2009 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...
– Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,... - 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...
– Quentin BryceQuentin BryceQuentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland.... - 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...
– Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
Premiers and Chief Ministers
- Premier of New South Wales – Nathan ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
(until 4 December), then Kristina KeneallyKristina KeneallyKristina Kerscher Keneally MP, is an Australian politician and was the 42nd Premier of New South Wales. She was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and thus Premier in 2009, but went on to lose government to the Liberal/National Coalition at the March 2011 state election... - Premier of South Australia – Mike RannMike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
- Premier of Queensland – Anna BlighAnna BlighAnna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
- Premier of Tasmania – David BartlettDavid BartlettDavid John Bartlett is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison from 2004 to 2011.-Early life:He has been a resident...
- 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...
– Colin BarnettColin BarnettColin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008... - Premier of Victoria – John BrumbyJohn BrumbyJohn Mansfield Brumby , is an Australian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became Premier after the resignation of Steve Bracks. He also served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He contested his first election...
- 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...
– Jon StanhopeJon StanhopeJonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as... - Chief Minister of the Northern TerritoryChief Minister of the Northern TerritoryThe Chief Minister of the Northern Territory is appointed by the Administrator, who in normal circumstances will appoint the head of whatever party holds the majority of seats in the legislature of the territory...
– Paul HendersonPaul Henderson (Australian politician)Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical... - Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – Andre NobbsAndre NobbsAndre Neville Nobbs is a political figure from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.He was elected to the Norfolk Island legislative Assembly in 2010 to become the Minister for Tourism, Industry and Development.-Chief Minister of Norfolk Island:...
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Marie BashirMarie BashirMarie Roslyn Bashir AC, CVO is the present Governor of New South Wales since 2001 and also the Chancellor of the University of Sydney since 2007. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular...
- Governor of South Australia – Kevin ScarceKevin ScarceRear Admiral Kevin John Scarce, AC, CSC, RANR is a retired officer of the Royal Australian Navy and the Governor of South Australia. He succeeded Marjorie Jackson-Nelson as Governor on 8 August 2007...
- Governor of Queensland – Penelope WensleyPenelope WensleyPenelope "Penny" Anne Wensley, AC is the Governor of Queensland and a former Australian diplomat.Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, she was educated at Penrith High School in New South Wales, the Rosa Bassett School in London , and the University of Queensland where she graduated with a first class...
- Governor of Tasmania – Peter Underwood
- 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;...
– Ken MichaelKen MichaelKenneth Comninos Michael, AC was the 32nd Governor of Western Australia, succeeding Lieutenant-General John Sanderson.His vice-regal appointment was announced on 6 June 2005 by the then Premier Geoff Gallop and he was sworn in at Government House, Perth on 18 January 2006 by the Chief Justice of... - Governor of Victoria – David de KretserDavid de KretserDavid Morritz de Kretser, AC is an Australian medical researcher and a former Governor of Victoria from 2006 to 2011.-Biography:...
- 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...
– Tom PaulingTom PaulingThomas Ian "Tom" Pauling, AO, QC is an Australian lawyer who is currently serving as Administrator of the Northern Territory.... - Administrator of Norfolk Island – Owen WalshOwen WalshOwen Edward John Walsh is the current Administrator of the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.Walsh was educated at the University of Tasmania, from which he graduated with degrees in Arts and Law...
January
- 2 January to 8 January – Violence strikes the Housing NSW estate in RosemeadowRosemeadow, New South WalesRosemeadow is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Rosemeadow is located 56 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Campbelltown and is part of the Macarthur region....
. The estate is due to be demolished. - 4 January – Torrential downpours in north western Queensland cause flooding in CloncurryCloncurry, Queensland-Notable residents:*Writer Alexis Wright grew up in Cloncurry.*Association Footballer Kasey Wehrman was born in Cloncurry . He went on to play domestically and in Scandinavia. His achievements include winning a NSL Championship in 1996-1997 with the Brisbane Strikers and being capped several times...
and Mount IsaMount Isa, Queensland-Culture and sport:The local theatre group, the Mount Isa Theatrical Society, or MITS, often holds plays and musicals, at least once every few months or so....
. - 16 January – Trooper Mark DonaldsonMark DonaldsonMark Gregor Strang Donaldson VC is the first recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia, awarded for gallantry, the highest award in the Australian honours system. He is the first Australian recipient of a Victoria Cross since Keith Payne in 1969...
is awarded the Victoria Cross for AustraliaVictoria Cross for AustraliaThe Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian Honours System, superseding the Victoria Cross for issue to Australians...
for actions in Oruzgan provinceOruzgan ProvinceOrūzgān or Urōzgān , also spelled Uruzgan or Rōzgān , is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the center of the country, though the area is culturally and tribally linked to Kandahar in the south. Its capital is Tarin Kowt...
during Operation SlipperOperation SlipperOperation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force contribution to the war in Afghanistan. The operation commenced in late 2001 and is ongoing...
, the Australian contribution to the War in AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
. - 28 to 31 January – Southeastern Australia swelters in a 1 in 100 year heatwave.
- 29 January – Victoria 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...
arrest a Melbourne man for murder, after he allegedly throws his four-year-old daughter off the West Gate BridgeWest Gate BridgeThe West Gate Bridge is a steel box girder cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It spans the Yarra River, just north of its mouth into Port Phillip, and is a vital link between the inner city and Melbourne's western suburbs with the industrial suburbs in the west and with the city...
.
February
- 3 February – Justice Virginia BellVirginia BellVirginia "Ding Dong" Bell is a topless model and actress. She started her career in the 1950s as a burlesque dancer....
is sworn in as a puisne judgePuisne JusticeA Puisne Justice or Puisne Judge is the title for a regular member of a Court. This is distinguished from the head of the Court who is known as the Chief Justice or Chief Judge. The term is used almost exclusively in common law jurisdictions such as England, Australia, Kenya, Canada, Sri Lanka,...
of the High Court of AustraliaHigh Court of AustraliaThe High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
, replacing Justice Michael Kirby who retired the previous day. - 3 February – Prime Minister Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
unveils a second economic stimulus package to the value of A$42 billion. - 4 February – Heavy rain causes major flooding at InghamIngham, QueenslandIngham is a town in the Great Green Way region of North Queensland, Australia. The town was founded in 1864, gazetted a shire in 1879, and is the service centre for many sugarcane plantations, pioneered in the 1870s by William Ingham, for whom the town is named...
in north Queensland. - 7 February – Bushfires in Victoria kill 173 people in what are not only the nation's worst ever bushfires, surpassing the record set by Ash WednesdayAsh Wednesday firesThe Ash Wednesday bushfires, known in South Australia as Ash Wednesday II, were a series of bushfires that occurred in south-eastern Australia on 16 February 1983. Within twelve hours, more than 180 fires fanned by winds of up to 110 km per hour caused widespread destruction across the states...
in 1983, but also the nation's worst peacetime disaster since Cyclone MahinaCyclone MahinaCyclone Mahina struck Bathurst Bay, Australia and the surrounding region with a devastating storm surge on 4 March 1899, killing over 400 people, the largest death toll of any natural disaster in Australian history.-Intensity:...
in 1899. - 22 February – Australia observes a National Day of Mourning in remembrance of the 209 (later revised downwards to 173) people who perished in the Victorian bushfires.
- 25 February – Pacific BrandsPacific BrandsPacific Brands is a major Australian company marketing Berlei, Bonds, Clarks , Dunlop, Everlast, Grosby, Holeproof, Hush Puppies, King Gee, Malvern Star, Sheridan, Slazenger, Sleepmaker and Tontine . It once held the Asian Pacific licence for British Knights footwear. It was formed as a division of...
announces it is ceasing manufacturing operations in Australia, at a cost of 1,850 jobs.
March
- 6 March – An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter Scale occurred at 8:55pm (AEDT) 96 kilometres South East of Melbourne CBD, north of the town of Korumburra. It was put at a depth of 15 kilometres. No injuries or serious damage was reported. It was felt 120 kilometres away from the epicentre.
- 7 March – Cyclone HamishCyclone Hamish (2009)Severe Tropical Cyclone Hamish was the first Category 5 cyclone within the Australian region since Cyclone George in 2007. The seventeenth tropical low and eight named storm of the 2008–09 Australian region cyclone season, Hamish developed out of an area of low pressure on 4 March near the Cape...
