The following lists events that happened during 2011 in Australia.

Incumbents

Monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". 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 ...

–

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

–

Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

–

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

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

–

Wayne Swan Wayne Maxwell Swan (born 30 June 1954) is an Australian politician serving as the 25th and current Australian Labor Party National Executive#National Presidents, National President of the Labor Party since 2018, previously serving as the 14th de ...

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 ...

–

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

* Chief Justice –

Robert French Robert Shenton French (born 1947) is a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia and was Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia from 2008 to 2017. From 2017 to 2024, he was chancellor of the University of Western Australia, of whi ...

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 system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

–

Kristina Keneally Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who served as the first female Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011 and was later a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 u ...

(until 28 March), then

Barry O'Farrell Barry Robert O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian former politician who was Australia's List of Australian High Commissioners to India, High Commissioner to India and non-resident Ambassador to Bhutan from February 2020 to 30 June 202 ...

–

(until 28 March), then John Robertson *

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 Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

–

Anna Bligh Anna Maria Bligh (born 14 July 1960) is an Australian lobbyist and former politician who served as the 37th Premier of Queensland, in office from 2007 to 2012 as leader of the Queensland Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch), Labor Party. ...

–

John-Paul Langbroek John-Paul Honoré Langbroek is an Australian politician who has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the centre-right Liberal Party and its successor, the right-wing Liberal National Party, in the seat of Surfers ...

(until 11 April), then

Jeff Seeney Jeffrey William Seeney (born 2 February 1957) is a former Australian politician and the former Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning of Queensland. He was a member of the Legislative Assembl ...

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 i ...

–

Mike Rann Michael David Rann (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and List of Australi ...

(until 21 October), then

Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian former politician who was the 45th premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the South Australian House of Assembly, House of ...

–

Isobel Redmond Isobel Mary Redmond (born 8 April 1953) is a former Australian politician who was the member for the electoral district of Heysen in the House of Assembly from 2002 to 2018. She was the parliamentary leader of the South Australian Division of ...

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

–

David Bartlett David John Bartlett (born 19 January 1968) is an Australian former politician in the state of Tasmania, serving as the 43rd Premier of Tasmania from May 2008 until January 2011. He was a Labor Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly s ...

(until 23 January), then

Lara Giddings Larissa Tahireh "Lara" Giddings (born 14 November 1972) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th Premier of Tasmania from 24 January 2011 until 31 March 2014, the first woman to hold the position. Born in Goroka, Papua New Guinea, sh ...

–

Will Hodgman William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was the premier of Tasmania from 2014 to 2020 and state leader of the Liberal Party from 2006 to 2020. He later served as High Commissioner of ...

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government of the state of Victoria in Australia. The premier leads the Cabinet of Victoria and selects its ministers. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, must be a member of the Vic ...

–

Ted Baillieu Edward Norman Baillieu (born 31 July 1953) is a former Australian politician who was Premier of Victoria from 2010 to 2013. He was a Victorian Liberal Party, Liberal Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2014, represe ...

–

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian former politician who served as the 48th premier of Victoria from 2014 to 2023. He held office as the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 2010 and ...

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 br ...

–

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other ...

–

Eric Ripper Eric Stephen Ripper (born 13 September 1951) is an Australian former politician. From 2008 to 2012 he was Leader of the Opposition and leader of the Labor Party in Western Australia. He grew up on a wheat/sheep farm near Nyabing. Ripper late ...

Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory is the head of government of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The leader of the party with the largest number of seats in the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assemb ...

–

Jon Stanhope Jonathan Donald Stanhope (born 29 April 1951) is a former Australian politician who was Labor Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory from 2001 to 2011. Stanhope represented the Ginninderra electorate in the ACT Legislative Assem ...

(until 12 May), then

Katy Gallagher Katherine Ruth Gallagher ( /'gæləhər/ GAL-ə-her; born 18 March 1970) is an Australian politician who has been serving as the Minister for Finance, Minister for Women, Minister for the Public Service and Vice-President of the Executive ...

–

Zed Seselja Zdenko Matthew "Zed" Seselja (; born 27 March 1977) is an Australian politician who was a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory from 2013 to 2022, representing the Liberal Party. He was the Minister for International Development and the ...

Chief Minister of the Northern Territory The chief minister of the Northern Territory is the head of government of the Northern Territory. The office is the equivalent of a state premier. When the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly was created in 1974, the head of government w ...

–

Paul Henderson Paul Garnet Henderson (born January 28, 1943) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. A left winger, Henderson played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs and Atlanta Flame ...

– Terry Mills *

Chief Minister of Norfolk Island This article lists the heads of government of Norfolk Island. List of officeholders (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto'' continuation of office, irrespective of continuation of status of that office) See also * History of Norfolk Island ...

–

David Buffett David Ernest Buffett AM (born 17 October 1942) is a political figure from the Australian territory of Norfolk Island. He served as Chief Minister of Norfolk Island from March 2010 to March 2013; he has also held the position three previous occ ...

Governors and administrators

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

–

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

–

Penelope Wensley Penelope Anne Wensley, (born 18 October 1946) is an Australian former public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador t ...

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

– Kevin Scarce *

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

–

Peter Underwood Peter George Underwood, (10 October 1937 – 7 July 2014) was an Australian jurist and the Governor of Tasmania from 2008 until his death in 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of the Supreme Cour ...

Governor of Victoria The governor of Victoria is the representative of Monarchy of Australia, the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of V ...

–

David de Kretser David Morritz de Kretser (born 27 April 1939) is an Australian medical researcher who served as the 27th Governor of Victoria, from 2006 to 2011. Early life and medical career David de Kretser was born in British Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka ...

(until 7 April), then

Alex Chernov Alex Chernov (born 12 May 1938) is an Australian lawyer, judge and barrister who served as the 28th Governor of Victoria, from 2011 to 2015. Chernov also served as Vice-President of the Australian Bar Association, from 1986 to 1987, President ...

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

–

Ken Michael Kenneth Comninos Michael, (born 12 April 1938) is an Australian civil engineer, academic and former public servant who was the 30th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2011. Early life and career Michael was born in Perth, W ...

(until 2 May), then

Malcolm McCusker Malcolm James McCusker (born 6 August 1938) is an Australian barrister and philanthropist who was the 31st Governor of Western Australia, serving from July 2011 to June 2014. Born in Perth, McCusker was educated at Hobart High School (in Hob ...

* Administrator of the Australian Indian Ocean Territories –

Brian Lacy Brian James Lacy (born 22 May 1943) is an Australian public servant. He was formerly the Administrator of Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands. Lacy was the Senior Deputy President of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission bef ...

Administrator of Norfolk Island The administrator of Norfolk Island acts as a representative both of the Crown and the Government of Australia The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national Exe ...

– Owen Walsh *

Administrator of the Northern Territory The administrator of the Northern Territory is an official appointed by the governor-general of Australia to represent the Crown in right of the Northern Territory. They perform functions similar to those of a state governor. Strictly speaking ...

–

Tom Pauling Tom Pauling may refer to: * Tom Pauling (barrister) Thomas Ian Pauling (13 December 1946 – 23 November 2023) was an Australian lawyer and an administrator of the Northern Territory. Career Born in Sydney, Pauling was educated at Drummoyn ...

