2001 in Australia
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- MonarchMonarchy in AustraliaThe Monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign of Australia. The monarchy is a constitutional one modelled on the Westminster style of parliamentary government, incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.The present monarch is...
– Queen Elizabeth IIElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,... - 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...
– Sir William DeaneWilliam DeaneSir William Patrick Deane, AC, KBE, QC , Australian judge and the 22nd Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:William Deane was born in Melbourne, Victoria. He was educated at Catholic schools including St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill and at the University of Sydney, where he graduated in...
, then Peter HollingworthPeter HollingworthPeter John Hollingworth AC, OBE is an Australian Anglican bishop. He served as the Archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years before becoming the 23rd Governor-General of Australia from 2001 until 2003.... - 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...
– John HowardJohn HowardJohn Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies.... - Premier of New South Wales – Bob Carr
- Premier of South Australia – John OlsenJohn OlsenJohn Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years...
, then Rob KerinRob KerinRobert Gerard Kerin was the Liberal Premier of South Australia from 22 October 2001 to 5 March 2002. He also served as Deputy Premier of South Australia to John Olsen from 7 July 1998 until he became premier upon Olsen's resignation.... - Premier of Queensland – Peter BeattiePeter BeattiePeter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
- Premier of Tasmania – Jim BaconJim BaconJames Alexander Bacon, AC was Premier of Tasmania from 1998 to 2004.-Early life:Bacon was born in Melbourne; his father Frank, a doctor, died when Jim was twelve, leaving him to be raised by his mother Joan. He was educated at Scotch College and later at Monash University, but he did not graduate....
- 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...
, then Geoffrey Gallop - Premier of Victoria – Steve BracksSteve BracksStephen Philip Bracks AC is a former Australian politician and the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Australian Labor Party, and was party leader and Premier from 1999 to 2007....
- 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...
– Gary HumphriesGary HumphriesGary John Joseph Humphries has been a member of the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory for the Liberal Party of Australia since 2003...
, then Jon StanhopeJon StanhopeJonathan Ronald Stanhope is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assembly from 1998 until 2011. He resigned as Chief Minister on 12 May 2011 and as... - 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...
– Denis Burke, then Clare MartinClare MartinClare Majella Martin is a former Australian politician. She is the current CEO of the Australian Council of Social Service . A former journalist, she was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly in a shock by-election win in 1995... - Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – Ronald Coane Nobbs (until 5 December), Geoffrey Robert GardnerGeoffrey Robert GardnerGeoffrey Robert Gardner is a political figure from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.-Chief Minister of Norfolk Island:Gardner was the chief minister of Norfolk Island from 5 December 2001 to 2 June 2006...
Events
- 1 January – A ceremony at UluruUluruUluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
(AyersHenry AyersSir Henry Ayers GCMG was Premier of South Australia five times between 1863 and 1873, but is perhaps best remembered for having Uluru/Ayers Rock named for him.- Overview :...
Rock) and a parade in Sydney kick off a year of celebrations to mark the centenary of federationFederation of AustraliaThe Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate British self-governing colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia formed one nation...
. - 10 February – In Western Australia, the Liberal PartyLiberal Party of AustraliaThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
/National PartyNational Party of AustraliaThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition government of Richard Court is voted out and replaced by the Australian Labor PartyAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
(ALP), led by Geoff Gallop - 27 February – The LaborAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
government of Peter BeattiePeter BeattiePeter Douglas Beattie , Australian politician, was the 36th Premier of the Australian state of Queensland for nine years and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state for eleven and a half years...
is comfortably re-elected for a second term in Queensland, despite a scandal that broke out weeks before the election that involved breaches of the Electoral Act by several MPs, including the Deputy PremierPremiers of the Australian statesThe Premiers of the Australian states are the de facto heads of the executive governments in the six states of the Commonwealth of Australia. They perform the same function at the state level as the Prime Minister of Australia performs at the national level. The territory equivalents to the...
. - 29 June – Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane Dr Peter HollingworthPeter HollingworthPeter John Hollingworth AC, OBE is an Australian Anglican bishop. He served as the Archbishop of Brisbane for 11 years before becoming the 23rd Governor-General of Australia from 2001 until 2003....
is sworn in as Governor-General of AustraliaGovernor-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...
. He would later resign amidst controversy over his handling of child sex cases during his time as Archbishop. - 20 July – Australian citizen Vivian SolonVivian SolonVivian Alvarez Solon is an Australian who was unlawfully removed to the Philippines by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs in July 2001. In May 2005, it became public knowledge that she had been deported, although DIMIA knew of its mistake in 2003...
is unlawfully deported to the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
by the Department of ImmigrationDepartment of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (Australia)The Department of Immigration and Citizenship is an Australian Government department. It is responsible for immigration arrangements, border control, citizenship, ethnic affairs, multicultural affairs. For the 2008-09 financial year, DIAC had an annual operating budget of A$1.7...
