1997 in Australia

See also: 1996 in Australia, other events of 1997, 1998 in Australia

Incumbents

• Queen of Australia - HM Queen Elizabeth II
• Governor General - Sir William Deane
• Prime Minister - John Howard
• Premier of New South Wales - Bob Carr
• Premier of South Australia - John Olsen
• Premier of Queensland - Rob Borbidge
• Premier of Tasmania - Tony Rundle
• Premier of Western Australia - Richard Court
• Premier of Victoria - Jeff Kennett
• Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory - Kate Carnell
• Chief Minister of the Northern Territory - Shane Stone

Events

• January 9 - Yachtsman Tony Bullimore is found alive five days after his boat capsized in the Southern Ocean.
• May 1 - Tasmania becomes the last state in Australia to decriminalise homosexuality. On the same day, Melbourne's HM Prison Pentridge is closed.
• May 20 - A Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report calls for an apology for an early government policy of removing Aboriginal children from their parents & placing them in institutions.
• July 1 - Deregulation of the Telecommunications market, allowing the entry of competitors other than Telstra and Optus
• July 13 - A crowd of over 100,000 people watch the Royal Canberra Hospital implosion. A 12 year old girl, Katie Bender, is killed instantly & nine others are injured when debris from the site travels across Lake Burley Griffin.
• July 30 - The Thredbo landslide occurs, killing 17 people.
• August 2 - Stuart Diver, a ski instructor, is rescued as the sole survivor of the Thredbo Landslide.
• August 30 - Elections in the Northern Territory re-elect the Country Liberal Party government of Shane Stone.
• September - The head of Yagan is repatriated to Australia 164 years after being taken to United Kingdom;
• October 11 - The Liberal/National coalition government of John Olsen is re-elected in South Australia for another term, albeit with a substantially reduced minority.
• October 15 - Cheryl Kernot, leader of the Australian Democrats defected to the Australian Labor Party.

Arts and literature

Mark Raphael Baker published his book 'The Fiftieth Gate'

Film

Television

• July 1 - Prime Television comes to Mildura, ending a monopoly on commercial television held by STV-8 since 1965.
• November 1 - TCN-9 stages the first trial of digital television in the Southern Hemisphere.

Sport

• March 1 - The Super League competition commences with 2 matches, with the Brisbane Broncos defeating the Auckland (now New Zealand) Warriors 14-2 in Brisbane & the North Queensland Cowboys defeating the Adelaide Rams 24-16 in Townsville.
• March 7 - The ARL competition kicks off with the Parramatta Eels defeating the North Sydney Bears 10-8 at Parramatta Stadium.
• May 19 - New South Wales defeat Queensland 23-22 in the longest (104 minutes) & one of the most exciting games of representative rugby league ever played.
• August 22 - The Melbourne Phoenix defeat the Adelaide Thunderbirds 58-48 in the inaugural Commonwealth Bank Trophy netball grand final
• September 17 - The Melbourne Storm rugby league team is founded.
• September 20 - The Brisbane Broncos defeat the Cronulla Sharks 26-8 at ANZ Stadium (now Queen Elizabeth II stadium) to win the Super League premiership. It is the first ever night grand final played in rugby league.
• September 27 - The Adelaide Crows (19.11.125) defeat the St Kilda Saints (13.16.94) to win the 101st VFL/AFL premiership. It is the first premiership for Adelaide & the first time the AFL flag has left Victoria since 1994.
• September 28 - In one of, if not the most exciting grand final ever played, the Newcastle Knights defeat the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 22-16 to win the 90th NSWRL/ARL premiership. It is the first premiership for Newcastle & it was the third consecutive grand final appearance for Manly.
• November 29 - In what has come to be known as The Iran Game, the Socceroos draw 2-2 with Iran at the MCG after leading 2-0. The game is interrupted when serial pest Peter Hore cut up Iran's goal net. Iran qualifies for the 1998 FIFA World Cup on the away goals rule.
• December 19 - After a series of meetings at the Sydney Football Stadium (now Aussie Stadium), the Super League war is declared over. The ARL & Super League agree to form the National Rugby League, and the Perth Reds, Hunter Mariners & South Queensland Crushers are shut down to give a 20-team competition for 1998. The NRL is to be reduced to 14 teams for 2000 after reform.

Births

Deaths

• July 14 - Garfield Barwick, Chief Justice of the High Court (b. 1903)
• August 6 - Lance Barnard, Federal politician (b. 1919)
• November 22 - Michael Hutchence, musician, (b. 1960), committed suicide by hanging himself.

Unknown Dates

• Laurence Henry Hicks, composer (b. 1912)

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