1999 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- MonarchMonarchy in AustraliaThe Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
– Elizabeth II - Governor-General – 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...
– 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 – Peter BeattiePeter BeattiePeter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
- Premier of South Australia – 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 – Jim BaconJim BaconJames Alexander Bacon, AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1998 to 2004.-Early life:Bacon was born in Melbourne; his father Frank, a doctor, died when Jim was twelve, leaving him to be raised by his mother Joan. He was educated at Scotch College and later at Monash University, but he did not graduate....
- 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...
(until 19 October), then Steve BracksSteve BracksStephen Philip Bracks AC is a former Australian politician and the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Australian Labor Party, and was party leader and Premier from 1999 to 2007.... - 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...
(until 8 February), then Denis Burke. - Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – George Charles Smith
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – 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 – Peter ArnisonPeter ArnisonMajor General Peter Maurice Arnison AC CVO, , was Governor of Queensland from July 1997 until July 2003. He graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1962, and retired from the Australian Army in 1996...
- Governor of South Australia – 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 – Sir James GobboJames GobboSir James Augustine Gobbo, AC, CVO, KStJ, QC was an Australian jurist and was the 25th Governor of Victoria.-Family:...
- 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...
– Neil Conn - Administrator of Norfolk Island – Tony MessnerTony MessnerAnthony John Messner AO is a former Australian politician and minister.Messner was born in Melbourne and educated at a state primary school in Queensland, Pulteney Grammar School, Adelaide and the South Australian Institute of Technology.Messner was elected as a Senator for South Australia at the...
Events
- 27 March – 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...
government of Bob Carr is re-elected in 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...
. - 14 April – A massive hailstorm1999 Sydney hailstormThe 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian insurance history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales...
hits Sydney, with most of the damage being centred on the Eastern SuburbsEastern Suburbs (Sydney)The Eastern Suburbs is a general term used to describe the metropolitan area directly to the east and south-east of the Sydney central business district in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Eastern Suburbs can refer to the suburbs within the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Dover...
. It is the second most costliest natural disaster in Australian history, causing $1.7 billion in insured damages. - 11 May – The biotechnologyBiotechnologyBiotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
industry receives a record $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...
800 million in the federal budget. - 21 May – Eight decaying bodies are found in barrels in a disused bank vault north of AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, marking the beginning of the Snowtown murdersSnowtown murdersThe Snowtown murders, also known as the Bodies in Barrels murders, were the murders of 11 people in South Australia, Australia between August 1992 and May 1999...
case, which were Australia's worst ever serial killings. More bodies were found underneath a house in Adelaide on 26 May. - 28 June – The GSTGoods and Services Tax (Australia)The GST is a broad sales tax of 10% on most goods and services transactions in Australia. It is a value added tax, not a sales tax, in that it is refunded to all parties in the chain of production other than the final consumer....
bill is passed through the SenateAustralian SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
, with the help of most of the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
, in exchange for exemptions on fresh food. - 30 June – Tim FischerTim FischerTimothy Andrew Fischer, AC , is a former Australian politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister in the Howard Government from 1996 before retiring from Cabinet in 1999...
retires as federal leader of 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...
& is replaced by John AndersonJohn Anderson (Australian politician)John Duncan Anderson AO is a former Australian politician. He served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and Leader of the rural-based National Party of Australia from July 1999 to July 2005.-Early years:...
the next day. - 27 July – A canyoning disaster at Saxetenbach GorgeSaxetenbach GorgeSaxetenbach Gorge is a narrow ravine near Interlaken above Lake Brienz in Switzerland.-1999 Accident:While there are many ravines of this size in Switzerland, Saxetenbach is remembered for the events of July 27, 1999 when a group of tourists canyoning in the ravine were drowned by a flash flood...
near InterlakenInterlakenInterlaken is a municipality in the Interlaken-Oberhasli administrative district in the Canton of Bern in Switzerland, a well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland.-History:...
in Switzerland. 21 tourists, 14 of them Australian, are killed. - 26 August – The 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...
creates a controversy when he avoids the use of the word 'sorry' when a motion was tabled 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...
expressing 'deep & sincere regret that indigenous AustraliansIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
suffered injustices under the practises of past generations'. - 30 August – East TimorEast TimorThe Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
votes for independence from IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. In the violence that follows, Australia is a major contributor of peacekeepingPeacekeepingPeacekeeping is an activity that aims to create the conditions for lasting peace. It is distinguished from both peacebuilding and peacemaking....
forces. - 18 September – In a shock result, Steve Bracks & 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...
form a minority governmentMinority governmentA minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
with three rural independents to oust the ruling 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...