(until 31 October), then Sally Thomas

Events

January

* December 2010 to January 2011 – Flooding across Queensland continues, the most widespread flooding disaster in Queensland history. The

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

and

Lockyer Valley The Lockyer Valley is an area of rich farmlands that lies to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and east of Toowoomba. The Lockyer Valley is rated among the top ten most fertile farming areas in the world, and the intensively cultiv ...

regions are severely affected by floodwaters on 10 January, which would later lead to flooding in the

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

and

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

regions. * 10 January – A large

bushfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

threatens the area of

Lake Clifton, Western Australia Lake Clifton is a small town located on the east side of the lake of the same name in the Peel region of Western Australia just off the Old Coast Road, between Mandurah and Bunbury at the north end of the Yalgorup National Park. At the 2021 ...

, about 100 km south of Perth. * 13 January – of rain falls in 24 hours at

Scamander Scamander (), also Skamandros () or Xanthos (), was a river god in Greek mythology. Etymology The meaning of this name is uncertain. The second element looks as though it is derived from Greek (), meaning "of a man", but there are sources w ...

in north east Tasmania leads to flash flooding in the town, along with St Helens. * 14 January – Major floods occur across much of western and central Victoria totally inundating the town of

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, ...

and causing evacuations in many others. * 17 January – The

Commission of Inquiry into the 2010–11 Queensland floods In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

is established to investigate matters related to the Queensland floods. * 23 January – Corporal

Ben Roberts-Smith Benjamin Roberts-Smith (born 1 November 1978) is an Australian former soldier, who is a recipient of the Victoria Cross for Australia—the highest award for gallantry in battle that can be awarded to a member of the Australian armed forces� ...

of the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, ...

is awarded the

Victoria Cross for Australia The Victoria Cross for Australia is the highest award in the Australian honours system, superseding the British Victoria Cross for issue to Australians. The Victoria Cross for Australia is the "decoration for according recognition to persons w ...

for his actions in the

Shah Wali Kot Offensive The Shah Wali Kot Offensive was a five-day joint operation during the War in Afghanistan, conducted by Australian special forces and the Afghan National Army with US air support, between 10 and 14 June 2010. The operation took place in the Sha ...

in June 2010, part of the

War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...

. * 23 January –

announces his resignation as

citing a desire to spend more time with his family. * 27 January – Prime Minister Julia Gillard announces that her government proposes to introduce a Flood levy to assist in funding reconstruction works required as a result of major floods in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. * 30 January – Tropical Cyclone Anthony makes landfall near Bowen in Queensland's north, bringing wind gusts of up to .

February

Downed power pole and lines on Hugh Street in Townsville

*3 February –

Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi Severity or Severely may refer to: * Severity (video game), ''Severity'' (video game), a canceled video game * Severely (song), "Severely" (song), by South Korean band F.T. Island See also

* * {{disambig ...

makes landfall at near Mission Beach, south of

Innisfail, Queensland Innisfail (from Irish language, Irish: Inis Fáil) is a regional town and Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Cassowary Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. The town was originally called Geraldton until 1910. In the , the town o ...

. *4–5 February – Severe thunderstorms related to Tropical Cyclone Anthony affect much of Victoria.

Flash flooding A flash flood is a rapid flooding of low-lying areas: washes, rivers, dry lakes and depressions. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a severe thunderstorm, hurricane, or tropical storm, or by meltwater from ice and snow. Flash flo ...

affected many places across the state including

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

in the state's north west and the south eastern suburbs of Melbourne. The town of

Koo Wee Rup Koo Wee Rup () is a town and satellite suburb in Victoria, Australia, 63 km south-east of Melbourne's central business district and located within the Shire of Cardinia local government area. Originally marshland, the area has since been ...

was evacuated when the

Bunyip River The Bunyip River is a perennial river of the Western Port catchment, located in the West Gippsland region of the Australian state of Victoria. Location and features The Bunyip River rises below Mount Beenak, part of the southern portion of the ...

reached a height of . *6–7 February – Bushfires in Perth destroy at least 50 houses. *17 February – REDGroup Retail (including the

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

and

Angus & Robertson Angus & Robertson (A&R) is a major Australian bookseller, publisher and printer. As book publishers, A&R has contributed substantially to the promotion and development of Australian literature.Alison, Jennifer (2001). "Publishers and editors: A ...

bookshop chains) is placed into voluntary administration with Ferrier Hodgson appointed as administrators. *24 February – Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced that the Federal Government proposed to introduce a

carbon pricing Carbon pricing (or pricing) is a method for governments to Climate change mitigation, mitigate climate change, in which a monetary cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions. This is done to encourage polluters to reduce fossil fuel combustion, ...

scheme by 1 July 2012. Federal Opposition Leader

claims that Gillard broke a promise made during the 2010 Federal election campaign not to introduce a

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...

. *24 February –

AFACT The Australian Screen Association (ASA) (formerly known as Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft) is an anti-piracy lobby group that was established in 2004. Its aim is to protect the film and television industry and retailers from what ...

loses its appeal to the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indictable (mo ...

affirming that

iiNet iiNet Limited is an Australian internet service provider and telecommunications company that sells NBN plans, 4G and 5G Home Wireless Internet and services on its ULTRA Broadband Cable, FTTB and VDSL2 networks. iiNet also sells mobile pho ...

was not liable for the illegal downloading and

peer-to-peer file sharing Peer-to-peer file sharing is the distribution and sharing of digital media using peer-to-peer (P2P) networking technology. P2P file sharing allows users to access media files such as books, music, movies, and games using a P2P software program th ...

of films and television programs by its users.

March

*3 March – The temperature in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

reaches above 30 degrees for the 26th consecutive day, making it the longest recorded heatwave in the city, beating the previous record set in 1988. *26 March – A state election is held in New South Wales.

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government is defeated by

's Liberal-National Coalition.

April

*19 April – Floodwaters inundate around 100 houses in the western Queensland town of

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

. *20 April – Asylum seekers at Sydney's

Villawood Detention Centre Villawood Immigration Detention Centre, originally Villawood Migrant Hostel or Villawood Migrant Centre, split into a separate section named Westbridge Migrant Hostel from 1968 to 1984, is an Australian immigration detention facility located i ...

riot in protest over delays in processing their applications for asylum, burning down at least three buildings.

May

*4 May – Virgin Blue Airlines is renamed and rebranded as

Virgin Australia Virgin Australia, formerly known as Virgin Blue, is an Australian airline based in Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin Group, Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet ...

. *11 May – While waiting for an elevator at an undercover carpark at Highpoint Shopping Centre Ashgrove an out-of-control vehicle slams into Alison France, the 38-year-old daughter of state MP

Peter Lawlor Peter Lawlor (born 1 March 1948) is an Australian former politician. He was the Labor Member for Southport in the Queensland Legislative Assembly. He served as Queensland Minister for Tourism and Fair Trading. Prior to his term in state parli ...

