1994 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Governor-GeneralGovernor-General of AustraliaThe Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
– Bill HaydenBill HaydenWilliam George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the... - Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
– Paul KeatingPaul KeatingPaul John Keating was the 24th Prime Minister of Australia, serving from 1991 to 1996. Keating was elected as the federal Labor member for Blaxland in 1969 and came to prominence as the reformist treasurer of the Hawke Labor government, which came to power at the 1983 election...
Premiers and Chief Ministers
- Premier of New South Wales – John FaheyJohn Fahey (politician)John Joseph Fahey, AC is a former Premier of New South Wales and Federal Minister for Finance in Australia. John Fahey is currently the President of the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1984 to 1996 and the federal House of Representatives...
- Premier of Queensland – Wayne GossWayne GossWayne Keith Goss was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996.-Early life:He was born at Mundubbera, Queensland and educated at Inala High School and the University of Queensland...
- Premier of South Australia – Dean BrownDean BrownDean Craig Brown, AO was the Liberal Premier of South Australia between 14 December 1993 and 28 November 1996, and Deputy Premier of South Australia between 22 October 2001 and 5 March 2002 to Rob Kerin.-Political career:...
- Premier of Tasmania – Ray GroomRay GroomRaymond John "Ray" Groom, AO is a lawyer and former Australian sportsman and politician, representing the Liberal Party in the Federal Parliament 1975–84 and the Tasmanian Parliament 1986–2001. He was a Federal and state minister for a total of 13 years...
- Premier of Victoria – Jeff KennettJeff KennettJeffrey Gibb Kennett AC , a former Australian politician, was the Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999. He is currently the President of Hawthorn Football Club. He is the founding Chairman of beyondblue, a national depression initiative.- Early life :Kennett was born in Melbourne on 2 March...
- Premier of Western AustraliaPremier of Western AustraliaThe Premier of Western Australia is the head of the executive government in the Australian State of Western Australia. The Premier has similar functions in Western Australia to those performed by the Prime Minister of Australia at the national level, subject to the different Constitutions...
– Richard CourtRichard CourtRichard Fairfax Court AC , was a Western Australian politician, representing the seat of Nedlands in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for the Liberal Party of Australia from 1982 to 2001. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001.Court was born into an old political... - Chief Minister of the Australian Capital TerritoryChief Minister of the Australian Capital TerritoryThe Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory. The leader of party with the largest representation of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly usually takes on the role...
– Rosemary FollettRosemary FollettRosemary Follett AO , Australian politician, was the first Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory. She was the first woman to become head of government in an Australian state or territory.... - 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...
– Marshall PerronMarshall PerronMarshall Bruce Perron is a former Australian politician, who was a Country Liberal Party member of the Legislative Assembly in the Northern Territory from the formation of the Assembly in 1974 until his resignation in 1995. From 1988 to 1995, Perron was the Chief Minister of the Northern...
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Peter Sinclair
- Governor of Queensland – Leneen Forde
- Governor of South Australia – Dame Roma MitchellRoma MitchellDame Roma Flinders Mitchell, AC, DBE, CVO, QC was an Australian lawyer, judge and state governor. Mitchell was the first Australian woman to be a judge, a Queen's Counsel, a chancellor of an Australian university and the Governor of an Australian state.Roma Mitchell was born in Adelaide in 1913,...
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir Phillip BennettPhillip BennettGeneral Sir Phillip Harvey Bennett AC, KBE, DSO is a retired senior officer of the Australian Army who served as Chief of the Australian Defence Force from 1984 to 1987, and later as Governor of Tasmania from 1987 to 1995....
- Governor of Victoria – Richard McGarvieRichard McGarvieRichard Elgin McGarvie, AC, KStJ, QC was a judge in the Supreme Court of Victoria and Governor of Victoria from 1992 to 1997.-Early life:...
- Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Michael JefferyMichael JefferyMajor General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC was the 24th Governor-General of Australia , the first Australian career soldier to be appointed governor-general... - Administrator of the Northern TerritoryAdministrator of the Northern TerritoryThe Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
– Austin AscheAustin AscheKeith John Austin Asche, AC, QC is a former Administrator of the Northern Territory and was the third Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory.-Early years, education and family:... - Administrator of Norfolk Island – Alan Gardner Kerr
Events
- 2 to 15 January – Major bushfires1994 Eastern seaboard firesThe 1994 Eastern seaboard fires were bushfires in New South Wales, Australia between 27 December 1993 and 16 January 1994 were widespread along the NSW coast from Bega to the Queensland border and inland as far as Bathurst. Over 80 separate fires encouraged by extreme hot dry and windy conditions...
devastate coastal 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...
—four people are killed and over 300 homes are lost. - 26 January – Student David Kang fires two blank shots from a starting pistolStarting pistolA starting pistol or starter pistol is a handgun or electronic toy weapon that is fired to start track and field races, as well as competitive swimming races at some meets. The loud report of the gun going off is a signal to the athletes to begin the event. Usually a cloud of smoke can be seen...
at Prince CharlesCharles, Prince of WalesPrince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
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...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. - 27 February – Ros KellyRos KellyRos Kelly AO was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for the Division of Canberra from 18 October 1980 to 30 January 1995. She was a minister in the governments of Bob Hawke and Paul Keating....
resigns as Minister for Sports and the Environment over the "sports rorts affairSports rorts affairThe "sports rorts" affair was the name by which Australian media and political commentators came to refer to events during the second Keating ministry in late 1993 and early 1994, where the then Sports Minister, Ros Kelly, was unable to appropriately explain the distribution of federal sporting...
". - 23 May – John HewsonJohn HewsonJohn Robert Hewson AM is an Australian economist, company director and a former politician. He was federal leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 1990 to 1994 and led the party to defeat at the 1993 federal election.-Early life:...
is replaced as Leader of the Opposition by Alexander DownerAlexander DownerAlexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
. - 25 July – Telephone numbers in Australia begin transitioning to eight digits. Mona ValeMona Vale, New South WalesMona Vale is a suburb in northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located 28 kilometres north of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre of the local government area of Pittwater Council. Mona Vale is also part of the Northern Beaches region.-...
in Sydney is the first suburb to change to the new numbers. - August – Wollemia nobilis, a "fossil tree", is discovered by bushwalker David Noble only 150 km from Sydney.
- 5 September – New South Wales state MP John NewmanJohn Newman (Australian politician)John Paul Newman was a member of the New South Wales state parliament and Member for the seat of Cabramatta. He was the first elected politician to be assassinated in Australia.-Early life:...
is shot outside his home, in Australia's first political assassination since 1977. - 4 November – Sydney's third runway opens, ensuring protests about noise levels.
- 2 December – The Australian government agrees to pay reparations to aboriginesIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
that were displaced during the nuclear tests in 1950s and 1960s.
Arts and literature
- Rodney HallRodney Hall-Biography:Born in Solihull, Warwickshire, England, Hall came to Australia as a child after World War II and studied at the University of Queensland . In the 1960s Hall began working as a freelance writer, and a book and film reviewer. He also worked as an actor, and was often engaged by the...
's novel The Grisly WifeThe Grisly WifeThe Grisly Wife is a 1993 Miles Franklin literary award winning novel by the Australian author Rodney Hall.The Miles Franklin Award Judges' Report called it "a novel with a rather surprising vision."...
wins the Miles Franklin AwardMiles Franklin AwardThe Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize for the best Australian ‘published novel or play portraying Australian life in any of its phases’. The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin , who is best known for writing the Australian classic My Brilliant Career ...
Film
- Muriel's WeddingMuriel's WeddingMuriel's Wedding is a 1994 Australian-French romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by P. J. Hogan. The film, which stars actresses Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Sophie Lee, and Bill Hunter, focuses on the socially awkward Muriel whose ambition is to have a glamorous wedding and improve...
& The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the DesertThe Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is a 1994 Australian comedy-drama film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot is based on the journey of three drag queens who travel across the Australian Outback from Sydney to Alice Springs in a tour bus that they have named...
are major box office hits both here & abroad.
Television
- 18 January – Blue HeelersBlue HeelersBlue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...
premieres on Channel 7Seven 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...
. - 28 April – The TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
n televisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
market is aggregated, with TasTV (now WIN TelevisionWIN TelevisionWIN Television is an Australian television network owned by the WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single Wollongong-only station, and has since expanded to 24 owned-and-operated stations with transmissions covering a...
