2008 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...
– Michael JefferyMichael JefferyMajor General Philip Michael Jeffery AC, CVO, MC was the 24th Governor-General of Australia , the first Australian career soldier to be appointed governor-general...
(until 5 September), then Quentin BryceQuentin BryceQuentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland.... - 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...
– Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
Premiers and Chief Ministers
- Premier of New South Wales – Morris IemmaMorris IemmaMorris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
(until 5 September), then Nathan ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009... - Premier of South Australia – Mike RannMike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
- Premier of Queensland – Anna BlighAnna BlighAnna Maria Bligh is an Australian politician and the Premier of Queensland since 2007. The 2009 Queensland state election was the first time a female-led political party won or retained state or federal government in Australia...
- Premier of Tasmania – Paul LennonPaul LennonPaul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008...
(until 26 May), then David BartlettDavid BartlettDavid John Bartlett is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison from 2004 to 2011.-Early life:He has been a resident... - 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...
– Alan CarpenterAlan CarpenterAlan John Carpenter is a former Australian politician. He was the 28th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2008. He took office following the resignation of Dr Geoff Gallop...
(until 23 September), then Colin BarnettColin BarnettColin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008... - Premier of Victoria – John BrumbyJohn BrumbyJohn Mansfield Brumby , is an Australian Labor Party politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2007 to 2010. He became Premier after the resignation of Steve Bracks. He also served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs and the Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He contested his first election...
- 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...
– 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...
– Paul HendersonPaul Henderson (Australian politician)Paul Raymond Henderson is an Australian politician and the current Chief Minister of the Northern Territory.Henderson was born in Croix-Chapeau, France, where his father was serving with the United States military. He was educated in Great Britain to A-Levels and studied mechanical... - Chief Minister of Norfolk Island – Andre NobbsAndre NobbsAndre Neville Nobbs is a political figure from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.He was elected to the Norfolk Island legislative Assembly in 2010 to become the Minister for Tourism, Industry and Development.-Chief Minister of Norfolk Island:...
Governors and Administrators
- Governor of New South Wales – Marie BashirMarie BashirMarie Roslyn Bashir AC, CVO is the present Governor of New South Wales since 2001 and also the Chancellor of the University of Sydney since 2007. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular...
- Governor of South Australia – Kevin ScarceKevin ScarceRear Admiral Kevin John Scarce, AC, CSC, RANR is a retired officer of the Royal Australian Navy and the Governor of South Australia. He succeeded Marjorie Jackson-Nelson as Governor on 8 August 2007...
- Governor of Queensland – Quentin BryceQuentin BryceQuentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
(until 29 July), then Penelope WensleyPenelope WensleyPenelope "Penny" Anne Wensley, AC is the Governor of Queensland and a former Australian diplomat.Born in Toowoomba, Queensland, she was educated at Penrith High School in New South Wales, the Rosa Bassett School in London , and the University of Queensland where she graduated with a first class... - Governor of Tasmania – William CoxWilliam Cox (governor)William John Ellis Cox, AC, RFD, ED, QC was Governor of Tasmania from 15 December 2004 to 2 April 2008, prior to which he was the state's Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor....
(until 2 April), then Peter Underwood - Governor of Western AustraliaGovernor of Western AustraliaThe Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia's Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. The Governor performs important constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:* presiding over the Executive Council;...
– Ken MichaelKen MichaelKenneth Comninos Michael, AC was the 32nd Governor of Western Australia, succeeding Lieutenant-General John Sanderson.His vice-regal appointment was announced on 6 June 2005 by the then Premier Geoff Gallop and he was sworn in at Government House, Perth on 18 January 2006 by the Chief Justice of... - Governor of Victoria – David de KretserDavid de KretserDavid Morritz de Kretser, AC is an Australian medical researcher and a former Governor of Victoria from 2006 to 2011.-Biography:...
- Administrator of the Northern TerritoryAdministrator of the Northern TerritoryThe Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to exercise powers analogous to that of a state governor...
– Tom PaulingTom PaulingThomas Ian "Tom" Pauling, AO, QC is an Australian lawyer who is currently serving as Administrator of the Northern Territory.... - Administrator of Norfolk Island – Owen WalshOwen WalshOwen Edward John Walsh is the current Administrator of the Australian territory of Norfolk Island.Walsh was educated at the University of Tasmania, from which he graduated with degrees in Arts and Law...
(acting until 2 October)
January
- 1 January onwards – Torrential rain causes widespread flooding and damage to parts of South East QueenslandSouth East QueenslandSouth East Queensland is a region of the state of Queensland in Australia, which contains approximately two-thirds of the state population...
and the North Coast of 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...
. - 11 January – An Airbus A319 lands at the new Wilkins RunwayWilkins RunwayWilkins Runway is a single runway aerodrome operated by Australia, located on upper Peterson Glacier, Budd Coast, Wilkes Land on the continent of Antarctica, but 40 km southeast of the actual coast...
in the Australian Antarctic TerritoryAustralian Antarctic TerritoryThe Australian Antarctic Territory is a part of Antarctica. It was claimed by the United Kingdom and placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation...
, becoming the first passenger flight from Australia to Antarctica. - 15 January – An Australian Sea ShepherdSea ShepherdThe Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is a non-profit, marine conservation organization based in Friday Harbor, Washington in the United States. The group uses direct action tactics to protect sealife...
activist, Benjamin Potts, and his British colleague, Giles Lane, are detained on board the Japanese whalingWhalingWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
vessel Yushin Maru No. 2 after boarding the ship which was inside the Southern Ocean Whale SanctuarySouthern Ocean Whale SanctuaryThe Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is an area of 50 million square kilometres surrounding the continent of Antarctica where the International Whaling Commission has banned all types of commercial whaling...
near Antarctica. - 15 January – Victoria PoliceVictoria PoliceVictoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of Victoria, Australia. , the Victoria Police has over 12,190 sworn members, along with over 400 recruits, reservists and Protective Service Officers, and over 2,900 civilian staff across 393 police stations.-Early history:The Victoria Police...
officers use capsicum spray to subdue unruly Greek spectators at the 2008 Australian Open2008 Australian OpenThe 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
, during a match between Konstantinos EconomidisKonstantinos EconomidisKonstantinos Economidis is a professional Greek tennis player. In 2007, he qualified for the French Open and defeated Australian Chris Guccione in the first round before losing to Tommy Robredo in the second round. He suffered injury in 2008 and in January 2010 was ranked 653 in the world. He...
and Fernando GonzálezFernando González----Fernando Francisco González Ciuffardi is a professional tennis player from Chile. He is known for having one of the hardest forehands on the circuit. In Spanish he is called El Bombardero de La Reina and Mano de Piedra...
. - 17 January – An explosion in a wine processing shed at Drayton's Winery in the 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...
Hunter ValleyHunter ValleyThe Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
kills two men including winery owner Trevor DraytonTrevor DraytonTrevor Drayton was an Australian winemaker, frequently described as an "icon" of the Australian wine industry. Drayton's Wines have been in the industry since 1853....
, and injures one. - 23 January – After 128 years, the final edition of The BulletinThe BulletinThe Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
is published. Its demise was announced on 20 January.
February
- 8 February – A controversial plan to deepen MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
's shipping channels by dredging Port Philip Bay begins. - 13 February – An apology containing the word "sorry" is made by Kevin Rudd to Indigenous AustraliansIndigenous AustraliansIndigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
for the stolen generationStolen GenerationThe Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments...
as the first order of business of the new ParliamentParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
. - 22 February – ParliamentParliament of AustraliaThe Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress...
descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the 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...
is bought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.
March
- 12 March – AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
experiences a national record heatwave for an Australian capital city, recording over ten straight days of temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius. - 14 March – Former New South Wales governmentGovernment of New South WalesThe form of the Government of New South Wales is prescribed in its Constitution, which dates from 1856, although it has been amended many times since then...
minister Milton OrkopoulosMilton OrkopoulosMilton Orkopoulos is a former Australian Labor Party politician, and convicted criminal. A member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999, Orkopoulos was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship in August 2005.In November 2006, New...
is found guilty of 28 charges of child sex offences and the supply of drugs. - 16 March – The South Australian heatwave continues with AdelaideAdelaideAdelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
experiencing its 14th straight day of temperatures above 35 degrees. - 16 March – The Finding Sydney Foundation announces it has located the wrecks of the Australian light cruiser HMAS SydneyHMAS Sydney (1934)HMAS Sydney , named for the Australian city of Sydney, was one of three Modified Leander class light cruisers operated by the Royal Australian Navy...
and the German auxiliary cruiser KormoranGerman auxiliary cruiser KormoranThe German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a Kriegsmarine merchant raider of World War II. Originally the merchant vessel Steiermark, the ship was acquired by the Kriegsmarine following the outbreak of war for conversion into a raider...
