1990 in Australia

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See also: 1989 in Australia, 1991 in Australia

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Governor-General – Bill Hayden
• Prime Minister – Bob Hawke

Premiers and Chief Ministers

• Premier of New South Wales – Nick Greiner
• Premier of Queensland – Wayne Goss
• Premier of South Australia – John Bannon
• Premier of Tasmania – Michael Field
• Premier of Western Australia – Peter Dowding (until 12 February), then Carmen Lawrence
• Premier of Victoria – John Cain (until 10 August), then Joan Kirner
• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory – Trevor Kaine
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory – Marshall Perron

Governors and administrators

• Governor of New South Wales – Sir David Martin (until 7 August), then Peter Sinclair
• Governor of Queensland – Sir Walter Campbell
• Governor of South Australia – Sir Donald Dunstan
• Governor of Tasmania – Sir Phillip Bennett
• Governor of Victoria – Davis McCaughey
• Governor of Western Australia – Michael Jeffery
• Administrator of Norfolk Island – Herbert Bruce MacDonald
• Administrator of the Northern Territory – Neil Conn

Events

• 12 February – Carmen Lawrence becomes the Premier of Western Australia, and Australia's first female premier, after the resignation of Peter Dowding.
• 20 March – Serial killer John Wayne Glover is arrested for a series of "Granny Murders" on Sydney's North Shore.
• 24 March – A federal election is held. The government of Prime Minister Bob Hawke is re-elected for a fourth term.
• 6 May – Six people die in the Cowan rail accident, when a CityRail Interurban train collides with a 3801 Limited steam locomotive on the banks of the Hawkesbury River in New South Wales.
• 7 August – John Cain resigns as Premier of Victoria over a series of financial scandals, and is replaced by the first female premier of Victoria, Joan Kirner.
• 1 October – The Tasmanian Greens terminate the Labor–Green Accord after Tasmania adopts the federal government's Forests and Forest Industry Strategy.
• 2 October – Opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland announces her retirement.
• 5 October – After one hundred and fifty years, ten months and two days, The Herald broadsheet newspaper in Melbourne is published for the last time as a separate newspaper. Founded in 1840 as The Port Phillip Herald, it is merged with its morning tabloid sister paper The Sun News-Pictorial and the first issue of the new Herald Sun, described by owner Rupert Murdoch as "the world's first 24-hour newspaper", with morning and afternoon editions, is published on 8 October.On the same day, the 49-year-old afternoon tabloid The Daily Mirror in Sydney is published for the last time as a separate newspaper. The first edition of The Daily Telegraph-Mirror also appears on 8 October.
• 27 October – A general election is held in the Northern Territory. The Country Liberal Party government of Marshall Perron is returned to power.
• 1 November – The Australian domestic aviation market is deregulated.
• 21 November – The Queensland state caucus amends the amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1978–1989 to decriminalise consensual sexual activity between adult males in private.
• 29 November – Treasurer Paul Keating announces that Australia is experiencing an economic recession.
• 11 December – Media company Fairfax is placed in receivership.

Arts and literature

• Tom Flood's novel Oceana Fine wins the Miles Franklin Award

Film

• 20 September – The Big Steal is released. Directed by Nadia Tass, the film will go on to be nominated for nine AFI awards, of which it will win three.

Television

• July – Kerry Packer purchases back control of the Nine Network for A$250 million from Alan Bond, who purchased it from him for $1 billion in 1987.
• 14 September – Westpac puts Network Ten into receivership.
• 27 December – WIN Television purchases Star Television just three days before Queensland is due to be aggregated, giving them the Nine Network affiliation and leaving QTV, who were going to take the Nine affiliation, with the Network Ten affiliation.
• 31 December – The Queensland regional television market is aggregated, with Sunshine Television Network (now Seven Queensland) taking a Seven affiliation, WIN Television taking a Nine affiliation, and QTV with the Ten affiliation.
• The Seven Network is placed in receivership.

Sport

• 1 January – The VFL is renamed as the AFL (Australian Football League).^[1]
• 30 March – First day of the Australian Track & Field Championships for the 1989–1990 season, which are held at the Olympic Park in Melbourne, Victoria. The men's 10,000 metres event was conducted at Canberra on 24 February 1990.
• 22 May – New South Wales (13.8.86) upsets Victoria (10.16.76) in a State of Origin match at the SCG.
• 22 July – Allan Carman wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:15:17 in Brisbane, while Trudy Fenton claims the women's title in 2:44:38.
• 23 July – Players' draft adopted at board meeting of NSWRL.
• 8 September – Collingwood draws its elimination final with the West Coast Eagles. The AFL finals schedule is thrown into chaos and the Grand Final is rescheduled to be played a week later than usual. Extra time is subsequently introduced for future finals matches.
• 6 October – Collingwood (13.11.89) defeats Essendon (5.11.41) to win the 94th VFL/AFL premiership. It is the first premiership won under the AFL banner and Collingwood's first premiership since 1958, thereby symbolising the end of the "Colliwobbles".
• 10 November – Mal Meninga scores a stunning last-minute try to win the second Ashes rugby league test at Old Trafford.

Births

• 24 March – Keisha Castle-Hughes, New Zealand actress
• 22 May – Wyatt Roy, politician

Deaths

• 4 January – Henry Bolte (b. 1908), Premier of Victoria
• 9 January – Sir Edward McTiernan (b. 1892), High Court judge and politician
• 15 January – Dame Peggy van Praagh (b. 1910), ballet dancer
• 8 February – Sir Ernie Titterton (b. 1916), nuclear physicist
• 14 February – Graeme Hole (b. 1931), cricketer
• 10 March – Pat McDonald (b. 1922), actress (Number 96, Sons & Daughters)
• 10 March – Sir Reg Wright (b. 1905), Tasmanian Liberal senator
• 15 April – William Hart-Smith (b. 1911), poet
• 5 May – Gordon Mackie (b. 1912), NSW politician
• 8 June – Herbie Matthews (b. 1913), Australian Rules football player and coach for the South Melbourne Swans
• 21 June – Martin Johnston (b. 1947), poet
• 25 June – Peggy Glanville-Hicks (b. 1912), composer
• 1 July – Albert Field (b. 1910), Queensland senator
• 15 August – Jimmy Carruthers (b. 1929), boxer
• 17 August – Sir David Martin (b. 1933), Governor of New South Wales
• 2 September – Robert Holmes à Court (b. 1937), businessman
• 26 September – Sir James Forrest (b. 1905), lawyer
• 30 September – Patrick White (b. 1912), author
• 14 October – Clifton Pugh (b. 1924), artist
• 25 December – John Stuart Anderson (b. 1908), chemist

References