, the first category 5 cyclone since Cyclone GeorgeCyclone GeorgeSevere Tropical Cyclone George was the third tropical cyclone to affect the Australian region and the first to affect Western Australia in 2007...
in 2007, makes landfall in central 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...
killing at least two people. - 11 March – The cargo ship MV Pacific AdventurerMV Pacific AdventurerPacific Mariner formerly, MV Pacific Adventurer is a 1123 TEU geared multi-purpose container ship that gained notoriety after causing Queensland's largest oil spill on the east coast of Australia in March 2009. The ship is owned by Swire Shipping and registered in Hong Kong...
leaks about 230,000 litres of fuel oil2009 southeast Queensland oil spillThe 2009 southeast Queensland oil spill occurred on 11 March 2009 off the coast of southeast Queensland, Australia, in which 230 tonnes of fuel oil, 30 tonnes of other fuel and 31 shipping containers of ammonium nitrate spilled into the Coral Sea, north of Moreton Bay during Cyclone Hamish after...
along 60 km of southern 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...
's coast after battling a cyclone. - 14 March – The Victorian bushfires are officially declared contained.
- 18 March – Another earthquake measuring magnitude 4.5 on the Richter Scale occurred north of the town of Korumburra, 96 kilometres South East of Melbourne CBD and put at a depth of 15 kilometres. It occurred at 4:28pm (AEDT) but like the other one that occurred 12 days earlier, No injuries or serious damage was received. It was felt 120 kilometres away from the epicentre.
- 20 March – Marcus EinfeldMarcus EinfeldMarcus Richard Einfeld is a retired Australian justice of the Federal Court of Australia and the Supreme Courts of New South Wales, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory; a former President of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission; a UNICEF Ambassador for Children; a...
(former superior court judge) is sentenced to 3 years in jail for perjuryPerjuryPerjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
. - 21 March – A Sydney film crew claims to be 100% certain of the finding of Sir Charles Kingsford Smith'sCharles Kingsford SmithSir Charles Edward Kingsford Smith MC, AFC , often called by his nickname Smithy, was an early Australian aviator. In 1928, he earned global fame when he made the first trans-Pacific flight from the United States to Australia...
plane Lady Southern CrossLady Southern CrossThe Lady Southern Cross was a Lockheed Altair monoplane owned by Australian pioneer aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith.In this aircraft, Kingsford Smith made the first eastward trans-Pacific flight from Australia to the United States, in October and November of 1934.-Delivery:In April 1934,...
in the Bay of BengalBay of BengalThe Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
. - 21 March – Anna BlighAnna BlighAnna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
claims victory in the Queensland state electionQueensland state election, 2009The Queensland state election was held to elect members to the unicameral Parliament of Queensland on 21 March 2009. The election saw the incumbent Labor government led by Premier Anna Bligh defeat the Liberal National Party of Queensland led by Opposition Leader Lawrence Springborg, and gain a...
and becomes the country's first elected female Premier. - 22 March – A member of the Hells Angels is killed in a clash between the Hell's AngelsHells AngelsThe Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
and ComancheroComanchero Motorcycle ClubThe Comanchero Motorcycle Club is an outlaw motorcycle gang in Australia, with chapters in Strathfield and Erskine Park. The Commancheros are participants in the United Motorcycle Council of NSW, which has recently convened a conference aimed at addressing legislation aimed against the "bikie"...
motorcycle gangs in the terminal at Sydney AirportSydney AirportSydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...
. - 31 March – Torrential rain around the mid-north New South Wales coast leaves thousands stranded and forces people from over 100 properties to evacuate in the Coffs Harbour area.
April
- 7 April – The Australian governmentGovernment of AustraliaThe Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
announces that it has terminated the request for proposalRequest for ProposalA request for proposal is issued at an early stage in a procurement process, where an invitation is presented for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service. The RFP process brings structure to the procurement decision and is meant to...
for the National Broadband NetworkNational Broadband NetworkThe National Broadband Network is a national wholesale-only, open-access data network under development in Australia. Up to one gigabit per second connections are sold to retail service providers , who then sell Internet access and other services to consumers...
, and that the network will be built as a public private partnership. - 16 April – An explosion on a boat carrying AfghanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
asylum seekers kills 5 and injures 34 off the coast of 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...
. - 16 April – Two adults and a child are killed when a V/LineV/LineV/Line is a not for profit regional passenger train and coach service in Victoria, Australia. It was created after the split-up of VicRail in 1983. V/Line is owned by the V/Line Corporation which is a Victorian State Government statutory authority...
bus rolls in Heathmere, 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....
.
May
- 9 May – The first case of swine flu in Australia is confirmed in 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...
. - 11 May – The Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
television program Four Corners presents a report titled "Code of Silence" about alleged sexual misconduct by 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...
players, leading to a public debate on professional sportsman and group sex. - 12 May – TreasurerTreasurer of AustraliaThe Treasurer of Australia is the minister in the Government of Australia responsible for government expenditure and revenue raising. He is the head of the Department of the Treasury. The Treasurer plays a key role in the economic policy of the government...
Wayne SwanWayne SwanWayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
hands down the 2009 Australian federal budget2009 Australian federal budgetThe 2009 to 2010 Australian federal budget was released on 12 May 2009 by the Treasurer of Australia, Wayne Swan. Swan has commented that the budget will be tougher than in previous years...
. - 16 May – A plebiscite on daylight saving 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...
following a three-year trial fails on a No vote of 54.56%. On the same day, a by-electionFremantle state by-election, 2009A by-election was held in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly district of Fremantle on 16 May 2009. It was triggered by the resignation of sitting member Jim McGinty.The Labor Party was defending a seat that they had held continuously since 1924...
in the Western Australian state seat of FremantleElectoral district of FremantleFremantle is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Western Australia.The district is located in the inner south-west of Perth, centring on the port of Fremantle....
produces a victory for Greens WA candidate Adele CarlesAdele CarlesAdele Simone Carles is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly since May 2009, representing the electorate of Fremantle. Initially elected as a Greens WA member, she resigned from the party on 6 May 2010 to sit as an independent...
. - 21– 22 May – Following 48 hours of torrential rain, 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...
and other parts of South East QueenslandSouth East QueenslandSouth East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
and the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales are affected by major flooding, said to be the worst since the Brisbane RiverBrisbane RiverThe Brisbane River is the longest river in south east Queensland, Australia, and flows through the city of Brisbane, before emptying into Moreton Bay. John Oxley was the first European to explore the river who named it after the Governor of New South Wales, Thomas Brisbane in 1823...
broke its bank in the 1974 Brisbane flood1974 Brisbane floodThe 1974 Brisbane flood occurred in January 1974 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, when waterways in the city experienced significant flooding...
.
June
- 4 June – Joel FitzgibbonJoel FitzgibbonJoel Andrew Fitzgibbon is an Australian politician and Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives since March 1996, representing the Division of Hunter in New South Wales. From December 2007 to June 2009 he was the Minister for Defence in the Rudd Ministry...
resigns as Minister for DefenceMinister for Defence (Australia)The Minister for Defence of Australia administers his portfolio through the Australian Defence Organisation, which comprises the Department of Defence and the Australian Defence Force. Stephen Smith is the current Minister.-Ministers for Defence:...
after admitting to a breach of the Ministerial Code of Conduct. - 15 June – Des Moran, a member of Melbourne's notorious Moran familyMoran familyThe Moran family is an infamous Melbourne-based criminal family, notable for their involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings. Family matriarch Judy Moran lost two sons, Jason and Mark, estranged husband Lewis, and brother-in-law Des to an underworld feud that resulted in the deaths of over 30...
and brother of Lewis MoranLewis MoranLewis Moran was an Australian organized crime figure and patriarch of the infamous Moran family of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Notable for his involvement in the Melbourne gangland killings, Moran was shot dead in a Melbourne hotel The Brunswick Club in 2004...
, is shot deadMelbourne gangland killingsThe Melbourne gangland killings were the murders in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia of 36 criminal figures or partners between 16 January 1998 and 13 August 2010. The murders were in a series of retributional murders involving various underworld groups. The deaths caused a sustained power vacuum...
in Ascot ValeAscot Vale, VictoriaAscot Vale is a suburb 7 km north-west of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Its Local Government Area is the City of Moonee Valley. At the 2006 Census, Ascot Vale had a population of 12,398....