. - 18 August – For the first time since self government was granted to the Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
in 1978, the Country Liberal PartyCountry Liberal PartyThe Northern Territory Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the National and Liberal parties...
is voted out of office and replaced by the ALPAustralian Labor PartyThe Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia... - 24 August – The Tampa affairTampa affairIn August 2001, the Howard Government of Australia refused permission for the Norwegian freighter MV Tampa, carrying 438 rescued Afghans from a distressed fishing vessel in international waters, to enter Australian waters...
begins when the MV TampaMV TampaMV Tampa is a roll-on/roll-off container ship completed in 1984 by Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. in South Korea for the Norway based firm, Wilhelmsen Lines Shipowning.-Tampa affair:...
tries to help a boatload of refugees, mainly from AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The crisis is resolved when New Zealand aggress to take some of the refugees and countries such as NauruNauruNauru , officially the Republic of Nauru and formerly known as Pleasant Island, is an island country in Micronesia in the South Pacific. Its nearest neighbour is Banaba Island in Kiribati, to the east. Nauru is the world's smallest republic, covering just...
and Papua New GuineaPapua New GuineaPapua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
agree to take the rest. This was known as the Pacific SolutionPacific SolutionThe Pacific Solution was the name given to the Australian government policy of transporting asylum seekers to detention camps on small island nations in the Pacific Ocean, rather than allowing them to land on the Australian mainland...
. - 12 September – Ansett AustraliaAnsett AustraliaAnsett Australia, Ansett, Ansett Airlines of Australia, or ANSETT-ANA as it was commonly known in earlier years, was a major Australian airline group, based in Melbourne. The airlines flew domestically within Australia and to destinations in Asia during its operation in 1996...
, one of the oldest airlines in the world and the second-largest in Australia goes under administration with KordaMenthaKordaMenthaKordaMentha is an Australian business known for their work as insolvency and restructuring practitioners. They also provide Corporate Recovery Services, Turnaround Restructuring Services, Real Estate Advisory and Forensic services...
due to major financial struggles. Despite this administrators assure the public that flights will continue as normal. - 14 September- Just two days after going into administration, Ansett Australia ceases operations resulting in a redundancy of 15,000 staff and tens of thousands of stranded passengers. This occurs despite former assurance by the administrators that no such thing would happen.
- 6 October – SIEV-4 reached Christmas IslandChristmas IslandThe Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
with 223 passengers. It was alleged by several in the government that asylum seekers aboard this vessel threw their children overboard in order to attract the attention of Australian authorities. This later became known as the 'Children Overboard Affair' - 12 October – SIEV-5 reached Ashmore Reef with 242 passengers.
- 18 October – SIEV-6 reached Christmas Island with 227 passengers.
- 19 October – SIEV-X, an IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n fishing boat en-route to Christmas IslandChristmas IslandThe Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos Islands....
, carrying over 400 asylum seekers, sank in international waters with the loss of 353 people. - 20 October – The Legislative AssemblyAustralian Capital Territory Legislative AssemblyThe Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory...
election in the Australian Capital TerritoryAustralian Capital TerritoryThe Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...
results in the Labor Party coming to power for the first time since 1995. - 22 October – SIEV-7 reached Ashmore Reef with 233 passengers.
- October – Australia agrees to provide 1550 troops to the US operation in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. - 10 November – In the wake of the 11 September attacks and the Tampa crisis, the LiberalLiberal Party of AustraliaThe Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
/NationalNational Party of AustraliaThe National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
coalition government of John Howard is re-elected for a third term in office. Kim BeazleyKim BeazleyIn the October 1998 election, Labor polled a majority of the two-party vote and received the largest swing to a first-term opposition since 1934. However, due to the uneven nature of the swing, Labor came up eight seats short of making Beazley Prime Minister....
resigns as opposition leader and is replaced by Simon CreanSimon CreanSimon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...
. - 25 December–6 January – Bushfires rageBlack Christmas (bushfires)The Black Christmas bushfires were bushfires that burnt for almost three weeks from 25 December 2001 across New South Wales, Australia. It was the longest continuous bushfire emergency in NSW history....
across 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...
. No-one is killed. - 26 December — the south coast tornadoSouth coast tornadoThe south coast tornado was a tornadic waterspout spawned by a supercell thunderstorm off the south coast of New South Wales on the 26th of December, 2001, during the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The tornado passed very close to the yacht Nicorette, which was severely damaged but able to complete...
occurs during the 2001 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...
.
Arts and literature
- ARIA Music Awards of 2001ARIA Music Awards of 2001The 15th Annual Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards were held on 30 October 2001 at the Capitol Theatre.-Awards:...