. After pushing her son's stroller out the way before impact, France becomes pinned between two cars. The accident results in France's left leg being amputated above the knee. *16 May – The

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory, known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly, is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building, Canberra, Leg ...

elects

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

, following the resignation of

on 12 May. *29 May 2011: Detective Senior Constable Damien Leeding (CIB) was shot when he confronted an armed offender at the Pacific Pines Tavern on the Gold Coast. Leeding died in hospital on 1 June three days after being shot.

June

*5 June – Say Yes demonstrations occur in numerous cities across Australia in support of political action on climate change. *11 June – Hundreds of flights are suspended following the

ash cloud Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, produced during volcano, volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used ...

from an

eruption A volcanic eruption occurs when material is expelled from a volcanic vent or fissure. Several types of volcanic eruptions have been distinguished by volcanologists. These are often named after famous volcanoes where that type of behavior has ...

in the

Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Puyehue (; ) and Cordón Caulle are two coalesced volcanic edifices that form a major mountain massif in Puyehue National Park in the Andes of Ranco Province, in the South of Chile. In volcanology this group is known as the Puyehue-Cordón C ...

volcano complex in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

reaching southern Australia. *16 June – A report by the Victorian

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

criticises the

Chief Commissioner A chief commissioner is a commissioner of high rank, usually in chief of several commissioners or similarly styled officers. Colonial In British India the gubernatorial style was chief commissioner in various (not all) provinces (often after bein ...

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

Simon Overland Simon James Overland (born 19 March 1962)
2 March 2009, www.premier.vic.gov.au is the for ...

's publication of "misleading" crime statistics in the lead-up to the 2010 State election. Overland subsequently resigns as Chief Commissioner.

July

*25 July – The Gillard government signs off on an arrangement with Malaysia that will see Australia deport 800

asylum seekers An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country, and makes in that other country a formal application for the right of asylum according to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 14. A pers ...

to that country in return for resettling 4000 refugees verified by the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

August

*8 August – A High Court judge orders the government's "Malaysia Solution" to send asylum seekers to Malaysia be put on hold until the full bench of the High Court could assess the scheme's legality. *9 August – The 2011 Census of Population and Housing is held. *28 August –

Queensland Police The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

confirm that bones found in bushland on the

Sunshine Coast Sunshine Coast may refer to: * Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia **Sunshine Coast Region, a local government area of Queensland named after the region **Sunshine Coast Stadium * Sunshine Coast (British Columbia), geographic subregion of the Br ...

are those of missing teenager

Daniel Morcombe Daniel James Morcombe (19 December 1989 – 7 December 2003) was an Australian boy who was abducted from the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, on 7 December 2003 when he was 13 years old. Eight years later, Brett Peter Cowan (born 18 September 1969), ...

. Morcombe had been missing since 2003 * 31 August – The

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

rules the Gillard government's " Malaysia Solution" for the processing of asylum-seekers is unlawful.

September

*1 September – Forensic experts confirm that the remains of a person found on the grounds of the former

HM Prison Pentridge HM Prison Pentridge, better known as Pentridge Prison, was an Australian prison established in 1851 in Coburg, Victoria. The first convicts arrived at the gaol in 1851. The facility closed on 1 May 1997, although some of the heritage-listed buil ...

are those of bushranger

Ned Kelly Edward Kelly (December 185411 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader, bank robber and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing armour of the Kelly gang, a suit of bulletproof ...

. *28 September –

Eatock v Bolt ''Eatock v Bolt'' was a 2011 decision of the Federal Court of Australia which held that two articles written by columnist and commentator Andrew Bolt and published in ''The Herald Sun'' newspaper had contravened section 18C, of the ''Racial Di ...

Justice Mordecai Bromberg founds conservative political commentator

Andrew Bolt Andrew Bolt (born 26 September 1959) is an Australian conservative social and political commentator. He has worked at the News Corp-owned newspaper company The Herald and Weekly Times (HWT) for many years, for both '' The Herald'' and its succ ...

to have contravened section 18C of the ''

Racial Discrimination Act Racial Discrimination Act may refer to: * Racial Discrimination Act 1975 – an act passed by the Australian Parliament making racial discrimination unlawful * Racial Discrimination Act 1944 – an act passed by the Parliament of Ontario pr ...

''.. The case was controversial. Bolt described the decision as a "terrible day for free speech" in Australia and said it represented "a restriction on the freedom of all Australians to discuss

multiculturalism Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...

and how people identify themselves. I argued then and I argue now that we should not insist on the differences between us but focus instead on what unites us as human beings."

October

*19 to 29 October –

Queen Elizabeth Queen Elizabeth, Queen Elisabeth or Elizabeth the Queen may refer to: Queens regnant * Elizabeth I (1533–1603; ), Queen of England and Ireland * Elizabeth II (1926–2022; ), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms * Queen B ...

and

Prince Philip Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

visit Visit refer as go to see and spend time with socially. Visit may refer to: *State visit, a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country *Conjugal visit, in which a prisoner is permitted to spend several hours or days in private with a visit ...

Canberra, Perth, Brisbane and Melbourne. *21 October –

stands down as

after losing party support, and is replaced by

. *21 October –

officers forcibly remove

Occupy Melbourne Occupy Melbourne was a social movement which took place from late 2011 to mid 2012 in Melbourne, Australia as part of the global Occupy movement Participants expressed grievances concerning economic inequality, social injustice, corruption in ...

protesters from Melbourne's

City Square A town square (or public square, urban square, city square or simply square), also called a plaza or piazza, is an open public space commonly found in the heart of a traditional town or city, and which is used for community gatherings. Rel ...

. *28 to 30 October – the

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM; or) is a wiktionary:biennial, biennial summit meeting of the List of current heads of state and government, governmental leaders from all Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth nations. ...

is held in Perth. *29 October – In response to

industrial action Industrial action (British English) or job action (American English) is a temporary show of dissatisfaction by employees—especially a strike or slowdown or working to rule—to protest against bad working conditions or low pay and to increas ...

by pilots, ground staff and engineers,

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

grounds its entire international and domestic fleet. *31 October –

Fair Work Australia The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australi ...

orders the termination of all industrial action taken by Qantas and the involved trade unions. Qantas flights resume on the afternoon of that day.

November

*16 November – The

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

visits Australia to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the

ANZUS The Australia, New Zealand, United States Security Treaty (ANZUS or ANZUS Treaty) is a collective security agreement between Australia, New Zealand, and the United States that was signed in 1951, and from which New Zealand has been partially su ...

alliance. *24 November –

Harry Jenkins Henry Alfred "Harry" Jenkins, (born 18 August 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 26th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2008 to 2011. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was the me ...

resigns as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Peter Slipper Peter Neil Slipper (born 14 February 1950) is an Australian former politician and bishop who served as the 27th speaker of the Australian House of Representatives from 2011 to 2012. A member of the Liberal Party of Australia for most of his ca ...

is elected in his place. *25 November – 34 homes are destroyed in

Margaret River, Western Australia Margaret River is a large town in the South West (Western Australia), South West of Western Australia, located in the valley of the eponymous Margaret River, south of Perth, the state capital. Its Local Government Areas of Western Australia, Lo ...

when a

prescribed burn A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...

by the Department of Environment and Conservation had "gone wrong" and "escaped" into bushland. * 30 November –

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

passed a bill allowing civil partnerships for same-sex couples in Queensland; a similar legislation already exists in Tasmania, Victoria, the ACT and NSW.