, which both sunk after a battleBattle between HMAS Sydney and HSK KormoranThe battle between HMAS Sydney and German auxiliary cruiser Kormoran was a single ship action between the Australian light cruiser , with Captain Joseph Burnett commanding, and the German auxiliary cruiser , under Fregattenkapitän Theodor Detmers...
in 1941. - 26 March – At the Council of Australian GovernmentsCouncil of Australian GovernmentsThe Council of Australian Governments is an organisation consisting of the federal government, the governments of the six states and two mainland territories and the Australian Local Government Association. It was established in May 1992 after agreement by the then Prime Minister, Premiers and...
meeting, the Victorian governmentGovernment of VictoriaThe Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
agrees to take part in a A$Australian dollarThe Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
10 billion rescue plan for the Murray-Darling BasinMurray-Darling BasinThe Murray-Darling basin is a large geographical area in the interior of southeastern Australia, whose name is derived from its two major rivers, the Murray River and the Darling River. It drains one-seventh of the Australian land mass, and is currently by far the most significant agricultural...
, after 15 months of negotiations. - 27 March – The Opes PrimeOpes PrimeOpes Prime Group Limited was an Australian securities lending and stockbroking firm which suffered a dramatic collapse in 2008.-Overview:The company was founded in 2003 by Laurie Emini and Julian Smith...
stockbroking firm collapses, and the Australian Securities and Investments CommissionAustralian Securities and Investments CommissionThe Australian Securities & Investments Commission is an independent Australian government body that acts as Australia's corporate regulator...
announces it is conducting an investigation into the firm's activities. - 28 March – Mitsubishi MotorsMitsubishi Motorsis a multinational automaker headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. In 2009 it was the fifth-largest Japan-based automaker and the 17th-largest in the world measured by production...
Australia Limited closes its Clovelly ParkClovelly Park, South AustraliaClovelly Park is an inner southern suburb of Adelaide in the local government area of the City of Marion. Before becoming an 'advanced' suburb, it was a farm and vineyard. It has a population of around 2,700. The borders are defined by Daws Road to the north, South Road to the east, Sturt Road to...
manufacturing facility, ending more than 40 years of manufacturing at the site. - 30 March – The extension of daylight saving timeDaylight saving timeDaylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
by a week to standardise time in 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...
, VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, 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...
, TasmaniaTasmaniaTasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
and South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
causes a "mini-Y2KYear 2000 problemThe Year 2000 problem was a problem for both digital and non-digital documentation and data storage situations which resulted from the practice of abbreviating a four-digit year to two digits.In computer programs, the practice of representing the year with two...
problem" as computer systems, mobile phones and even the "speaking clockSpeaking clockA speaking clock service is a recorded or simulated human voice service, usually accessed by telephone, that gives the correct time. The first telephone speaking clock service was introduced in France, in association with the Paris Observatory on 14 February 1933.The format of the service is...
" incorrectly adjust the time back one hour. - 30 March – The gag orderGag orderA gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
applied to David HicksDavid HicksDavid Matthew Hicks is an Australian who was convicted by the United States of America Guantanamo Military Commission under the Military Commissions Act of 2006, on charges of providing material support for terrorism...
by the Guantanamo military commissionGuantanamo military commissionThe Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
is lifted, allowing him to discuss his detainment at Guantanamo Bay detention camp.
April
- 18 April – Australian swimmer Nick D'ArcyNick D'ArcyNicholas James D'Arcy is a national-record holding butterfly swimmer from Australia. He was removed from Australia's 2008 Olympic team due to a violent altercation that happened shortly after the Australian Olympic Trials...
has his Beijing ticket terminated following an incident at a nightclub involving former swimmer Simon CowleySimon CowleySimon Thomas John Cowley is a former English cricketer. Cowley was a right-handed batsman who bowled right-arm off break...
. - 19 April – The Australia 2020 SummitAustralia 2020 SummitThe Australia 2020 Summit was a convention, referred to in Australian media as a summit, which was held on 19-20 April 2008 in Canberra, Australia, aiming to "help shape a long term strategy for the nation's future"...
begins in 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...
. - 30 April – The Victorian governmentGovernment of VictoriaThe Government of Victoria, under the Constitution of Australia, ceded certain legislative and judicial powers to the Commonwealth, but retained complete independence in all other areas...
agrees to implement safety measures for MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
taxiTaxicabA taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
drivers, after dozens of taxis blockade the intersection of Flinders and Swanston Streets following the stabbing of a driver the previous day.
May
- 1 May – Five people are killed when a runaboutRunabout (boat)A runabout is any small motorboat holding between four and eight people, well suited to moving about on the water. Runabouts can be used for racing, for pleasure activities like fishing and water skiing, or as a ship's tender for larger vessels...
collides with a fishing boat on Sydney Harbour. - 17 May – Fugitive gangster Tony MokbelTony MokbelAntonios Sajih 'Tony' Mokbel is an Australian from Melbourne, Australia, who was a fugitive until his recapture in Athens, Greece on 5 June 2007. He is of Lebanese descent and born in Kuwait. Detectives from Operation Purana allege that he is the mastermind behind the Melbourne amphetamines trade...
arrives in Australia following his extraditionExtraditionExtradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
from Greece. - 26 May – Paul LennonPaul LennonPaul Anthony Lennon is an Australian Labor Party politician. He was Premier of Tasmania from 21 March 2004 until his resignation on 26 May 2008. He was member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly for the seat of Franklin from 1990 until officially resigning on 27 May 2008...
announces his resignation as Premier of Tasmania. His deputy, David BartlettDavid BartlettDavid John Bartlett is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly seat of Denison from 2004 to 2011.-Early life:He has been a resident...
, is sworn in as the new Premier later in the day. - 26 May – Camden Council in Sydney votes unanimously to reject a proposal to build a 1,200 student IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic school in the area.
June
- 1 June – Australia ends its combat operations in IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, withdrawing approximately 550 troops from the region. - 3 June – A gas explosion at a plant on Varanus IslandVaranus IslandVaranus Island is the largest of the Lowendal Islands, an archipelago off the north west coast of Western Australia, near Karratha in the Pilbara region...
in Western Australia severely disrupts gas supplies to the state. - 8 June – It is revealed that New South Wales Education Minister John Della BoscaJohn Della BoscaJohn Joseph Della Bosca is a former Australian politician, representing the Australian Labor Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council...
and his wife, federal Member for RobertsonDivision of RobertsonThe Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....
Belinda NealBelinda NealBelinda Jane Neal , a former Australian federal politician, was a Member of the House of Representatives representing the electorate of Robertson between 2007 and 2010; and representing the state of New South Wales in the Senate from 1994 to 1998, both of behalf of the Australian Labor...
, were allegedly involved in an altercation at a nightclub in Gosford, New South WalesGosford, New South WalesGosford is a city located on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, approximately 76 km north of the Sydney central business district...
. - 28 June – A by-electionGippsland by-election, 2008A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Gippsland on 28 June 2008. It was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Peter McGauran....
is held in the federal seat of GippslandDivision of GippslandThe Division of Gippsland is anAustralian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was one of the original 75 divisions contested at the first federal election. It is named for the Gippsland region of eastern Victoria, which in turn is named for Sir George Gipps, Governor of New South Wales...
following the resignation of the sitting MP, Peter McGauran. Darren ChesterDarren ChesterDarren Jeffrey Chester is an Australian politician. He is the National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives for the electoral division of Gippsland in Victoria. He was elected at the 2008 by-election caused by the resignation of Peter McGauran.Chester was born in the Victorian...
wins the by-election, retaining the seat for the 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...
.
July
- 1 July – 36 State Senators elected in the 2007 election take their seats in the Australian SenateAustralian SenateThe Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...
. For the first time in 31 years, the Australian DemocratsAustralian DemocratsThe Australian Democrats is an Australian political party espousing a socially liberal ideology. It was formed in 1977, by a merger of the Australia Party and the New LM, after principals of those minor parties secured the commitment of former Liberal minister Don Chipp, as a high profile leader...
have no Senators in the parliament. - 11 July – The Apple iPhoneIPhoneThe iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
is officially released in Australia. - 13 July – Pope Benedict XVIPope Benedict XVIBenedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...
arrives for his first papal visit to Australia, ahead of World Youth Day 2008World Youth Day 2008The 23rd World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was decided by Pope Benedict XVI, during the Cologne...
