1984 in Australia
The following lists events that happened during 1984 in Australia.
| 1984 in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Monarchy | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | Sir Ninian Stephen |
| Prime minister | Bob Hawke |
| Population | 15,393,472 |
| Elections | NSW, Federal, Referendum |
| |||||
| Decades: |
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| See also: | |||||
Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Governor-General – Sir Ninian Stephen
- Prime Minister – Bob Hawke
- Chief Justice – Sir Harry Gibbs
State and Territory Leaders
- Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran
- Premier of Queensland – (Sir) Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Opposition Leader – Keith Wright (until 29 August), then Nev Warburton
- Premier of South Australia – John Bannon
- Premier of Tasmania – Robin Gray
- Premier of Victoria – John Cain Jr.
- Premier of Western Australia – Brian Burke
- Opposition Leader – Ray O'Connor (until 15 February), then Bill Hassell
- Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Paul Everingham (until 15 October), then Ian Tuxworth
- Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – David Buffett
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir James Rowland
- Governor of Queensland – Sir James Ramsay
- Governor of South Australia – Sir Donald Dunstan
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir James Plimsoll
- Governor of Victoria – Sir Brian Murray
- Governor of Western Australia – Gordon Reid (from 2 July)
- Administrator of Norfolk Island – Raymond Trebilco
- Administrator of the Northern Territory – Eric Johnston
Events
January
- 17 January – Ian Sinclair is elected leader of the National Party of Australia following Doug Anthony's retirement.
- 26 January – Aboriginal leader Lowitja (Lois) O'Donoghue becomes Australian of the Year.
- 27 to 30 January – The final Narara Music Festival at Central Coast, New South Wales features INXS, Simple Minds, Pretenders, Talking Heads, Eurythmics and Def Leppard.
February
- 1 February – Medicare comes into effect in Australia.
- 2 February – Melbourne newspaper The Age publishes phone taps incriminating an unknown judge.
- 6 February – High Court Judge, Justice Lionel Murphy is named in Parliament as the judge referred to in The Age tapes published on 2 February.
- 14 February – Elton John marries Renate Blauel in Sydney.[1]
March
- 6 March – A bomb blast wrecks the home of Judge Richard Gee in the Sydney suburb of Belrose.[2]
- 24 March – Wran Government re-elected in NSW for a 4th term.
- 26 March – The $100 note is introduced.
April
- April – A 915g jar of Vegemite is the first product in Austria to be electronically scanned at a checkout.[3]
- 19 April – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
May
- 14 May – The one dollar coin is introduced in Australia.
- 18 May – In New South Wales gay sex between consenting adult males is decriminalised.
July
- 4 July – Pearl, wife of Justice Ray Watson killed when their home is bombed. It is believed Judge Watson was the target.
- 16 July – Letters Patent issued for the Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia[4]
- 18 July – National Crime Authority is established.
August
- August – Brenda Hodge becomes the last person to be sentenced to death by Western Australia, and in the country as a whole, before the complete abolition of capital punishment. Her sentence is later commuted to life imprisonment.
- 1 August – Australian banks are deregulated.
- 7 August – Margaret, 35, and Seana Tapp, 9 are attacked and murdered by an unknown man in their suburban Melbourne home. Seana is also sexually assaulted.
- 21 August – The Federal budget is televised for the first time.
September
- 2 September – 7 people shot dead and 12 wounded in a bikie shootout between rival bikie gangs the Bandidos and Comancheros in the Sydney suburb of Milperra.
- 5 September – Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment for ordinary crimes (i.e. murder). New South Wales maintained it as a punishment for treason and piracy with violence until 1985†, when capital punishment was finally abolished in Australia.
November
- 1 November – National Film and Sound Archive (Screensound Australia) opens in Canberra.
- 6 November – In a crime that shocks the city, Melbourne schoolgirl Kylie Maybury is kidnapped, raped and murdered after being sent on an errand to buy a bag of sugar.
- 26 November –
- Former NSW Corrective Services Minister Rex Jackson appears in Court on conspiracy charges for the early release of prisoners.
- A good performance by Andrew Peacock in the leaders' televised debate boosts his poll ratings.
2 December
- 2 December – Hawke Government re-elected with a reduced majority.
- 7 December – Andrew Peacock and John Howard retain their respective positions in the Opposition.
