1981 in Australia

1981 in Australia
Monarchy	Elizabeth II
Governor-General	Zelman Cowen
Prime minister	Malcolm Fraser
Population	14,923,260
Elections	NSW

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1981
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Decades:

1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s

Incumbents

Premiers and Chief Ministers

Premier of New South Wales – Neville Wran
Premier of South Australia – David Tonkin
Premier of Queensland – Joh Bjelke-Petersen
Premier of Tasmania – Doug Lowe, then Harry Holgate
Premier of Western Australia – Sir Charles Court
Premier of Victoria – Rupert Hamer, then Lindsay Thompson
Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Post did not exist in 1981
Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Paul Everingham

Governors and Administrators

Governor of New South Wales – Sir Roden Cutler (until 19 January), then Sir James Rowland
Governor of South Australia – Keith Seaman
Governor of Queensland – Sir James Ramsay
Governor of Tasmania – Sir Stanley Burbury
Governor of Western Australia – Sir Richard Trowbridge
Governor of Victoria – Sir Henry Winneke
Administrator of the Northern Territory – John England (until 1 January), then Eric Johnston

Events

1 January – Death duties are abolished in New South Wales.
30 January – Sir Harry Gibbs is announced as the next Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia in the wake of Sir Garfield Barwick’s resignation.
8 February - A murdered woman's decapitated body is found near Kiama on a ledge under the Jamberoo Lockout.
10 February – Townsville International Airport opens in Townsville
14 February – Australia withdraws recognition of the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia.
17 February – A funnel-web antivenene, developed over 22 years, is used for the first time in Sydney.
11 March – Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser informs Parliament that US B-52 bombers will be allowed to land at Darwin from their base at Guam.
19 March – The South Australian Parliament passes the Pitjantjatjara Land Rights Act.
15 April – Foreign Minister Andrew Peacock resigns from cabinet accusing the Prime Minister of gross disloyalty.
16 April – The New South Wales Government’s controversial election funding Bill is introduced into Parliament, provoking strong Opposition criticism. The Bill imposes stringent declaration conditions with political donations of more than $200, requiring a statement giving the name and address of donors.
29 April – A fire at the Pacific Nursing Home kills 16 in Sylvania, a suburb of Sydney.
30 April –
- The Federal Government’s Committee of Review into Government Functions, nicknamed “The Razor Gang”, releases its final report.
- Graham Potter, aged 23, is charged with the murder of a woman found decapitated near Kiama on 8 February. He is refused bail after denying the allegations.
7 May –
- Alleged crime boss, Robert Trimbole, leaves Australia.
- Three engineering companies make agreements for shorter working weeks with metal trade union representatives in Sydney, giving a major boost to the ongoing campaign for a 35-hour week.
9 May – Assisted passage to Australia is now restricted to refugees.
26 May -Foreign Affairs Minister Andrew Peacock announces that the United States has asked Australia to send peacekeepers to the Sinai Desert.
5 June – Rupert Hamer resigns as Premier of Victoria after losing the support of his party.
18 June - The 4 millionth Holden car leaves the GMH assembly line.
23 June - The Queensland Government approves sand mining on Moreton Island.
24 July - The Queensland Government declares a state of emergency over a threat to food supplies caused by the transport workers' strike.
30 July - The ALP National Conference rewords its Socialist Objective and endorses affirmative action.
31 July - The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission decides to end wage indexation, a system which has been established in April 1975. President Sir John Moore stated that the guidelines indexing wage adjustments to inflation would no longer be applied to cases before the Commission. Each case will now be decided on individual merit.
24 August - The Church of England in Australia is renamed the Anglican Church of Australia.
19 September – The ALP government of Neville Wran is re-elected in New South Wales, increasing his majority from his "Wranslide" win in 1978.
11 November – Harry Holgate becomes Premier of Tasmania after the resignation of Doug Lowe.
12 December – A referendum is held in Tasmania to vote for whether or not the Franklin Dam should be built. 47% vote for the original proposal, 8% vote for the compromise solution & 45% vote informally. It is estimated that up to one-third of all votes were for 'no dams', which was not a sanctioned option.