. - 15 July to 20 July – World Youth Day 2008World Youth Day 2008The 23rd World Youth Day 2008 was a Catholic youth festival that started on 15 July and continued until 20 July 2008 in Sydney, Australia. It was the first World Youth Day held in Australia and the first World Youth Day in Oceania. This meeting was decided by Pope Benedict XVI, during the Cologne...
, the Catholic Church's youth festival is held in Sydney. - 26 July – The Queensland divisions of 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...
and the 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...
merge to form the Liberal National Party. - 29 July – Chris EvansChris Evans (Australian politician)Christopher Vaughan Evans is an Australian politician and a member of the Australian Senate for the state of Western Australia, representing the Australian Labor Party.-Early life:...
, the Minister for Immigration and CitizenshipMinister for Immigration and Citizenship (Australia)In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship is responsible for overseeing the Department of Immigration and Citizenship....
, announces that the Australian governmentGovernment of AustraliaThe Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
will reform the policy regarding mandatory detentionMandatory detention in AustraliaMandatory detention in Australia concerns the Australian federal government's policy and system of mandatory immigration detention active from 1992 to date, pursuant to which all persons entering the country without a valid visa are compulsorily detained and sometimes subject to deportation.In the...
of asylum seekers.
August
- 8 August – The Australian Federal PoliceAustralian Federal PoliceThe Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
conduct what is claimed to be the world's biggest ecstasyMethylenedioxymethamphetamineMDMA is an entactogenic drug of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of drugs. In popular culture, MDMA has become widely known as "ecstasy" , usually referring to its street pill form, although this term may also include the presence of possible adulterants...
drugs bust, seizing A$Australian dollarThe Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
440 million worth of the drug. - 9 August – A general electionNorthern Territory general election, 2008General elections were held in the Northern Territory of Australia on 9 August 2008. 23 of the 25 seats in the Legislative Assembly were contested; two safe Labor seats were uncontested...
is held in 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...
with 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...
retaining government.
September
- 5 September – Quentin BryceQuentin BryceQuentin Bryce, AC, CVO is the 25th and current Governor-General of Australia and former Governor of Queensland....
is sworn in as the first female 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...
. - 6 September – A general electionWestern Australian state election, 2008A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
is held in Western Australia. - 6 September – By-electionBy-electionA by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
s are held in the federal electorates of MayoMayo by-election, 2008A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Mayo on 6 September 2008, following the retirement of Liberal Party MP Alexander Downer. The by-election was held on the same day as the Lyne by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
and LyneLyne by-election, 2008A by-election was held for the Australian House of Representatives seat of Lyne on 6 September 2008. This was triggered by the resignation of National Party MP Mark Vaile. The by-election was held on the same day as the Mayo by-election, and the Western Australian state election.The writ for the...
, following the resignation of MPs Alexander DownerAlexander DownerAlexander John Gosse Downer is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was Foreign Minister of Australia from March 1996 to December 2007, the longest-serving in Australian history...
and Mark VaileMark VaileMark Anthony James Vaile , Australian politician, is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and former leader of the National Party of Australia.-Early life:...
respectively. The Liberal Party retains Mayo, but the National Party loses Lyne to an independent candidate, Rob OakeshottRob OakeshottRobert James Murray "Rob" Oakeshott is an Australian politician. He is the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales, which he won in the 2008 by-election following the resignation of former Nationals leader and Howard minister Mark Vaile...
. - 14 September – The 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...
agrees to support 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...
to form a minority governmentMinority governmentA minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
in Western Australia. PremierPremier 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...
Alan CarpenterAlan CarpenterAlan John Carpenter is a former Australian politician. He was the 28th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2008. He took office following the resignation of Dr Geoff Gallop...
announces he will resign following 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...
's defeat in the 2008 WA electionWestern Australian state election, 2008A general election was held in the state of Western Australia on Saturday 6 September 2008 to elect 59 members to the Legislative Assembly and 36 members to the Legislative Council...
– the first defeat of a state Labor government in Australia in over thirteen years. - 16 September – Malcolm TurnbullMalcolm TurnbullMalcolm Bligh Turnbull is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2004, and was Leader of the Opposition and parliamentary leader of the Liberal Party from 16 September 2008 to 1 December 2009.Turnbull has represented the Division...
becomes Leader of the Opposition when he defeats Brendan NelsonBrendan NelsonDr Brendan John Nelson is a former Australian politician and former federal Opposition leader. He served as a member of the Australian House of Representatives from the 1996 federal election until 19 October 2009 as the Liberal member for Bradfield, a northern Sydney seat...
in a ballot for the leadership of the Liberal Party of AustraliaLiberal 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...
. - 23 September – Colin BarnettColin BarnettColin James Barnett , Australian politician, is the leader of the Western Australian Liberal Party, the 29th and current Premier of Western Australia since the 2008 election and served as the Treasurer of Western Australia in 2010. He was sworn into office by Governor Ken Michael on 23 September 2008...
is sworn in as 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...
. - 25 September – Morris IemmaMorris IemmaMorris Iemma , is a former Australian politician and 40th Premier of New South Wales, succeeding Bob Carr after he resigned on 3 August 2005. Iemma led the Australian Labor Party to victory in the 2007 election before resigning as Premier on 5 September 2008, and as a Member of Parliament on 19...
retires as Premier of New South Wales, and his replacement is won by Nathan ReesNathan ReesNathan Rees MP, , an Australian politician, was the 41st Premier of New South Wales and parliamentary leader of the New South Wales division of the Australian Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009...
. - 30 September – Professor Ross GarnautRoss GarnautRoss Gregory Garnaut AO is a Distinguished Professor of Economics at the Australian National University and both a Vice-Chancellor's Fellow and Professorial Fellow of Economics at The University of Melbourne....
releases his final report in the Garnaut Climate Change ReviewGarnaut Climate Change ReviewThe Garnaut Climate Change Review was a study by Professor Ross Garnaut, commissioned by then Opposition Leader, Kevin Rudd and by the Australian State and Territory Governments on 30 April 2007...
.
October
- 10 October – Prime Minister Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
receives a phone call from U.S. PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
during a dinner party at The Lodge. A subsequent edition of The AustralianThe AustralianThe Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
newspaper reports that during the call, President Bush asked Rudd what the G-20G-20 major economiesThe Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
was. Although the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
and the Prime Minister deny this exchange took place, the OppositionOpposition (Australia)Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in Australia fulfils the same function as the official opposition in other Commonwealth of Nations monarchies. It is seen as the alternative government and the existing administration's main opponent at a general election...
uses the event to question Mr Rudd's discretion. - 18 October – A general electionAustralian Capital Territory general election, 2008Elections to the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly were held on Saturday, 18 October 2008. The incumbent Labor Party, led by Jon Stanhope, was challenged by the Liberal Party, led by Zed Seselja. Candidates were elected to fill three multi-member electorates using a single...
is held 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...
.
November
- 16 November – The Gap, QueenslandThe Gap, QueenslandThe Gap is a leafy and hilly suburb of Brisbane, in Queensland, Australia, located approximately 11 km west of the Brisbane CBD.-Geography:...
and surrounding areas are affected by severe thunderstorms with MicroburstMicroburstA microburst is a very localized column of sinking air, producing damaging divergent and straight-line winds at the surface that are similar to, but distinguishable from, tornadoes, which generally have convergent damage. There are two types of microbursts: wet microbursts and dry microbursts...
.
December
- 15 December – Prime Minister Kevin RuddKevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...
announces that Australia will cut its greenhouse gasGreenhouse gasA greenhouse gas is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range. This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone...
emissions by five per cent of 2000 levels by the year 2020, with an option to reduce by 15 per cent if other developing countries take similar action. The announcement is criticised by the Australian GreensAustralian GreensThe Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...
and environmental groups as not going far enough.
Arts and literature
- 7 March – Del Kathryn BartonDel Kathryn BartonDel Kathryn Barton is an Australian artist, who won the 2008 Archibald Prize. She is represented by Karen Woodbury Gallery, Melbourne, Australia and , Sydney, Australia....
wins the 2008 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...
for You are what is most beautiful about me, a self portrait with Kell and Arella, a self-portraitSelf-portraitA self-portrait is a representation of an artist, drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by the artist. Although self-portraits have been made by artists since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid 15th century that artists can be frequently identified depicting...
with her children. - 13 March – Australian author Sonya HartnettSonya HartnettSonya Hartnett is an Australian author.Hartnett writes fiction variously for children, young adults and adults and has won numerous prizes and awards, having been described as "the finest Australian writer of her generation". She wrote her first novel, Trouble All the Way, at the age of thirteen...
wins the 2008 Astrid Lindgren Memorial AwardAstrid Lindgren Memorial AwardThe Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award is an international children's literature award, established by the Swedish government in 2002 in honour of the Swedish children's books writer Astrid Lindgren...
for young adult literature. - 23 May – New South Wales PoliceNew South Wales PoliceThe New South Wales Police Force is the primary law enforcement agency in the State of New South Wales, Australia. It is an agency of the Government of New South Wales within the New South Wales Ministry for Police...
seize a number of photographs depicting naked children by artist Bill HensonBill HensonBill Henson is an Australian contemporary art photographer.-Background:Henson's art has been exhibited in many locations, including the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Venice Biennale, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in...
which were to be exhibited the previous day. - 19 June – Steven CarrollSteven CarrollSteven Carroll is an Australian novelist. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria and studied at La Trobe University. He has taught English at secondary school level, and drama at RMIT...
