1980

• January 17: Debbie Wardley makes Australian aviation history when she becomes the country's first female commercial pilot.
• June 23: Seven years of research culminates in the birth of Australia's first test tube baby. The birth is witnessed by 18 awe-struck on-lookers, including a camera crew and 2 photographers.
• August 18: 10 week old baby Azaria Chamberlain goes missing from a campsite near Ayers Rock. The mother of the baby, Lindy Chamberlain, claims she saw a dingo take Azaria from her tent.

1983

• February 16: Fires destroy 2,100 homes, 300,000 hectares of land, and kill 71 people in one of Australia's worst natural catastrophes - the Ash Wednesday Bushfires.
• March 5: Australians vote in the Labour Government and its leader Bob Hawke. It is the party's second largest victory ever.
• May 5: 61 year old potato farmer, Cliff Young, wins the inaugural Sydney to Melbourne marathon in the record-breaking time of 5 days and 15 hours.

1984

• December 9: The Australian Wallabies secure the Rugby Grand Slam after convincingly beating Scotland 37 - 12.
• December 18: South Australian Premier, John Bannon, returns land titles to traditional Aboriginal owners to the lands around Maralinga. In handing over the 76,000 square kilometres of land, Bannon honours a 22 year old promise made by former Premier, Sir Thomas Playford.