- 1912 – The steamship SS Koombana sinks off Port Hedland during a cyclone killing the 126 passengers.
- 1962 - The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1962 received assent, granting all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the option to enrol and vote in federal elections.
- 1972 – Hungarian-born Australian Lazlo Toth attacked Michelangelo's Pietà with a hammer.
- 1975 – Rugby league footballer and boxer Anthony Mundine is born.
- 1999 – Eight decaying bodies are found in barrels in a disused bank vault north of Adelaide, marking the beginning of the Snowtown murders case.