December

* 18 December – A boat sailing from Indonesia carrying over 200

sinks off the coast of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

while heading for

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

. At least 160 people are feared dead.

Arts and literature

*27 April –

Andrew Ruhemann Andrew Ruhemann (born July 1962) is a film producer, director and the founder of Passion Pictures, an independent production company. History Ruhemann was educated at Highgate School and studied French and Drama at Bristol University. He started ...

and

Shaun Tan Shaun Tan (born 15 January 1974) is an Australian artist, writer and film maker. He won an Academy Award for '' The Lost Thing'', a 2011 animated short film adaptation of the 2000 picture book he wrote and illustrated. He also wrote and illustrat ...

are awarded the

Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film The Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film is an award given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) as part of the annual Academy Awards, or Oscars, since the 5th Academy Awards (with different names), covering the year ...

at the

83rd Academy Awards The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2010 in the United States and took place on February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, be ...

for their film ''

The Lost Thing ''The Lost Thing'' is a picture book written and illustrated by Shaun Tan that was also adapted into an Academy Award-winning animated short film. Plot Set in a dystopian Melbourne, Australia, in the near future, ''The Lost Thing'' is a story ...

''. *15 April –

Ben Quilty Ben Quilty (born 1973) is an Australian artist and social commentator, who has won a series of painting prizes: the 2014 Prudential Eye Award, 2011 Archibald Prize, and 2009 Doug Moran National Portrait Prize. He has been described as one of Au ...

is awarded the

Archibald Prize The Archibald Prize is an Australian portraiture art prize for painting, generally seen as the most prestigious portrait prize in Australia. It was first awarded in 1921 after the receipt of a bequest from J. F. Archibald, J. F. Archib ...

for his portrait of

Margaret Olley Margaret Hannah Olley (24 June 192326 July 2011) was an Australian painter. She held over ninety solo exhibitions during her lifetime. Early life Margaret Olley was born in Lismore, New South Wales. She was the eldest of three children of J ...

. The

Wynne Prize The Wynne Prize is an Australian landscape painting or figure sculpture art prize. As one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, it was established in 1897 from the bequest of Richard Wynne. Now held concurrently with the Sir John Sulman Prize ...

was awarded to Richard Goodwin for ''Co-isolated slave'' and the

Sulman Prize The Sir John Sulman Prize is one of Australia's longest-running art prizes, having been established in 1936. It is now held concurrently with the Archibald Prize, Australia's best-known art prize, and also with the Wynne Prize, at the Art Galler ...

was awarded to

Peter Smeeth Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

for ''The artist's fate''. *17 August – The

National Gallery of Victoria The National Gallery of Victoria, popularly known as the NGV, is an art museum in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1861, it is Australia's oldest and list of most visited art museums in the world, most visited art mu ...

announces it has acquired ''Madonna and Child with the infant Saint John the Baptist'' by Italian

High Renaissance In art history, the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in the Italian states, particularly Rome, capital of the Papal States, and in Florence, during the Italian Renaissance. Most art historians stat ...

painter

Antonio da Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for so ...

. Purchased at auction for £3.2 million ($5.2 million), it is the most expensive acquisition in the 150-year history of the NGV.

Science and technology

*15 September – Researchers from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

announce the identification of a new dolphin species, the

Burrunan dolphin The Burrunan dolphin (''Tursiops australis'') is a proposed species of bottlenose dolphin found in parts of Victoria, Australia first described in 2011. Its exact taxonomy is debated: numerous studies support it as being a separate species within ...

(''Tursiops australis''), in

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

and

Gippsland Lakes The Gippsland Lakes are a network of coastal lakes, marshes and lagoons in East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia covering an overall area of about between the rural towns of Lakes Entrance, Bairnsdale and Sale. The largest of the lakes are ...

. *4 October – American-born astrophysicist

Brian Schmidt Brian Paul Schmidt (born 24 February 1967) is an American Australian astrophysics, astrophysicist at the Australian National University's Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics. He was the Vice-Chancellor o ...

was awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics for his discovery of the increasing acceleration of the

expansion of the universe The expansion of the universe is the increase in proper length, distance between Gravitational binding energy, gravitationally unbound parts of the observable universe with time. It is an intrinsic and extrinsic properties (philosophy), intrins ...

. A professor at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

, Schmidt shared the award with

Adam Riess Adam Guy Riess (born December 16, 1969) is an American astrophysicist and Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins University and the Space Telescope Science Institute. He is known for his research in using supernovae as cosmological ...

and

Saul Perlmutter Saul Perlmutter (born September 22, 1959) is an American astrophysicist who is a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley, where he holds the Franklin W. and Karen Weber Dabby Chair, and is head of the International Superno ...

Sport

*7 January – Cricket:

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

wins

The Ashes The Ashes is a Test cricket series played biennially between England and Australia. The term originated in a satirical obituary published in a British newspaper, '' The Sporting Times'', immediately after Australia's 1882 victory at The Oval, ...

series 3–1 over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. *29 January – Tennis:

Kim Clijsters Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters (; born 8 June 1983) is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 20 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's double ...

wins the women's singles title at the

2011 Australian Open The 2011 Australian Open was a tennis tournament featuring six different competitions, and part of the 2011 ATP World Tour, the 2011 WTA Tour, ITF Junior Tour and the NEC Tour, as tournaments for professional, junior and wheelchair players wer ...

, defeating

Li Na Li Na (born 26 February 1982) is a Chinese former professional tennis player. She was WTA rankings, ranked world No. 2 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association. Li won nine WTA Tour-level singles titles, including two Grand Slam (t ...

. *29 January – Soccer:

is defeated 1–0 in extra time by

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

in the final of the 2011 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar. *30 January – Tennis:

Novak Djokovic Novak Djokovic ( sr-Cyrl-Latn, Новак Ђоковић, Novak Đoković, separator=" / ", ; born 22 May 1987) is a Serbian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players#Weeks at N ...

wins the men's singles title at the

, defeating

Andy Murray Sir Andrew Barron Murray (born 15 May 1987) is a British former professional tennis player and coach. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professio ...

. *7 February – Cricket:

Shane Watson Shane Robert Watson (born 17 June 1981) is an Australian cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who played for and occasionally captained the Australia national cricket team, Australian national cricket team between 2002 and 2016. He ...

wins the

Allan Border Medal Awarded during the Australian Cricket Awards, the Allan Border Medal is considered to be the most prestigious individual prize in Australian men's cricket. First awarded in 2000, the medal is named after former Australian men's captain Allan Bor ...

for the second year in a row. *12 February – Rugby League: The

2011 All Stars match The 2011 All Stars Match was the second of the annual representative exhibition match played between the Indigenous All Stars and the NRL All Stars which was held on the 12 of February 2011 at the Gold Coast's Skilled Park. The game was won by ...

is held at

Skilled Park Robina Stadium, commercially known as Cbus Super Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Robina, a suburb of Gold Coast, Queensland. It is the home ground to the National Rugby League's Gold Coast Titans, this venue sometimes host ...

