1997 in Australia

← 1996 1995 1994 1997 in Australia → 1998 1999 2000
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
See also:	Other events of 1997 Timeline of Australian history

Incumbents

• Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Sir William Deane
• Prime Minister – John Howard

Premiers and Chief Ministers

• Premier of New South Wales – Bob Carr
• Premier of Queensland – Rob Borbidge
• Premier of South Australia – John Olsen
• Premier of Tasmania – Tony Rundle
• Premier of Victoria – Jeff Kennett
• Premier of Western Australia – Richard Court
• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Kate Carnell
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Shane Stone
• Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – George Charles Smith (from 5 May)

Governors and Administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – Gordon Samuels
• Governor of Queensland – Leneen Forde (until 29 July), then Peter Arnison
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Eric Neal
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Guy Green
• Governor of Victoria – Richard McGarvie (until 23 April), then Sir James Gobbo
• Governor of Western Australia – Michael Jeffery
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Austin Asche (until 17 February), then Neil Conn
• Administrator of Norfolk Island – Alan Gardner Kerr (until 30 June), then Tony Messner (from 4 August)

Events

• 9 January – Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean.^[1]
• 11 February - Prime Minister John Howard admits he approved a requested pay rise for one of Labor defector Mal Colston's staff shortly before last year's crucial Senate vote on the partial sale of Telstra. ^[2]
• 14 February - Arnott's Biscuits begins withdrawing its biscuits from supermarket shelves as authorities issue a health alert over an extortionist's poison threat. A pesticide strong enough to kill a small child had been found in some of the biscuits. ^[3]
• 23 February - Federal Independent Senator Mal Colston denies new allegations that he had rorted his parliamentary expenses, saying the claims by a former employee were "malicious". ^[4]
• 25 February - The Minister for Administrative Services, David Jull, announces a departmental investigation into Independent Senator Mal Colston's use of chauffeur-driven Commonwealth cars and warns he would have no hesitation referring the matter to police. ^[5]
• 26 February - Arnott's Biscuits restocks Queensland supermarket shelves with its biscuits three weeks after it was rocked by an extortion threat. The threat has cost the company at least $10 million. ^[6]
• 6 March - In Cairns, Paul Streeton is sentenced to life imprisonment for setting fire to school boy Tjandamurra O'Shane.
• 24 March - Senator Mal Colston admits he's guilty of claiming an extra $7,000 for travel expenses, but blames sloppy book-keeping.
• 14 April - Prime Minister John Howard announces that the Government will no longer accept the vote of Senator Mal Colston.
• 1 May – Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality.
• 1 May – Melbourne's HM Prison Pentridge is closed.
• 5 May – The position of Chief Minister of Norfolk Island is restored.
• 6 May - Mal Colston resigns as Deputy President of the Senate.
• 20 May – A Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report calls for an apology for an early government policy of removing Aboriginal children from their parents and placing them in institutions.
• 1 July – The telecommunications market is deregulated, allowing the entry of competitors other than Telstra and Optus.
• 13 July – A crowd of over 100,000 people watches the Royal Canberra Hospital implosion. A 12-year-old girl, Katie Bender, is killed instantly and nine others are injured when debris from the site travels across Lake Burley Griffin.
• 15 July - Senator Mal Colston and former West Australian Liberal MP Noel Crichton Brown are charged with fraud.
• 30 July – The Thredbo landslide occurs, killing 17 people.
• 2 August – Stuart Diver, a ski instructor, is rescued as the sole survivor of the Thredbo landslide.
• 30 August – Elections in the Northern Territory re-elect the Country Liberal Party government of Shane Stone.
• 31 August – The head of Yagan, a Noongar warrior, is repatriated to Australia 164 years after being taken to the United Kingdom.^[7]
• 11 October – A state election is held in South Australia. The Liberal/National coalition government of John Olsen is re-elected, albeit with a substantially reduced minority.
• 15 October – Cheryl Kernot, leader of the Australian Democrats, defects to the Australian Labor Party.

