1976 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- Queen of Australia – Elizabeth II
- Governor General – Sir John Kerr
- 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...
– Malcom Fraser - Premier of New South Wales -Tom LewisTom Lewis (Australian politician)Thomas Lancelot Lewis AO is a former New South Wales politician, Premier of New South Wales and Minister of the Crown in the cabinets of Sir Robert Askin and Sir Eric Willis. He was made the Premier of New South Wales following Askin's retirement from politics and held it until he was replaced by...
, then Sir Eric WillisEric WillisSir Eric Archibald Willis KBE, CMG was an Australian politician, Cabinet Minister and the 34th Premier of New South Wales, serving from 23 January 1976 to 14 May 1976. Born in Murwillumbah in 1922, Willis was educated at Murwillumbah High School and the University of Sydney, where he obtained a...
, then Neville WranNeville WranNeville Kenneth Wran, AC, CNZM, QC was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 until 1986. He was National President of the Australian Labor Party from 1980 to 1986 and Chairman of both the Lionel Murphy Foundation and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation from 1986... - Premier of South Australia – Don DunstanDon DunstanDonald Allan "Don" Dunstan, AC, QC was a South Australian politician. He entered politics as the Member for Norwood in 1953, became state Labor leader in 1967, and was Premier of South Australia between June 1967 and April 1968, and again between June 1970 and February 1979.The son of a business...
- Premier of Queensland – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen
- Premier of Tasmania – Bill NeilsonBill NeilsonWilliam Arthur "Bill" Neilson AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1975 to 1977.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, and educated at Ogilvie High School, Neilson became a postman. He married Jill Benjamin, daughter of Phyllis Benjamin, in Melbourne in 1948...
- 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...
– Sir Charles Court - Premier of Victoria – Rupert HamerRupert HamerSir Rupert James Hamer, AC, KCMG, ED , generally known until he was knighted in 1982 as Dick Hamer, Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 39th Premier of Victoria, serving from 1972 to 1981.-Early years:...
Events
- 5 January Family Law Act comes into effect, Elizabeth evatt is sworn in as first Chief justice of the Family Court of Australia.
- 1 May – Neville Wran Becomes NSW Premier
- 1 September - Cigarette + Tobacco advertising banned on TV + Radio
- 30 September – Blue HillsBlue Hills (radio serial).Blue Hills, written by Gwen Meredith, was an Australian radio serial about the lives of families in a typical Australian country town called Tanimbla. "Blue Hills" itself was the residence of the town’s doctor....
, the long running ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
radio serial, comes to an end after 32 years - 4 December – The Royal Australian NavyRoyal Australian NavyThe Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
's fleet of Grumman TrackerS-2 TrackerThe Grumman S-2 Tracker was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare aircraft to enter service with the US Navy. The Tracker was of conventional design with twin engines, a high wing and tricycle undercarriage. The type was exported to a number of navies around the world...
aircraft is destroyed by arson at Nowra, New South WalesNowra, New South WalesNowra is a city in the South Coast region of New South Wales, Australia. Located SSW and approximately by road south of the state capital of Sydney, it has an estimated population together with its twin-town of Bomaderry of 34,479. It is also the seat and commercial centre of the City of Shoalhaven... - Edward (Weary) DunlopEdward DunlopLieutenant Colonel Sir Ernest Edward "Weary" Dunlop, AC, CMG, OBE was an Australian surgeon who was renowned for his leadership while being held prisoner by the Japanese during World War II.-Early life and family:...
is announced as Australian of the YearAustralian of the YearSince 1960 the Australian of the Year Award has been part of the celebrations surrounding Australia Day , during which time the award has grown steadily in significance to become Australia’s pre-eminent award. The Australian of the Year announcement has become a very prominent part of the annual... - Mining on Fraser Island ends.
- Random Breath Testing introduced in Victoria
Arts and literature
- Brett WhiteleyBrett WhiteleyBrett Whiteley, AO was an Australian artist. He is represented in the collections of all the large Australian galleries, and was twice winner of the Archibald Prize...
wins the Archibald PrizeArchibald PrizeThe Archibald Prize is regarded as the most important portraiture prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after a bequest from J. F. Archibald, the editor of The Bulletin who died in 1919...
with Self Portrait in the Studio - David IrelandDavid Ireland (author)David Neil Ireland AM is an Australian novelist.-Biography:David Ireland was born in Lakemba in New South Wales in 1927....