. - 19 June – Australia's first swine flu2009 flu pandemic in AustraliaAs of 21 October 2009, Australia has 36,991 confirmed cases of H1N1 Influenza 09 and 186 confirmed deaths due to the disease. The actual numbers are much larger, as only serious cases are being tested and treated. Suspected cases have not been reported by the Department of Health and Ageing since...
-related fatality occurs when a 26-year-old West Australian man dies in Adelaide.
July
- 5 July – An Australian mining executive for the Rio Tinto GroupRio Tinto GroupThe Rio Tinto Group is a diversified, British-Australian, multinational mining and resources group with headquarters in London and Melbourne. The company was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the...
, Stern HuStern HuStern Hu is an Australian businessman of Chinese origin. He was formerly an executive of Rio Tinto mining group in Shanghai, China prior to his trial. He graduated from Peking University before obtaining Australian citizenship in 1994.- Arrest in China :...
, is detained in ShanghaiShanghaiShanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
facing accusations of stealing state secretsRio Tinto espionage caseThe Rio Tinto espionage case began with the arrest on 5 July 2009, of four staff in the Shanghai office of the Rio Tinto Group, in the People's Republic of China, who were subsequently accused of bribery and espionage. Two days later, an import executive of the Shougang Group and Laigang Group was...
. - 14 July – The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the ArtsMinister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)The current Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is Tony Burke, who took over from Peter Garrett . The Minister and department change took effect in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010...
, Peter GarrettPeter GarrettPeter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
, announced that the Australian Government had approved the development of the Four Mile uranium mineFour Mile uranium mineFour Mile is a proposed uranium mine in Australia. The proposed mine is sited in the far north of the state of South Australia, around north of the state capital, Adelaide and from the existing Beverley uranium mine....
in South Australia. - 25 July – 108-year-old PerthPerth, Western AustraliaPerth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
man Claude ChoulesClaude ChoulesClaude Stanley Choules was the last World War I combat veteran, and was the last military witness to the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. He was also the last veteran to have served in both world wars, and the last seaman from the First World War...
, who moved to Australia from Britain in 1926, becomes his birth nation's last known surviving World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
veteran on the death of 111-year-old Harry PatchHarry PatchHenry John "Harry" Patch , known in his latter years as "the Last Fighting Tommy", was a British supercentenarian, briefly the oldest man in Europe, and the last surviving soldier to have fought in the trenches of the First World War...
in SomersetSomersetThe ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Mr Choules, who was born in WorcestershireWorcestershireWorcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, joined the Royal NavyRoyal NavyThe Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as a seaman in 1916.
August
- 4 August – Over 400 police and intelligence officers conduct a series of dawn raids 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...
, arresting members of an alleged Islamic terrorist cell who are suspected of plotting a suicide attack on Holsworthy BarracksHolsworthy BarracksHolsworthy Barracks is located in the outer south-western Sydney suburb of Holsworthy. It is part of the Holsworthy military reserve, which has been a training area and artillery range for the Australian Army since World War I. Following World War II it became a major base for the permanent...
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...
. - 11 August – Nine Australians, including seven from Victoria and two from Queensland, are killed when their plane crashes into the side of a cliff face on their way to KokodaKokodaKokoda is a station town in the Oro Province of Papua New Guinea. It is famous as the northern end of the Kokoda Track, site of the eponymous Kokoda Track campaign of World War II. In that campaign, it had strategic significance because it had the only airfield along the Track...
, Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. - 14 August – Paul HendersonPaul Henderson (Australian politician)Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical...
's Labor government in 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...
survives a motion of no-confidence following the resignation of Alison AndersonAlison AndersonAlison Anderson is an Australian politician. She has been a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly since 2005, representing the electorate of MacDonnell, and is a prominent indigenous activist and former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Central Zone Commissioner...
, after receiving support from independent politician Gerry Wood. - 30 August – Victorian MP Tim HoldingTim HoldingTimothy James Holding is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 1999...
goes missing while on a solo hike on Mount FeathertopMount FeathertopMount Feathertop is the second-highest mountain in the Australian state of Victoria and is a member of the Australian Alps located entirely within the Alpine National Park. It rises to and is usually covered in snow from June to September...
. Searchers find him alive and well two days later on 1 September. - 31 August– New South Wales Minister for HealthNew South Wales Department of HealthThe New South Wales Department of Health, a department of the New South Wales Government, is responsibile for monitoring the performance of the public health system in New South Wales, particularly through public hospitals...
and Australian Labor Party leader in the Legislative CouncilNew South Wales Legislative CouncilThe New South Wales Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of New South Wales in Australia. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney. The Assembly is referred to as the lower house and the Council as...
, John Della BoscaJohn Della BoscaJohn Joseph Della Bosca is a former Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council...
, resigned his Ministerial and leadership positions following public revelation of an extra-marital affair.
September
- 23 September – Major dust storms2009 Australian dust stormIn 2009, a dust storm swept across the Australian states of New South Wales and Queensland from 22 to 24 September. The capital, Canberra, experienced the dust storm on 22 September, and on 23 September the storm reached Sydney and Brisbane....
hit Eastern Australia.
October
- 15 October – A six-month-old baby survives when his pram rolls off the platform at Ashburton railway station, MelbourneAshburton railway station, MelbourneAshburton is a railway station on the Alamein railway line in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is located between Welfare Parade and Kelvin Grove, in the suburb of Ashburton. It also lies adjacent to High Street, where it connects with a bus to Glen Waverley and Glen Iris...
and is struck by the approaching train. - 18 October – Australian CustomsAustralian Customs ServiceThe Australian Customs and Border Protection Service is the Australian Federal Government agency responsible for managing the security and integrity of the Australian border, facilitating the movement of legitimate international travellers and goods, and collecting border-related duties and...
vessel the MV Oceanic VikingMV Oceanic VikingThe MV Oceanic Viking is an armed patrol vessel of the Australian Customs Service. Originally built in 1996 as the offshore supply vessel Viking Lady for Norwegian shipping company Eidesvik Shipping AS, the ship was converted into a cable layer in 2000 and renamed Oceanic Viking...
rescues 78 asylum seekers – claiming to be Tamil refugees from the conflict in Sri LankaSri LankaSri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
– inside 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...
's search and rescue zone. The migrants are taken to BintanBintanBintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community....
island in Indonesia however they refuse to disembark or co-operate with Indonesian customs officials.
November
- 11 November – Claude Choules becomes the world's oldest first-time author at the age of 108 when his autobiography The Last of the Last is published.
- 16 November – Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
and Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm TurnbullMalcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
apologise on behalf of Australia to the "Forgotten Australians": people who suffered neglect and abuse as children in state care, in particular, thousands of Home ChildrenHome childrenHome Children is a common term used to refer to the child migration scheme founded by Annie MacPherson in 1869, under which more than 100,000 children were sent to Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and South Africa from the United Kingdom....
– BritishUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
child migrants forcibly emigrated to Australia until the 1960s.
December
- 1 December – Tony AbbottTony AbbottAnthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
becomes Leader of the Opposition after defeating Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm TurnbullMalcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
in a ballot for the leadership of the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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...
. - 4 December – Kristina KeneallyKristina KeneallyKristina Kerscher Keneally MP, is an Australian politician and was the 42nd Premier of New South Wales. She was elected leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales and thus Premier in 2009, but went on to lose government to the Liberal/National Coalition at the March 2011 state election...
is sworn in as the first female Premier of New South Wales after defeating Nathan ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
in a ballot for leadership of the Australian 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...
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...
the previous day. - 5 December – By-electionBy-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s are held for the electorates of BradfieldDivision of BradfieldThe Division of Bradfield is an Australian Electoral Division in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Dr John Bradfield, the designer of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is located in the upper North Shore, and includes the suburbs of Chatswood, Killara, St Ives and...
and HigginsDivision of HigginsThe Division of Higgins is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria.The division was created in 1949 and is named after Justice H. B. Higgins , who was a Victorian Member of the legislative assembly , president of the Carlton Football Club , Australian Member of Parliament , and justice of the...
. Both by-elections are won by 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...
candidates: Paul Fletcher (BradfieldBradfield by-election, 2009A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Bradfield on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former minister and ex-Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson...
) and Kelly O'DwyerKelly O'DwyerKelly Megan O'Dwyer is an Australian politician, and member for the Division of Higgins in the Australian House of Representatives...
