Global InformationList of Australian of the Year Award recipients information
The Australian of the Year Award is given annually on Australia Day. The announcement of the award has become a major public event in Australia, and is televised nationwide. The award "offers an insight into Australian identity, reflecting the nation's evolving relationship with world, the role of sport in Australian culture, the impact of multiculturalism, and the special status of Australia's Indigenous people".[1] The award is unique in that it is sponsored by a national government and commands broad public support.
The following is a list of the recipients of the Australian of the Year award.[2][3]
The post-nominals listed for each individual are as they were on the day they were named the Australian of the Year.
| Year of award |
Name | Post nominals |
Born | Died | Comments | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | Sir Macfarlane Burnet | OM | 1899 | 1985 | Virologist; 1960 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient | |
| 1961 | Joan Sutherland | CBE | 1926 | 2010 | Opera singer | |
| 1962 | Jock Sturrock | 1915 | 1997 | Yachtsman | ||
| 1963 | Sir John Eccles | 1903 | 1997 | Neurophysiologist; 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine co-recipient | ||
| 1964 | Dawn Fraser | 1937 | Swimmer; gold medal winner at 1956, 1960 and 1964 Summer Olympic Games | |||
| 1965 | Robert Helpmann | CBE | 1909 | 1986 | Actor; ballet dancer; director | |
| 1966 | Jack Brabham | OBE | 1926 | 2014 | Racing driver; Formula One champion in 1959, 1960 and 1966 | |
| 1967 | The Seekers | N/A | Music group | |||
| 1968 | Lionel Rose | MBE | 1948 | 2011 | Boxer; first Indigenous Australian to win a world boxing title (1968) | |
| 1969 | Lord Casey | GCMG, CH, DSO, MC, PC | 1890 | 1976 | Politician, diplomat, Governor-General of Australia (1965–1969) | |
| 1970 | Cardinal Sir Norman Gilroy | KBE | 1896 | 1977 | Clergyman; first Australian-born Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church | |
| 1971 | Evonne Goolagong | 1951 | Tennis player | |||
| 1972 | Shane Gould | 1956 | Swimmer; winner of three gold medals, a silver and bronze in 1972 Summer Olympics | |||
| 1973 | Patrick White | 1912 | 1990 | Author; 1973 Nobel Prize for Literature recipient | ||
| 1974 | Sir Bernard Heinze | 1894 | 1982 | Conductor | ||
| 1975 | John Cornforth | CBE | 1917 | 2013 | Scientist; 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recipient | |
| MAJGEN Alan Stretton | AO, CBE | 1922 | 2012 | Australian Army officer; managed Cyclone Tracy cleanup | ||
| 1976 | LTCOL Sir Edward "Weary" Dunlop | CMG, OBE | 1907 | 1993 | Military surgeon; World War II prisoner of war | |
| 1977 | Raigh Roe | CBE | 1922 | 2014 | President of the Country Women's Association | |
| Sir Murray Tyrrell | KCVO, CBE | 1913 | 1994 | Official secretary to six governors-general | ||
| 1978 | Alan Bond | 1938 | 2015 | Businessman | ||
| Galarrwuy Yunupingu | 1948 | 2023 | Indigenous land rights activist | [4] | ||
| 1979 | Neville Bonner | 1922 | 1999 | First Aboriginal person elected to the Parliament of Australia | ||
| Harry Butler | OBE | 1930 | 2015 | Naturalist | ||
| 1980 | Manning Clark | AC | 1915 | 1991 | Historian | |
| 1981 | Sir John Crawford | 1910 | 1984 | Economist | ||
| 1982 | Sir Edward Williams | KCMG, KBE, QC | 1921 | 1999 | Judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland; chairman of the 1982 Brisbane Commonwealth Games Foundation | |
| 1983 | Robert de Castella | MBE | 1957 | Marathon runner | ||
| 1984 | Lowitja O'Donoghue | CBE | 1932 | Aboriginal health worker; inaugural chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990–1996) | ||
| 1985 | Paul Hogan | 1939 | Actor | |||
| 1986 | Dick Smith | 1944 | Entrepreneur | |||
| 1987 | John Farnham | 1949 | Singer, entertainer | |||
| 1988 | Kay Cottee | 1954 | First female sailor to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the world (1988) | |||
| 1989 | Allan Border | AO | 1955 | Australian cricket team captain | ||
| 1990 | Fred Hollows | 1921 | 1993 | Ophthalmologist; founder of The Fred Hollows Foundation | ||
| 1991 | Peter Hollingworth | AO, OBE | 1935 | Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane; head, Brotherhood of St. Lawrence; governor-general | ||
| 1992 | Mandawuy Yunupingu | 1956 | 2013 | Singer, Yothu Yindi | ||
| 1993 | No award made: period of award changed from the previous year to the year ahead in 1994; i.e. Mandawuy Yunupingu was named Australian of the Year for 1992 in 1993 and Ian Kiernan was named Australian of the Year for 1994 in 1994 | |||||