's novel The Glass CanoeThe Glass CanoeThe Glass Canoe is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author David Ireland.It is about a man who spends his life at the pub, seeing the world through his beer glass - a glass canoe.-References:...
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 ...
Television
Nine NetworkNine Network
The 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...
soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors is an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the hospital staff, screened on the Nine Network from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March...
and The Sullivans
The Sullivans
The Sullivans is an Australian drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran from 1976 until 1983. The series told the story of an average middle-classMelbourne family and the effect World War II had on their lives...
both begin on air in November.
Sport
- 31 July – Victor Anderson wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:23:28.6 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...
.
- Van der Hum wins the Melbourne CupMelbourne CupThe Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
- South Australia wins the Sheffield ShieldPura CupThe Sheffield Shield is the domestic cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams from the six states of Australia. Prior to the Shield being established, a number of intercolonial matches were played. The Shield, donated by Lord Sheffield, was first contested during...
- Ballyhoo takes line honours and Piccolo wins on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart Yacht RaceSydney to Hobart Yacht RaceThe Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, starting in Sydney, Australia on Boxing Day and finishing in Hobart. The race distance is approximately...
- HawthornHawthorn Football ClubThe Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the Hawks, is a professional Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League . The club, founded in 1902, is the youngest of the Victorian-based teams in the AFL. The team play in Brown & Gold vertically striped guernseys...
were premiers of the Victorian Football LeagueAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football... - Australia defeats the West Indies 5-1 in the cricket test series
- Geoff HuntGeoff HuntGeoffrey Brian Hunt, MBE , is a retired Australian squash player who is widely considered to be one of the greatest squash players in history....
wins the men's squash World Open - ManlyManly-Warringah Sea EaglesThe Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
defeats ParramattaParramatta EelsThe Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
13-10 to win the New South Wales Rugby LeagueNational Rugby LeagueThe National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
Premiership
Births
- 9 January – Amy GillettAmy GillettAmy Gillett was an Australian track cyclist and rower who represented Australia in both sports before her death in a training accident when a motorist crashed into the Australian squad of cyclists with whom she was training....
(d. 2005), cyclist - 18 January – Damien LeithDamien LeithDamien Leo Leith is an Irish Australian singer–songwriter. He was the winner of the Network Ten music contest Australian Idol 2006Damien has also guest co-hosted 'The Morning Show' on Network Ten on 18 July 2011.He was born in Ireland and now lives in Australia with his Australian wife, Eileen...
, singer - 17 February – Matthew LappinMatthew LappinMatthew Lappin is a retired Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League . He was an assistant coach with the Carlton Football Club from 2007–2010, deciding not to renew his contract for 2011....
, Australian rules footballer - 19 February – Travis DenneyTravis DenneyTravis Denney is a male badminton player from Australia.Denney competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's doubles with partner Ashley Brehaut. They were defeated in the round of 32 by Pramote Teerawiwatana and Tesana Panvisvas of Thailand...
, badminton player - 24 February – Bradley McGeeBradley McGeeBradley John McGee OAM is an Australian former professional racing cyclist. He is currently a directeur sportif for UCI ProTeam Team Saxo Bank and the personal coach of young Australian rider Richie Porte. He started cycling in 1986 at the age of ten...
, cyclist - 28 February – David BradburyDavid BradburyDavid John Bradbury is an Australian politician. He is an Australian Labor Party Member of the House of Representatives representing the Division of Lindsay, New South Wales. Bradbury was elected at the 2007 federal election.Bradbury has lived in Western Sydney all his life, and was educated at...
, politician - 28 April – Paul ClearyPaul Cleary (athlete)Paul Marcos Cleary is a retiredmale middle-distance runner from Australia, who represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. There he was eliminated in the qualifying heats of the men's 1,500 metres competition...
, middle-distance runner - 27 May – Bianca NetzlerBianca NetzlerBianca Maree Netzler is a female field hockey midfield player from Australia, who made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the Argentina Tour in 2001. She was a member of the Hockeyroos at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, where the team ended up in fifth place in...
, field hockey player - 4 June – Kasey ChambersKasey ChambersKasey Chambers is an Australian country singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of steel guitar player Bill Chambers, and the sister of musician and producer Nash Chambers.-Solo success:...