, with the NRL All Stars defeating the Indigenous All Stars 28–12. NRL fullback

Josh Dugan Joshua Dugan (born 10 May 1990) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the National Rugby League, NRL and Australia national rugby league team, Australia at ...

of the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

wins the

Preston Campbell Thomas Leon Preston Campbell (born 7 June 1977) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, the Penrith Panthers (with whom he won t ...

award for Man of the Match. Preceding the game was the inaugural Women's All Stars match, which the NRL team also won 22–6. *27 February – Rugby League: 2010

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

premiers the

St. George Illawarra Dragons The St. George Illawarra Dragons are an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing both the Illawarra and St George regions of New South Wales. The club has competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since 1999 after a j ...

defeat

Super League XV Engage Super League XV was the official name for the 2010 Super League season. Fourteen teams competed over 27 rounds. The season officially kicked off on 5 February with the Crusaders versus the Leeds Rhinos on 29 January at Crusaders' new homeg ...

champions the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

21–15 in the

2011 World Club Challenge The 2011 World Club Challenge (known as the Probiz World Club Challenge due to sponsorship) was contested by Super League XV champions, Wigan Warriors, and 2010 NRL Premiers, the St. George Illawarra Dragons, at Wigan's home ground, DW Stadium. ...

, held in

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

. *1 March – Soccer:

North Queensland Fury Northern Fury Football Club was an Australian professional soccer club based in Townsville, Queensland. The club was founded in 2008 and competed in the A-League under the name North Queensland Fury. On 1 March 2011, the club was removed from th ...

are dropped from the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

, after being unable to meet the financial requirements of

Football Federation Australia Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only establ ...

. *13 March – Basketball:

Bulleen Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

defeat

Canberra Capitals The University of Canberra Capitals are an Australian professional women's basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The team is based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. In 2014 the University of Canberr ...

103–78 to win the 2010–11 Women's National Basketball League championship. *13 March – Soccer:

Brisbane Roar FC Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

defeat

Central Coast Mariners FC Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast (New South Wales), Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League, A-League Men, under Professional sports lea ...

4–2 on penalties (2–2 after extra time) to win the

2010–11 A-League The 2010–11 A-League was the 34th season of top-flight soccer in Australia, and the sixth season of the Australian A-League soccer competition since its establishment in 2004. The home and away season began on 5 August 2010 and concluded on 13 ...

Championship. Brisbane win the Premiership/Championship double. *21 March – Cricket:

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

win their second

Sheffield Shield The Sheffield Shield is the domestic first-class cricket competition of Australia. The tournament is contested between teams representing the six states of Australia. The Sheffield Shield is named after Henry Holroyd, 3rd Earl of Sheffield, Lor ...

, beating

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

by seven wickets at

Bellerive Oval Bellerive Oval, currently known as Ninja Stadium for Naming rights, sponsorship reasons, is a Cricket field, cricket oval and Australian rules football ground located in Bellerive, Tasmania, Bellerive, a suburb on the eastern shore of Hobart, T ...

. *27 March – Motor racing: German driver

Sebastian Vettel Sebastian Vettel (; born 3 July 1987) is a German racing driver who most recently competed in Formula One from to . Vettel won four Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won consecutively from to with Red Bull, and rema ...

win the

2011 Australian Grand Prix The 2011 Australian Grand Prix (formally the 2011 Formula 1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on 27 March 2011 at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne. It was the 76th race in the combine ...

for

Red Bull Racing Red Bull Racing, currently competing as Oracle Red Bull Racing and also known simply as Red Bull or RBR, is a Formula One racing team, List of Formula One constructors#Team's nationality, competing under an Austrian racing licence and based in ...

, finishing 22 seconds ahead of British driver

Lewis Hamilton Sir Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton (born 7 January 1985) is a British racing driver who competes in Formula One for Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari. Hamilton has won a joint-record seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles—tied with M ...

. *29 April – Basketball:

New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...

defeat

Cairns Taipans The Cairns Taipans are an Australian professional basketball team based in Cairns, Queensland. The Taipans compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at the Cairns Convention Centre, known colloquially as "The S ...

71–53 in the deciding game of the 2010–11 NBL Grand Final series. The Breakers become the first New Zealand team to win an NBL championship. *22 May – Netball: The

Queensland Firebirds Queensland Firebirds are an Australian professional netball team based in Brisbane, Queensland. Since 2017 they have played in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship and between 1997 and 2007, they pl ...

win the 2011 ANZ Championship defeating the

Northern Mystics Northern Mystics are a New Zealand netball team based in Auckland. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Northern in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Northern is the governing body t ...

57–44 in the Grand Final at Brisbane. *6 July – Rugby league:

win a record sixth consecutive

Rugby League State of Origin The State of Origin series is an annual best-of-three rugby league series between two Australian state representative sides, the New South Wales Blues and the Queensland Maroons. Referred to as "Australian sport's greatest rivalry", the State ...

title, defeating

34–24 in front of 52,498 fans at

Lang Park Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rectangular sporting st ...

to win the series by two matches to one. *9 July – Rugby union:

win the 2011 Super Rugby championship, defeating the

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

-based

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

18–13 in front of 52,116 fans at

; a record crowd for Australian provincial rugby. *10 July – Netball:

win the 2011 Netball World Championships held in Singapore, defeating

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

58–57 after extra time. *10 July – Soccer: The Matildas—the Australian women's football team—is knocked out of the

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup The 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup was the sixth FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, football teams. It was held from 26 June to ...

at the quarter-final stage, defeated by

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

3–1 in

Augsburg Augsburg ( , ; ; ) is a city in the Bavaria, Bavarian part of Swabia, Germany, around west of the Bavarian capital Munich. It is a College town, university town and the regional seat of the Swabia (administrative region), Swabia with a well ...

. *24 July – Cycling:

Cadel Evans Cadel Lee Evans (; born 14 February 1977) is an Australian former professional racing cyclist who competed professionally in both mountain biking and road bicycle racing. A four-time Olympian, Evans is one of three non-Europeans – along with ...

wins the

2011 Tour de France The 2011 Tour de France was the 98th edition of Tour de France, the race. It started on 2 July at the Passage du Gois and ended on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs-Élysées in Paris on 24 July. The cyclists competed in 2 ...

. Evans is the first Australian to win the Tour de France. *30 July – Australian rules football: hands the second worst marginal defeat in

AFL/VFL The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Fo ...

history, winning by 186 points. Twenty-four hours after the siren blew at

Kardinia Park Kardinia Park is a major public park located in South Geelong, Victoria, South Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria. A number of public and sporting facilities are located in the park: a major Australian Football League, AFL stadium, a seco ...

Dean Bailey Dean Bailey (18 January 1967 – 11 March 2014) was an Australian rules football player and coach. He played for the Essendon Football Club and was the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club, as well as an assistant coach at Essendon and P ...

was sacked as Demons coach after three and a half seasons at the helm. *3 September – Athletics:

Sally Pearson Sally Pearson, OAM (née McLellan; born 19 September 1986) is a retired Australian athlete who competed in the 100 metre hurdles. She is the 2011 and 2017 World champion and 2012 Olympic champion in the 100 metres hurdles. She also won a si ...

wins the Women's 100 metres hurdles at the

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

, South Korea. *4 September – Rugby League: The

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

win their first legitimate

minor premiership A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymolo ...

following the final main round of the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The ...

