The following lists events that happened during 1969 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

–

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

–

Lord Casey Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, (29 August 1890 – 17 June 1976) was an Australian statesman who served as the 16th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1965 to 1969. He was also a distinguished army officer, long-serving ...

(until 30 April), then Sir Paul Hasluck *

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

–

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

–

John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...

Opposition Leader The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

–

Gough Whitlam Edward Gough Whitlam (11 July 191621 October 2014) was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from 1972 to 1975. The longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1967 to 1977, he was notable for being the h ...

* Chief Justice – Sir Garfield Barwick

State and Territory Leaders

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales acting as the legislatur ...

– Robert Askin **

– Pat Hills *

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the unicameral Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is ap ...

– Joh Bjelke-Petersen **

–

Jack Houston John William Houston (30 December 1919 – 27 October 2008) was an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Bulimba in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1957 to 1980. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Queensland Pa ...

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

–

Steele Hall Raymond Steele Hall (born 30 November 1928) is a former Australian politician who served as the 36th Premier of South Australia from 1968 to 1970. He also served in the federal Parliament as a senator for South Australia from 1974 to 1977 and ...

–

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of ...

– Eric Reece (until 26 May), then Angus Bethune **

– Angus Bethune (until 26 May), then Eric Reece *

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assemb ...

– Sir Henry Bolte **

– Clyde Holding *

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

– (Sir) David Brand **

–

John Tonkin John Trezise Tonkin AC (2 February 1902 – 20 October 1995), popularly known as "Honest John", was an Australian politician. A member of the Labor Party, he served as a Member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly for a record 44 ...

Governors and Administrators

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

– Sir Roden Cutler *

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the monarch of Australia. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governor performs constitutional and ceremonial func ...

–

Sir Alan Mansfield Sir Alan James Mansfield, (30 September 1902 – 17 July 1980) was an Australian barrister, judge, and the 18th Governor of Queensland, serving from 1966 until 1972. Early life Mansfield was born on 20 September 1902 in Brisbane, Queensland, w ...

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gen ...

– Major General Sir James Harrison *

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

– Lieutenant General Sir Edric Bastyan *

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria. The governor is one of seven viceregal representatives in the country, analogous to the governors of the other states, and t ...

– Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe *

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

– Major General Sir Douglas Kendrew *

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of The Crown and of the Government of Australia, as well as carrying out other duties according to the ''Norfolk Island Amendment Act 2015''.Administrator of the Northern Territory The Administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory, Australia. They perform functions similar to those of a state gov ...

– Roger Dean * Administrator of Papua and New Guinea –

David Hay David Hay (born 29 January 1948) is a Scottish former football player and manager. He broke into the Celtic team in the late 1960s, as one of a generation of players who continued a highly successful era for the club. A contract dispute between ...

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 Princes Highway is a major road in Australia, extending from Sydney via Melbourne to Adelaide through the states of New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. It has a length of (along Highway 1) or via the former alignments of the hi ...

at Lara, near

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. 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. * 30 April – Sir Paul Hasluck becomes

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Lord Casey Richard Gavin Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey, (29 August 1890 – 17 June 1976) was an Australian statesman who served as the 16th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1965 to 1969. He was also a distinguished army officer, long-serving ...

. * 10 May – The 1969 Tasmanian election is held, resulting in a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

with the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms t ...

and Liberals winning 17 seats each. The deadlock is broken when

Kevin Lyons Kevin Orchard Lyons (7 February 1923 – 24 May 2000) was an Australian politician and member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly representing the seat of Darwin (later renamed Braddon). Biography Early life Born in 1923 in Hobart, he was the ...

of the Centre Party forms a

coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...

with the Liberals and becomes Deputy Premier under Angus Bethune. * 12 May – ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' 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 The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister o ...

aircraft carrier HMAS ''Melbourne'' collides with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

destroyer USS ''Frank E. Evans'' in the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Ph ...