, singer - 21 June – Nigel LappinNigel LappinNigel Lappin is a former professional Australian rules footballer.Lappin was born in Corowa, New South Wales, but grew up in Chiltern, Victoria and was drafted to play for the Brisbane Bears in the Australian Football League in 1993, playing his first AFL game the following year...
, Australian rules footballer - 7 August – Megan GaleMegan GaleMegan Kate Gale is an Australian model and actress.- Career :Born in Perth, Western Australia, Megan Gale's father is English and mother is part Maori and is the youngest of three children with two older brothers.-Modeling:...
, model - 24 August- Alex O'LoughlinAlex O'LoughlinAlex O'Loughlin is an Australian actor, currently starring in CBS's Hawaii Five-0 as Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett. His best known earlier roles include Kevin Hiatt in The Shield, Mick St. John in Moonlight, Dr. Andy Yablonski in Three Rivers, and Stan in The Back-up Plan...
, actor - 27 August – Mark WebberMark WebberMark Alan Webber is an Australian Formula One driver.After some racing success in Australia, Webber moved to the United Kingdom in 1995 to further his motorsport career...
, Formula 1 driver - 1 September – Marcos AmbroseMarcos AmbroseMarcos Ambrose is a championship winning Australian racing car driver. He currently drives the #9 Stanley Black & Decker Ford Fusion for Richard Petty Motorsports in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series...
, racing driver - 7 September – Carmel BakurskiCarmel BakurskiCarmel Bakurski is a retired female field hockey defender from Australia. She made her debut for the Australian women's national team during the 1998 season following the 1997 Junior World Cup...
, field hockey defender - 15 September – Brett KimmorleyBrett KimmorleyBrett "Noddy" Kimmorley was an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs of the NRL. He has previously played for five other clubs and has also represented his country and state on several occasions...
, Rugby league footballer - 7 November – Mark PhilippoussisMark PhilippoussisMark Anthony Philippoussis is an Australian tennis player. He turned professional in 1994. His father is Greek, while his mother is of Italian ancestry....
, tennis player - 8 November – Brett LeeBrett LeeBrett Lee is an Australian cricketer.After breaking into the Australian Test team, Lee was recognised as one of the fastest bowlers in world cricket...
, cricketer - 18 November – Matt WelshMatt WelshMatthew "Matt" Welsh is an Australian swimmer who is the former world champion in the backstroke and butterfly. Welsh trained under coach Ian Pope at the Melbourne Vicentre Club. He took two golds in 50 metres butterfly and 50 metres backstroke, during one hour, at the World Championships in...
, swimmer - 30 November – Gail MillerGail Miller (water polo)Gail Miller is an Australian water polo player from the gold medal squad of the 2000 Summer Olympics.- References :...
, water polo player - 6 December – Paul CrakePaul CrakePaul Crake is an Australian professional racing cyclist. Prior to turning to road cycling in 2003, Crake was a successful mountain runner and stairclimbing champion...
, racing cyclist - 31 December – Craig ReucasselCraig ReucasselCraig Bruce Reucassel is a television and radio comedian from Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, comedian
Deaths
- 8 February – Gladys MoncrieffGladys MoncrieffGladys Moncrieff OBE was an Australian singer who was so successful in musical theatre and recordings that she became known as 'Australia's Queen of Song' and 'Our Glad'.-Early years:...
(b. 1892), singer - 21 May – Harold BlairHarold BlairHarold Blair AM was an Australian tenor and Aboriginal activist.- Early life :Blair was born at the Cherbourg Aboriginal Reserve, 5 km from Murgon in Queensland. His mother was Esther Quinn, a teenage Aboriginal woman. His surname, Blair, came from the family that had "adopted" his mother...
(b. 1924), singer and activist - 17 June – Richard CaseyRichard Casey, Baron CaseyRichard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
(b. 1890), Governor General of Australia - 10 August – Bert OldfieldBert OldfieldWilliam Albert Stanley "Bert" Oldfield was an Australian cricket player. He played for New South Wales and the Australian cricket team as wicket-keeper....
(b. 1894), cricketer - 21 September – Peter CrimminsPeter CrimminsPeter Crimmins was a rover for the Hawthorn Football Club in the VFL, playing 176 games and kicking 231 goals from 1966 to 1975. He was an inspirational player and captain from 1974 who wore number 5. He was a member of the Hawks' 1971 premiership team.At the completion of the 1974 VFL season...
B. 1943, Australia Rules Footballer