. The

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

finish in last position, claiming the

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

. *12 September – Tennis:

Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur (born 30 March 1984) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and ...

wins the 2011 US Open, her first Grand Slam singles title. *26 September – Australian rules football:

Dane Swan Dane Swan (born 25 February 1984) is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

( Collingwood) wins the

2011 Brownlow Medal The 2011 Brownlow Medal was the 84th year the award was presented to the player adjudged the fairest and best player during the Australian Football League (AFL) home and away season. Dane Swan of the Collingwood Football Club won the medal by po ...

. *1 October – Australian rules football:

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

wins the

2011 AFL Grand Final The 2011 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Collingwood Football Club and the Geelong Football Club, held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 1 October 2011. It was the 116th annual AFL Grand Final, grand ...

, defeating Collingwood 18.11 (119) to 12.9 (81). *2 October – Rugby league: The

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

win the

2011 NRL Grand Final The 2011 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the National Rugby League, NRL's 2011 Telstra Premiership season. It was played between the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles and the New Zealand Warriors on the afternoon of ...

, defeating the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

24–10. It is the Sea Eagles' most recent premiership win. *9 October – Motor racing:

Garth Tander Garth Dirk Tander (born 31 March 1977) is a multiple-championship winning Australian motor racing driver competing in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship's Enduro Cup, co-driving for Grove Racing. He was the 2007 series champion for th ...

and

Nick Percat Nicholas Paul Percat (born 14 September 1988) is an Australian racing driver who currently races in the Repco Supercars Championship, driving for Matt Stone Racing in the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro. He won the Bathurst 1000 at his first attemp ...

, driving for the

Holden Racing Team Walkinshaw Andretti United is an Australian motor racing team based in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. The team, initially branded as the Holden Racing Team, used to field Holden Commodores in the Supercars Championship before making the swit ...

, win the

2011 Bathurst 1000 The 2011 Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 was an Australian touring car motor race for V8 Supercars. The race was on Sunday, 9 October 2011 at the Mount Panorama Circuit just outside Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia and was Race 20 of the 2 ...

. *22 October – Horse racing: Pinker Pinker wins the

Cox Plate The W. S. Cox Plate is a Group races, Group 1 Thoroughbred horse race for horses aged three years old and over under Weight for age conditions, over a distance of 2040 metres (approximately 1m 2f), that is held by the Moonee Valley Racin ...

at Moonee Valley. *1 November – Horse racing: Dunaden, ridden by

Christophe Lemaire Christophe Patrice Lemaire (Japanese:, born 20 May 1979) is a French-born jockey. He has enjoyed much of his success on the Japanese flat racing circuit, with the most wins at Japan Racing Association racetracks for five consecutive years sin ...

and trained by Mikel Delzangles, wins the 2011 Melbourne Cup. The French-trained horse won in a photo finish over Red Cadeaux—the narrowest victory in the history of the race. *12 November – Commonwealth Games: The Gold Coast is announced as the host of the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

. *12 November – Athletics:

was named as the woman

IAAF World Athlete of the Year The World Athletics Awards are annual awards to honor athletes participating in events within the sport of athletics. These are organised by World Athletics and include track and field, cross country running, road running, and racewalking. Th ...

for 2011.

Deaths

*1 January –

Sonia Humphrey Sonia Denise Humphrey (10 November 1947 – 1 January 2011) was an Australian television presenter, newsreader and journalist. Humphrey was a talented ballerina as a child and studied television production before working as an archaeologist for ...

, 63, television presenter and journalist *2 January – Robert Trumble, 91, writer and musician *9 January –

Ernest Henry Lee-Steere Sir Ernest Henry Lee-Steere, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire, KBE (22 December 19129 January 2011) was a prominent Australian businessman. He was particularly noted for his involvement in horse racing in Western Australia, be ...

, 98, businessman *9 January – Makinti Napanangka, late 1980s, Australian

Papunya Tula Papunya Tula, registered as Papunya Tula Artists Pty Ltd, is an artist cooperative formed in 1972 in Papunya, Northern Territory, owned and operated by Aboriginal people from the Western Desert of Australia. The group is known for its innovativ ...

artist *13 January – Mick Cremin, 87, rugby union player *15 January –

Harvey James Harvey James born Harvey William James Harrop (20 September 195215 January 2011) was an English-Australian rock guitarist. He was a member of the bands Mississippi (1973–74), Ariel (1974–75), Sherbet (1976–80, 1980–81) and the Party Bo ...

, 58, guitarist with Sherbet *17 January –

Steve Prestwich Steven William Prestwich (5 March 195416 January 2011) was an English-born Australian drummer, guitarist, singer and songwriter. After relocating from Liverpool, Prestwich was the founding and long-term drummer for the band Cold Chisel, which for ...

, 56, drummer with

Cold Chisel Cold Chisel are an Australian Pub rock (Australia), pub rock band, which formed in Adelaide in 1973 by mainstay members Ian Moss on guitar and vocals, Steve Prestwich on drums, Les Kaczmarek on bass and Don Walker (musician), Don Walker on pia ...

*18 January –

Duncan Hall Duncan Hall (24 August 192518 January 2011) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s, singled out as having been amongst the greatest of the 20th century. He played in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership fo ...

, 85, rugby league footballer *24 January –

Peter Gibb Peter Robert Gibb (30 June 1954 – 23 January 2011) was an Australian criminal, known for his escape from the Melbourne Remand Centre in 1993. Escape from Melbourne Remand Centre Gibb had several prior convictions for manslaughter, armed robbe ...

, 56, criminal, prison escapee *2 February –

Darrel Baldock Darrel John Baldock (29 September 1938 – 2 February 2011) was an Australian sportsman and state politician. He played Australian rules football for the St Kilda Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), East Devonport Football C ...

, 72, Australian rules footballer, politician *7 February – Frank Roberts, 65, boxer, first Indigenous Olympian *12 February – James Elliott, 82, actor (''

Number 96 96 (ninety-six) is the natural number following 95 and preceding 97. It is a number that appears the same when rotated by 180 degrees. In mathematics 96 is: * an octagonal number. * a refactorable number. * an untouchable number. * a semiper ...

'') *21 February –

Dick Klugman Richard Emanuel Klugman (18 January 1924 – 21 February 2011) was an Australian doctor, activist and politician. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the Australian House of Representatives, House of Representatives ...

, 87, politician *6 March –

Patricia Brennan Patricia Anne Brennan AM (15 April 1944 – 6 March 2011) was an Australian medical doctor and a prominent campaigner for the ordination of women in the Anglican Church of Australia. She became a member of the Order of Australia in 1993. Ea ...

, 66, advocate for the ordination of women *9 March – Des Meagher, 67, Australian rules footballer *13 March –

Owsley Stanley Augustus Owsley Stanley III (January 19, 1935 – March 12, 2011) was an American-Australian audio engineer and clandestine chemist. He was a key figure in the San Francisco Bay Area hippie movement during the 1960s and played a pivotal role ...