Arts and literature
- Tim Winton's novel Shallows wins the Miles Franklin Award
Television
- 30 January – Perfect Match is launched in the 5:30 pm timeslot, bringing in record ratings for that timeslot & ensuring Ten's Eyewitness News won the 6–7 p.m. timeslot.
- 3 February – Australia's first nationally televised telethon screens on Network Ten. It is a 26-hour effort to raise money for Australia's Olympic athletes.
- 11 February – The Nine Network's Hey Hey It's Saturday moves from Saturday mornings to the 9:30 pm timeslot and renamed Hey Hey It's Saturday Night.
- 26 July – French-American-Canadian animated television series Inspector Gadget begins on ABC.
- Christopher Skase purchases TVQ-0.
- Network Ten televises the 1984 Summer Olympics from Los Angeles. Also, all stations adopt a uniform on-air look for the first time.
- The first televised federal election debate takes place.
Sport
VFL
- 29 September – Essendon (14.21.105) defeat Hawthorn (12.9.81) to win the 88th VFL premiership
- Brownlow Medal awarded to Peter Moore (Melbourne)
Rugby League
- 23 September – Minor premiers Canterbury Bulldogs defeat Parramatta Eels 6–4 to win the 77th NSWRL premiership. Western Suburbs Magpies finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon.
Other
- 25 March – Robert de Castella is Australia's only competitor at the twelfth IAAF World Cross Country Championships, staged in New York, USA. He finishes in 21st place (34:08.0) in the race over 12,086 metres.
- 10 June – Andrew Lloyd wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:14:36 in Sydney, while Moira Main claims the women's title in 2:46:00.
- 6 November – Black Knight wins the Melbourne Cup.
Births
- 1 January – Michael Witt, rugby league player
- 10 January – Trent Cutler, rugby league player
- 26 January – Ryan Hoffman, rugby league player
- 7 March – Jacob Lillyman, rugby league player
- 22 March – Tara Simmons, musician (died 2019)
- 30 March – Samantha Stosur, tennis player
- 3 April – Allana Slater, gymnast
- 13 April – Kris Britt, cricketer
- 26 April – Petrina Price, high jumper
- 3 May – Jacqui Dunn, artistic gymnast[5]
- 4 May – Kiel Brown, field hockey midfielder
- 10 May – Alana Boyd, pole vaulter
- 15 May – Beau Scott, Australian rugby league player
- 31 May – Jason Smith, actor
- 9 July – Alexandra Croak, gymnast & diver
- 24 July – Patrick Harvey, actor
- 30 July – Trudy McIntosh, artistic gymnast[6]
- 4 September – Adam Marshall, politician
- 20 September – Jason Chatfield, artist, comedian
- 17 October – Michelle Ang, actress
- 30 October – Cameron Ciraldo, rugby league player and coach
- 9 November – Delta Goodrem, singer and actress
- 13 November – Jamie Soward, rugby league player
- 14 November – Courtney Johns, Australian footballer
- 25 November – Peter Siddle, cricketer
- 28 November – Andrew Bogut, basketball player
- 8 December – Tim Paine, cricketer
- 12 December
- Sophie Edington, swimmer
- Daniel Merrett, Australian footballer
- 25 December – Lisa and Jessica Origliasso, singer/songwriters
Deaths
- 9 January – Bob Dyer (born 1909), television host
- 21 January – Alan Marshall (born 1902), writer[7]
- 19 June – Phillip Lynch (born 1933), Liberal politician
- 21 June – Denis Murphy (born 1936), politician[8]
- 6 November – Kylie Maybury (born 1978), murder victim
- 20 December – Grace Cossington Smith (born 1892), artist
References
- Miller, Julie. "Rocketman: Elton John's Forgotten 1984 Wedding to Renate Blauel". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Coulthart, Ross (7 July 2013). "Investigation exposes the dad accused of an unsolved crime spree that killed four people". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
- Sheedy, Chris; Jenny Bond (2006). 100 Great Icons. Milsons Point, New South Wales: Random House Australia. pp. 34–35. ISBN 978-1-74166-501-7.
- "Report of the Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia". Australian Parliament House. 20 November 1985. p. 7 (PDF). Retrieved 17 January 2021.
- "Jacqui Dunn". m2002.thecgf.com. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
- "Trudy MCINTOSH - Olympic Gymnastics Artistic | Australia". International Olympic Committee. 20 June 2016.
- "Marshall, Alan".
- Murphy, Denis Joseph (1936–1984) – Australian Dictionary of Biography. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
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