Arts and literature

• Mark Raphael Baker's novel The Fiftieth Gate wins the New South Wales Premier's Literary Award
• David Foster's novel The Glade within the Grove wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• The Castle
• Doing Time for Patsy Cline
• Blackrock
• The Wiggles Movie

Television

• 1 July – Prime Television comes to Mildura, ending a monopoly on commercial television held by STV-8 since 1965.
• 1 November – TCN-9 stages the first trial of digital television in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sport

• 27 February – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1996–1997 season, which are held at the Olympic Park in Melbourne, Victoria. The 5,000 metres was conducted at the Nike Classic, Melbourne on 20 February. The men's decathlon event was conducted at the Hobart Grand Prix on 15–16 February 1997.
• 1 March – The Australian Super League competition commences with 2 matches, with the Brisbane Broncos defeating the Auckland Warriors 14-2 in Brisbane & the North Queensland Cowboys defeating the Adelaide Rams 24-16 in Townsville.
• 2 March – Greg Blewett and Steve Waugh bat the whole day during the first test match at Johannesburg against South Africa.
• 7 March – The ARL competition kicks off with the Parramatta Eels defeating the North Sydney Bears 10-8 at Parramatta Stadium.
• 19 May – In the one and only Super League Tri-series, New South Wales defeat Queensland 23-22 in the longest (104 minutes) & one of the most exciting games of representative rugby league ever played.
• 25 May – Brisbane Strikers create history by winning the NSL Grand Final, a 2–0 victory over Sydney United. The achievement was the first NSL title in their history, the first time a Queensland side had won the title, and all in front of a record crowd of 40,446 at Suncorp Stadium.
• 13 July – Patrick Carroll wins his second men's national marathon title, clocking 2:11:21 in Brisbane, while Susan Hobson claims her second women's title in 2:32:43.
• 22 August – The Melbourne Phoenix defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds 58-48 in the inaugural Commonwealth Bank Trophy netball grand final
• 17 September – The Melbourne Storm rugby league team is founded.
• 20 September – The Brisbane Broncos defeat the Cronulla Sharks 26-8 at ANZ Stadium (now Elizabeth II stadium) to become premiers of the Super League (Australia) season 1997. It is the first night grand final played in rugby league.
• 27 September – The Adelaide Crows (19.11.125) defeat the St Kilda Saints (13.16.94) to win the 101st VFL/AFL. It is the first premiership for Adelaide & the first time the AFL flag has left Victoria since 1994.
• 28 September – In one of, if not the most exciting grand final ever played, the Newcastle Knights defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 to win the 90th NSWRL/ARL premiership. It is the first premiership for Newcastle & it was the third consecutive grand final appearance for Manly.
• 29 November – In what has come to be known as the Iran game, the Socceroos draw 2–2 with Iran at the Melbourne Cricket Ground after leading 2–0. The game is interrupted when serial pest Peter Hore cut up Iran's goal net. Iran qualifies for the 1998 FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.
• 19 December – After a series of meetings at the Sydney Football Stadium (now Aussie Stadium), the Super League war is declared over. The ARL & Super League agree to form the National Rugby League, and the Perth Reds, Hunter Mariners & South Queensland Crushers are shut down to give a 20-team competition for 1998. The NRL is to be reduced to 14 teams for 2000 after reform.

Births

• 11 January - Cody Simpson, singer
• 17 January - Jack Vidgen, singer
• 20 January - Rheed McCracken, athletics competitor
• 6 March - Daniel De Silva, footballer
• 11 May - Morgan Baker, actor
• 10 June - Fletcher O'Leary, actor
• 27 June - Felix Dean, actor

Deaths

• 17 January – Bert Kelly (born 1912), Federal politician
• 31 January – John Panizza (born 1931), Senator
• 16 March – Harry Holgate (born 1933), Premier of Tasmania (1981–1982)
• 10 April – Clinton Haines (born 1976), computer hacker
• 25 April – Brian May (born 1934), composer
• 2 May – John Carew Eccles (born 1903), psychologist (died in Switzerland)
• 21 May – William Arthur (born 1918), Federal politician
• 21 May – William Aston (born 1916), Federal politician
• 15 June – Jaidyn Leskie (born 1996), murder victim
• 11 July – Jock Sturrock (born 1915), Olympic yachtsman and 1962 Australian of the Year
• 14 July – Sir Garfield Barwick (born 1903), Chief Justice of the High Court
• 6 August – Lance Barnard (born 1919), Federal politician
• 18 August – Burnum Burnum (born 1936), Aboriginal activist and actor
• 5 September – Brian Grieve (born 1907), botanist
• 12 September – Archer Denness (born 1914), soldier
• 16 September – Anne Kerr, Lady Kerr (born 1914), wife of Sir John Kerr
• 5 November – Peter Jackson (born 1964), rugby league footballer
• 6 November – Jane Thurgood-Dove, murder victim
• 22 November – Michael Hutchence (born 1960), musician

Unknown date

• Laurence Henry Hicks, composer (born 1912)

References