, 76, counter-cultural figure *19 March –

Kym Bonython Hugh Reskymer "Kym" Bonython, (15 September 1920 – 19 March 2011) was an Australian politician, World War Two veteran, musician, gallery owner, and racing driver. He was a prominent and active member of society in Adelaide, Australia. He had ...

, 90, arts identity *20 March –

Bob Christo Robert John Christo, was an Australian–Indian civil engineer and actor in Hindi films. Starting with Sanjay Khan's '' Abdullah'' (1980), he went on to act in over 200 Hindi films in the 1980s and 1990s, including '' Qurbani'' (1980), '' Kaali ...

, 72, Bollywood actor *28 March –

Esben Storm Esben Storm (26 May 1950 – 28 March 2011) was a Danish Australian actor, screenwriter, television producer, television director, voice artist and songwriter. Early life Storm came to Australia with parents Laurits and Ane in 1958, after Lau ...

, 60, actor, producer and director *31 March – Tony Barrell, 70, broadcaster *31 March –

Alan Fitzgerald Francis Alan Fitzgerald (born July 16, 1949) is an American musician. A multi-instrumentalist, he is best known as the second bassist of Montrose and as keyboardist for Night Ranger. He has also performed with Gamma, and former Montrose bandma ...

, 75, journalist and satirist *8 April – David S. Clarke, 69, businessman and winemaker *8 April – Donald Shanks, 70, bass-baritone opera singer *11 April –

John D'Orazio John Biase D'Orazio (5 September 1955 – 11 April 2011) was an Australian politician who served as the member for Ballajura in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 10 February 2001 to 6 September 2008. He was a minister in the go ...

, 55, politician *11 April – Peter Ruehl, 64, columnist *13 April – Alan Noonan, 63, Australian rules footballer *17 April – Eric Gross, 84, composer *17 April – Blair Milan, 29, actor and television presenter *23 April –

Dutch Tilders Dutch Tilders (29 August 194123 April 2011), born Mattheus Frederikus Wilhelmus Tilders, anglicised as Matthew Tilders, was a Netherlands-born Australian blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He performed and released material as a solo artist ...

, 69, musician *5 May –

Claude Choules Claude Stanley Choules (; 3 March 1901 – 5 May 2011) was a British-born military serviceman from Pershore, Worcestershire, who at the time of his death was the oldest combat veteran of the World War I, First World War from England, havin ...

, 110, last surviving combat World War I veteran *6 May – Barry Connolly, 72, Australian rules footballer *8 May –

Lionel Rose Lionel Edmund Rose MBE (21 June 1948 – 8 May 2011) was an Australian professional boxer who competed from 1964 to 1976. He held the undisputed WBA, WBC, and ''The Ring'' bantamweight titles from 1968 to 1969, becoming the first Indigeno ...

, 62, boxer *16 May – Bob Davis, 82, Australian rules footballer *20 May – Ivan Gibbs, 83, Queensland politician *21 May – Bill Hunter, 71, actor *22 May – Ralph Hunt, 83, politician *23 May – Sam Faust, 26, rugby league player *25 May –

Terry Jenner Terrence James Jenner (8 September 1944 – 25 May 2011) was an Australian cricketer who played nine Tests and one ODI from 1970 to 1975. He was primarily a leg-spin bowler and was known for his attacking, loopy style of bowling, but he was al ...

, 66, cricketer *29 May – Jon Blake, 52, actor *29 May – Bill Roycroft, 96, equestrian *1 June –

Frank Ponta Francis Ettore Ponta (8 November 1935 – 1 June 2011) was an Australian Paralympic competitor and coach. He competed in several sports including basketball, pentathlon, swimming and fencing. A paraplegic, he lost the use of both his legs aft ...

, 75, paralympian *17 June –

David Brockhoff John David "Brock" Brockhoff (8 June 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian rugby union identity, a state and national representative who played eight Tests as flanker between 1949 and 1951. He was later coach of the national team from 1974 t ...

, 83, rugby union player and coach *17 June –

Rex Mossop Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop (18 February 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 un ...

, 83, rugby league and rugby union player and television personality *19 June – Tom Hungerford, 96, author and playwright *23 June –

Len King Leonard James King (1 May 1925 – 23 June 2011) was an Australian politician, lawyer and judge. Early life King matriculated from St Joseph's Memorial School at age 14, then worked at Shell Company as a clerk. He served in the Royal Aus ...

, 88, politician and judge *30 June – Tom Kruse, 96, Outback mailman and documentary subject *30 June –

Sean Wight John Phillip "Sean" Wight (15 March 1964 – 30 June 2011) was an Irish-Australian Australian rules footballer in the VFL/AFL. He is a member of the Melbourne Football Club Hall of Fame and was named as one of the 150 Heroes of the club durin ...

, 47, Australian rules footballer (

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

) *6 July –

Carly Hibberd Carly Hibberd (11 May 1985 – 6 July 2011) was an Australian professional Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who competed in Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI)-sanctioned races. She won the 2008 Australian National Criterium Championsh ...

, 26, Australian road racing cyclist *12 July –

Allan Jeans Allan Lindsay Jeans (21 September 1933 – 13 July 2011) was an Australian rules footballer and coach. He was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame at its inception in 1996. Jeans was known for his oratory and motivation skills as a ...

, 77, Australian rules footballer and coach *15 July –

Googie Withers Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers (12 March 191715 July 2011) was an English entertainer. She was a dancer and actress, with a lengthy career spanning some seventy-three years in theatre, film, and television. She was a well-known actress and ...

, 94, actress *17 July –

David Ngoombujarra David Ngoombujarra (27 June 1967 – 17 July 2011) was an Indigenous Australian actor of the Yamatji people. Born David Bernard Starr in Meekatharra, Western Australia, his acting career spanned over two decades from the late 1980s to 2010 ...

, 44, actor *21 July –

Ashleigh Connor Ashleigh Connor (3 September 1989 – 21 July 2011) was an Australian soccer player, who played for the Central Coast Mariners in the Australian W-League. Connor made her debut for the Mariners in 2009. She was signed by the Mariners prior to ...

, 21, soccer player *24 July – Ron Davies, 85, Western Australian politician *26 July –

, 88, artist *31 July –

Clyde Holding Allan Clyde Holding (27 April 193131 July 2011) was an Australian politician who served as Leader of the Opposition in Victoria for ten years, and went on to become a federal minister in the Hawke government. Early life and education Holdin ...

, 80, politician *5 August –

Aziz Shavershian Aziz Sergeyevich Shavershian (24 March 1989 – 5 August 2011), better known as Zyzz, was an Australian bodybuilder, personal trainer and model. He established a cult following after posting multiple videos of himself on YouTube, starting in 2 ...

, 22, bodybuilder *7 August –

Nancy Wake Nancy Grace Augusta Wake, (30 August 1912 – 7 August 2011), also known as Madame Fiocca and Nancy Fiocca, was a nurse and journalist who joined the French Resistance and later the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II, and b ...

, 98, World War II resistance fighter (died in England) *11 August – Karen Overington, 59, politician *18 August –

Paul Lockyer Paul James Lockyer (27 April 1950 – 18 August 2011) was an Australian television journalist for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and the Nine Network who was known for his reporting on rural and regional Australia. Lockyer and two collea ...

