1970

• May 8: Over 200,000 protesters march through cities around the country to protest against Australia's involvement in the Vietnam War. It is the biggest protest the nation has ever seen.
• October 15: A section of the West Gate Bridge collapses during construction, sending 2,000 tonnes of steel crashing in the nation's worst construction disaster.

1972

• September 8: Australian swimming sensation Shane Gould returns from the Munich Olympic Games with 3 gold medals.
• December 2: The Australian Labour Party is voted into power, after 23 years as the opposition. Campaigning under the slogan, 'It's time', the ALP, lead by Gough Whitlam, obtains a national swing of 3.5%.
• December 16: A ruling by the Commonwealth Arbitration Commission allows women the right to earn equal pay for doing the same job as men. The decision means 80% of women are given a pay rise; some receive more than $9 extra per week.

1976

• December 1: Sir Douglas Nicholls is sworn in as Governor of South Australia making him the first Aboriginal to hold a vice regal position.