1984 in Australia
From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
| 1984 in Australia | |
|---|---|
| Monarchy | Elizabeth II |
| Governor-General | Ninian Stephen |
| Prime minister | Bob Hawke |
| Population | 15,393,472 |
| Elections | Federal, NSW |
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| Decades: | |||||
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| See also: | |||||
Contents
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Sir Ninian Stephen
- Prime Minister – Bob Hawke
- Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran
- Premier of South Australia – John Bannon
- Premier of Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – Robin Gray
- Premier of Western Australia – Brian Burke
- Premier of Victoria – John Cain
- Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Post did not exist in 1984
- Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Paul Everingham, then Ian Tuxworth
Events
- 1 February – Medicare comes into effect in Australia.
- 2 February – Melbourne newspaper The Age publishes phone taps incriminating an unknown judge.
- 6 February – A bomb blast wrecks the home of Judge Richard Gee in the Sydney suburb of Belrose.[1] High Court Judge, Justice Lionel Murphy is named in Parliament as the judge referred to in The Age tapes published on 2 February.
- 24 March – Wran Government re-elected in NSW for a 4th term.
- April - A 115g jar of Vegemite is the first product in Australia to be electronically scanned at a checkout.[2]
- 19 April – Advance Australia Fair is proclaimed as Australia's national anthem, and green and gold as the national colours.
- 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 – Pearl, wife of Justice Ray Watson killed when their home is bombed. It is believed Judge Watson was the target.
- 18 July – National Crime Authority established
- 1 August – Australian banks are deregulated.
- 21 August – The Federal budget is televised for the first time.
- 2–7 September people shot dead and 12 wounded in a bikie shootout between rival bikie gangs the Bandidos and Comancheros in the Sydney suburb of Milperra.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 2 December – Hawke Government re-elected with a reduced majority.
Arts and literature
- Tim Winton's novel Shallows wins the Miles Franklin Award
Film
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.
- 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 – Canterbury Bulldogs defeat Parramatta Eels 6-4 to win the 77th NSWRL premiership.
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
- 30 March – Samantha Stosur, tennis player
- 3 April – Allana Slater, gymnast
- 13 April – Kris Britt, cricketer
- 26 April – Petrina Price, high jumper
- 4 May – Kiel Brown, field hockey midfielder
- 10 May – Alana Boyd, pole vaulter
- 31 May – Jason Smith, actor
- 9 July - Alexandra Croak, gymnast & diver
- 24 July - Patrick Harvey, actor
- 30 July - Trudy McIntosh, gymnast
- 17 October – Michelle Ang, actress
- 9 November – Delta Goodrem, singer and actress
- 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
- 10 December – Grace Cossington Smith (born 1892), artist
- unknown – Bob Dyer (born 1912), TV Host
