- 1916 – Gough Whitlam, later Prime Minister of Australia, was born.
- 1974 – Sir John Kerr sworn in as Governor-General of Australia.
- 1979 – American space station Skylab crashes in Western Australia
- 1987 – The Bob Hawke-led Australian Labor Party returned to power after a double dissolution federal election.
- 1990 – Sarah MacDiarmid, age 23, disappears and likely murdered at Kananook railway station, Melbourne. The crime remains unsolved.