) taking a 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...
affiliation and Southern CrossSouthern Cross BroadcastingSouthern Cross Broadcasting Limited was a diversified Australian media company, that owned and operated a variety of media businesses, primarily radio and television.-History:...
taking a dual Seven and TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
affiliation. - 21 July – Mother and SonMother and SonMother and Son is a Logie Award-winning Australian television sitcom produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation from 16 January 1984 until 21 March 1994. The show stars Ruth Cracknell, Garry McDonald, Henri Szeps and Judy Morris...
finale airs. (1984–1994) - Hey Dad...! hosts its final original episode (1984–1994)
- A Country PracticeA Country PracticeA Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
(1981–1993 on Channel 7) revival attempt on Channel 10 backfires.
Sport
- 9 February – Twenty minute quarters and the "final 8" are introduced in the AFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. - February – AustraliaAustralia at the Winter OlympicsAustralia first competed in the Winter Olympic Games in 1936 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and has participated in every games since, with the exception of the 1948 Games in St...
takes its first Winter Olympic medal when the AustralianAustralia at the 1994 Winter OlympicsAustralia competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway.Australia won a bronze medal in the men's 5000 metres short track relay, the first medal at the Winter Olympic Games for the nation...
short trackShort track speed skatingShort track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
speed skatingSpeed skatingSpeed skating, or speedskating is a competitive form of ice skating in which the competitors race each other in traveling a certain distance on skates. Types of speed skating are long track speed skating, short track speed skating, and marathon speed skating...
team wins bronze in the 5000m relayShort track speed skating at the 1994 Winter OlympicsThe 1994 Winter Olympic Games Short Track results-500m:-1,000m:This unique race was one of the most unusual in the short history of short track speed skating. The bronze medal was won by an athlete that was not even in the final race. Derrick Campbell of Canada was obstructed by the Briton Nicky...
at the 1994 Winter Olympics1994 Winter OlympicsThe 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 12 to 27 February 1994 in and around Lillehammer, Norway. Lillehammer failed to win the bid for the 1992 event. Lillehammer was awarded the games in 1988, after having beat...
in LillehammerLillehammeris a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
, NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. - 2 March – Rumours of a breakway competition reported after relations deteriorate between the Brisbane BroncosBrisbane BroncosThe Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
& the NSWRLNew South Wales Rugby LeagueThe New South Wales Rugby League is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby League. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was known as the New South Wales Rugby Football League until 1984 when forward thinking marketing managers decided... - 10 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1993–1994 season, which are held at the Sydney Athletic Field in SydneySydneySydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. The combined events championships were conducted in Canberra on 17 and 18 March 1994. - 1 May – Adelaide CityAdelaide CityAdelaide City is a football club in Adelaide, South Australia. They are also known as The Zebras. They played in the National Soccer League for 27 Seasons but withdrew just prior to the 2003/2004 season. They now play in the South Australian Super League. City won the inaugural Super League...
become NSLNational Soccer LeagueThe National Soccer League is the former national association football competition in Australasia, overseen by Soccer Australia and later the Australian Soccer Association. The NSL spanned 28 seasons from its inception in 1977, until its demise in 2004...
Champions for the third time, defeating a Mark VidukaMark VidukaMark Anthony Viduka is a former Australian soccer player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australian national team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany to the last 16.-Melbourne Croatia:...
inspired Melbourne KnightsMelbourne KnightsMelbourne Knights Football Club is a football club representing Melbourne, Australia in the Victorian Premier League . The club is one of the most successful football clubs in Australia, being a two-time championship and four-time premiership winner in the now defunct National Soccer League...
at Olympic ParkOlympic ParkAn Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics complex in the case of the summer games, or the main...