, 61, journalist *18 August –

John Abley John Abley (18 October 1930 – 19 August 2011) was an Australian rules footballer who played with Port Adelaide in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL) between 1950 and 1961. Hawthorn reserves (1949) John Abley grew up in M ...

, 80, Australian rules footballer *18 August – Brian Harrison, 79, politician *19 August – Merv Brooks, 92, Australian rules footballer *25 August –

Elliott Johnston Elliott Frank Johnston (26 February 1918 – 25 August 2011) was an Australian jurist and communist activist. As a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia (1983–1988), he was the only communist to serve as an Australian judge. He ...

, 93, judge *31 August – Denis Collins, 58, Australian rules footballer *7 September –

Harold Mair Harold David Mair, OAM (2 June 1919 – 7 September 2011) was an Australian politician. Mair was mayor of Albury from 1976 until 1977. In 1978, he was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly as the member for Albury, representing the ...

, 92, politician *11 September –

Andy Whitfield Andrew Whitfield (17 October 1971 – 11 September 2011) was a Welsh actor. He was best known for his leading role in the Starz television series '' Spartacus: Blood and Sand''. Early life and career Andrew Whitfield was born on October 17, 19 ...

, 39, actor ('' Spartacus: Blood and Sand'') *13 September –

David Jull David Francis Jull (4 October 1944 – 13 September 2011) was an Australian politician. He was a long-serving Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives, representing the Division of Bowman, Queensland, from 1975 to 1983 and F ...

, 66, politician *16 September –

Ted Mullighan Edward Picton "Ted" Mullighan, QC (25 March 1939 – 15 September 2011) was an Australian judge who was known as an Indigenous rights advocate and protecting vulnerable people. He was known for his role as Commissioner of the Government of Sou ...

, 72, South Australian Supreme Court judge *17 September –

Colin Madigan Colin Frederick Madigan (22 July 192117 September 2011) was an Australian architect. He is best known for designing the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra. Biography Born in Glen Innes, New South Wales, Madigan studied architecture at ...

, 90, architect *29 September – Miriam Schmierer, 112, Australia's oldest living person and last known surviving Australian born in the 19th Century *1 October –

Ruby Langford Ginibi Ruby Langford Ginibi (26 January 1934 – 1 October 2011) was an acclaimed Bundjalung author, historian and lecturer on Aboriginal history, culture and politics. Names According to Langford's memoir, ''Don't Take Your Love to Town'', her pare ...

, 77, author and Aboriginal historian *7 October –

Diane Cilento Elizabeth Diane Cilento (2 April 1932 – 6 October 2011) was an Australian actress. She is best known for her film roles in '' Tom Jones'' (1963), which earned her an Academy Award nomination, '' Hombre'' (1967) and '' The Wicker Man'' (1973). ...

, 78, actor *12 October –

Dick Thornett Richard Norman Thornett (23 September 1940 – 12 October 2011) was one of five Australians to have represented their country in three sports. He was an Olympic water polo player before becoming a rugby league and rugby union player – a dual ...

, 71, water polo, rugby league and rugby union player *15 October – Sir Donald Dunstan, 88, military officer,

(1982–1991) *17 October –

Elaine Nile Elaine Blanche Nile (20 March 1936 – 17 October 2011) was an Australian politician who represented the Christian Democratic Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1988 and 2002. Nile was married to Fred Nile from 1958 un ...

, 75, politician *18 October –

George Chaloupka George Jiří Chaloupka OAM, FAHA (6 September 1932 – 18 October 2011) was an expert on Indigenous Australian rock art. He identified and documented thousands of rock art sites, and was a passionate advocate for Aboriginal Australian art ...

, 79, Aboriginal rock art expert *19 October – Keith Williams, 82, tourism property developer *20 October –

Hunter Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, ...

, 36, rapper *24 October –

Robert Bropho Robert Charles Bropho (9 February 1930 – 24 October 2011) was a Ballardong Noongar Australian Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal, rights activist and convicted serial child sex offender from Perth, Western Australia. Bropho was leader o ...

, 81, Aboriginal rights activist *4 November –

Sarah Watt Sarah Ann Watt (30 August 19584 November 2011) was an Australian film director, writer, and animator. She is especially known for her 2005 film '' Look Both Ways''. Early life and education Sarah Ann Watt was born in Sydney on 30 August 1958. ...

, 53, film director *10 November – David Boyd, 87, artist *13 November –

Peter Roebuck Peter Michael Roebuck (6 March 195612 November 2011) was an English cricketer who later became an Australian newspaper columnist and radio commentator. A consistent county performer with over 25,000 runs, and "one of the better English openers ...

, 55, cricketer and journalist (died in South Africa) *25 November – John Blades, 51, experimental musician *25 November – Dane Searls, 23, BMX rider *1 December –

Arthur Beetson Arthur Henry "Artie" Beetson Medal of the Order of Australia, OAM (21 January 1945 – 1 December 2011

, 66, Rugby League footballer, first

Indigenous Australian Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

to captain a national team in any sport *3 December –

Sam Loxton Samuel John Everett Loxton (29 March 19213 December 2011) was an Australian cricketer, footballer and politician. Among these three pursuits, his greatest achievements were attained on the cricket field; he played in 12 Tests for Australia fr ...

, 90, cricketer, footballer and politician *4 December –

RJ Rosales Roseo José Dagdag Rosales Jr. (24 March 1974 – 4 December 2011) also known as RJ Rosales, was a Filipino Australian singer, actor, musical theatre performer, and TV presenter. Biography Early life Born in Manila, his family migrated to Sy ...

, 37, actor *8 December –

Sir Zelman Cowen Sir Zelman Cowen, (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982. Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended ...

, 92, 19th Governor-General of Australia *11 December – Harold Hopkins, 67, actor *15 December –

Jason Richards Jason John Richards (10 April 1976 – 15 December 2011) was a New Zealand motor racing driver. A multiple championship winning driver in his homeland in the New Zealand Touring Car Championship, he moved to Australia to pursue a career in the ...

, 35, motor racing driver *18 December – Jeremy Doyle, 28, wheelchair basketballer * 22 December –

Bruce Ruxton Bruce Carlyle Ruxton, AM, OBE (6 February 192623 December 2011) was an Australian ex-serviceman and President of the Victorian Returned and Services League from 1979 to 2002. Early life Ruxton grew up in Kew, Victoria. He attended Melbourne Hi ...

, 85, former President of the Victorian

Returned and Services League The Returned and Services League of Australia, also known as RSL, RSL Australia and the RSLA, is an independent support organisation for people who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force. History The League was formed in ...

. * 31 December – Murray Barnes, 57, soccer player (

Sydney Hakoah Maccabi Hakoah Sydney City East FC, commonly known as Maccabi Hakoah, is an Australian semi-professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The club was formed in 1939 as Sydney Hakoah by members of Sydney's Jews ...

), national captain (1980–1981). * 31 December –

Rex Jackson Rex Frederick Jackson (7 October 192831 December 2011) was an Australian politician, elected as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and subsequently imprisoned for conspiracy. Early life Jackson was born in Wagga Wagga, New So ...

, 83, politician and convicted criminal.

References

{{Oceania topic, 2011 in, countries_only=yes Years of the 21st century in Australia