(HigginsHiggins by-election, 2009A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Higgins on 5 December 2009. This was triggered as a result of the resignation of former Treasurer and former Liberal Party deputy leader Peter Costello...
).
Arts and literature
- 6 March – Guy MaestriGuy MaestriGuy Maestri is an Australian contemporary artist who won the 2009 Archibald Prize for a portrait of Australian singer and musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu....
wins the 2009 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...
for his portrait of indigenous musician Geoffrey Gurrumul YunupinguGeoffrey Gurrumul YunupinguGeoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is an Indigenous Australian musician, who sings in the Yolngu language.He was born in Galiwin'ku , off the coast of Arnhem Land, Northern Australia about 350 miles from Darwin. He is from the Gumatj clan of the Yolngu and his mother from the Galpu nation...
. - 18 June – Tim WintonTim WintonTimothy John "Tim" Winton , is an Australian novelist and short story writer.-Life:Winton was born in Perth, Western Australia, but moved at a young age to the regional city of Albany....
wins his fourth 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 ...
for the novel BreathBreath (novel)Breath is the twentieth book and the eighth novel by Australian novelist Tim Winton. His first novel in seven years, it was published in 2008, in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, the Netherlands and Germany....
.
Science and technology
- 21 May – Researchers at Swinburne University of TechnologySwinburne University of TechnologySwinburne University of Technology is an Australian public dual sector university based in Melbourne, Victoria. The institution was founded by the Honourable George Swinburne in 1908 and achieved university status in June 1992...
announce the development of an optical discOptical discIn computing and optical disc recording technologies, an optical disc is a flat, usually circular disc which encodes binary data in the form of pits and lands on a special material on one of its flat surfaces...
technology capable of holding 10,000 times as much data as a DVDDVDA DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
.
Film
- 6 April – The world premierePremiereA premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
of Star Trek is held at the Sydney Opera HouseSydney Opera HouseThe Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in the Australian city of Sydney. It was conceived and largely built by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, finally opening in 1973 after a long gestation starting with his competition-winning design in 1957...
.
Television
- 10 January – Peter OvertonPeter OvertonPeter Overton is an Australian television journalist and news presenter.-Career:He joined the Nine Network as a reporter for National Nine News and graduated to weekend sports presenter on National Nine News in Sydney and substitute for Ken Sutcliffe...
takes over as the anchorman of Sydney's 6pm Nine News on weeknights after Mark FergusonMark Ferguson (television presenter)Mark Ferguson is a news presenter.Ferguson is currently presenting the weekend Sydney bulletin for Seven News in Sydney and Seven 4.30 News on Thursday & Friday, due to Samantha Armytage's commitments with Weekend Sunrise....
is suspended indefinitely after poor ratings, losing to Seven NewsSeven NewsSeven News is the television news service of the Seven Network in Australia.National bulletins are presented from Seven's high-definition studios in Martin Place, Sydney, while flagship 6pm bulletins are produced in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth. The network also produces Seven...
. - 7–14 February – All three commercial networks in Australia take extensive news coverage of the 2009 Victorian Bushfires, in which 181 people lost their lives, including former Nine newsreader Brian NaylorBrian Naylor (broadcaster)Brian Naylor was an Australian television presenter, best known for his longstanding stint as chief news presenter at National Nine News Melbourne from 1978 to 1998 and his sign-off line, "May your news be good news, and good-night."His son Matthew was killed in a plane crash at Kinglake, Victoria...
and actor Reg Evans. - 9 February – The premiere of Underbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: A Tale of Two CitiesUnderbelly: A Tale of Two Cities is a 13-part Australian television mini-series loosely based on real events that stemmed from the marijuana trade centred around the New South Wales town of Griffith. The timeline of the series is the years between 1976 and 1987. Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities...
sets the ratings record of the highest-rating Australian television series launch since the introduction of the OzTAMOzTAMOzTAM is an Australian audience measurement research firm that collects and markets television ratings data. It is jointly owned by the Seven Network, the Nine Network and Network Ten, and is the official source of television ratings data for all metropolitan television in Sydney, Melbourne,...
people meter system in 2001. The launch attracted 2.58 million viewers, and is also the highest rating non-sporting program in television history. - 26 March – One HD launches.
- 26 April – Talia FowlerTalia FowlerTalia Fowler is a dancer who won the 2009 So You Think You Can Dance Australia.Born in Brisbane, Queensland, she started ballet and jazz dance at the age of three. After entering the Queensland Ballet, she stayed there for three years, being the youngest student ever to have been there.She left...
wins the second seasonSo You Think You Can Dance Australia (season 2)Season two of So You Think You Can Dance Australia, the Australian version of the American reality dance-off series So You Think You Can Dance, is hosted by former Rogue Traders vocalist and solo artist Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges....
of So You Think You Can Dance AustraliaSo You Think You Can Dance AustraliaSo You Think You Can Dance Australia was an Australian version of the American reality dance-off series So You Think You Can Dance. The show is hosted by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges....
. - 3 May – Rebecca GibneyRebecca GibneyRebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand born Australian actress.-Biography:Gibney was born the youngest of six children, and brought up in Wellington. She has said she wasn't so much funny as a "bit odd" as a child. "I was a bit like Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family...
wins the Gold Logie AwardLogie AwardThe TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
for the Most Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionGold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian TelevisionThe Gold Logie Award has been awarded annually to the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television at the TV Week Logie Awards since 1960...
at the 2009 Logie AwardsLogie Awards of 2009The 51st Annual TV WEEK Logie Awards was held on Sunday 3 May 2009 at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, and televised on the Nine Network. The awards ceremony was hosted by Gretel Killeen and had over 1.6 million people watching the Logie Awards telecast. Performing on the night were...
. - 12 May – The ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
receives an extra $136.4 million over three years from the 2009 federal budget2009 Australian federal budgetThe 2009 to 2010 Australian federal budget was released on 12 May 2009 by the Treasurer of Australia, Wayne Swan. Swan has commented that the budget will be tougher than in previous years...
to develop an advertising-free digital children's channel (ABC3ABC3-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
), and increase its production of local drama to 90 hours a year, a similar level to the amount required by the commercial networks. The budget also allocated SBSSBS TVSBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
an extra $20 million over the same period to produce up tp 50 hours of new Australian content each year. This figure is significantly below the extra $70 million SBS were seeking per year. - 13 May – Former rugby league football player and The NRL Footy ShowThe NRL Footy ShowThe Footy Show is a Logie Award-winning Australian sports variety television programme, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates. Following the success of the AFL program of the same name, the Nine Network quickly developed a version for the rugby league market. The rugby league version has...
presenter, Matthew JohnsMatthew JohnsMatthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
, is suspended indefinitely from the program 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...
following reports of his involvement in a group sex act with other Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players in 2002. The incident was first reported on ABC1ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
's current affairsCurrent affairs (news format)Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
program, Four Corners, on 11 May 2009. - 18 May – It is revealed that Ajay Rochester will no longer be host of Channel Ten's The Biggest Loser, a position she has held since the series began in 2006, due to her desire to pursue new interests. Alison Braun, the runner-up of the show's third seasonThe Biggest Loser Australia (Season 3)The Biggest Loser Australia is the third season of the Australian version of the original NBC American reality television series The Biggest Loser. The third season premiered on the Ten Network on 3 February 2008, and was screened for 6 nights a week over 12 weeks...
, is believed to be one of the front-runners to be the new host. - 3 June – A skit involving terminally ill children and the fictional 'Make a Realistic Wish Foundation' (a parodyParodyA parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of the Make-a-Wish FoundationMake-A-Wish FoundationThe Make-A-Wish Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization founded in the United States that grants wishes to children who have life-threatening medical conditions. The charity now operates in forty-seven countries around the world through thirty-six affiliate offices.The president & CEO of this...
) causes public outrage after airing on an episode of The Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on EverythingThe Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
on ABC1ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. The skit involved The ChaserThe ChaserThe Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
members Chris TaylorChris Taylor (comedian)Christopher Thornton "Chris" Taylor is an Australian comedian, writer and former radio host from Sydney. As a member of The Chaser, he is best known for co-writing and appearing on satirical ABC Television shows CNNNN and The Chaser's War on Everything...