. ''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 Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the ful ...

doing the same work as men must be phased in by 1972. * 26 September – The

Poseidon bubble The Poseidon bubble was a stock market bubble in which the price of Australian mining shares soared in late 1969, then crashed in early 1970. It was triggered by the discovery by Poseidon Nickel of the early indications of a promising nickel d ...

begins when the small mining company Poseidon NL discovers a large

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow t ...

deposit in

Laverton, Western Australia Laverton, originally known as British Flag, is a town in the Goldfields region of Western Australia, and the centre of administration for the Shire of Laverton. The town of Laverton is located at the western edge of the Great Victoria Desert, n ...

. * 25 October –

1969 Australian federal election The 1969 Australian federal election was held in Australia on 25 October 1969. The incumbent Liberal–Country coalition government, led by Prime Minister John Gorton, won the election with a severely diminished majority over the opposition Lab ...

: The

Coalition A coalition is a group formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. Formation According to ''A Gui ...

Gorton government is narrowly re-elected with a sharply reduced majority, defeating a resurgent Labor Party led by

. * 7 November – A Liberal Party leadership spill is held, with Prime Minister Gorton re-elected as party leader over challengers

William McMahon Sir William McMahon (23 February 190831 March 1988) was an Australian politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1971 to 1972 as leader of the Liberal Party. He was a government minister for over 21 years, ...

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 John Malcolm Fraser (; 21 May 1930 – 20 March 2015) was an Australian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Australia from 1975 to 1983, holding office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Fraser was raised on hi ...

was promoted to

Minister for Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. * 13 November - Former Minister for Air, Dudley Erwin, expresses to journalists his belief that Prime Minister Gorton's young secretary,

Ainsley Gotto Ainsley Gotto (14 February 1946 – 25 February 2018) was an Australian public servant and entrepreneur, who was the private secretary to John Gorton, the Prime Minister of Australia in the late 1960s. Early life Gotto was born in the Brisba ...

, 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". **Victorian SEC workers strike for 24 hours from midnight for the fourth time this year, causing widespread disruption to power supplies. * 29 November – The rebuilding of the Sydney-Perth rail corridor to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in E ...

is completed. * 16 December – Prime Minister

announces that a withdrawal of

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

troops from the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

would begin in 1970.

Science and technology

*20 July –

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedin ...

switches the main transmission feed of the ''

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

'' moon landing to Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station in Canberra, then

Parkes Observatory Parkes Observatory is a radio astronomy observatory, located north of the town of Parkes, New South Wales, Australia. It hosts Murriyang, the 64 m CSIRO Parkes Radio Telescope also known as "The Dish", along with two smaller radio telescopes ...

in New South Wales, which then broadcasts the mission to the world.

Arts and literature

* 4 May – An Australian production of the rock musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and fi ...

'' opens in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mounta ...

. Produced by

Harry M. Miller Harry Maurice Miller (6 January 1934 – 4 July 2018) was a New Zealand Australian promoter, publicist and media agent. Life and career Born on 6 January 1934 in New Zealand, Miller grew up in the Auckland suburb of Grey Lynn. He moved to A ...

, it features the debut of young American singer

Marcia Hines Marcia Elaine Hines, AM (born July 20, 1953), is an American-Australian vocalist and TV personality. Hines made her debut, at the age of 16, in the Australian production of the stage musical ''Hair'' and followed with the role of Mary Magdalene ...

. * George Johnston's novel '' Clean Straw for Nothing'' wins the

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1 ...

Film

*27 March – '' 2000 Weeks'' (directed by

Tim Burstall Timothy Burstall AM (20 April 1927 – 19 April 2004) was an English Australian film director, writer and producer, best known for hit Australian movie '' Alvin Purple'' (1973) and its sequel '' Alvin Rides Again''. Burstall's films featured ...

) 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.

Television

* 5 March – The last episode of spy series ''

Hunter Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...