/National coalitionCoalitionA coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant...
government of Jeff Kennett in VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. - 3 November – The Reserve BankReserve Bank of AustraliaThe Reserve Bank of Australia came into being on 14 January 1960 as Australia's central bank and banknote issuing authority, when the Reserve Bank Act 1959 removed the central banking functions from the Commonwealth Bank to it....
announce an interest rateInterest rateAn interest rate is the rate at which interest is paid by a borrower for the use of money that they borrow from a lender. For example, a small company borrows capital from a bank to buy new assets for their business, and in return the lender receives interest at a predetermined interest rate for...
increase of 0.25%, the first since 1994. - 6 November – A referendum is held to determine whether Australia should become a republicRepublicA republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
& whether a preamblePreambleA preamble is an introductory and expressionary statement in a document that explains the document's purpose and underlying philosophy. When applied to the opening paragraphs of a statute, it may recite historical facts pertinent to the subject of the statute...
is inserted into the constitutionConstitution of AustraliaThe Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
recognising the Aborigines as Australia's first people. The 'no' vote scores 54% on the republic question & 60% on the preamble question. - 14 November – In response to the growing number of illegal immigrants, most of whom arrived by boatBoatA boat is a watercraft of any size designed to float or plane, to provide passage across water. Usually this water will be inland or in protected coastal areas. However, boats such as the whaleboat were designed to be operated from a ship in an offshore environment. In naval terms, a boat is a...
, the government allows 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...
to board vessels in international watersInternational watersThe terms international waters or trans-boundary waters apply where any of the following types of bodies of water transcend international boundaries: oceans, large marine ecosystems, enclosed or semi-enclosed regional seas and estuaries, rivers, lakes, groundwater systems , and wetlands.Oceans,...
. On 23 November, refugees were barred from seeking asylum in they had lived somewhere else for more than seven days or had the right to live somewhere else.
Arts & Literature
- Murray BailMurray BailMurray Bail is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and non-fiction.He was born in Adelaide, South Australia. He has lived most of his life in Australia except for sojourns in India and England and Europe...
's novel EucalyptusEucalyptus (novel)Eucalyptus is a novel by Australian novelist Murray Bail. The book won the 1999 Miles Franklin Award and the 1999 Commonwealth Writers' Prize.-Plot introduction:...
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
- 1 February – QSTV becomes an affiliate of 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...
, becoming known as Seven Central. - March – WIN TelevisionWIN TelevisionWIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
WA commences broadcasting to regionalRegional television in AustraliaRegional television is a term given to local television services in areas outside of the five main Australian cities .-1960s:...
& remote Western Australia, ending the long-time monopoly held by Golden West NetworkGolden West NetworkGWN7 is an Australian television network owned by the Prime Media Group that is based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The Golden West Network launched on 10 March 1967 as BTW-3 in Bunbury, and has since expanded to cover regional and remote Western Australia, servicing all areas except metropolitan...
. - The Seven Network becomes the first 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....
network to introduce a watermark on its programs, although the watermark is not allowed to be broadcast on news or current affairs programs or Deal Or No Deal from 2004 onwards. - 27 November – The last ever episode of 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...
goes to air.
Sport
- 14 February – Stadium Australia is opened to the public for the first time.
- 6 March – A world record crowd of 104,583 attend the first rugby league matches held at Stadium Australia. The Newcastle KnightsNewcastle KnightsThe Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesManly-Warringah Sea EaglesThe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
41–10 & 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 Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra DragonsThe St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
20–10 in what is also the joint venture team's first match. - 18 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1998–1999 season, which are held at the 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...
in Melbourne, Victoria. The 10,000 metres was conducted at the Zatopek Classic, Melbourne on 5 December 1998. The men's decathlon event was staged at the Hobart Grand Prix on 25 February-27. - 5 May – South MelbourneSouth Melbourne FCSouth Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...
become National Soccer LeagueNational Soccer LeagueThe National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
Champions for a record equaling 4th time, defeating Sydney UnitedSydney UnitedSydney United Football Club are an Australian football club from Sydney, Australia, established in 1957 by Croatian Australians in the area...
2–1 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...