(as the foundation spokesperson) and Andrew HansenAndrew HansenAndrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
(as a doctor). The premise of the skit was that if the terminally ill children are only going to live for a few more months before passing away, it is not worth spending money on lavish gifts for them. It portrayed the children requesting for extravagant items such as a trip to Disneyland and the chance to meet Zac EfronZac EfronZachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron is an American actor. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s and became known with his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray...
, with Taylor and Hansen instead giving them a pencil casePencil caseA pencil case or pencil box is a container used to carry pencils. A pencil case can also contain a variety of other stationery such as a pencil sharpener, pens, erasers, a stapler, and a calculator....
and a stick respectively. The skit concluded with Taylor stating "Why go to any trouble, when they're only gonna die anyway". Following public criticism of the skit, both The Chaser and the Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
issued statements of apology. The ABC subsequently suspended the series for two weeks following the controversy. The series returned on 24 June. - 8 June – Gordon RamsayGordon RamsayGordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
called Tracy GrimshawTracy GrimshawTracy Grimshaw is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She is currently the host of A Current Affair, and was a co-host of Today for nine years.-Career:...
a "pig" in an interview for A Current Affair. - 10 June – The Nine NetworkNine NetworkThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
announces the third series of UnderbellyUnderbelly (series)Underbelly is an Australian television true crime-drama which originally broadcast on the Nine Network. Each series contains 13 episodes and is based on real-life events including the Melbourne gangland killings between 1995-2004, the Griffith drug trade between 1976-1987, and the Kings Cross scene...
will be titled Underbelly: The Golden Mile, and will focus on Kings CrossKings Cross, New South WalesKings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
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...
, beginning in 1989, and also include the Wood Royal CommissionRoyal Commission into the New South Wales Police ServiceThe Royal Commission into the New South Wales Police Service was held in the State of New South Wales, Australia between 1995 and 1997. The Royal Commissioner was Justice James Roland Wood...
into police corruption. - 19 July – Julie GoodwinJulie GoodwinJulie Goodwin is an Australian cook and singer who came to public attention when she won the inaugural season of MasterChef Australia in 2009, defeating artist Poh Ling Yeow in the final.- MasterChef Australia :...
wins the first series of MasterChef AustraliaMasterchef AustraliaMasterChef Australia is a Logie award winning Australian competitive cooking game show based on the original British MasterChef. It is produced by FremantleMedia Australia and screens on Network Ten. Restaurateur and chef Gary Mehigan, chef George Calombaris and food critic Matt Preston serve as...
, beating Poh Ling YeowPoh Ling YeowPoh Ling Yeow is a Malaysian-born Australian artist, actress, celebrity chef and runner-up in MasterChef Australia.- Background :Born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 1973 into a fifth-generation Chinese family, Yeow attended SMK Convent Bukit Nanas. She emigrated to Australia at age 9 with her...
. - 9 August – 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...
launches a new free-to-air digital channel named Go!Go! (Australian TV channel)GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
, with the expansion of programing launched on 4 October. - 7 October – The Jackson Jive, one of the acts in the Red Faces segment in the second of two 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...
reunion specials, causes international outrage when they appear in blackfaceBlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
parodying the Jackson Five. - 1 November – 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...
launches a new free-to-air digital channel named 7Two7Two7TWO is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel which was launched by the Seven Network on Sunday 1 November 2009 at 12pm....
. - 22 November – Stan Walker wins the grand final of Australian Idol 2009.
- 4 December – The Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
launches ABC3ABC3-Future shows:Programming confirmed for future broadcast will include:* After School Care * Bindi's Boot Camp * Bushwacked! * Dance Academy * Dancing Down Under...
, a digital television channel aimed at children.
Sport
- 7 January – Australia defeats South Africa by 103 runs in the third Test 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...
. - 11 January – Australia defeats South Africa by 52 runs in the first Twenty20 at the Melbourne Cricket GroundMelbourne Cricket GroundThe Melbourne Cricket Ground is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the tenth largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest stadium for playing cricket, and holds the world record for the highest light...
. - 25 January – Melbourne Victory wins the premiership of the A-League 2008–09 season, beating Adelaide UnitedAdelaide United FCAdelaide United Football Club is a professional football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It currently participates in the A-League as the sole team from the state of South Australia. Adelaide is one of the most successful clubs in the A-League. The club's home ground is...
on goals scored, after the two teams were tied on points and goal difference. - 31 January – Serena WilliamsSerena WilliamsSerena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. The Women's Tennis Association has ranked her world no. 1 in singles on five separate occasions. She became the world no. 1 for the first time on July 8, 2002 and regained this ranking for the fifth time on...
wins the women's singles title at the 2009 Australian Open2009 Australian OpenThe 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
, defeating Dinara SafinaDinara SafinaDinara Mikhailovna Safina , born April 27, 1986 in Moscow, is a Russian professional tennis player of Tatar background. Safina's career high ranking is World No. 1....
(6–0, 6–3). - 2 February – Rafael NadalRafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
wins the men's singles title at the 2009 Australian Open2009 Australian OpenThe 2009 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 97th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 19 January through 1 February 2009. The 2009 men's...
, defeating Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
in five sets (7–5, 3–6, 7–6(3), 3–6, 6–2). - 3 February – Cricketers Ricky PontingRicky PontingRicky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
and Michael ClarkeMichael Clarke (cricketer)Michael John Clarke is an Australian cricketer. He was appointed captain of the Test and ODI teams on 30 March 2011. Nicknamed 'Pup', he is a right-handed batsman, and occasional left-arm orthodox spin bowler...
are named joint winners of the Allan Border MedalAllan Border MedalThe Allan Border Medal is considered to be the biggest individual prize in Australian cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian captain Allan Border and recognises the most outstanding Australian cricketer of the past season as voted by his peers, the media and...
. - 28 February – Melbourne Victory wins the championship of the A-League 2008–09 season, defeating Adelaide UnitedAdelaide United FCAdelaide United Football Club is a professional football club based in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia. It currently participates in the A-League as the sole team from the state of South Australia. Adelaide is one of the most successful clubs in the A-League. The club's home ground is...
1–0 in the Grand FinalA-League Grand Final 2009The 2009 A-League Grand Final took place at Telstra Dome in Melbourne, Australia on 28 February 2009.It was the final match in the A-League 2008–09 season, and was played between premiers and runners-up...
at Telstra DomeTelstra DomeDocklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
. - 1 March – Noriyuki HagaNoriyuki Haga, is a Japanese professional motorcycle racer. Haga has been runner-up in the Superbike World Championship three times, and has finished 3rd in the series four times....
and Ben SpiesBen SpiesBen Spies , also known as "Elbowz" due to his riding style where his elbows protrude outward, is a professional motorcycle road racer who turned pro in 2000...
win the two races of the Australian Superbike Grand Prix2009 Phillip Island Superbike World Championship roundThe 2009 Phillip Island Superbike World Championship round was the first round of the 2009 Superbike World Championship season. It took place over the weekend of 27 February–1 March 2009, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit near Cowes, Victoria, Australia.-Superbike race 1:-Superbike...
held at the Phillip Island Grand Prix CircuitPhillip Island Grand Prix CircuitThe Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a motor racing racing circuit on Phillip Island, Victoria, Australia. The circuit was opened in 1956.-Road circuit:...
. - 14 March – Hazem El MasriHazem El MasriHazem El Masri is a Lebanese-Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia and Lebanon international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his entire club football career with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs with...
of the Bulldogs becomes the highest point scorer in the NRLNational 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...
, surpassing Andrew JohnsAndrew JohnsAndrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years...
. - 29 March – British driver Jenson ButtonJenson ButtonJenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
wins from pole positionPole positionThe term "pole position", as used in motorsports, comes from the horse racing term where the number one starter starts on the inside next to the inside pole. The term made its way, along with several other customs, to auto racing. In circuit motorsports, a driver has pole position when he or she...
at the 2009 Australian Grand Prix2009 Australian Grand PrixThe 2009 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 March 2009 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2009 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Jenson Button for the Brawn GP team after...
. - 7 May – Racing Victoria suspends jumps racingSteeplechaseSteeplechase may refer to:* Steeplechase, an event in horse racing* SteepleChase, a Danish jazz label* Steeplechase , a 1975 arcade game released by Atari...