's novel The Time We Have TakenThe Time We Have TakenThe Time We Have Taken is a Miles Franklin Award winning novel by Australian author Steven Carroll. It is the third in a sequence of novels, following The Art of the Engine Driver and The Gift of Speed, which follow the development of an outer Melbourne suburb from the 1950s to the 1970s...
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 ... - 12 September – Stephen Conte's novel The Zookeeper's War wins the Prime Minister's Literary Award for Fiction, and Ochre and Rust: Artefacts and Encounters on Australian Frontiers by Philip Jones wins the Non-Fiction award.
- 19 September – First-time novelist Andrew Croome wins the Vogel Literary AwardThe Australian/Vogel Literary AwardThe Australian/Vogel Literary Award is an Australian literary award for unpublished manuscripts by writers under the age of 35. The prize money, currently A$20,000, is the richest and most prestigious award for an unpublished manuscript in Australia...
for his manuscript about the Petrov affairPetrov AffairThe Petrov Affair was a dramatic Cold War spy incident in Australia in April 1954, concerning Vladimir Petrov, Third Secretary of the Soviet embassy in Canberra.- History :...
, Document Z. - 15 October – Indian-Australian journalist Aravind AdigaAravind AdigaAravind Adiga is an Indian writer and journalist. His debut novel, The White Tiger, won the 2008 Man Booker Prize.-Early life and education:...
wins the 2008 Man Booker PrizeMan Booker PrizeThe Man Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original full-length novel, written in the English language, by a citizen of the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland, or Zimbabwe. The winner of the Man Booker Prize is generally assured of international renown and...
for his debut novel, The White TigerThe White TigerThe White Tiger is the debut novel by Indian author Aravind Adiga. It was first published in 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize in the same year. The novel provides a darkly comical view of modern day life in India through the narration of its protagonist Balram Halwai...
.
Arts and literature award winners
- Michelle de KretserMichelle de KretserMichelle de Kretser is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka but moved to Australia when she was 14.She was educated in Melbourne and Paris, and published her first novel, The Rose Grower in 1999...
is awarded the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal for The Lost DogThe Lost Dog-Awards:*Commonwealth Writers Prize, South East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, 2008: shortlisted*Barbara Jefferis Award, 2008: shortlisted*New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, 2008: winner...
. - Michelle de KretserMichelle de KretserMichelle de Kretser is an Australian novelist who was born in Sri Lanka but moved to Australia when she was 14.She was educated in Melbourne and Paris, and published her first novel, The Rose Grower in 1999...
's novel The Lost DogThe Lost Dog-Awards:*Commonwealth Writers Prize, South East Asia and South Pacific Region, Best Book, 2008: shortlisted*Barbara Jefferis Award, 2008: shortlisted*New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards, Christina Stead Prize for Fiction, 2008: winner...
wins the Christina Stead Prize for fictionNew South Wales Premier's Literary AwardsThe New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards were established in 1979 by the New South Wales Premier Neville Wran. Commenting on its purpose, Wran said: "We want the arts to take, and be seen to take, their proper place in our social priorities...
. - Helen GarnerHelen GarnerHelen Garner is an award-winning Australian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist.-Life:Garner was born in Geelong, Victoria, the eldest of six children. She attended Manifold Heights State School, Ocean Grove State School and then The Hermitage in Geelong...
's novel The Spare RoomThe Spare RoomThe Spare Room is a novel by Australian writer Helen Garner, set over the course of three weeks while the narrator, Helen, cares for a friend dying of bowel cancer. The Spare Room was published in 2008.- Plot summary:...
wins the Vance Palmer Prize for FictionVance Palmer Prize for FictionThe Vance Palmer Prize for Fiction is a component of the annual Victorian Premier's Literary Award and is valued at A$30,000. Most Australian state premiers present annual Australian literary awards to promote Australian writing in all its forms. The award is named after Vance Palmer...
.
Science and technology
- 5 August – Google Street ViewGoogle Street ViewGoogle Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world...
images of Australian city streets are added to Google MapsGoogle MapsGoogle Maps is a web mapping service application and technology provided by Google, free , that powers many map-based services, including the Google Maps website, Google Ride Finder, Google Transit, and maps embedded on third-party websites via the Google Maps API...
and Google EarthGoogle EarthGoogle Earth is a virtual globe, map and geographical information program that was originally called EarthViewer 3D, and was created by Keyhole, Inc, a Central Intelligence Agency funded company acquired by Google in 2004 . It maps the Earth by the superimposition of images obtained from satellite...
software.
Film
- 26 February – MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-born film producer Eva OrnerEva OrnerEva Orner is an Australian film producer. Her works include Untold Desires , Strange Fits of Passion Eva Orner (born 1969) is an Australian film producer. Her works include Untold Desires (winner of Best Documentary at the Australian Film Institute Awards, the Logie Awards and the Australian Human...
wins an Academy Award for Documentary FeatureAcademy Award for Documentary FeatureThe Academy Award for Documentary Feature is among the most prestigious awards for documentary films.- Winners and nominees:Following the Academy's practice, films are listed below by the award year...
for the film Taxi to the Dark SideTaxi to the Dark SideTaxi to the Dark Side is a 2007 documentary film directed by American filmmaker Alex Gibney, and produced by Eva Orner and Susannah Shipman, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature...
. - 26 November – Baz LuhrmannBaz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
's epic film AustraliaAustralia (2008 film)Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
, starring Nicole KidmanNicole KidmanNicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and Hugh JackmanHugh JackmanHugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, makes its debut.
Television
- 5 January – Fox SportsFox Sports (Australia)Fox Sports is an Australia group of sports channels. They are owned by the Premier Media Group, which is in turn owned by News Corporation, and Consolidated Media Holdings. Its main competitors are ESPN, which has little local content and the free-to-air digital channel One HD...
commentator, Clinton GrybasClinton GrybasClinton Andrew Grybas was a leading Australian rules football and sports radio and television commentator. His death at only 32 years of age was thought to be as a result of falling whilst sleepwalking.-Career:...
, dies at 32 as a result of falling whilst sleepwalkingSleepwalkingSleepwalking, also known as somnambulism, is a sleep disorder belonging to the parasomnia family. Sleepwalkers arise from the slow wave sleep stage in a state of low consciousness and perform activities that are usually performed during a state of full consciousness...
. - 14 January – 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...
revamps its logo and on-air graphics as a part of a new network re-launch, and after a two-year absence, returns the famous "Nine Balls" logo, except instead of balls, they use discs. - 7 February – Veteran television presenter Ray MartinRay Martin (television presenter)Raymond George "Ray" Martin AM is an Australian television journalist. He is best known for his various on-air roles on Channel Nine from 1978 to 2008. In 2011 he returned to 60 Minutes....
quits 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...
after 30 years with the network. - 8 February – At 12:00 PM AEDTTime in AustraliaAustralia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
ABC TV officially became ABC1ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
. - 8 February – Former The Great Outdoors host Shelley CraftShelley CraftShelley De Billinghurst Craft and known professionally as Shelley Craft is an Australian television personality....
quits Channel SevenSeven 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...
and moves to Channel Nine to take over from Toni PearenToni PearenToni Pearen is an Australian actress, singer, songwriter and TV presenter born in Cronulla, Sydney on 5 June 1972. She initially became recognisable through her role on soap opera E Street from 1989 until 1992. She had a pop music career in the early 1990s which included the release of an album and...
as host of Australia's Funniest Home VideosAustralia's Funniest Home Video ShowAustralia's Funniest Home Videos is an Australian television show on the Nine Network that presents home videos sent in by viewers.The show is similar in content to You've Been Framed and America's Funniest Home Videos,...
. - 12 February – The Supreme Court of VictoriaSupreme Court of VictoriaThe Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
places an injunction on the broadcast and exhibition of 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...