. - 6 June – 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...
becomes the greatest goalscorer in VFL/AFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
history by overtaking Gordon CoventryGordon CoventryGordon "Nuts" Coventry was an Australian rules footballer who played for Collingwood Football Club in the Victorian Football League . With 1,299 goals over 18 seasons, Coventry remains one of the greatest full forwards the game has ever seen...
's long held record of 1299 career goals when he scores career goal number 1300 against the Collingwood Magpies at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
. Tony Lockett announces his retirement on 14 August. - 20 June – 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...
wins the 1999 Cricket World Cup1999 Cricket World Cup-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
, defeating PakistanPakistani cricket teamThe Pakistan cricket team is the national cricket team of Pakistan. Pakistan, represented by the Pakistan Cricket Board , is a full member of the International Cricket Council, and thus participates in , and cricket matches....
in the final. - 11 July – Shaun CreightonShaun CreightonShaun William Creighton is a retired Australian long-distance runner.-Achievements:-Personal bests:*1500 metres - 3:38.59 min *Mile run - 3:59.46 min *3000 metres - 7:41.60 min...
wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:16:03 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 Carolyn Schuwalow claims her second women's title in 2:41:39. - 27 July – Foundation clubs the Balmain TigersBalmain TigersThe Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
& Western Suburbs MagpiesWestern Suburbs MagpiesThe Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
vote to form the game's second joint venture team, the Wests TigersWests TigersThe Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
. The team start playing as a joint venture in 2000. - 13 August – The Adelaide ThunderbirdsAdelaide ThunderbirdsThe Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...
defeat the Adelaide Ravens 62–30 in the Commonwealth Bank TrophyCommonwealth Bank TrophyThe Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...
netball grand final - 28 August - Victoria ParkVictoria Park, MelbourneVictoria Park is a sports venue in Abbotsford a suburb of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia. Built for the purpose of both Australian rules football and cricket, the stadium is oval shaped....
hosts its last VFL/AFL match when the Brisbane LionsBrisbane LionsThe Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
(13.16.94) defeat Collingwood (8.4.52) - 29 August - 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...
hosts its last VFL/AFL match when 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...
(23.15.153) defeats 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...
(11.2.68) - 18 September – In one of the classic matches 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...
, the Carlton Blues (16.8.104) defeat the Essendon Bombers (14.19.103) in the preliminary final. - 25 September – The KangaroosKangaroos 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...
(19.10.124) defeat the CarltonCarlton, VictoriaCarlton is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
Blues (12.17.89) to win the 103rd VFL/AFL premiership. It is the first all-Victorian grand final since 1995 & the first time the cup has not been won by the Adelaide Crows since 1996. - 26 September – A new world record crown for 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 set when 107,961 people attend the first National Rugby LeagueNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
grand final held at Stadium Australia. In one of the most memorable & controversial grand finals in history, the Melbourne StormMelbourne StormThe Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
, in just their second season of existence, defeat the St George Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra DragonsThe St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
20–18. The final outcome is determined when a penalty try is given to 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...
's Craig SmithCraig SmithCraig Smith is an American professional basketball player who was most recently member of the Los Angeles Clippers...
. Melbourne's win means that both the AFL trophy & NRL trophy have been won by teams from the same city for the first time. - 3 October – In the third year of the split in the organisation of the Bathurst 1000Bathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
the traditional race was held for the last time and won by Paul MorrisPaul Morris (motorsport)Paul Morris is a V8 Supercar racecar driver.-Early career:Paul Morris started his motor racing career at the age of 19 in 1987, driving in the Queensland Gemini Series. He won Rookie of the Year in his debut season, and won the state championship the following year. He spent the next three years...
as the Bathurst 5001999 Bob Jane T-Marts 500The 1999 Bob Jane T-Marts 500 was the 37th and last touring car endurance race run by the Australian Racing Driver's Club at the Mount Panorama Circuit, which had included the Bathurst 1000...
was declared after just 310 of the scheduled 500 kilometres due to unrelenting rain. It was a justification for Morris and the BMW team after being disqualified from victory two years ago. - 10 October – South SydneySouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
supporters rally through the streets of Sydney to protest against the rationalisation of the NRL to 14 teams for 2000. - 15 October – The South Sydney RabbitohsSouth Sydney RabbitohsThe South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
are put in lockdown for 2000. - 2 November – Rogan JoshRogan Josh (horse)Rogan Josh is an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse, who won the 1999 Melbourne Cup when ridden by John Marshall for the trainer Bart Cummings.Rogan Josh was purchased for $13,000 by owner Wendy Green and began his racing career in Western Australia...