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....
following the deaths of three horses over two days at a racing carnival in WarrnamboolWarrnambool, Victoria-Cityscape:The original City of Warrnambool was a 4x8 grid, with boundaries of Lava Street , Japan Street , Merri Street and Henna Street . In the nineteenth century, it was intended that Fairy Street – with its proximity to the Warrnambool Railway Station – would be the main street of...
. - 7 June – The SocceroosAustralia national football (soccer) teamThe Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
draw (0–0) against QatarQatar national football teamThe Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
in an away match at DohaDohaDoha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
, qualifying2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (AFC)The Asian Football Confederation was allocated four assured qualifying berths for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and one place in a play-off. 43 teams were in the running for these spots; Laos, Brunei and the Philippines did not attempt to qualify...
for the 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World CupThe 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
in South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. - 30 June – Hazem El MasriHazem El MasriHazem El Masri is a Lebanese-Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australia and Lebanon international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative winger, he played his entire club football career with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs with...
announces his retirement from the NRLNational 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...
, taking effect at the end of the 2009 season. - 12 July – Mark WebberMark WebberMark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
wins his first Formula One Grand Prix at the 2009 German Grand Prix2009 German Grand PrixThe 2009 German Grand Prix was the ninth race of the 2009 Formula One season. It was held on July 12, 2009 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany; the earliest German Grand Prix on the calendar, since 1926....
in his eighth year in Formula One. He was the first Australian to win a Grand Prix since 1981. Webber also set a new record for most Formula One race starts prior to his first win, at 130. - 31 July – Ricky PontingRicky PontingRicky Thomas Ponting , nicknamed Punter, is an Australian cricketer, a former captain of the Australian cricket team between 2004 and 2011 in Test cricket and 2002 and 2011 in One Day International cricket. He is a specialist right-handed batsman, slips and close catching fielder, as well as a very...
became the highest Australian aggregate run-scorer in Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
, surpassing Allan BorderAllan BorderAllan Robert Border AO is a former Australian cricketer. A batsman, Border was for many years the captain of the Australian team. His playing nickname was "A.B.". He played 156 Test matches in his career, a record until it was passed by fellow Australian Steve Waugh...
's total of 11,174 during the third Test of the 2009 Ashes at Lord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket GroundLord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
in London. - 23 August – The Australian cricket team loses The AshesThe AshesThe Ashes is a Test cricket series played between England and Australia. It is one of the most celebrated rivalries in international cricket and dates back to 1882. It is currently played biennially, alternately in the United Kingdom and Australia. Cricket being a summer sport, and the venues...
cricket series, 2 Tests to 1 in England. Australia drop from the first-ranked Test team to behind South Africa, Sri Lanka and India. - 6 September – Finnish driver Mikko HirvonenMikko HirvonenMikko Hirvonen is a Finnish rally driver currently driving for the Citroën Total World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship. He placed third in the drivers' championship and helped Ford to the manufacturers' title in both 2006 and 2007. In 2008, 2009 and 2011, he finished runner-up to...
and his co-driver Jarmo LehtinenJarmo LehtinenJarmo Lehtinen is a Finnish sports commentator and journalist who works who works for Finland's National Broadcasting Company YLE. He commentates sports events, mainly football matches, for both radio and television. He regularly commentatos football for the Jalkapallokierros program in Radio Suomi...
driving a Ford FocusFord FocusThe Ford Focus is a compact car manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1998. Ford began sales of the Focus to Europe in July 1998 and in North America during 1999 for the 2000 model year....
win Rally AustraliaRally AustraliaRally Australia is an automobile rally event which was held in and around Perth, Western Australia from 1988 until 2006, when that state's tourism commission severed its collaboration with the event. The rally was part of the Asia-Pacific Rally Championship in 1988 and the World Rally Championship...
, the first to be held at its new venue on the noerthern coast of New South Wales. - 21 September – Gary Ablett, Jr.Gary Ablett, Jr.Gary Ablett, Jr. is a professional Australian rules football player and current captain of the Gold Coast Football Club in the Australian Football League ....
of the Geelong Football ClubGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
wins the 2009 Brownlow Medal2009 Brownlow Medal-Voting Procedure:The three field umpires confer after each match and award 3 votes, 2 votes and 1 vote to the players they regard as the best, second best and third best in the match respectively.-Ineligible players:As the award is for the Best and Fairest player in the league, players found guilty...
. - 26 September – GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
wins the 2009 AFL Grand Final2009 AFL Grand FinalThe 2009 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the St Kilda Football Club and the Geelong Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 26 September 2009...
, beating St Kilda 12.8 (80) to 9.14 (68). - 4 October – 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....
become premiers of the National Rugby League season 2009National Rugby League season 2009The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first match...
, defeating 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...
23-16 at ANZ Stadium, although they would be subsequently stripped of this award, leaving the position of premiership winners vacant. - 11 October – Garth TanderGarth TanderGarth Tander is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver. Since 1998 Tander has been a competitor in touring car racing series V8 Supercar Championship Series. Tander was the 2007 series champion for the HSV Dealer Team and is a three-time winner in Australia's most...
and Will DavisonWill DavisonWill Davison is an Australian racing driver. He currently competes with Ford Performance Racing in the #6 Trading Post FPR Falcon, in the premier Australian touring car class, V8 Supercar.-Early career:...
win the 2009 Bathurst 10002009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000The 2009 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was a motor race for V8 Supercars. It was the thirteenth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997...
for the Holden Racing TeamHolden Racing TeamThe Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times...
, finishing just 0.8 seconds ahead of Brad Jones RacingBrad Jones RacingBrad Jones Racing is an Australian motor racing team centred around brothers Kim and Brad Jones and is based in Albury, New South Wales. Presently the team compete in the V8 Supercar Series, which they joined in 2000. Recently they have also returned to the Australian Formula Ford Championship...
pairing of Jason RichardsJason RichardsJason Richards is a motor racing driver, currently on break from full time racing due to his fight with cancer, whilst still providing full engineering support for Brad Jones Racing in the Australian touring car series, V8 Supercar.-Early career:Richards started his motor racing career at the age...
and Cameron McConvilleCameron McConvilleCameron 'Cam' McConville is an Australian racing driver and motorsport media personality. While retired from full-time competition McConville still races occasionally and is an indemand endurance event co-driver. McConville spent 14 years as a professional driver, ten of those in the largest...
. It was Tander's second win at the Bathurst 1000Bathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
, Davison's first and HRT's sixth. - 3 November – ShockingShockingShocking is an Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse, trained by Mark Kavanagh, who won the 149th Melbourne Cup on 3 November 2009 by three-quarters of a length.-Pedigree:...
wins the 2009 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...
. - 21 December – Television ratings show that 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...
was the most watched sport on Australian television in 2009. - 28 December – Alfa Romeo IIAlfa Romeo (yacht)Alfa Romeo can refer to several yachts owned by Neville Crichton, the Alfa Romeo automobile distributor for Australia and New Zealand. In 2003, Crichton was named Yachting New Zealand's "Sailor of the Year" for his accomplishments with yacht Alfa Romeo I.Alfa Romeo I is a fixed keel "supermaxi"...
takes line honours in the 2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race2009 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Racethumb|left|Alfa Romeo II docked in Hobart on the morning after finishing the race.The 2009 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was the 65th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Line honours in the 99-boat event were won by the New Zealand maxi Alfa Romeo II raced...
.
Deaths
- 3 January – John GrindrodJohn GrindrodSir John Basil Rowland Grindrod KBE was an Anglican bishop and the Primate of Australia from 1982 to 1989....
, 89, Anglican Primate of Australia (1982–1989) and Archbishop of Brisbane (1980–1989) - 8 January – Deborah RiedelDeborah RiedelDeborah Riedel was an Australian operatic soprano. Hers is generally regarded as one of the greatest voices ever produced in Australia. She died of cancer at the height of her career, at the age of 50....
, 50, operatic soprano - 13 January – Nancy-Bird Walton, 93, aviation pioneer
- 21 January – Ernie BourneErnie BourneErnest Alfred "Ernie" Bourne was an English-born Australian actor, best known for his regular roles on television....
, 82, actor - 21 January – Pat CrawfordPat CrawfordWilliam Patrick Anthony Crawford was an Australian cricketer who played in four Tests, including one in England at Lord's in 1956 and three in India in 1956–57...
, 75, Test cricketer - 31 January – Sir John FullerJohn Fuller (Australian politician)Sir John Bryan Munro Fuller was an Australian politician, a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Country Party from 1961 to 1978.-Early years:...
