Another Vietnamese refugee boat arrives at night, from a camp off the Malaysian coast.[1]
The Festival of Sydney begins.
A jail warder, Victor Sullivan is struck on the head by a prisoner at Parramatta Jail.
2 January – Senator Neville Bonner attacks the Queensland Government over delays in its housing reconstruction programme for Mornington Island, which was ravaged by Cyclone Ted more than a year ago.[2]
Bela Csidei, a prominent Sydney businessman, is alleged in the Darwin Magistrates' Court to have been involved in growing marijuana in the Northern Territory.[3]
Acting Health Minister Mr McLeay reiterates the Federal Government's election promise to keep the Medibank levy and ceiling at the same level for the next six months.
Queensland Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen announces that he will ask churches throughout Queensland to hold a day of prayer for rain, suggesting a date of 15 January.[4]
The Australian dollar is devalued from 89.4 to 89.2 due to a drop in the US dollar to bring the effect devaluation since November 1976 to 15.3%.[5]
Acting Prime Minister Doug Anthony announces that the Federal Government knew that Arab nations operated a blacklist for more than 20 years and that some Australian companies were on it, but that the Government had never been told officially that certain companies were being boycotted.[6]
Corrective Services Commissioner, W. McGeechan, talks 120 maximum security prisoners back into their cells after a 5-hour protest sit-in at Parramatta jail.[7]
Aboriginal Senator Neville Bonner makes a complaint to the Queensland State Licensing Commission about the Mount Isa hotel which refused him service on Boxing Day.[8]
Immigration and Ethnic Affairs Minister Michael MacKellar reverses a department decision thereby allowing a Uruguayan woman to join her widowed brother, Ruben Molina, in Sydney.[9]
18 January – New South Wales Premier Neville Wran meets with prison union officials about their demand that Bathurst Jail be reopened to relieve over crowding and staff shortages in other prisons.
February
13 February – Terrorism arrives in Australia for the very first time with the Sydney Hilton bombing killing 3 people and injuring 11 others.[10]
March
14 March – Stephen Matthews, aged 20, swept from the Natural Bridge off Albany, by a King Wave. Rescued by whale ship, the Cheynes II. First recorded survival of someone swept into the sea at The Gap and Natural Bridge.[11]
30 March – Commonwealth Police (Federal Police) begin arresting 180 Greek-Australians said to be involved in a conspiracy to defraud the Department of Social Security.[12]
25 August – Michelle Pope and Stephen Lapthorne disappear. Still missing as of 3 August 2015[update].[18][19]
October
7 October – The ALP New South Wales state government of Neville Wran is re-elected with a massively increased majority, leading to his win being dubbed as a "Wranslide".[20]
21 November – Last day of commercial whaling in Australia.[citation needed] No sperm whales caught that day by the chaser ships (Cheynes II, III and IV) operated by the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company at Albany, Western Australia.[citation needed] The last whale caught by an Australian whaling company was the day before, 20 November.[citation needed]
6 May – Melbourne and St Kilda set a still-standing record VFL/AFL aggregate score of 52.33 (345).[citation needed]
1 July – Footscray kick a record VFL score of 33.15 (213) beating the previous record by three points.[citation needed]Kelvin Templeton and Ian Dunstan combine for 22 of the 33 goals.[citation needed]
6 August – James Langford wins the men's national marathon title, clocking 2:19:29 in Caboolture.[28]
19 September – After a controversial NSWRFL finals series with two draws, Manly thrash Cronulla 16–0 to win their fourth premiership with Graham Eadie dominating.[29]Newtown finish in last position, claiming their third straight and final wooden spoon before their departure from the premiership five years later.
30 September – Hawthorn 18.13 (121) defeats North Melbourne 15.13 (103) for its fourth VFL premiership.[30]
^"38 refugees in latest boat to reach Darwin". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 January 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Senator 'disgusted' at Aboriginal homes delay". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 January 1978. p. 2.
^"Csidei named in drug case". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 January 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Rain prayers suggested". The Sydney Morning Herald. 4 January 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Value of $ cut again". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Govt knew of Arab blacklist But it appears to have had little effect, says Anthony". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5 January 1978. p. 3.
^Allison, Colin (6 January 1978). "McGeechan talks angry prisoners back to cells". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Isa Hotel complaint". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 January 1978. p. 2. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^Lukas, Isabel (6 January 1978). "Immigration Dept refusal reversed by minister". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 2. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^Bowers, Peter; Brown, Malcolm (14 February 1978). "Fraser calls troops". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"The Natural Bridge". GlobeVista. 2008. Archived from the original on 14 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
^Grabosky, Peter. N. (1989). "Chapter 6: The great social security conspiracy case". Wayward Governance: Illegality and its Control in the Public Sector. Australian Institute of Criminology. pp. 93–112. ISBN 0 642 14605 5. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^"Five dead in storm: fires rage on". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 April 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^ abBowers, Peter (16 May 1978). "Menzies dies at 83". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"First gay Mardi Gras". National Museum Australia. 2022. Archived from the original on 29 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^"Hunt for girl, 18, goes on". The Sydney Morning Herald. 29 June 1978. p. 2. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
^Mellor, Bill (2 July 1978). "Darwin wakes with a capital hangover". The Sun-Herald. p. 3. Archived from the original on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
^Findlay, Tracey (3 August 2015). "Police renew appeal for information on local couple missing 30 years". Hornsby Advocate. Daily Telegraph-NewsLocal. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
^"Latest Media Releases Missing Persons Week 2015: Missing Persons Stephen Lapthorne & Michelle Pope". www.police.nsw.gov.au. 2 August 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.[permanent dead link]
^Owens, Warren (8 October 1978). "Wran back - and how!". The Sun-Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Robertson, David (9 October 1978). "The fastest man afloat: Warby breaks own record". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Murdoch, Lindsay (23 October 1978). "Pilot tells of UFO then vanishes". The Age. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Harper, Catherine (16 December 1978). "Brett Whiteley takes an art hat trick". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"Literary award to 'late starter'". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 May 1979. p. 3. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Sayers, Stuart (13 October 1978). "Expatriate grips the novel prize". The Age. p. 2. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^DuBose, Martha (16 November 1978). "Could it become a gift tradition?". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"Sheffield Shield: final standing". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 March 1978. p. 42. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"Veteran Langford turns clock back in marathon". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 August 1978. p. 31. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Clarkson, Alan (20 September 1978). "Finally it's Manly... grandly". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 28. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"100,000 at VFL final". The Sun-Herald. 1 October 1978. p. 2. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Bourke, Tony (8 November 1978). "Arwon turns up trumps for Nowra". The Age. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^Herbert, Adrian (31 December 1978). "Apollo first to Hobart - second line honour victory for skipper". The Sun-Herald. p. 2. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"Fiona McFarlane". www.swansea.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
^"Famous Qld bowler dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 10 January 1978. p. 26. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"R J Heffron dies at 87". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 July 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^O'Hara, John (28 July 1978). "R J Heffron: 18 years in control of State's education". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 8. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
^"Johnny O'Keefe, rock star, dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 October 1978. p. 1. Archived from the original on 30 December 2023. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