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...
. - 6 November – AustraliaAustralia national rugby union teamThe Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
wins the 19991999 Rugby World CupThe 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup, and the first to be held in rugby union's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland and Ireland...
Rugby World CupRugby World CupThe Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
, defeating FranceFrance national rugby union teamThe France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...
35–12 in the final. - 14 November – Steven RichardsSteven RichardsSteven Richards is a New Zealand racing driver, currently competing in the with the team. He previously raced in the V8 Supercar series for Ford Performance Racing....
successfully defended his FAI Bathurst 10001999 FAI 1000The 1999 FAI 1000 was an endurance race for V8 Supercars. The event was held on November 14, 1999 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and was the thirteenth and final round of the 1999 Shell Championship Series....
crown with co-driver Greg MurphyGreg MurphyGreg Murphy is a racing driver, best known as a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000. Greg Murphy joined Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond presenting Top Gear, when it had its first international Live show at ASB Showgrounds in Auckland from February 12 - 15th 2009, and again when the show...
for Gibson Motor SportGibson Motor SportGibson Motor Sport was an Australian motor racing team. Originally established by Howard Marsden as the in-house factory Nissan motorsport operation, the team later passed into the ownership of Fred Gibson., who had won the 1967 Bathurst 500 as a driver, sharing with Harry Firth. In 1993 the team...
. It was the third and final win for the GMS team.
Unknown Dates
- Australia wins the 1999 Netball World Championships1999 Netball World ChampionshipsThe 1999 World Netball Championships was the tenth staging of the World Netball Championships, the premier tournament in international netball, held every four years. The 1999 tournament was held in Christchurch, New Zealand and was contested by 24 teams. All matches were held at the Westpac...
, defeating New Zealand in the final.
Births
- 20 July - Princess Alexandra of Hanover (b. 1999)
- 7 December - Bethany WhitmoreBethany WhitmoreBethany Whitmore is an Australian child actress, best known for portraying Jaden Kagan in the TV mini-series The Starter Wife...
, actress - 26 January - Jemima Tilly (1999)
Deaths
- 6 February – Don DunstanDon DunstanDonald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
, former Premier of South Australia (b. 1926) - 24 April – Arthur BoydArthur BoydArthur Merric Bloomfield Boyd, AC, OBE was one of the leading Australian painters of the late 20th Century. A member of the prominent Boyd artistic dynasty in Australia, his relatives included painters, sculptors, architects or other arts professionals. His sister Mary Boyd married John Perceval,...
, painter (b. 1920) - 21 May – Colin HayesColin HayesColin Sidney Hayes was a champion trainer of thoroughbred racehorses based in Adelaide, Australia.During his career he trained 5,333 winners including 524 individual Group or Listed winners. He won 28 Adelaide and 13 Melbourne Trainers' Premierships.-Early days:Colin was born in Semaphore, South...
, champion trainer of thoroughbred racehorses (b. 1924) - 6 June – Anne HaddyAnne HaddyAnne Haddy was an Australian film and television actress, best known for her role in the long-running soap opera, Neighbours.-Early and personal life:...
, actress (b. 1930) - 25 June – Sir Peter AbelesPeter AbelesSir Peter Emil Herbert Abeles, AC was an Australian transportation magnate. A refugee from Hungary, he became one of the most powerful businessmen in Australia, and was knighted in 1972.-Life:...
, businessman (b. 1924) - 28 July – Doris CarterDoris CarterDoris Jessie Carter OBE was an Australian athlete who specialised in the high jump. She was the first Australian female track and field athlete to make an Olympic Games final....
, athlete (b. 1912) - 23 September – Ivan GoffIvan GoffIvan Goff was an Australian screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Ben Roberts including White Heat , The Man of a Thousand Faces and the pilot for Charlie's Angels .-Biography:...
, screenwriter (b. 1910) - 27 October - Harry KadwellHarry KadwellHarry "Mick" Kadwell was an Australian professional rugby league footballer of the 1920s and 30s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative fullback who later moved to the halves, he played his club football for South Sydney with whom he won the 1927 and 1928 NSWRFL...
, rugby league footballer (age 96) - 29 October – Eric ReeceEric ReeceEric Elliott Reece, AC was Premier of Tasmania on two occasions: from 26 August 1958 to 26 May 1969, and from 3 May 1972 to 31 March 1975.-Biography:...
, Premier of Tasmania (b. 1909)