1984 in Australia

← 1983 1982 1981 1984 in Australia → 1985 1986 1987
Decades:	1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s
See also:	Other events of 1984 Federal election Timeline of Australian history

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

• Annie's Coming Out
• Razorback

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

References