, 91, NSW government minister - 1 February – Anna DonaldAnna DonaldAnastasia Katherine "Anna" Donald was an Australian pioneer in the field of evidence-based medicine.-Education:...
, 42, epidemiologist - 1 February – Peter HowsonPeter Howson (Australian politician)Peter Howson, CMG was an Australian politician.-Biography:Howson was born in London, England in 1919 to Jessie and George Arthur Howson, and was educated at Stowe School and Trinity College, Cambridge...
, 89, politician - 7 February – Reg EvansReg EvansReginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
, 80, actor - 7 February – Brian NaylorBrian Naylor (broadcaster)Brian Naylor was an Australian television presenter, best known for his longstanding stint as chief news presenter at National Nine News Melbourne from 1978 to 1998 and his sign-off line, "May your news be good news, and good-night."His son Matthew was killed in a plane crash at Kinglake, Victoria...
, 78, newsreader - 8 February – Neil McNeillNeil McNeillNeil McNeill was an Australian politician. Born in Yarloop, Western Australia, he was educated at Scotch College, Perth, and the University of Western Australia, after which he became a farmer. He served in the military in 1945, and returned to become a district officer with the Western Australian...
, 87, politician - 11 February – Penny RamseyPenny RamseyPenny Ramsey was an Australian actress.Ramsey's work is featured in over three decades of classic Australian TV series. Her credits include Prisoner, The Bush Gang, Matlock Police, Homicide, Number 96, The Box, Division 4, Mrs...
, actress - 13 February – Julius Patching, 92, Olympic administrator
- 20 February – Fine CottonFine CottonFine Cotton was a brown Australian Thoroughbred gelding which was at the centre of a substitution scam which occurred on 18 August 1984, in the Commerce Novice Handicap over 1,500 metres at Eagle Farm Racecourse, Brisbane, Queensland...
, 31, racehorse - 9 March – Vince CerviVince CerviVince Cervi was an Australian boxer.He beat James Grima to win the Australian heavyweight title in 1993, but lost his title in his first defence to Joe Bugner. He was nicknamed the Voodoo Man....
, 45, boxer - 23 March – Peter WherrettPeter WherrettPeter Wherrett was an Australian motoring and motor sport journalist and race car driver.Wherrett learned to drive when his parents got their first motor car when he was twelve...
, 72, motoring journalist - 24 March – Laurie ShortLaurie ShortLaurence Elwyn "Laurie" Short, AO, OBE was an Australian trade union leader and leading figure in the Australian Labor Party...
, 93, trade union leader - 1 April – Margreta ElkinsMargreta ElkinsMargreta Elkins AM was an Australian mezzo-soprano of great renown. She sang at Covent Garden and with Opera Australia and other companies, but turned down offers to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, Bayreuth and Glyndebourne...
, 78, mezzo-soprano opera singer - 5 April – George TribeGeorge TribeGeorge Edward Tribe was an Australian cricketer who played in 3 Tests from 1946 to 1947, as well as an Australian rules footballer with the Footscray Football Club in the VFL....
, 88, Test cricketer - 6 April – Shawn MackayShawn MackayShawn Mackay was an Australian rugby union player with the Canberra based Brumbies in the Super 14 competition. He was the son of former Eastern Suburbs rugby league player John Mackay.-Career:...
, 26, rugby union footballer (died in South Africa) - 7 April – Jobie DajkaJobie DajkaJobie Lee Dajka was an Australian professional track cyclist from Adelaide, South Australia.- Biography :Dajka received an AIS Junior Athlete of the Year award in 1999, and an Achievement Award in 2002 and 2003...
, 27, track cyclist - 8 April – James Allen KeastJames Allen KeastProfessor James Allen Keast was an Australian ornithologist, and Professor of Biology at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Born in Turramurra, New South Wales, he performed war service 1941–45 in New Guinea and New Britain...
, 86, ornithologist (died in Canada) - 11 April – Rob DicksonRob DicksonRobert Dickson was an Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL, a film director, and the winner of reality show Australian Survivor. He attended St Pauls College, Traralgon, in Victoria, Australia....
, 45, film-maker and Australian rules footballer (died in South Africa) - 13 April – John ArmitageJohn ArmitageJohn Lindsay Armitage, OAM was an Australian politician. Born in Sydney, he was educated at Sydney Technical High School before undergoing military service from 1942 to 1945...
, 88, politician - 13 April – Frank CostiganFrank CostiganFrancis Xavier "Frank" Costigan, QC was an Australian lawyer who is most famous for chairing the Costigan Commission into organised crime.-Background and early life:...
, 78, lawyer and royal commissioner - 14 April – Max LakeMax LakeMax Emory Lake, OAM was an Australian winemaker and surgeon, who is generally regarded as the "father of the Australian boutique wine industry".-Life:...
, 84, winemaker and surgeon - 14 April – Sir Marcus LoaneMarcus LoaneSir Marcus Lawrence Loane KBE was the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney from 1966–1982 and Primate of Australia from 1978–1982. He was the first Australian-born Archbishop of Sydney and also the first Australian-born archbishop within the Anglican Church of Australia.Loane was born in...
, 97, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, Primate of Australia - 24 April – Michael ParsonsMichael Parsons (footballer)Michael "Mike" Parsons was a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Sydney Swans in the Victorian/Australian Football League and North Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League ....
, 48, Australian rules footballer - 28 April – Richard PrattRichard Pratt (Australian businessman)Richard J. Pratt was a prominent Australian businessman, chairman of the privately-owned company Visy Industries, and a leading figure of Melbourne society. In the year before his death Pratt was Australia's fourth-richest person, with a personal fortune valued at billion...
, 74, businessman - 1 May – George HannanGeorge HannanGeorge Conrad Hannan was an Australian politician.Born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, he was educated at Catholic schools and then the University of Melbourne. He became a barrister in 1934, and served in the military from 1942 to 1946...
, 98, politician - 1 May – SunlineSunlineSunline was a New Zealand bred Thoroughbred racehorse who was the world's highest earning racemare of her time, competing on 48 occasions for 32 wins, 9 seconds and 3 thirds to earn A$11,351,607. She won races in three different countries, Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong. She won successive...
, 13, racehorse - 13 May – Don CordnerDon CordnerDr Donald Cordner was an Australian rules footballer who played with Melbourne in the Victorian Football League during the 1940s...
, 87, Australian rules footballer - 15 May – E. Beatrice RileyE. Beatrice RileyEmily Beatrice "Bea" Riley was a supercentenarian, who at age of 112, the oldest verified living person in Australia following the death of 112-year-old Myra Nicholson on 20 September 2007...
, 112, oldest person in Australia - 15 May – Bud Tingwell, 86, actor
- 17 May – Dame Patricia MackinnonPatricia MackinnonDame Una Patricia Mackinnon DBE , née Bell, was Vice-President and President of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia and a national councillor for the Australian Hospitals Association....
, 97, President of the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne - 18 May – Jerzy ZubrzyckiJerzy ZubrzyckiProf. Jerzy B. Zubrzycki AO CBE was a Polish-born Australian sociologist, widely regarded as the "Father of Australian Multiculturalism". He was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences.-External links:*...
, 89, sociologist - 20 May – Paul VinarPaul VinarPaul "Swede" Vinar was an Australian rules footballer who played with Geelong in the VFL during the 1960s. Vinar was born in Czechoslovakia, and moved to Geelong in Australia with his mother and four brothers after his father was killed in World War II...
, 69, Australian rules footballer - 4 June – Chris O'BrienChris O'Brien (surgeon)Christopher John "Chris" O'Brien AO was an Australian head and neck surgeon. He achieved national recognition as a compassionate surgeon in the reality television series RPA.-Early life:...
, 57, oncologist and surgeon - 19 June – Stan SismeyStan SismeySquadron Leader Stanley George Sismey was an Australian cricketer whose career highlight was commanding officer of the Australian Services XI during the Victory Tests of 1945. Sismey, although commanding officer of the side, was not the on-field captain. That honour was bestowed upon Test...
, 92, cricketer - 3 July – Victor SmorgonVictor SmorgonVictor Smorgon AC was an Australian industrialist, arts patron and benefactor, who was founder and former head of the Victor Smorgon Group....