's drama series UnderbellyUnderbelly (TV series)Underbelly is a 13-part Australian television mini-series that retells the real events of the 1995–2004 gangland war in Melbourne, and is the first series in the larger Underbelly Franchise. It depicts the key players in Melbourne's criminal underworld, including the Carlton Crew and their rival,...
in VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
, following concerns that the series, which depicts Melbourne's gangland warsMelbourne gangland killingsThe Melbourne gangland killings were the murders in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia of 36 criminal figures or partners between 16 January 1998 and 13 August 2010. The murders were in a series of retributional murders involving various underworld groups. The deaths caused a sustained power vacuum...
, could prejudice an ongoing murder trial. - 14 March – A Current Affair broadcasts its 5000th episode and celebrates its 20th1988 in Australian television-Events:*1 January – Australia Live, a four-hour celebration welcoming a year of celebrations for Australia's bicentennial of European settlement airs on the ABC, SBS, the Nine Network & regional solus stations....
anniversary. - 17 March – 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...
launches its high-definition televisionHigh-definition televisionHigh-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channel, Nine HDNine HDNine HD was an Australian television channel, owned by Nine Entertainment Co., that launched on 17 March 2008. The channel was available to high definition digital television viewers in metropolitan and regional areas through a number of owned-and-operated and affiliate stations...
. - 3 April – Kate RitchieKate RitchieKatherine "Kate" Ritchie is an Australian actress, best known for her long-running role as Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera Home and Away. She played the character for 20 years from 1988–2008...
(Sally FletcherSally FletcherSally Louise Fletcher is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Kate Ritchie...
), one of the original cast members of Home and AwayHome and AwayHome and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
, leaves the series after 20 years. - 7 April – 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...
makes the first episodes of the new series Canal RoadCanal Road (TV series)Canal Road is an Australian television drama series on the Nine Network. The series was produced in-house, under producer Susan Bower, in collaboration with writers Sarah Smith, John Ridley and Dave Warner, and directed by Kevin Carlin. It was filmed at Channel Nine’s GTV Studio 11 and on location...
available for download over the InternetInternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, ahead of its television broadcast on 16 April. - 27 April – Jack Chambers wins the first series of So You Think You Can Dance AustraliaSo You Think You Can Dance AustraliaSo You Think You Can Dance Australia was an Australian version of the American reality dance-off series So You Think You Can Dance. The show is hosted by Natalie Bassingthwaighte, with Jason Coleman, Matt Lee and Bonnie Lythgoe acting as the judges....
. - 4 May – The 2008 Logie AwardsLogie Awards of 2008The 50th Annual TV Week Logie Awards were presented on Sunday 4 May 2008 at the Crown Entertainment Complex in Melbourne, and televised on the Nine Network....
are held. Kate RitchieKate RitchieKatherine "Kate" Ritchie is an Australian actress, best known for her long-running role as Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera Home and Away. She played the character for 20 years from 1988–2008...
(formerly of Home and AwayHome and AwayHome and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
) wins the Gold Logie for the second year in a row. - 7 May – SBS TVSBS TVSBS One is a national public television channel in Australia. Launched on 24 October 1980, it is the responsibility of SBS's television division, and is available nationally...
reveals its new logo. - 26 May – Game show Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune, a revival of the Wheel of FortuneWheel of Fortune (Australian game show)Wheel of Fortune was an Australian television game show produced by Grundy Television. The programme aired on the Seven Network from 1981 to 2004 and November 2005 to July 2006, and is mostly based on the same general format as the original US version of the programme...
format, premieres on 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...
. - 2 June – 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...
apologises after airing an episode of the hospital drama All SaintsAll Saints (TV series)All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
in which it is suggested that a child born of an incestuous relationship is likely to result in the child having Down's syndromeDown syndromeDown syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
. - 27 June – Million Dollar Wheel of Fortune is cancelled on 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...
after a month. - 7 July – 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...
starts broadcasting its watermark on all news and current affairs programs. - 21 July – The final episode of Big Brother Australia, which was axed by 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...
the week prior, goes to air. The winner of the final series is 52-year-old grandmother Terri Munro. - 25 July – The Nine Network's Nightline news program is broadcast for the last time after 16 years on air.
- 26 July – Peter CundallPeter CundallPeter Cundall, AM is a horticulturalist, conservationist, author, broadcaster and television personality in Australia. He currently lives in Tasmania's Tamar Valley, and until the age of 81 continued to be a presenter of the ABC TV program Gardening Australia. His last show aired on 26 July 2008...
's last appearance on ABC1ABC1ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
's Gardening AustraliaGardening AustraliaGardening Australia is an Australian television program, originally hosted by Peter Cundall, an experienced gardener with a passion for growing plants using organic methods....
before retiring from Australian Landscapes. - 28 July – TV journalist, This Is Your Life host and also a former host of A Current Affair, Mike MunroMike MunroMichael Munro is an Australian television presenter.- Early life :Munro cites a tough childhood with an abusive and alcoholic mother, as one of the main reasons behind his motivation to succeed. Munro attended Sacred Heart Primary School in Mosman, New South Wales and Marist College North Shore in...
announces he is leaving 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...
after 22 years, due to budget cuts. - 3 August – The Nine Network's Sunday program is broadcast for the last time after 27 years on air.
- 28 August – Australia's Naughtiest Home VideosAustralia's Naughtiest Home VideosAustralia's Naughtiest Home Videos is a controversial Australian television comedy program which was broadcast on Nine Network on 4 September 1992. It was a one-off special spin-off of Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, depicting videos of sexual situations and other sexually explicit content...
, an adult-oriented spin-offSpin-off (media)In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
of Australia's Funniest Home VideosAustralia's Funniest Home Video ShowAustralia's Funniest Home Videos is an Australian television show on the Nine Network that presents home videos sent in by viewers.The show is similar in content to You've Been Framed and America's Funniest Home Videos,...
is revived on 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...
. The program made headlines in 1992 when then-CEO Kerry PackerKerry PackerKerry Francis Bullmore Packer, AC was an Australian media tycoon. The son of Sir Frank Packer and Gretel Bullmore, the Packer family company owned controlling interest in both the Nine television network and leading Australian publishing company Australian Consolidated Press, which were later...
ordered it to be take off-air in the middle of one episode.
Sport
- 6 January – Australia retains the Border-Gavaskar TrophyBorder-Gavaskar TrophyThe Border–Gavaskar Trophy is a Test cricket series, played between India and Australia. It has witnessed some of the most competitive Test series played in recent years, with results usually either being a narrow win for one of the sides or a closely fought draw...
when it beats India by 122 runs at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
, equalling its own record of 16 consecutive Test cricketTest cricketTest cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
victories. - 7 January – The Board of Control for Cricket in IndiaBoard of Control for Cricket in IndiaThe Board of Control for Cricket in India , headquartered at Mumbai, is the national governing body for all cricket in India. It's not the apex governing body in India. The board was formed in December 1928 as BCCI replaced Calcutta Cricket Club. BCCI is a society, registered under the Tamil Nadu...
(BCCI) suspends India's cricket tour of Australia after objecting to a three-match ban on Harbhajan SinghHarbhajan SinghHarbhajan Singh Plaha , commonly known as Harbhajan Singh, is an Indian cricketer. A specialist bowler, he has the second-highest number of Test wickets by an off spinner, behind Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan....
for allegedly calling Australian player Andrew SymondsAndrew SymondsAndrew Symonds is a former Australian cricket team all-rounder. A two-time World Cup winner, Symonds is a right-handed middle order batsman and alternates between medium pace and off-spin bowling....
a "big monkey". The tour suspension is lifted on 9 January after umpire Steve BucknorSteve BucknorThe Honourable Stephen Anthony Bucknor OJ, also known as Steve Bucknor, is a former international cricket umpire. He was born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 31 May 1946. He became a high school mathematics teacher and sports coach, before becoming an international football referee and a cricket umpire...
is removed from the third test. - 20 January – Central Coast Mariners FCCentral Coast Mariners FCCentral Coast Mariners Football Club is a professional football club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They participate in the A-League and are one of three teams from the state of New South Wales playing in the competition...
claim the premiership for the A-League 2007–08 seasonA-League 2007-08The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
. - 14 January to 27 January – The 2008 Australian Open2008 Australian OpenThe 2008 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts. It was the 96th edition of the Australian Open, and the first Grand Slam event of the year. It took place at the Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, from 14 through 27 January 2008.After twenty years of playing on...
Tennis Championships are held at Melbourne ParkMelbourne ParkMelbourne Park is a sports venue in the Melbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Since 1988, Melbourne Park has been home of the Australian Open in tennis, which is played annually in January...
. SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
n Novak Đoković wins the men's singles, the first Grand Slam title since the 2005 Australian Open2005 Australian OpenThe 2005 Australian Open was a Grand Slam tennis tournament held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 until 30 January 2005.-Men's Singles: Marat Safin def. Lleyton Hewitt, 1–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4...
not won by Roger FedererRoger FedererRoger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...
or Rafael NadalRafael NadalRafael "Rafa" Nadal Parera is a Spanish professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. , he is ranked No. 2 by the Association of Tennis Professionals...
. He is also the youngest player to win the Australian Open, and the first Serb. Russian Maria SharapovaMaria SharapovaMaria Yuryevna Sharapova ,. is a Russian professional tennis player and a former world no. 1. A US resident since 1994, Sharapova has won 24 WTA singles titles, including three Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 Wimbledon, 2006 US Open and 2008 Australian Open...
wins the women's singles title. - 6 February – AustraliaAustralia national football (soccer) teamThe Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
defeats QatarQatar national football teamThe Qatar national football team is the national team of Qatar and is controlled by the Qatar Football Association. They have never qualified for a FIFA World Cup but are hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The team has also appeared in seven AFC Asian Cup tournaments and hosted the 2011 AFC Asian...
3–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Third RoundThe AFC Third Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw which was conducted in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007...
match at Telstra DomeTelstra DomeDocklands Stadium is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands precinct of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia...
in MelbourneMelbourneMelbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. - 24 February – Newcastle United Jets FC defeat Central Coast Mariners FCCentral Coast Mariners FCCentral Coast Mariners Football Club is a professional football club based on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia. They participate in the A-League and are one of three teams from the state of New South Wales playing in the competition...
1–0 in the A-League Grand Final 2008A-League Grand Final 2008The 2008 A-League Grand Final took place at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 24 February 2008. It was the first A-League Grand Final played at a neutral home ground, due to Bluetongue Stadium being deemed by the FFA to not have a sufficient capacity to hold the centrepiece of the...
, becoming champions of the 2007–08 seasonA-League 2007-08The A-League 2007-08 season was the third season of the Australian A-League football competition, won by the Newcastle Jets. Football Federation Australia hoped to build on the success of the previous two seasons and on the interest generated by and playing in the 2007 AFC Champions League, and...
. - 2 March – Australian rider Troy BaylissTroy BaylissTroy Bayliss is a retired Australian motorcycle racer. During his career Bayliss won the Superbike World Championship three times, as well as the British Superbike Championship and a MotoGP race, all with Ducati. He finished his career after winning the 2008 World Superbike title...
wins both races at the Australian Superbike World Championship round2008 Phillip Island Superbike World Championship roundThe 2008 Phillip Island Superbike World Championship round was the 2nd round of the 2008 Superbike World Championship season. It took place on the weekend of 29 February-2 March 2008, at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit near Cowes, Victoria, Australia....
. - 12 March – The Football Federation AustraliaFootball Federation AustraliaFootball Federation Australia is the governing body for the sport of football in Australia. Before 1 January 2005, it was known as the Australian Soccer Association , which succeeded Soccer Australia in this role in 2003...
postpones the expansion of the A-LeagueA-LeagueThe A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
to include new clubs Gold Coast Galaxy FC and North Queensland Thunder FC until at least the 2009–10 season. - 16 March – British driver Lewis HamiltonLewis HamiltonLewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
wins the 2008 Australian Grand Prix2008 Australian Grand PrixThe 2008 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 16 March 2008 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia. It was the first race of the 2008 Formula One season. The race, contested over 58 laps, was won by Lewis Hamilton for the McLaren team after...
. - 22 March – Swimmer Stephanie RiceStephanie RiceStephanie Louise Rice OAM is an Australian swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 400 m women's individual medley, and won three gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Rice is trained by Michael Bohl from the St Peters Western Swimming Club in Brisbane...
breaks the 400 metres medley world recordWorld record progression 400 metres medleyThe first world record in the 400 metres individual medley in long course swimming was recognized by the International Swimming Federation in 1957, followed by the women a year later...
. - 25 March – Stephanie RiceStephanie RiceStephanie Louise Rice OAM is an Australian swimmer. She currently holds the world record in the 400 m women's individual medley, and won three gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Rice is trained by Michael Bohl from the St Peters Western Swimming Club in Brisbane...
breaks the 200 metres medley world recordWorld record progression 200 metres medleyThe first world record in the 200 metres individual medley in long course swimming was recognised by the International Swimming Federation in 1956, followed by the women a year later...
. - 26 March – AustraliaAustralia national football (soccer) teamThe Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
draws with ChinaChina national football teamThe China PR national football team is the national association football team of the People's Republic of China and is governed by the Chinese Football Association...
0–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Third RoundThe AFC Third Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw which was conducted in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007...
match at Tuodong StadiumTuodong StadiumKunming Tuodong Sports Center is a multi-purpose stadium in Kunming, China. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 40,000 people...
in KunmingKunming' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
, China. - 1 June – AustraliaAustralia national football (soccer) teamThe Australia national association football team represents Australia in international association football competitions. Its official nickname is the "Socceroos"...
defeats IraqIraq national football teamThe Iraqi national football team represents Iraq in international football and is controlled by the Iraq Football Association. They won the 2007 Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup tournament.-The Golden Generation:...
1–0 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification2010 FIFA World Cup qualification - AFC Third RoundThe AFC Third Round of 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification was decided by a random draw which was conducted in Durban, South Africa on 25 November 2007...
match at Suncorp StadiumSuncorp StadiumLang Park is the original name of the site located in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, Queensland, Australia, now occupied by the major sports facility known by its sponsorship name, Suncorp Stadium...
in 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...
, Queensland. - 2 July – Queensland defeats New South Wales by 16–10 in the third game of the 2008 Rugby League State of Origin series2008 Rugby League State of Origin seriesThe 2008 State of Origin series was the 27th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches contested between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was played under 'State of Origin' selection rules...
, thereby winning their third consecutive series by two games to one. - 8 August to 24 August – Australia competesAustralia at the 2008 Summer OlympicsA total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors...
in the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer OlympicsThe 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing, China. The Australian Olympic team wins 14 gold medals, coming 6th on the medal tally. - 13 September – The New Zealand All BlacksAll BlacksThe New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
win the 2008 Tri Nations Series2008 Tri Nations SeriesThe 2008 Tri Nations Series was the thirteenth annual Tri Nations competition between the national rugby union teams of New Zealand, Australia and South Africa...
in rugby unionRugby unionRugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
. - 22 September – The Western BulldogsWestern BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
' Adam CooneyAdam CooneyAdam Cooney is an Australian rules footballer, playing for the Western Bulldogs in the AFL. Cooney, recruited from West Adelaide in the SANFL, won the 2008 Brownlow Medal with 24 votes becoming the 10th Footscray/Western Bulldog player to win the AFL's highest individual honor.He attended...
wins the 2008 Brownlow MedalBrownlow MedalThe Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
for best and fairest player in the Australian Football LeagueAustralian Football LeagueThe Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
. - 27 September – 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...
become premiers of the 2007 AFL season2007 AFL seasonThe 2007 AFL Season was the 111th season of the Australian Football League, the highest-level professional Australian rules football league in Australia...
, defeating GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
18.7 (115) to 11.23 (89) in the 2008 AFL Grand Final2008 AFL Grand FinalThe 2008 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football match contested between the Geelong Football Club and the Hawthorn Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Melbourne on the 27th of September 2008...
. - 5 October – The Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesManly-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...
become premiers of the National Rugby League season 2008National Rugby League season 2008The 2008 NRL season was the 101st season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia, and the eleventh run by the National Rugby League. For the second year, sixteen teams competed for the 2008 Telstra Premiership title. The season commenced with the first matches played on 14 March...
, defeating the Melbourne StormMelbourne StormThe Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
40–0 at ANZ Stadium. - 5 October – Australian Ducati CorseDucati CorseDucati Corse S.r.l. is a subsidiary arm of Ducati that deals with the firm's involvement in motorcycle racing. It is directed by Claudio Domenicali and is based inside Bologna, in quartiere Borgo Panigale. More than one hundred people work in Ducati Corse...
rider Casey StonerCasey StonerCasey Stoner is an Australian professional motorcycle racer. Born in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales, Australia and raised in Southport, Queensland, Stoner raced from a young age and moved to the United Kingdom to pursue a racing career...
wins his second successive Australian motorcycle Grand PrixAustralian motorcycle Grand PrixThe Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It is held each year at the scenic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.-Winners of the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix:...