- Frank MoorhouseFrank MoorhouseFrank Moorhouse is an acclaimed Australian writer with a growing international reputation. He has won major Australian national prizes for the short story, the novel, the essay, and for script writing....
's novel Dark PalaceDark PalaceDark Palace is a 2000 Miles Franklin literary award winning novel by the Australian author Frank Moorhouse. It forms the second part of the author's Palais de Nations series, following Grand Days in 1993.-Reviews:*"API Review of Books"...
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
- 1 January – Digital TelevisionDigital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
arrives in the major state capitals of Australia, with the ABCAustralian Broadcasting CorporationThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
and SBSSpecial Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
permitted to operate multi-channel services. - 24 April – The AustralianAustralian televisionTelevision in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with stations 3DB and 3UZ using the Radiovision system by Gilbert Miles and Donal McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934....
version of Big BrotherBig Brother (TV series)Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
premieres on Network 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...
. - 11 September – TelevisionTelevisionTelevision is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
networks relay coverage from CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, ABC AmericaAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and the BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for up to 48 hours in the wake of the 11 September attacks. - November – After Prime TelevisionPrime TelevisionPRIME7 is an Australian television network owned by Prime Media Group Limited. Prime Television launched on 17 March 1962 as CBN/CWN in Orange and Dubbo, New South Wales, and has since expanded to cover regional New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory as a Seven Network...
axes Regional televisionRegional television in AustraliaRegional television is a term given to local television services in areas outside of the five main Australian cities .-1960s:...
news bulletins in NewcastleNewcastle, New South WalesThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
, Wollongong and CanberraCanberraCanberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
, and Southern Cross TenSouthern Cross TenSouthern Cross Ten is an Australian television channel broadcast by the Macquarie Media Group in Queensland, New South Wales, the Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and South Australia. The channel is owned by the Macquarie Media Group as is affiliated to Network Ten...
axes regional bulletins in Canberra and North QueenslandNorth QueenslandNorth Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the state of Queensland in Australia. Queensland is a massive state, larger than most countries, and the tropical northern part of it has been historically remote and undeveloped, resulting in a distinctive regional character and...
, the ABAAustralian Broadcasting AuthorityThe Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications....
holds an inquiry into the adequacy of regional news services. Bulletins eventually return to those areas in 2004, albeit in the form of two minute updates during weekdays in the ratings season. - December – After 21 years, Sale of the CenturySale of the CenturySale of the Century is a television game show format that has been screened in several countries in various incarnations since 1969. The show found its biggest success in Australia, where it aired weeknights from 1980 to 2001...
is "rested". It later returns to the 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...
as TemptationTemptationA temptation is an act that looks appealing to an individual. It is usually used to describe acts with negative connotations and as such, tends to lead a person to regret such actions, for various reasons: legal, social, psychological , health, economic, etc...
in 2005.
Sport
- 23 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 2000–2001 season, which are held at the ANZ StadiumQueensland Sport and Athletics CentreThe Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
in Brisbane, Queensland. The 5,000 metres (men and women) were conducted at the Hobart Grand Prix, Tasmania on Sunday 11 March 2001. The 10,000 metres (men and women) were conducted at the Zatopek Classic, Melbourne on Monday 4 December 2000. - 1 June – Australia shock reigning world champions France 1-0 in a group stage game in the Confederations Cup. The Socceroos later go on to claim 3rd place in the tournament, by beating superpower Brazil 1-0.
- 3 June – Wollongong WolvesWollongong WolvesThe South Coast Wolves Football Club is an Australian Association football club based in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia currently playing in the NSW Premier League.The club was formed in 2009 as a not for profit organisation, run and owned by the community since the financial...
defeat Minor Premiers South MelbourneSouth Melbourne FCSouth Melbourne FC is a football club based in South Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Considered the most successful association football club in Australia, they have won four national championships, a string of Victorian State League titles, and represented Oceania in the 2000 FIFA Club World...
2-1 in the National Soccer LeagueNational 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...
Grand Final at Parramatta StadiumParramatta StadiumParramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
, becoming Champions for the second season in succession. - 1 July – Allan LangerAllan LangerAllan "Alfie" Langer AM is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who works as an assistant coach for the Australian national team and Brisbane Broncos...
makes a spectacular comeback to 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...
to lead the QueenslandQueensland Rugby LeagueThe Queensland Rugby Football League is the governing body for rugby league in Queensland. It is a member of the Australian Rugby League and selects the members of Queensland State of Origin teams....
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...
team to a 40–14 victory over their 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...
counterparts at ANZ StadiumQueensland Sport and Athletics CentreThe Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre , more commonly known by its former names ANZ Stadium or QE II, is a major sporting facility on the south side of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia...