, 96, industrialist - 3 July – Frank DevineFrank DevineFrank Devine was a New Zealand born Australian newspaper editor and journalist. Devine was born in the South Island city of Blenheim and started his career there aged 17 as a cadet on the Marlborough Express. In 1953, Devine took a role with The West Australian in Perth, Western Australia...
, 77, newspaper editor - 8 July – Edward KennaEdward KennaEdward "Ted" Kenna VC was the last living Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest decoration for gallantry "in the face of the enemy" that can be awarded to members of the British and Commonwealth armed forces.-Second World War:Kenna served in the Citizen Military...
, 90, recipient of the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories.... - 11 July – Robert 'Dolly' DunnRobert 'Dolly' DunnRobert Joseph "Dolly" Dunn was an Australian convicted child molester. He was a school teacher by profession, working for the Marist Brothers, a Catholic religious order....
, 68(?), convicted sex offender - 6 August – SamSam (koala)Sam , also known as Sam the Koala, was a female koala from the forests of Mirboo North, Victoria, Australia. She became publicly known when a video and photographs of her being rescued by a firefighter were distributed on the internet and through the media during the aftermath of the Black Saturday...
, koalaKoalaThe koala is an arboreal herbivorous marsupial native to Australia, and the only extant representative of the family Phascolarctidae....
made famous in the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires - 7 August – John Harber PhillipsJohn Harber PhillipsJohn Harber Phillips, AC, QC was an Australian barrister and an author. He was a judge and also a Chief Justice of Victoria. He was the legal counsel who defended Lindy Chamberlain on a charge of murdering her baby Azaria. His skills as counsel were described as being that of a "very elegant...
, 75, Chief Justice of Victoria (1991–2003) - 21 August – Dean Turner, 37, bass player in rock group Magic DirtMagic DirtMagic Dirt are an Australian rock band, which formed in 1991 in Geelong, Victoria, with Daniel Herring on guitar, Adam Robertson on drums, Adalita Srsen on vocals and guitar, and Dean Turner on bass guitar. Initially known as Deer Bubbles and then The Jim Jims, they were renamed as Magic Dirt in...
. - 29 August – Frank GardnerFrank Gardner (driver)Frank Gardner OAM was a racing driver from Australia. He was best known as a Touring car racing and Sports car racing driver. He also participated in nine World Championship Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 11 July 1964. He scored no championship points...
, 78, racing driver and driving safety advocate - 8 September – Ray BarrettRay BarrettRaymond Charles "Ray" Barrett was an Australian actor. He was one of the more popular leading men on British television in the 1960s, where he was best known for his appearances in The Troubleshooters . Back in Australia he was a leading man in many TV series over the years.-Biography:Barrett was...
, 82, actor - 14 September – Mike LeylandLeyland BrothersMike and Mal Leyland , also known as The Leyland Brothers, were Australian explorers and documentary film-makers, best known for their popular television show, Ask the Leyland Brothers...
, 68, one of the Leyland Brothers - 17 September – Virginia ChadwickVirginia ChadwickVirginia Anne Chadwick AO was a Liberal Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council from 1978 to 1999...
, 64, politician - 20 September – Ken Hough, 80, Australian-born New Zealand cricket and football international
- 22 September – Bruce McPheeBruce McPheeBruce Alexander McPhee was a former Australian motor racing driver.He is most famous for winning the 1968 Hardie-Ferodo 500 , defeating both the Holden and Ford factory teams. He drove a Holden Monaro GTS327 painted yellow and black stripes with the number 13...
, 82, racing driver and BathurstBathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
winner - 27 September – John YoulJohn YoulJohn Youl was an Australian motor racing driver, race track owner and prominent Tasmanian grazier.Youl was best known for his driving in open wheel racing cars during the 1950s and 1960s and by the 60's was one of the most prominent Australians of this discipline...
, 77, racing driver and prominent grazier - 2 October – Jack EvansJack Evans (Australian politician)-Sources:*J.G. Evans, , 4 May 1983, Senate Hansard page 196...
, 80, former Senator - 6 October – Jimmy BatesJimmy BatesJimmy E. Bates was an Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Victorian Football League.Bates played just one game in the VFL...
, 99, oldest living VFL/AFL footballer (EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
) - 8 October – Gordon BoydGordon BoydGordon William Boyd was an English actor and television host, who hosted several television programs in Australia during the 1960s.-Early life and military service:...
, 86, television personality - 13 October – Leo WilliamsLeo Williams (rugby union)Leo Gerard Williams AO was an Australian rugby union player and official, who played for the Queensland Reds , managed the team , then was president of Queensland Rugby Union , chairman of Australian Rugby Union and chairman of Rugby World Cup .Williams was chair of...
, 68, rugby union official - 14 October – Fred CressFred CressFrederick Harold Cress AM was a British painter who migrated to Australia and won the Archibald Prize in 1988 with a portrait of John Beard....
, 71, artist - 22 October – Don LaneDon LaneDon Lane , born Morton Donald Isaacson, was an American-born talk show host and singer. Don Lane is best known for hosting The Don Lane Show, which was aired on The Nine Network in Australia from 1975 to 1983....
, 75, television presenter and entertainer - 22 October – Paul AndrewsPaul Andrews (Australian politician)Paul William Andrews was an Australian politician. He was a Labor member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, representing the electorate of Southern River....
, 53, West Australian politician - 27 October – Alex HarrisAlex HarrisAlex James Harris was an Australian Paralympic swimmer, who represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney and the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens....
, 34, paralympic swimmer - 31 October – Peter Hollinger, 76, racing driver and automotive engineer
- 9 November – Clen DenningClen DenningClen Charles Denning was an Australian rules footballer in the Victorian Football League .Soon after he turned 16, Denning played for VFA club Oakleigh. He got his start in the VFL after a long wait when Oakleigh coach Frank Maher moved to coach the Carlton Football Club...
, 98, oldest living VFL/AFL footballer (CarltonCarlton 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...
, 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...
) - 16 November – Jack Wong SueJack Wong SueJack Wong Sue, OAM, DCM, JP also known as Jack Sue was a Chinese Australian from Perth, Western Australia. Wong Sue served as a member of the commando/special reconnaissance section, Z Special Unit....
, 84, RAAF officer and war hero - 19 November – Pat MackiePat MackiePat Mackie was a New Zealand miner and unionist, who gained national attention as the leader of the Mount Isa Mines Strike of 1964.-Early life:...
, 95, miner and trade unionist - 23 November – Richard MealeRichard MealeRichard Graham Meale, AM, MBE was an Australian composer of instrumental works and operas.-Biography:Meale was born in Sydney and studied piano with Winifred Burston at the NSW State Conservatorium of Music, as well as clarinet, harp, music history and theory, before studying at the University of...
, 77, composer - 30 November – Brent GreenBrent GreenBrent Green was an Australian rules footballer who played for the Brisbane Bears, Brisbane Lions and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League ....
, 33, Australian rules footballer - 14 December – Jack DenhamJack DenhamJack Denham was a leading Australian horse trainer and businessman.A member of a Sydney training dynasty, Denham first rode as a jockey for his brother, and then took out his own training licence in 1948....
, 85, horse trainer - 22 December – Mick CocksMick CocksMichael Thomas "Mick" Cocks was an Australian musician, most noted for his guitar work with Rose Tattoo. His original sound and style heavily influenced Guns N' Roses, who recorded a cover of the Rose Tattoo song ‘Nice Boys’. He was also a member of Heaven, Doomfoxx, Pete Wells Heart Attack and...
, rock guitarist (Rose TattooRose TattooRose Tattoo is an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, that was formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Boys", "We Can't Be Beaten" and "Scarred for Life"...
) - 30 December – Rowland S. HowardRowland S. HowardRowland Stuart Howard was an Australian rock musician, guitarist and songwriter, he played electric guitar in the post-punk group The Birthday Party. Howard died of liver cancer in December 2009, aged 50 years....
, musician (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...
)
See also
- 2009 in Australian literature2009 in Australian literatureThe year 2009 in Australian literature involves some significant new books, drama, poetry and events.For an overview of world literature see 2009 in literature.See also:2008 in Australian literature,2009 in Australia,...
- 2009 in Australian television2009 in Australian televisionThis is a list of Australian television events and premieres which occurred in 2009. The year 2009 is the 54th year of continuous operation of television in Australia...
- 2009 in Australian subscription television
- 2009 in Australian FTA television