1969 in Australia explained
The following lists events that happened during 1969 in Australia.
Incumbents
State and territory leaders
Governors and administrators
Events
- 8 January - Bushfires across Victoria claim the lives of 23 people including 17 who died when a grass fire overran a group of cars on the Princes Highway at Lara, near Geelong in Victoria. About 280 fires in total burned 250,000 hectares, destroyed 230 homes and dozens of other buildings, killing 12,000 head of stock.
- 7 February – The Violet Town railway disaster: the Southern Aurora passenger train collides head-on with a freight train. Nine people are killed.
- 13 April – Trams in Brisbane (Queensland) end service after 84 years of operation.
- 30 April – Sir Paul Hasluck becomes Governor-General of Australia after the retirement of Lord Casey.
- 10 May – The 1969 Tasmanian election is held, resulting in a hung parliament with the Australian Labor Party and Liberals winning 17 seats each. The deadlock is broken when Kevin Lyons of the Centre Party forms a coalition government with the Liberals and becomes Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune.
- 12 May – The Age newspaper in Melbourne begins the process of moving from Collins Street to Spencer Street. The move is completed on 6 October.
- 3 June – Melbourne-Evans collision – The Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with the United States Navy destroyer USS Frank E. Evans in the South China Sea. Frank E. Evans is cut in half and sinks, killing 74 crew.
- 19 June – The Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission rules that equal pay for women doing the same work as men must be phased in by 1972.
- 25 August – The MV Noongah sinks off the Mid North Coast near South West Rocks while enroute from Newcastle to Townsville killing 21 people.[1] [2]
- 26 September – The Poseidon bubble begins when the small mining company Poseidon NL discovers a large nickel deposit in Laverton, Western Australia.
- 25 October – 1969 Australian federal election: The Coalition Gorton government is narrowly re-elected with a sharply reduced majority, defeating a resurgent Labor Party led by Gough Whitlam.
- 7 November – A Liberal Party leadership spill is held, with Prime Minister Gorton re-elected as party leader over challengers William McMahon and David Fairbairn.
- 11 November – Prime Minister Gorton makes the most sweeping changes to the Federal Ministry since the Liberal-Country Party Coalition took office in 1949. Seven back-benchers are promoted to the junior ministry, four junior ministers promoted to cabinet, and three ministers dropped altogether. Treasurer McMahon was moved to External Affairs, and replaced by Les Bury. Future prime minister Malcolm Fraser was promoted to Minister for Defence.[3]
- 13 November - Former Minister for Air, Dudley Erwin, expresses to journalists his belief that Prime Minister Gorton's young secretary, Ainsley Gotto, was responsible for him being dropped from his ministerial position. Erwin also asserted Gotto severely restricted access to Gorton which he and other ministers had previously enjoyed. When asked what political manoeuvre had been used to get him out of office, he replied "it's shapely, it wiggles, it's cold-blooded and its name is Ainsley Gotto".[4]
- Victorian SEC workers strike for 24 hours from midnight for the fourth time this year, causing widespread disruption to power supplies.[5]
- 29 November – The rebuilding of the Sydney-Perth rail corridor to standard gauge is completed.
- 16 December – Prime Minister John Gorton announces that a withdrawal of Australian Army troops from the Vietnam War would begin in 1970.
Science and technology
Arts and literature
See main article: 1969 in Australian literature.
Film
- 27 March – 2000 Weeks (directed by Tim Burstall) is released. The film was one of the first features of the modern era in Australian cinema, although it was received poorly both critically and commercially.[6]
Television
Sport
Births
- 19 January – Luc Longley, basketball player
- 22 January – Shelley Sandie, basketball player
- 23 January – Danielle Woodhouse, water polo player
- 7 February – Fiona Robinson, basketball and handball player
- 3 March – Tony Modra, Australian Rules football player
- 13 March – Jamie Cox, cricketer
- 15 March – Matthew Morris, politician
- 17 March – Alison Forman, football (soccer) midfielder
- 28 March – John Brogden, politician
- 1 April – Andrew Vlahov, basketball player
- 3 April – Ben Mendelsohn, actor
- 7 May – Rachael Robertson (writer), speaker, author and mentor
- 14 May – Cate Blanchett, actress[7]
- 17 May – Liesl Tesch, wheelchair basketball player, sailor and politician
- 31 May – Juliet Haslam, field hockey defender
- 3 June – Dean Pay, Australian rugby league player
- 30 June – Mark Garner, track and field sprinter
- 7 July – Rina Bradshaw-Hill, triathlete
- 17 July – Jason Clarke, Australian actor
- 30 July – Simon Baker, actor
- 9 August – Ricky Cooke, racewalker
- 15 August – Bernard Fanning, singer
- 16 August – Jodi McKay, politician
- 29 August – Bill Granger, restaurateur (d. 2023)
- 6 September – Michellie Jones, triathlete
- 7 September – David Borger, politician
- 9 September – Natasha Stott Despoja, politician
- 13 September – Shane Warne, cricketer (d. 2022)
- 18 September – Brad Beven, triathlete
- 19 September – Kostya Tszyu, boxer
- 20 October – Laurie Daley, rugby league football commentator and former player
- 31 October – Kylie Kwong, chef and television presenter
- 14 December – Dave Nilsson, baseball player
- 14 December – Rob Oakeshott, politician
- 29 December – Andrew Cornwell, politician
Deaths
- 29 January – Alfred McClelland (born 1886), politician
- 31 March – Ernest Wetherell, politician
- 14 May – Frederick Lane (born 1888), swimmer
- 3 August – Alexander Mair (born 1889), 26th Premier of New South Wales (1939–1941)
- 25 August – Robert Cosgrove (born 1894), 30th Premier of Tasmania (1939–1947, 1948–1958)
- 17 November – Sir Malcolm Barclay-Harvey (born 1890), 22nd Governor of South Australia (1939–1944)
- 21 November – Norman Lindsay (born 1879), artist
- 27 November – May Gibbs, (born 1877) children's author.
- 20 December – Sir Giles Chippindall, (born 1893), public servant
See also
Notes and References
- News: 26 August 1969. 20 of ship's crew missing. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1. 26 July 2024.
- News: Gwynn. Liz. Stephens. Romy. 25 July 2024. What lies below. ABC News. 26 July 2024.
- News: Sweeping Ministry Changes- Four New Faces in Cabinet. The Age. 12 November 1969. p.1.
- News: Barnes. Allan. Ainsley's Champagne Toast Turns Sour. The Age. 14 November 1969. p.3.
- News: At Midnight Tomorrow, Victoria Stops. The Age. 12 November 1969. p.1.
- http://australianscreen.com.au/titles/2000-weeks/ 2000 Weeks (1969)
- Web site: Cate Blanchett Biography, Movies, & Facts . Encyclopedia Britannica . 5 February 2020 . en . 29 June 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190629151007/https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cate-Blanchett . live .