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1979 in Australia
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The following lists events that happened during 1979 in Australia.
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2022) |
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Incumbents
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- Monarch – Elizabeth II
- Governor-General – Sir Zelman Cowen
- Prime Minister – Malcolm Fraser
- Chief Justice – Sir Garfield Barwick
State and territory leaders
- Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran
- Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of South Australia – Don Dunstan (until 15 February), then Des Corcoran (until 18 September), then David Tonkin
- Opposition Leader – David Tonkin (until 18 September), then Des Corcoran (until 2 October), then John Bannon
- Premier of Tasmania – Doug Lowe
- Opposition Leader – Max Bingham (until 7 August), then Geoff Pearsall
- Premier of Victoria – Rupert Hamer
- Premier of Western Australia – Sir Charles Court
- Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Paul Everingham
- Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – David Buffett (from 10 August)
Governors and administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler
- Governor of Queensland – Sir James Ramsay
- Governor of South Australia – Sir Keith Seaman
- Governor of Tasmania – Sir Stanley Burbury
- Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Winneke
- Governor of Western Australia – Sir Wallace Kyle
- Administrator of Norfolk Island – Desmond O'Leary (until 4 September), then Peter Coleman
- Administrator of the Northern Territory – John England
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Events
January
- 4 January — Australia's highest daily rainfall, 1,140 millimetres or 44.88 inches, is recorded at Bellenden Ker Top Station, Queensland.[citation needed]
- 9 January — Deputy Prime Minister Doug Anthony signs a pact to allow uranium mining to begin at the Ranger Uranium Mine in the Northern Territory.[1] The pact gives the authority to develop the 100,000 tonne deposit to the Australian Atomic Energy Commission, Peko-Wallsend and the Electrolytic Zinc Company for a period of 21 years.
- 31 January — Bellenden Ker Top Station in Queensland receives the highest monthly rainfall total on record, with a total of 5,387 millimetres or 212.09 inches of rain recorded.[2]
February
- 9 February – Associated Securities Limited, Australia's fourth-largest finance company, is placed into receivership. In a statement to the stock exchange, ASL directors stated that the results for the six months to 31 December had shown a loss of $2.5 million, plus an extraordinary loss of $1 million from foreign exchange movements.[3]
- 12 February – Harry M. Miller's Computicket theatre and sporting booking agency collapses.[4]
March
- 9 March – The Arbitration Commission awards Australian women the right to six weeks' compulsory unpaid maternity leave with the option of extending the leave to one year.[5] The provisions, which will flow to all awards covering women in the private sector, will take effect on 2 April.[5]
April
- 4 April – Domico Speranza hijacks a Pan-Am plane at Sydney Airport for 4 1/2 hours until shot dead by police.[6]
- 11 April – A truck drivers' blockade, which had disrupted the eastern states for 10 days, ends.[7] The truck drivers had been protesting against state road taxes and low cartage rates.[7]
May
- 24 May – James William Miller, aged 39, is charged with the Truro murders - the murders of four young women 100 kilometres north-east of Adelaide.[8] A fifth body is found with police searching for two more bodies, bringing the number of victims to a total of seven.[8][9] Miller is charged with murdering Veronica Knight, 18, Sylvia Michelle Pittmann, 16, Vicki May Mowell, 26, and Connie Iordanides, 16.[8]
June
- 8 June – Philip Silleny attempts to hijack a TAA aircraft near Brisbane but is disarmed by hostess Esme Qazim and other crew.[10]
- 9 June –
- A fire at Luna Park Sydney kills seven.[11] Four young boys, a father and his two young sons die when the fire, believed to be caused by an electrical fault, engulf the ride.[12] The park is forced to close.
