1986 in Australia explained
The following lists events that happened during 1986 in Australia.
Incumbents
State and territory leaders
Governors and administrators
Events
January
February
- 2 February — Nurse Anita Cobby is abducted, robbed, raped and murdered by John Travers, Michael Murdoch, and Leslie, Gary and Michael Murphy at Prospect in Sydney (all five men are sentenced to life imprisonment without parole, June 1987).
- 7 February — Following Lindy Chamberlain's identification of a baby's jacket found near Uluru as being similar to the one worn by her baby Azaria, her case takes a new turn.
- 8 February —
- Elections in Western Australia and Tasmania see the re-election of the ALP in WA, and the Liberal Party in Tasmania.
- Post-mortem results support the claim of the sister of Sally Anne Huckstep that she was murdered.
- Dire Straits makes history in Tasmania by drawing the state's biggest audience ever for an open-air concert.
- 9 February — Lindy Chamberlain is released from prison in Darwin on licence after serving 39 months of a life sentence.
- 11 February —
- 12 February — Ernie Bridge is elected to the West Australian Cabinet, thereby becoming the first Aborigine to become a Cabinet minister.
March
- 3 March — The Australia Act 1986 comes into effect at 1600 AEST, granting Australia legal independence from the United Kingdom by removing the power of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to legislate with effect in Australia and its states and territories.
- 18 March — Prime Minister Bob Hawke commits the Federal Government not to raise home interest lending rates above 13.5%, despite continued pressure from the banks.
- 27 March — The Russell Street bombing takes place at the headquarters of Victoria Police in Melbourne. A police constable, Angela Taylor, is killed.
April
- 2 April — Prime Minister Bob Hawke breaks an election promise by lifting the ceiling on home interest rates, following the banks' promise of an extra $6 million for home loans.
- 11 April — The Arbitration Commission finds that the Builders' Labourers Federation was guilty of serious industrial misconduct and the union is deregistered.
- 14 April — A second trial of Mr. Justice Lionel Murphy begins in Sydney, and lasts for two weeks, with the jury eventually acquitting him.
May
- 14 May — Responding to the release of dismal current account deficit figures, Federal Treasurer Paul Keating makes his infamous off-the-cuff warning about Australia becoming a "banana republic".
July
- 4 July — After ten years in power, Neville Wran resigns as Premier of New South Wales, and is replaced by Barrie Unsworth.
- 7 July — Barlow & Chambers are executed at Malaysia's Pudu Prison for drug trafficking. Prime Minister Hawke condemns the move as "barbaric".
- 16 July — An explosion at Moura No. 4 mine in Moura, Queensland kills 12 people.
- 25 July — An unusual cold dry change sweeps through south-eastern Australia, causing temperatures to plummet and bringing 8cm (03inches) of snow to Hobart, isolating the city until midday. Canberra also receives snow during the early afternoon with reports of snow and sleet also occurring in the suburbs of Melbourne and Sydney.
August
- 2 August — The painting The Weeping Woman by Pablo Picasso is stolen from the National Gallery of Victoria. The painting is found undamaged in a locker at Spencer Street station on 19 August.[1]
- 6 August — A low pressure system moving from South Australia and redeveloping off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 327.6mm of rain in a day on Sydney. Resulting floods kill six people.
- 19 August – Sydney schoolgirl Samantha Knight abducted and murdered by Michael Guider.[2]
- 21 August — Labor Caucus votes 74:42 to resume sales of uranium to France.
September
October
November
December
Arts and literature
See main article: 1986 in Australian literature.
Film
Law
- Re Loubie a case involving the Queensland Bail Act and s.117 of the constitution.
Music
Television
- 5 January — SBS ceases VHF transmissions on Channel 0 in Sydney & Melbourne.
- 20 January — Neighbours makes its debut on Network Ten & comes to dominate the 7 pm weeknight timeslot.
- February — Red Symons signs to Hey Hey It's Saturday as the show launches Red Faces.
- 30 October — The Movie Show begins on SBS.
- December — The Herald and Weekly Times Ltd, owners of HSV-7 & ADS-7 are sold to Rupert Murdoch's News Limited for $1.8 billion. As News Limited owned ATV-10 at this time, HSV-7 is sold to Fairfax (already owners of ATN-7 & BTQ-7) in February 1987 for $320 million.
