan Chin Nam.Saintly gained...
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...
giving Bart CummingsBart CummingsJames Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times....
his 10th win as a trainer.
Deaths
- 28 March – Peter DombrovskisPeter DombrovskisPeter Dombrovskis was an Australian photographer, most notably of Tasmanian scenes. In 2003 he was the only Australian photographer inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame....
, 51, photographer - 28 August – Beverley WhitfieldBeverley WhitfieldBeverley Joy Whitfield was an Australian breaststroke swimmer of the 1970s, who won a gold medal in the 200 m breaststroke at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich...
, 42, swimmer