Unknown dates

Public funding of election campaigns introduced in New South Wales
Victoria decriminalizes homosexual acts between consenting adults

Arts and literature

Peter Carey's novel Bliss wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

Television

2 March – Good Morning Australia premieres on Network Ten, marking the return of breakfast television to Australian television screens.
10 April – The TV Week Logie Awards air on Ten for the first time. It is also the first time that the logies have not been screened on the Nine Network.
27 July – Wheel of Fortune premieres on the Seven Network
16 September – The Nine Network celebrates 25 years of television in Australia
November – A Country Practice debuts on Channel 7

Sport

1 February – Trevor Chappell bowls underarm in the final delivery of the game against New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The delivery leads to the banning of underarm deliveries in cricket.
28 March – Australia is represented by fifteen long-distance runners (nine men, six women) at the ninth IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Madrid, Spain. Robert de Castella is Australia's best finisher, claiming the sixth spot (35:20.0) in the race over 12 kilometres.
March – The Canberra Raiders are accepted as the fourteenth team in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) for 1982.
The sin bin rule is introduced in rugby league. Newtown hooker Barry Jensen becomes the first player sent there.
6 June – Kevin Bartlett becomes the first player to play 350 Victorian Football League (VFL) games, celebrating as Richmond Football Club beat Melbourne 20.16 (136) to 14.10 (94).
25 July – Garry Bentley wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:16:58 in Werribee, while Rosemary Longstaff claims the inaugural women's title in 2:46:48.
29 July – The VFL board announces that South Melbourne will play 11 games in Sydney in 1982.
29 August – South Melbourne play their last game at the Lake Oval in Albert Park against North Melbourne. North Melbourne win, 15.17 (107) to 10.14 (74).
26 September – Carlton 12.20 (92) defeat Collingwood (10.12 (72)) to win the 85th premiership. It is the last time Collingwood would feature in a grand final until 1990.
27 September – The Parramatta Eels defeat the Newtown Jets 20-11† to win the 74th NSWRL premiership. It is also the first premiership for the Parramatta Eels, who had been trying to win one since 1947. Fans celebrate by burning down the main grandstand of the Cumberland Oval, which was due to be demolished.
3 October – Port Adelaide (14.11 (95)) defeat Glenelg (6.8 (44)) at Football Park to win their 27th South Australian National Football League (SANFL) premiership. Port Adelaide's Russell Ebert is awarded the inaugural Jack Oatey medal for best player during the grand final.
3 November – Just A Dash wins the Melbourne Cup.

†=Scored under outdated scoring system.

Births

17 February - Lisa Skinner, gymnast
24 February – Lleyton Hewitt, tennis player
26 February – Daniel Geale, welterweight boxer
2 March - Paul Kimbell, graphic designer
2 April – Michael Clarke, cricketer
16 April – Vico Thai, actor
11 May – Lauren Jackson, basketball player
7 June – Luke Burt, rugby player
15 June – Andrew McDonald, cricketer
17 June – Shane Watson, cricketer
24 July – Doug Bollinger, cricketer
26 July – Abe Forsythe, actor
8 August – Vanessa Amorosi, singer-songwriter, entertainer
18 October – Nathan Hauritz, cricketer
19 October – Sarah Taylor, field hockey player
22 October – Bradley Hore, boxer
26 October – Guy Sebastian, singer-songwriter, Australia's first Idol
2 November – Mitchell Johnson, cricketer
21 December – Justin Kane, bantamweight boxer
27 December – Emilie de Ravin, actress

Deaths

16 June – Sir Thomas Playford (born 1896), former Premier of South Australia
29 June – Russell Drysdale (born 1912), painter
19 October – Dymphna Cusack (born 1902), writer
2 September – Dame Enid Lyons (born 1897), politician
9 September – Sir Robert Askin (born 1907), former Premier of New South Wales
23 December – Sir Reginald Ansett (born 1909), businessman

External links

Years in Australia (1788–present)

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Timeline of Australian history

1981 in Oceania

Sovereign states	Australia Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu

Associated states of New Zealand	Cook Islands Niue

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