- Australia's first modern uranium mine opens at Nabarlek in Arnhem Land.[13] A $25,000 party is held to celebrate the launch of the mine, which is also the first to open on Aboriginal tribal land.[13]
- 21 June – Up to a million workers stop work across the country to protest the arrest of unionists in Western Australia for addressing a public meeting without police permission, causing public transport, industry and commercial services to be thrown into disarray.[14]
- 23 June – New South Wales Premier Neville Wran opens the Eastern Suburbs six-station railway line which runs from Sydney city to Bondi Junction.[15] The railway line has been a source of continuing controversy since work on it began. In 1976, Neville Wran referred to the project as probably "the most monumental financial scandal" in the state's history.[16]
July
- 1 July –
- Commonwealth death duties are abolished.
- Responsibility for education in the Northern Territory is transferred from the Federal to the Northern Territory Government.
- 11 July – The American space station Skylab crashes in Esperance, Western Australia.[17]
- 19 July – The Miss Universe final is celebrated in Perth.[18]
- 20 July – Inaugural meeting of the National Farmers' Federation.[19]
- 24 July – 14 coal miners die in a lethal gas explosion at Appin Colliery in New South Wales.[20]
August
- 29 August – Sydney's new heliport at Darling Harbour is officially opened by Neville Wran.[21]
- 30 August – Six people die when a Cessna 206 plane crashes near Shepparton, Victoria.[22]
September
- 22 September – The standing conference of Canonical Orthodox churches in Australia is established.[citation needed]
- 26 September – New South Wales Attorney-General Frank Walker tables the 960-page Finnane Report in state parliament.[23] The New South Wales Government gags Opposition calls for a debate report only 30 minutes after it is tabled.[23]
- 27 September –
- Australia announces the abolition of traditional trade preferences with Britain.[citation needed]
- Ian Sinclair resigns as Federal Primary Industry Minister following allegations that he forged his father's signature on his family's annual returns.[23] According to the Finnane Report tabled in State Parliament, Ian Sinclair was dishonest in arranging loans from a group of companies of which he was "de facto managing director" to the family pastoral company.[23] Sinclair had denied the allegations the day before.[23]
October
- 7 October – The Australia Refugee Advisory Council is established.[24]
- 14 October – Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) President Bob Hawke wins preselection for the safe ALP federal seat of Wills, making way for him to enter federal politics.[25] Hawke defeated the Socialist Left candidate Gerry Hand winning 38 votes from the 70-member selection panel.[25]
- 19 October – The Australian Federal Police is established under the command of Colin Woods.[26]
- 20 October – Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser proclaims the first section of the Great Barrier Reef (the Capricornia section) a national park, making it the third Australian national park to be declared this year.[27] Malcolm Fraser also announces the allocation of $300,000 to research projects to be set up in the region to increase the Federal Government's knowledge of this area.[27]
November
- 5 November – The first New South Wales Lotto draw takes place. No-one chose the six winning numbers in the draw, so only half of the first prize – $193,576 – will be divided among the five members of the in the Money syndicate.
- 6 November – The Royal Commission into Drug Trafficking (Woodward Royal Commission) reports to the New South Wales Parliament, recommending increased penalties and no concessions for soft drugs.
- 30 November – The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), at a meeting of 24 major unions, rejects proposals to block the mining export of uranium.
December
- 16 December – Sunday trading in Sydney public bars begins.
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Arts and literature
- Wes Walters wins the Archibald Prize for his portrait of Philip Adams
- David Ireland's novel A Woman of the Future wins the Miles Franklin Award
Film
- My Brilliant Career, directed by Gillian Armstrong, is released
- Mad Max
Television
- 11 February – The Australian 60 Minutes begins on the Nine Network.[28]
- 27 February – Prisoner makes its debut on the 0–10 Network.[29]
Sport
- 14 January – Tasmania beats Western Australia by 47 runs to win their first Gillette Cup title.
- 25 March – Australia is represented by nine long-distance runners (all men), including Robert de Castella, at the seventh IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Limerick, Ireland. Steve Austin is Australia's best finisher, claiming the 29th spot (38:36.0) in the race over 12 kilometres.
- 28 April – Collingwood beat a sixty-year-old record for the greatest VFL winning margin when they demoralise St Kilda by 178 points, beating South Melbourne's 171-point margin also against St Kilda, from 1919.