. Stoner wins by 6.5 seconds over Yamaha Motor Racing rider Valentino RossiValentino RossiValentino Rossi, , is an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. He is one of the most successful motorcycle racers of all time, with nine Grand Prix World Championships to his name – seven of which are in the premier class.Following his father, Graziano Rossi,...
. - 12 October – Craig LowndesCraig LowndesCraig Lowndes is a multi-championship winning Australian racing driver. He is a three-time V8 Supercar champion and five-time winner of Australia's most famous motor race, the Bathurst 1000...
and Jamie WhincupJamie WhincupJamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...
win their third successive Bathurst 1000Bathurst 1000The Bathurst 1000 is a touring car race held annually at Mount Panorama Circuit in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia...
at the 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 10002008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000The 2008 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was the twelfth running of the Australian 1000 race, first held after the organisational split over the Bathurst 1000 that occurred in 1997...
. - 25 October to 22 November – The 2008 Rugby League World Cup2008 Rugby League World CupThe 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
is held in Australia. New ZealandNew Zealand national rugby league teamThe New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
wins the cup, defeating Australia 34 – 20 at the Suncorp StadiumSuncorp StadiumLang Park is the original name of the site located in the Brisbane suburb of Milton, Queensland, Australia, now occupied by the major sports facility known by its sponsorship name, Suncorp Stadium...
in 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...
. - 26 October – Ryan BriscoeRyan BriscoeRyan Briscoe is an Australian auto racing driver who has raced open wheel and sports cars in Europe and America.In addition to his native English, Briscoe speaks Italian and French...
takes his Team Penske run Dallara IR5 to victory in the 2008 Nikon Indy 3002008 Nikon Indy 300The 2008 Nikon Indy 300 was the 19th and final race of the 2008 IndyCar Series. It was held on 26 October 2008 on the streets of Surfers Paradise, Australia....
, becoming in the last running of the event, the first Australian driver to win the Gold Coast Indycar race. - 4 November – ViewedViewedViewed was an Australian Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 148th Melbourne Cup on 4 November 2008. Prior to the Cup, Viewed won the AJC JRA Plate and qualified by winning the Brisbane Cup on 9 June 2008....
wins the 2008 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...
, the twelfth win of the race for trainer Bart CummingsBart CummingsJames Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times....
. - 28 December – The yacht Wild Oats XI claims its fourth consecutive line honours win 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...
. Quest is the race's handicap winner.
Deaths
- 5 January – Clinton GrybasClinton GrybasClinton Andrew Grybas was a leading Australian rules football and sports radio and television commentator. His death at only 32 years of age was thought to be as a result of falling whilst sleepwalking.-Career:...
, 32, sports commentator - 8 January – George T. D. MooreGeorge T. D. MooreGeorge Thomas Donald Moore OBE was an Australian jockey and Thoroughbred horse trainer. He began his career in racing in 1939 in Brisbane where he quickly became one of the top apprentice jockeys and where in 1943 he won the Senior Jockeys' Premiership. He then relocated to Sydney and in 1949 went...
, 84, former jockey and horse trainer - 9 January – Tim WilloughbyTim WilloughbyTimothy John Willoughby was an Australian rower, yachtsman and stock broker who won a bronze medal as part of the men's eight team at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles....
, 53, Olympic rower - 11 January – Nancy PhelanNancy PhelanNancy Phelan was an Australian writer who published over 25 books, including novels, biographies, memoirs, travel books and a cookbook...
, 94, writer - 12 January – Isobel BennettIsobel BennettIsobel Eliza Toom Bennett AO was one of Australia's best-known marine biologists. She assisted William John Dakin with research for his final book, Australian Seashores, regarded by many as "the definitive guide on the intertidal zone, and a recommended source of information to divers"...
, 98, marine biologist - 19 January – Creighton BurnsCreighton BurnsCreighton Lee Burns, AO was an Australian journalist and academic, who was editor-in-chief of The Age newspaper in Melbourne from 1981 to 1989.-Early life and naval career:...
, 82, editor of The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
newspaper (1981–1989) - 22 January – Heath LedgerHeath LedgerHeath Andrew Ledger was an Australian television and film actor. After performing roles in Australian television and film during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to develop his film career...
, 28, actor (died in New York City) - 25 January – Roc KirbyRoc KirbyRoscoe "Roc" Kirby AM was an Australian businessman who founded the Village Roadshow cinema chain and film production company....
, 89, founder of Village Roadshow LimitedVillage Roadshow LimitedVillage Roadshow Limited is an Australian media company with interests in cinema, theme parks, film production and distribution. The company is a publicly listed entity on the Australian Securities Exchange... - 26 January – Padraic McGuinnessPadraic McGuinnessPadraic Pearse "Paddy" McGuinness AO was an Australian journalist, activist, and commentator. He was notable for the evolution over his lifetime of his political beliefs...
, 69, journalist - 3 February – Jackie OrszaczkyJackie OrszaczkyJackie Orszaczky was a Hungarian-Australian musician, arranger, and record producer, playing mainly bass guitar, but also various other instruments.-Work:...
, 59, Hungarian-born musician and record producer - 14 February – Smoky DawsonSmoky DawsonSmoky Dawson, MBE , born Herbert Henry Dawson, was an Australian country music performer. He was widely touted as Australia's first singing cowboy.-Biography:...
, 94, country music performer - 19 February – Peter PiantoPeter PiantoPeter Pianto was an Australian rules footballer and coach with Geelong in the VFL.Pianto played as a rover and was a premiership player with Geelong in 1951 and 1952...
, 78, VFL player and coach for GeelongGeelong Football ClubThe Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also... - 21 February – Geoff LeekGeoff LeekGeoff Leek was an Australian rules footballer who played with Essendon in the VFL from 1951 to 1962.- First senior match :...
, 76, VFL player for EssendonEssendon Football ClubThe Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League... - 25 February – Ashley CooperAshley Cooper (race driver)Ashley Alan Cooper was an Australian race car driver. Cooper died from severe head and internal injuries after a high speed racing accident. Preliminary investigation suggests that his car may have clipped a guard rail at over 200 km/h at the Clipsal 500 meeting in Adelaide.-Career:Cooper began...
, 27, V8 Supercar race driver - 28 February – Val PlumwoodVal PlumwoodVal Plumwood , formerly Val Routley, was an Australian ecofeminist intellectual and activist, who was prominent in the development of radical ecosophy from the early 1970s through the remainder of the 20th century....
, 67, ecologist and feminist - 1 March – Sid SpindlerSid SpindlerSiegfried Emil "Sid" Spindler was an Australian politician representing the Australian Democrats in the Australian Senate for one term from 1990 to 1996....
, 76, Democrats senator - 3 March – Norm O'Neill, 71, cricketer
- 14 March – Clyde CameronClyde CameronClyde Robert Cameron, AO , Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives for 31 years from 1949 to 1980, a Cabinet minister in the Whitlam government and a leading figure in the Australian labour movement for forty years.-Biography:Cameron was born in Murray Bridge,...
, 95, Whitlam government minister - 16 March – Bill BrownBill Brown (cricketer)William Alfred "Bill" Brown, OAM was an Australian cricketer who played 22 Tests between 1934 and 1948, captaining his country in one Test. A right-handed opening batsman, his partnership with Jack Fingleton in the 1930s is regarded as one of the finest in Australian Test history...
, 95, cricketer and member of the 1948 Invincibles - 19 March – John DowieJohn Dowie (artist)John Stuart Dowie AM was an Australian painter, sculptor and teacher. He was born in the suburb of Prospect in Adelaide, South Australia, and studied architecture at the University of Adelaide, as well as painting with Ivor Hele and Marie Tuck...
, 93, sculptor - 6 April – Tony DaviesTony DaviesWilliam Anthony "Tony" Davies was a New Zealand rugby union footballer, who played 17 games for the All Blacks in 1960 and 1962 as a full-back or centre....
, 68, New Zealand rugby union player - 7 April – Sir Frank Little, 82, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne
- 8 April – John ButtonJohn ButtonJohn Norman Button was an Australian politician, who served as a senior minister in the Hawke and Keating Labor governments...
, 74, ALP senator and Hawke government minister - 10 April – Kim SantowKim SantowThe Honourable Justice Geza Francis Kim Santow AO was an Australian Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal....
, 67, NSW Supreme Court judge, university chancellor - 24 April – Tristram CaryTristram CaryTristram Ogilvie Cary, OAM was a pioneering English-Australian composer.-Early life:Cary was born in Oxford, England, and educated at the Dragon School in Oxford and Westminster School in London. He was the son of a pianist and the novelist, Joyce Cary, author of Mister Johnson...