. - 23 May – 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...
stage heart-stopping fightback in the last five minutes of State of OriginRugby League State of OriginState of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
I. After coming from 12–4 down, winger Mark Coyne scores match-winner in final minute. - 8 June – 87,161 people-an Australian 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...
record-turn out at the MCGMcGJoseph McGinty Nichol , better known as McG, is an American director and producer of film and television, as well as a former record producer....
for State of Origin II. NSW win 14–0. - 17 July – Michael Dalton wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:16:17 in BrisbaneBrisbaneBrisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, while Joanne Cowan claims the women's title in 2:45:35. - 26 July – NSWRL general manager John RibotJohn RibotJohn Ribot is an Australian sports administrator and former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative winger, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's top try-scorer...
concedes a privately run competition is feasible as news of a "Super LeagueSuper League (Australia)Super League was an Australian rugby league football administrative body that conducted professional competition in Australasia for one season in 1997. Along with Super League of Europe, it was created by News Corporation during the Super League war which arose following an unsuccessful attempt to...
" competition surfaces. - 24 September – West Coast EaglesWest Coast EaglesThe West Coast Eagles are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League. The club is based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and played its first games in the 1987 season. Its current home ground is Subiaco Oval...
(20.20.143) defeated 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...
(8.15.63) to win the 98th AFL premiership. - 25 September – CanberraCanberra RaidersThe Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
captain & rugby league legend Mal MeningaMal MeningaMalcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...
ends club career on winning note when he leads Canberra to a comprehensive 36–12 defeat of Canterbury BulldogsCanterbury BulldogsThe Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
in the NSWRLNew South Wales Rugby League premiershipThe New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
Grand Final. His playing career would finish two months later when he led the Kanagroos on a successful tour of Great BritainGreat BritainGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
& FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - 20 October – ARLAustralian Rugby LeagueThe Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
chairman Ken ArthursonKen ArthursonKenneth Richard "Arko" Arthurson AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Affectionately known as "The Godfather of Manly", he played, coached and was later an administrator at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles club of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership...
warns the Broncos that they face expulsion over their involvement with Super LeagueSuper League warThe Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
Births
- 21 January – Laura RobsonLaura RobsonLaura Robson is a British tennis player. She debuted on the International Tennis Federation junior tour in 2007, and a year later won the Wimbledon Junior Girls' Championship at the age of 14. As a junior, she also twice reached the final of the Australian Open, in 2009 and 2010. She won her...
, tennis player - 7 April – Viktorija Rajicic, tennis player
- 22 April – James MorrisJames Morris (chess player)James A. Morris is an Australian chess player who holds the International Master title. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, and currently lives in the suburb of Glen Huntly, Melbourne, and is attending the University High School....
, chess player - 17 June – Jiordan Anna TolliJiordan Anna TolliJiordan Anna Tolli is an Australian actress, best known for playing the role of Louise Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours...
, actor - 24 June – Tory GreenTory GreenTory Green is an Australian-born American teen actress who starred as Emily Bennett in Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front, alongside Maya Ritter. She was born on June 24, 1994 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
, actor - 6 July – Scott JamesScott JamesScott James is an Australian snowboarder.James first competed on the international circuit as a 14-year-old at the 2008 Europa Cup in Saas Fee, Switzerland. Throughout the last two World Cup seasons, he has proven himself an up and coming star of the halfpipe, with consistently improving results...
, Olympic snowboarder - 16 September – Maddison GabrielMaddison GabrielMaddison Gabriel is an Australian model who gained notoriety when, at the age of 12, she controversially was named the face of the 2007 Gold Coast Fashion Week.-Gold Coast Fashion Week:...
, model - 18 October – Morgan FeatherstoneMorgan FeatherstoneMorgan Featherstone is a fashion model based in Melbourne, Australia.Featherstone's modeling career began at six months of age when she appeared in a national Australian Dairy Farmers cheese commercial and she quickly became one of Australia's top child models...
, fashion model - 3 November - Jordan Pressnell, Australian
- 21 December - Imogen Hines, Cyclist
Deaths
- 16 January – Jack MetcalfeJack MetcalfeJohn "Jack" Patrick Metcalfe was an Australian athlete who competed in high jump, long jump and javelin events, though he is best remembered as a triple jumper....
, 81, track and field athlete - 14 May – Leonard TealeLeonard TealeLeonard Teale AO , born Leonard George Thiele in Brisbane, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and films....
, 71, actor - 28 May – Sir Charles SpryCharles SpryBrigadier Sir Charles Chambers Fowell Spry, CBE, DSO was an Australian soldier, who from 1950 to 1970 was the second Director-General of Security, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation .-Early life:...
, 83, Director-General of ASIO (1950–1970)