, in what was supposed to be Brad FittlerBrad FittlerBradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
's last representative game. - 31 August – The Sydney SwiftsSydney SwiftsThe Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team, playing in the national Commonwealth Bank Trophy. They were based out of Acer Arena and Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre in the suburb of Homebush. Following the 2003 demise of the Sydney Sandpipers, the Swifts were the only team representing the...
defeat the Adelaide ThunderbirdsAdelaide ThunderbirdsThe Adelaide Thunderbirds are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The Thunderbirds were formed as one of the foundation teams of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy , previously the premier netball league in Australia, which was...
57-32 in the Commonwealth Bank TrophyCommonwealth Bank TrophyThe Commonwealth Bank Trophy was the pre-eminent national netball competition in Australia from 1997 to 2007.It was established in 1997 as a true national league to replace the ailing, state club-based Mobil League. Designed from the beginning to be more marketable to the general public, it saw...
netballNetballNetball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...
grand final. - 29 September – The Brisbane LionsBrisbane LionsThe Brisbane Lions is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based in Brisbane, Queensland. The club was formed from the merger of the Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions in 1996...
(15.18.108) defeat the EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
(12.10.82) to win the 105th VFL/AFLAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
premiership. It is the first of three consecutive premierships for 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...
& until March 2007, the last ever game of Australian rules footballAustralian rules footballAustralian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
broadcast on the Seven NetworkSeven 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...
until 2008. - 30 September – The Newcastle KnightsNewcastle KnightsThe Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
defeat the Parramatta EelsParramatta 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...
30-24 to win the 94th NSWRL/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...
/NRLNational 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. It is the second premiership for the Knights & the first grand final played at night. - 7 October – Mark SkaifeMark SkaifeMark Stephen Skaife OAM is an Australian motor racing driver. Skaife is a five time winner of the V8 Supercar Championship Series, including its predecessor the Australian Touring Car Championship. He is also a six-time winner of Australia's most prestigious domestic motor race, the Bathurst 1000...
and Tony LonghurstTony LonghurstTony Longhurst is an Australian former racing driver and Australian Champion water skier. He is most noted for his career in the Australian Touring Car Championship and V8 Supercar series....
survive a late race challenge from Brad Jones and John BoweJohn Bowe (racing driver)John Bowe is an Australian racing driver, presently racing a 1969 Ford Mustang in the historic series, Touring Car Masters....
to win the V8Supercar Bathurst 10002001 V8Supercar 1000The 2001 V8 Supercar 1000 was the fifth running of the Australia 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997...
for the Holden Racing TeamHolden Racing TeamThe Holden Racing Team is a Melbourne based motor racing team. HRT is the most successful V8 Supercar racing team in the history of the category, having won the drivers championship six times, and the series signature race the Bathurst 1000 seven times...
. - 28 October – Borislav Devic wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:29:11 in Sydney, while Krishna Wood claims the women's title in 2:38:11.
- 6 November – Sheila LaxonSheila LaxonSheila Laxon was the first female thoroughbred horse trainer to win the Australian cups double, the Caulfield Cup and Melbourne Cup, with her mare Ethereal in 2001...
becomes the first female trainer to win 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...
when EtherealEthereal (horse)Ethereal is a New Zealand Thoroughbred mare who was a very successful racehorse. She was owned and bred by brothers, Peter and Phillip Vela who own Pencarrow Stud and New Zealand Bloodstock. Ethereal was sired by the 1989 U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Rhythm . Her...
wins. - 25 November – The Soccerooos lose 0–3 to Uruguay in the 2nd leg of the CONMEBOL-OFC playoff & fail to qualify for the 2002 FIFA World Cup2002 FIFA World CupThe 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
on aggregate.
Deaths
- 25 February – Donald BradmanDonald BradmanSir Donald George Bradman, AC , often referred to as "The Don", was an Australian cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time...
(b. 1908), cricketer and businessman - 5 August – Christopher SkaseChristopher SkaseChristopher Charles Skase was an Australian businessman who later became one of his country's most wanted fugitives, after his business empire crashed spectacularly and he fled to Majorca in Spain.-Early life:...
(b. 1948), businessman and fugitive - 29 August – Graham "Shirley" StrachanGraham StrachanGraeme "Shirley" Strachan was the lead singer of Australian 1970s rock group Skyhooks.Born in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern, he was an avid surfer, and his nickname "Shirley" was given to him by his surfer friends because of his long, sunbleached and very curly hair, referring to Shirley...
(b. 1952), singer & television presenter - 1 September – Foster Neil WilliamsFos WilliamsFoster Neil "Fos" Williams AM was a leading Australian rules footballer who played for and coached the Port Adelaide and West Adelaide Football Clubs and coached South Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League in a career spanning 1946-1978...
(b. 1922), Australian Rules footballer and coach