- Christopher Skase's Qintex company sells TVQ-0 to Darling Downs Television, owners of DDQ-10 in Toowoomba.
- AUSSAT satellites are launched, bringing television to remote areas for the first time.
Sport
Births
January
February
- 3 February - Selasi Berdie, rugby player
- 4 February - Jackie Barnes, drummer for Rose Tattoo
- 8 February - Scott Arnold, squash player
- 9 February - Marieke D'Cruz, swimmer
- 10 February - Ben Davies, footballer
- 12 February - Johanna Allston, orienteer
- 14 February
- 17 February - Scott Daruda, rugby player
- 20 February - Shannon Ashlyn, actress
- 22 February
- 23 February
- 26 February
- 27 February - Jayden Attard, footballer
- 28 February - Tendai Mzungu, footballer
March
- 1 March - Kathryn Beck, actress
- 3 March - Catherine Cannuli, soccer player and coach
- 7 March - Shannon Cox, footballer
- 8 March - Michelle Steele, athlete
- 13 March - Gillian Alexy, actress
- 14 March - Trent Copeland, cricketer
- 15 March - Jai Courtney, actor
- 17 March - Chelsea Baker, rugby player
- 18 March - Arlo Bugeja, speedway rider
- 19 March - Daniel Dillon, basketball player
- 20 March
- Ruby Rose, actress, model, and television presenter
- Dean Geyer, actor, singer and Australian Idol contestant
- 22 March - Andrew Barisic, footballer
- 26 March - Jessica Hart, model
- 27 March - Joshua Allison, wheelchair basketball player
- 28 March - Richard Cardozo, footballer
April
- 1 April - James Albury, baseball player
- 3 April - Burt Cockley, cricketer
- 4 April
- 11 April
- 16 April
- 24 April - Tahyna Tozzi, model, singer and actress
- 29 April - Danny Clayton, television and radio presenter
May
June
July
August
- 1 August - Mikaela Dombkins, basketball player and coach
- 3 August - Ryan Brabazon, footballer
- 8 August - Alex Cudlin, motorcycle racer
- 10 August - Mia-Rae Clifford, footballer
- 12 August - Chris Adams, rugby player
- 14 August - Nigel Boogaard, footballer
- 16 August - Felicity Abram, triathlete
- 18 August - Anthony Alozie, Nigerian-born track and field sprinter
- 19 August - Adam Cockshell, footballer
- 21 August - Patrick Dellit, rugby player
- 22 August - Shane Cross, skateboarder (d. 2007)
- 28 August
- 30 August - Ali Abbas, Iraqi-born footballer
- 31 August
September
October
- 1 October
- 4 October - James Brooke, DJ and radio host
- 10 October
- 13 October - Sarah Calati, Paralympic wheelchair tennis player
- 14 October - Nicholas Colla, actor, writer, and director
- 15 October - Tony Caine, rugby player
- 16 October - Peter George, cricketer
- 18 October - Renee Bargh, entertainment reporter
- 20 October
- 21 October - Candice Dianna, singer/songwriter, voice actress, and record producer
- 23 October - Max Bailey, footballer and coach
- 27 October - David Warner, cricketer
- 30 October - Adam Gibson, basketball player
- 31 October
November
December
Full date unknown
- Abdul Abdullah, artist
- Zane Banks, guitarist
- Ali Barter, pop rock singer/songwriter
- Graeme Begbie, field hockey player
- Alexander Campbell, ballet dancer
- Joel Carroll, field hockey player
- Melanie Cheng, doctor and author
- Nadia Clancy, politician
- Jesse Cox, radio producer, broadcaster, and documentary maker (d. 2017)
- Michael Czugaj, glazier and convicted drug trafficker
- Okwy Diamondstar, footballer
Deaths
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: Weeping Woman Mystery. eMelbourne. University of Melbourne. 1 September 2016. 8 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160308053209/http://www.emelbourne.net.au/biogs/EM01596b.htm. live.
- Web site: Michael Guider, who killed schoolgirl Samantha Knight, to walk free within days . The Guardian . 22 October 2023 . 3 September 2019 . 14 July 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240714074853/https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/03/michael-guider-who-killed-schoolgirl-samantha-knight-to-walk-free-within-days . live .
- News: Warden. Ian. 26 September 1986. Fines better for naughty MPs. The Canberra Times. 3 August 2021. 3 August 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210803070455/https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131840552. live.