- 28 July – Fitzroy set a still-standing record winning margin when they beat Melbourne by 190 points at VFL Park. Their score of 36.22 (238) was a record until 1992.
- 12 August – Robert de Castella wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:13:23 in Perth.
- 22 September: The 1979 NSWRFL season culminates in minor premiers St. George's 17–13 victory over Canterbury-Bankstown in the Grand Final. North Sydney finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon.
- 29 September Carlton Football Club wins the 1979 VFL Grand Final over Collingwood.
- 6 November – Hyperno wins the Melbourne Cup
- Victoria wins the Sheffield Shield
- Bumblebee IV takes line honours in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Screw Loose is the handicap winner
- England defeats Australia 5–1 in The Ashes
- Australia wins the Admiral's Cup
- Jack Newton wins the Australian Open golf championship
- The National Basketball League is founded
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Births
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- 1 January – Brody Dalle, singer-songwriter
- 2 January – Robert Newbery, diver
- 3 January – Brooke Morrison, field hockey striker
- 6 January – Adrian Rainey, rugby league player
- February 12 – Jesse Spencer, actor and musician
- 15 February – James Harvey, basketball player
- 4 March – Geoff Huegill, swimmer
- 12 March – Jamie Dwyer, field hockey forward
- 16 March – Suzie Faulkner, field hockey striker
- 3 April – Sasa Ognenovski, Footballer
- 4 April
- Heath Ledger, actor (died 2008)
- Rebecca Stoyel, gymnast
- 9 April – Graeme Brown, cyclist
- 11 April – Danielle de Niese, opera singer
- 18 April – Zain Wright, field hockey midfielder
- 22 April – Daniel Johns, musician
- 4 June – Jade MacRae, singer
- 5 June – Matthew Scarlett, footballer and coach
- 7 June – Anna Torv, actress
- 11 June – Amy Duggan, Australian footballer and journalist
- 7 July – Loudy Tourky, diver
- 10 July – Russell Hinder, basketball player
- 15 July – Travis Fimmel, actor and model
- 24 July – Rose Byrne, actress
- 3 August – Nathan Crosswell, basketball player
- 9 August – Michael Kingma, basketball player
- 14 August – Paul Burgess, pole vaulter
- 16 August
- Ian Moran, cricketer
- Adam Darragh, basketball player
- 23 August – Lance Whitnall, Australian Rules footballer
- 12 September – Aaron Hopkins, field hockey defender
- 17 September – Chris Minns, politician
- 20 September – Damien Ryan, basketball player
- 29 September – Nathan Foley, singer (Hi 5)
- 11 October – Ryan Harris, cricketer
- 20 October – Tim Neesham, water polo player
- 24 October – Matthew Hadgraft, cabaret artist
- 6 November – Peter Ceawford, basketball player
- 9 November – Oliver Ackland, actor
- 12 November
- Chad Cornes, footballer
- Matt Stevic, footballer and umpire
- 16 November – Salli Wills, gymnast
- 6 December – Tim Cahill, soccer player
- 15 December – Sam Cawthorn, motivational speaker, author & entrepreneur
- 21 December – Stephen Lambert, field hockey goalkeeper
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Deaths
- 7 January – Ivan Stedman, Olympic swimmer (b. 1895)[30]
- 15 April – Sir David Brand, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)[31]
- 16 April – Frank Stewart, New South Wales politician and rugby league footballer (b. 1923)[32]
- 21 May – Walter Skelton, New South Wales politician (b. 1883)[33]
- 4 June – Elena Domenica Rubeo, Australian community worker and businessperson (b. 1896)[34]
- 6 June – Ion Idriess, author (b. 1889)[35]
- 30 June – Jim Southee, New South Wales politician (b. 1902)[36]
- 1 September – Mick Cronin, Australian rules footballer and television commentator (b. 1911)[citation needed]
- 14 November – Amelia Best, politician (b. 1900)[37]
- 21 November – Marie Byles, solicitor and conservationist (b. 1900)[38]
- 21 December – Eric Joseph Wright, medical administrator and public servant (b. 1912)[citation needed]
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See also
References
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