| 1994 | Ian Kiernan | OAM | 1940 | 2018 | Environmentalist; founder of Clean Up Australia and Clean Up the World | |
| 1995 | Arthur Boyd | AC, OBE | 1920 | 1999 | Artist | |
| 1996 | John Yu | AM | 1934 | Paediatrician, CEO of the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children | ||
| 1997 | Peter Doherty | AC | 1940 | Veterinarian; immunologist; 1996 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recipient | ||
| 1998 | Cathy Freeman | OAM | 1973 | Athlete; also Young Australian of the Year in 1990 | ||
| 1999 | Mark Taylor | AO | 1964 | Australian cricket team captain | ||
| 2000 | Sir Gustav Nossal | AC, CBE | 1931 | Biologist | ||
| 2001 | LTGEN Peter Cosgrove | AC, MC | 1947 |
|
||
| 2002 | Pat Rafter | 1972 | Tennis player | |||
| 2003 | Fiona Stanley | AC | 1946 | Epidemiologist | ||
| 2004 | Steve Waugh | AO | 1965 | Australian cricket team captain and humanitarian | ||
| 2005 | Fiona Wood | AM | 1958 | Plastic surgeon; worked with victims of the 2002 Bali bombings | ||
| 2006 | Ian Frazer | 1953 | Immunologist | |||
| 2007 | Tim Flannery | 1956 | Scientist; global warming activist | |||
| 2008 | Lee Kernaghan | OAM | 1964 | Singer | ||
| 2009 | Mick Dodson | AM | 1950 | Indigenous leader | ||
| 2010 | Patrick McGorry | AO | 1953 | Psychiatrist | [5] | |
| 2011 | Simon McKeon | AO | 1955 | Philanthropist businessman | [6] | |
| 2012 | Geoffrey Rush | AC | 1951 | Actor and film producer | [7] | |
| 2013 | Ita Buttrose | AO, OBE | 1942 | Journalist and businesswoman, founding editor of Cleo | [8] | |
| 2014 | Adam Goodes | 1980 | Australian rules footballer and Indigenous community leader | |||
| 2015 | Rosie Batty | 1962 | Domestic violence campaigner | [9] | ||
| 2016 | LTGEN David Morrison | AO | 1956 | Commitment to gender equality, diversity and inclusion | [10] | |
| 2017 | Alan Mackay-Sim | 1951 | 2023 | Biomedical scientist treating spinal cord injuries | ||
| 2018 | Michelle Simmons | 1967 | Scientia professor of quantum physics in the faculty of science at the University of New South Wales | |||
| 2019 | Craig Challen | OAM | Cave divers who participated in the Tham Luang cave rescue | [11] | ||
| Richard Harris | OAM | |||||
| 2020 | Dr James Muecke | AM | 1963 | Eye surgeon and founder of Sight for All | [12][13] | |
| 2021 | Grace Tame | 1994 | Advocate for survivors of sexual assault | |||
| 2022 | Dylan Alcott | AO | 1990 | Paralympic athlete, advocate for disability | ||
| 2023 | Taryn Brumfitt | 1978 | Positive body image advocate and founder of the Body Image Movement | [14] | ||
| 2024 | Georgina Long | AO | Melanoma researchers | [15] | ||
| Richard Scolyer | AO | |||||
- ^ "Awards History - Australian of the Year".
- ^ Australian of the Year - Recipients
- ^ Lewis, Wendy (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
- ^ Garrick, Matt; Gibson, Jano (3 April 2023). "Trailblazing Aboriginal land rights leader Yunupingu dies in Arnhem Land, aged 74". ABC News. Retrieved 3 April 2023.
- ^ "Professor Patrick McGorry - Australian of the Year". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Simon McKeon - Australian of the Year". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Geoffrey Rush - Australian of the Year". Archived from the original on 6 August 2020.
- ^ "Australian of the Year 2013 recipients announced" (Press release). National Australia Day Committee. 2013.
- ^ "Australian of the Year: Rosie Batty awarded top honour for efforts to stop family violence". ABC News. Australia. 25 January 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2015.
- ^ "Former Army chief David Morrison named Australian of the Year". ABC News. 25 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
- ^ Zhou, Naaman (25 January 2019). "Australian of the year 2019: Thai cave rescue divers win rare joint award". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
- ^ McCauley, Dana (25 January 2020). "Australian of the Year calls for sugar tax to fight diabetes-caused blindness". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
- ^ Australian of the Year 2020 awarded to eye surgeon Dr James Muecke, with Ash Barty, youth advocate and obstetrician also honoured, Elise Pianegonda, ABC News Online, 2020-01-25
- ^ Sakkal, Paul (25 January 2023). "Body positivity advocate Taryn Brumfitt named Australian of the Year". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ "Who are Georgina Long and Richard Scolyer, the 2024 Australians of the Year?". SBS News. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 25 January 2024.