, 82, British composer - 30 April – John CargherJohn CargherPinchas Cargher AM, known professionally as John Cargher , was a British-born Australian music and ballet journalist and radio broadcaster....
, 89, ABC Radio presenter - 9 May – Jack GibsonJack Gibson (rugby league)Jack Arthur Gibson OAM was an Australian rugby league identity – a player, commentator and most notably a coach...
, 79, rugby league coach and player - 10 May – Jessie Jacobs, 17, actress (The Saddle ClubThe Saddle ClubThe Saddle Club is a children's television series based on the books written by Bonnie Bryant and is an Australia/Canada co-production. Like the book series, the scripted live action series follows the lives of three teenage girls in training to compete in equestrian competitions at the fictional...
) - 22 May – Charlie BoothCharlie BoothCharlie Booth was an Australian athlete.In the 1930s, he was a champion runner who participated in several Stawell Gifts, until a victory in 1939. He was also a fitter and turner apprentice...
, 104, athlete and inventor of the starting block - 26 May – Alan RenoufAlan RenoufAlan Phillip Renouf was a prominent Australian government official during the 1970s. During 1978 and 1979 he was the Australian Ambassador to the United States...
, 89, head of DFAT and ambassador - 27 May – Mick NolanMick Nolan (footballer)Mick Nolan was an Australian rules football player for North Melbourne. Because of his weight of 135 kg and height of 194 cm, Nolan was dubbed the "The Galloping Gasometer" by commentator Lou Richards. Until the emergence of Aaron Sandilands in the early 2000s, Nolan was the heaviest...
, 58, Australian rules footballer. - 3 June – Trevor KaineTrevor KaineTrevor Thomas Kaine , an Australian politician, was Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 1989 to 1991, and was elected a multi-member single electorate first unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, from 1989 to 2001, initially as a member of the Liberal...
, 80, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (1989–1991) - 11 June – Sir Francis HassettFrancis HassettGeneral Sir Francis George "Frank" Hassett AC, KBE, CB, DSO, LVO was an Australian general who rose to the position of Chief of the Defence Force Staff; a position marking him as the professional head of the Australian Defence Force...
, 90, soldier and head of the Australian Defence Force - 22 June – Jane McGrathJane McGrathJane Louise McGrath AM was a British-born Australian cancer support campaigner, and the wife of Australian cricket fast bowler Glenn McGrath.-Background:...
, 42, cancer support campaigner and wife of cricketer Glenn McGrathGlenn McGrathGlenn Donald McGrath AM , nicknamed "Pigeon", is a former Australian cricket player. He is one of the most highly regarded fast-medium pace bowlers in cricketing history, and a leading contributor to Australia's domination of world cricket from the mid-1990s to the early 21st century... - 6 July – Jack C. CollinsJack C. CollinsJohn Charles "Jack" Collins was a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Footscray Football Club ....
, 78, Australian rules footballer (FootscrayWestern BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
) - 7 July – Yitzchok Dovid GronerYitzchok Dovid GronerRabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner , was the most senior Chabad rabbi in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and the director of the Yeshivah Centre, which includes the Yeshiva Shul, the Kollel Menachem Lubavitch, a boys' school known as Yeshivah College, a girls' school known as Beth Rivkah Ladies College, a...
, 83, chief rabbi of Melbourne’s Chabad-Lubavitch community - 12 July – Olive RileyOlive RileyOlive Riley was an Australian woman, born in Broken Hill, New South Wales, believed for a time to have been the world's oldest blogger...
, 108, believed to have been the world's oldest blogger - 13 July – Peter DurackPeter DurackPeter Drew Durack, QC was an Australian politician, representing the Liberal Party. He rose to become Attorney-General of Australia....
, 81, Liberal Party senator and Fraser government minister - 16 July – Lindsay ThompsonLindsay ThompsonLindsay Hamilton Simpson Thompson AO, CMG , Australian Liberal Party politician, was the 40th Premier of Victoria from June 1981 to April 1982...
, 84, Premier of Victoria (1981–1982) - 18 July – Peter WelshPeter J. WelshPeter James Welsh was a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn and Richmond in the VFL....
, 54, Australian rules footballer - 25 July – Jeff FehringJeff FehringJeff Fehring was an Australian rules footballer who played for Geelong and St Kilda in the Victorian Football League from 1977 to 1981....
, 52, Australian rules footballer - 5 August – Reg LindsayReg LindsayReginald John Lindsay OAM was an Australian country music singer who won three Golden Guitar Awards and wrote more than five hundred songs in his fifty-year music career....
, 79, country music singer - 12 August – Christie AllenChristie AllenChristie Allen was an English-born pop singer who had a successful career as a recording artist in her adopted homeland Australia.-Biography:...
, 53, pop music singer - 28 August – Mark PriestleyMark PriestleyMark Priestley was an Australian actor. Born in Perth, Western Australia, he graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art with a degree in Performing Arts in 1999. His first big TV break was when he appeared in The Farm in 2000 and met director Kate Woods...
, 32, television actor (All SaintsAll Saints (TV series)All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009...
) - 1 September – Michael PateMichael PateMichael Pate was an Australian actor, writer and director.-Early life:He was born Edward John Pate in Drummoyne, Sydney...
, 88, actor and writer - 1 September – Kevin HeinzeKevin HeinzeKevin Carl Heinze was a pioneering presenter of gardening on television in Australia. He hosted a gardening program for ABC Television entitled 'Sow What', which was mostly shot on location at his one hectare home garden in Montrose, an outer suburb of Melbourne, from 1967 to 1988. He also...
, 81, ABC television and radio presenter - 4 September – Colin EgarColin EgarColin John "Col" Egar was an Australian Test cricket umpire.Born in Malvern, South Australia, Egar umpired 29 Test matches between 1960 and 1969.- First-class debut :...
, 80, cricket umpire and administrator - 12 September – Bob QuinnBob Quinn (Australian footballer)Robert Berrima Quinn MM was a champion Australian rules footballer with Port Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League and war hero.-Biography:...
, 88, SANFL footballer - 23 September – Peter LeonardPeter LeonardPeter Antony Leonard was an Australian journalist and newsreader. He was born in Yass, New South Wales, the son of a Greek immigrant father who died when Peter was 17. He was educated at Yass Primary School then at Canberra Grammar School as a boarder...
, 66, journalist and television presenter - 24 September – Sir Peter DerhamPeter DerhamSir Peter John Derham, AC was an Australian business executive and philanthropist.Derham graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BSc in 1959. He is a former resident of Ormond College and International House...
, 83, businessman and philanthropist - 25 September – Roger VanderfieldRoger VanderfieldIan Roger Vanderfield AO OBE was an Australian doctor, and a rugby union referee and administrator. Vanderfield refereed over 1200 games, including 32 test matches and internationals.-Medical career:...
, 80, rugby union referee and administrator - 2 October – Rob GuestRob GuestRobert John Guest, OBE was a British born New Zealand-Australian actor and singer, best known for his work in Australian musical theatre, particularly in various productions of The Phantom of the Opera...
, 58, stage actor and singer - 4 October – Levi Kereama, 27, R&B Singer
- 27 November – Paul HibbertPaul HibbertPaul Anthony Hibbert was an Australian cricketer who played in one Test in 1977. He was born in Brunswick, Victoria....
, 56, cricketer - 2 December – Frank CreanFrank CreanFrank Crean was a senior minister in the Australian Labor Party government of Gough Whitlam from 1972 to 1975, and was Deputy Prime Minister for the last six months of the government's term....
, 92, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer in the Whitlam government - 6 December – Richard MarslandRichard MarslandRichard Kemble Marsland was an Australian comedy writer, actor, comedian and radio personality.-Radio:...
, 32, actor, comedian and radio announcer - 8 December – Kerryn McCannKerryn McCannKerryn McCann was an Australian athlete. She was best known for winning the marathon at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.-Personal life:McCann was born Kerryn Hindmarsh in Bulli, New South Wales, in 1967....
, 41, athlete - 10 December – Dorothy PorterDorothy PorterDorothy Featherstone Porter was an Australian poet.-Early life:Porter was born in Sydney. Her father was barrister Chester Porter and her mother, Jean, was a high school chemistry teacher. Porter attended the Queenwood School for Girls...
, 54, poet - 29 December – William Ellis GreenWilliam Ellis GreenWilliam Ellis Green, OAM, who signed his cartoons WEG, was an Australian editorial cartoonist and illustrator who drew the Australian Football League premiers posters from 1954 until his death.-Early life:...
, 85, cartoonist