'' is aired. * 11 March –

Police procedural The police show, or police crime drama, is a subgenre of procedural drama and detective fiction that emphasizes the investigative procedure of a police officer or department as the protagonist(s), as contrasted with other genres that focus on eit ...

drama series '' Division 4'' makes its debut on the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

. * 21 March –

Graham Kennedy Graham Cyril Kennedy AO (15 February 1934 – 25 May 2005) was an Australian entertainer, comedian and variety performer, as well as a personality and star of radio, theatre, television and film. He often performed in the style of vaudevilli ...

wins the Gold Logie for ''

In Melbourne Tonight ''In Melbourne Tonight'', also known as ''IMT'', was a highly popular nightly Logie award-winning Australian variety television show produced at GTV-9 Melbourne from 6 May 1957 to 1970. Overview Graham Kennedy was the show's main host and ...

''.

Sport

*21 January – Boxer

Johnny Famechon Jean-Pierre Famechon (28 March 1945 – 4 August 2022) was an Australian featherweight boxer. Famechon was the 2003 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall of Fame Moderns category and was the third to be elevated to Legend status ...

becomes world

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, th ...

champion, when he defeats

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

n Jose Legra in a bout at the

Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no governm ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. *12 April – Carlton achieve the first double-century VFL score when they kick 30.30 (210) against

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

, beating a previous record from

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. *6 September –

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, Californi ...

sets a new record VFL finals winning margin when it beats

by 118 points. it is the first century winning margin in a finals match and beats the previous record margin of 88 points by

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

against Collingwood in the 1964 Second Semi. *20 September – Balmain defeated South Sydney 11–2 in the NSWRL Rugby League Grand Final at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and association f ...

. It is Balmain's first premiership win since 1947, and would become their final win as the Balmain Tigers; they would later win in 2005 after their merger with the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

to form the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

. Cronulla-Sutherland finish in last position, claiming the wooden spoon. *27 September – Richmond 12.13 (85) beats Carlton 8.12 (60) for its seventh premiership. *2 October –

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

player

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...

beats fellow Australian

Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...

in the men's singles final of the U.S. Open, achieving his second Grand Slam (having also won the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Ope ...

, the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ve ...

and Wimbledon in that year). *11 October – John Farrington wins his first men's national marathon title, clocking 2:21:02.8 in

. *4 November –

Rain Lover Rain Lover (1964-1989) was a champion Australian Thoroughbred racehorse best remembered for his back-to-back wins in the 1968 and 1969 VRC Melbourne Cup. Background Rain Lover was sired by the good racehorse, Latin Lover (GB) (a son of the ...

wins the

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melb ...

Births

* 19 January – Luc Longley, basketball player * 22 January – Shelley Sandie, basketball player * 23 January – Danielle Woodhouse, water polo player * 7 February –

Fiona Robinson Fiona Mary Robinson (born 7 February 1969) is an Australian former professional basketball player. She played 10 seasons in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and five seasons in the State Basketball League (SBL). She was a member o ...

, basketball and handball player * 3 March – Tony Modra, Australian Rules football player * 13 March –

Jamie Cox Jamie Cox (born 15 October 1969) is an Australian cricketer and former opening batsman for Tasmania in Australia's domestic competitions. He then played county cricket in England where he captained Somerset. He is a former member of the Crick ...

, cricketer * 15 March – Matthew Morris, politician * 17 March –

Alison Forman Alison Leigh Forman (born 17 March 1969 in Maitland, New South Wales) is a retired Australian international soccer player. Among her accomplishments, Forman played for the Australia women's national soccer team at the 1995 and 1999 FIFA Women' ...

, football (soccer) midfielder * 28 March – John Brogden, politician * 1 April – Andrew Vlahov, basketball player * 3 April –

Ben Mendelsohn Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn (born 3 April 1969) is an Australian actor. He first rose to prominence in Australia for his breakout role in ''The Year My Voice Broke'' (1987) and since then he has had roles in films such as '' Animal Kingdom'' (2010) ...

, actor * 7 May – Rachael Robertson (writer), speaker, author and mentor * 14 May –

Cate Blanchett Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received n ...

, actress * 17 May –

Liesl Tesch Liesl Dorothy Tesch Order of Australia, AM (born 17 May 1969) is an Australian wheelchair basketball player, sailor, and politician. She is a Australian Labor Party (New South Wales Branch), Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative ...

, wheelchair basketball player, sailor and politician * 31 May –

Juliet Haslam Juliet Haslam OAM (born 31 May 1969 in Adelaide, South Australia) is a former field hockey defender and midfielder from Australia, who competed in three consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992, for her native country. She was a member of t ...

, 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 *July 17 – Jason Clarke, Australian actor * 30 July –

Simon Baker Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series ''The Mentalist'' as Patrick Jane and ''The Guardian'' as Nicholas Fallin ...

, actor * 15 August –

Bernard Fanning Bernard Fanning (born 15 August 1969) is an Australian musician and singer-songwriter. He was the lead vocalist of Queensland alternative rock band Powderfinger from its formation in 1989. Born and raised in Toowong, Brisbane, Fanning receive ...

, singer * 16 August –

Jodi McKay Jodi Leyanne McKay (born 16 August 1969) is a former Australian politician who was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of New South Wales from June 2019 until May 2021. She previously served as a member of the New South Wales Legislat ...

, politician * 6 September –

Michellie Jones Michellie Yvonne Jones ( ; born 6 September 1969) is an Australian triathlete. She has won two ITU Triathlon World Championships, an Olympic silver medal, and the 2006 Ironman World Championship. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paraly ...

, triathlete * 7 September – David Borger, politician * 9 September –

Natasha Stott Despoja Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...

, politician * 13 September –

Shane Warne Shane Keith Warne (13 September 1969 – 4 March 2022) was an Australian international cricketer, whose career ran from 1991 to 2007. Warne played as a right-arm leg spin bowler and a right-handed batsman for Victoria, Hampshire and Australi ...

, cricketer (d.

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

) * 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 * 11 December – Karl von Möller, director, cinematographer * 14 December –

Dave Nilsson David Wayne Nilsson (born 14 December 1969) is an Australian retired professional baseball catcher and current manager of the Australia national baseball team and the Brisbane Bandits. He played for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewers ...

, baseball player * 14 December –

Rob Oakeshott Robert James Murray Oakeshott (born 14 December 1969) is a retired Australian politician. He was the independent Member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Lyne in New South Wales from 2008, when he won the 2008 Lyne by-electi ...

, politician * 29 December – Andrew Cornwell, politician

Deaths

* 18 January – Gregory Brain (born 1893), politician * 29 January –

Alfred McClelland Alfred McClelland (18 April 1886 – 29 January 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1920 until 1927, representing Northern Tablelands, and from 1930 to 1932, representi ...

(born 1886), politician * 31 March –

Ernest Wetherell Ernest "Ern" Wetherell (26 March 1893 – 31 March 1969) was an Australian politician and a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1949 until 1965. He was a member of the Labor Party and held numerous ministerial positions betw ...

, politician * 14 May –

Frederick Lane Frederick Claude Vivian Lane (2 February 1880 – 14 May 1969) was an Australian swimmer who competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics. Lane, from Manly, New South Wales, was four years old when his brother saved him from drowning in Sydney Harbou ...

(born 1888), swimmer * 3 August – Alexander Mair (born 1889), 26th Premier of New South Wales (1939–1941) * 25 August –

Robert Cosgrove Sir Robert Cosgrove (28 December 1884 – 25 August 1969) was an Australian politician who was the 30th and longest-serving Premier of Tasmania. He held office for over 18 years, serving from 1939 to 1947 and from 1948 to 1958. His involv ...

(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 Norman Alfred William Lindsay (22 February 1879 – 21 November 1969) was an Australian artist, etcher, sculptor, writer, art critic, novelist, cartoonist and amateur boxer. One of the most prolific and popular Australian artists of his generat ...

(born 1879), artist * 27 November –

May Gibbs Cecilia May Gibbs MBE (17 January 1877 – 27 November 1969) was an Australian children's author, illustrator, and cartoonist. She is best known for her gumnut babies (also known as "bush babies" or "bush fairies"), and the book '' Snugglepot ...

, (born 1877) children's author.

References

{{Oceania topic, 1969 in, countries_only=yes

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Years of the 20th century in Australia