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The following refer to people who achieved high levels of recognition in some way linked to Australia. Some of the listed were not born in Australia, nor lived in Australia. Others were born here. Some lived permanently in Australia.
All listed have contributed significantly to Australia’s development in some way, whether through discoveries, leadership, cultural achievement, sporting prowess, science, technology innovation, … .
A separate listing is provided for Indigenous Australians. It includes people from all areas of achievement.
A final section includes biographical information resources related to all Australian achievers.
The last link above gives access to a similar listing of world figures.
Each listing is given in alphabetical order, using the following format - Surname, Title [if applicable], First Name[s]. A brief note of area[s] and achievement[s] is provided in most cases
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
Famous Australians
| Banks, Sir Joseph | Naturalist, explorer |
| Barton, Sir Edmund | First Prime Minister of Australia |
| Bird, Nancy | Aviator |
| Bragg, Sir William Henry | Nobel Laureate [Xray Crystallography] |
| Bragg, Sir William Laurence | Nobel Laureate [Xray Crystallography] |
| Bradman, Sir Donald | Cricketer |
| Burnet, Sir Frank Macfarlane | Nobel Laureate [Medicine] |
| Chang, Victor | Heart surgeon |
| Chifley, Joseph Benedict | Prime Minister |
| Chisholm, Caroline | Social work with women in early New South Wales |
| Clarke, Marcus | Writer |
| Cook, Captain James | Navigator, explorer |
| Cornforth, John Warcup | Nobel Laureate [Chemistry] |
| Cowan, Edith | Magistrate, First Female Australian Parliamentarian, Welfare worker |
| Curtin, John | WW II Prime Minister |
| Cuthbert, Betty | Olympic Athlete |
| Dixon, Sir Owen | Jurist, Diplomat |
| Doherty, Peter Charles | Nobel Laureate [Medicine] |
| Dorrington, Annie | Australian flag designer [shared] |
| Dunlop, Sir Edward ‘Weary’ | Surgeon, POW [WW II] |
| Eccles, John Carew | Nobel Laureate [Medicine] |
| Evatt, Dr Herbert Vere | Politician, First President of the United Nations |
| Everage, Dame Edna | Show business personality |
| Farrer, William | Agriculture [wheat development] |
| Flinders, Matthew | Circumnavigated and named Australia. |
| Florey, Lord Howard | Nobel Laureate, Science/Medicine, [penicillin] |
| Flynn, The Rev. Doctor John | Founded The Flying Doctor Service |
| Fraser, Dawn | Olympic swimmer |
| Frazer, Ian | Immunologist, Florey Medal winner, Australian of the Year |
| Grainger, George Percy | Musician & Composer |
| Greer, Germaine | Feminist |
| Hargrave, Lawrence | Flight, box kites |
| Helpmann, Sir Robert | Ballet dancer and director |
| Hinkler, Bert | Aviator; first to fly solo England/Australia |
| Hollows, Fred | Humanitarian, eye surgery in the Third World as well as Australia |
| Hughes, William Morris | WW I Prime Minister |
| Hurley, Frank | Photographer [Antarctic/WW I] |
| Katz, Sir Bernard | Nobel Laureate [Medicine] |
| Kelly, Edward [Ned] | Bushranger |
| Kenny, Elizabeth | Nurse [polio] |
| Kingsford-Smith, Sir Charles | Aviator; first to fly US/Australia |
| Lalor, Peter | Rebel [Eureka Stockade], politician |
| Lawson, Henry | Writer and poet |
| Lindsay, Norman Alfred William | Artist & writer |
| Lyons, Dame Enid | First female Federal politician |
| Macarthur, Elizabeth | Mother of the Australian sheep industry |
| Macarthur, John | Early agriculturalist |
| Macquarie, Lachlan | New South Wales Governor, early 1800s |
| Mawson, Sir Douglas | Antarctic explorer |
| Melba, Dame Nellie | Opera singer, soprano |
| Menzies, Sir Robert | Longest serving Prime Minister |
| Mort, Thomas Sutcliffe | Refrigerated transport |
| Murdoch, Rupert | Media owner |
| Nolan, Sydney | Artist [Ned Kelly series] |
| O’Connor, Charles Yelverton | Engineer, Public Servant, Railways Commissioner [WA] |
| Oliphant, Sir Mark | Physicist |
| Parkes, Sir Henry | Father of Federation |
| Paterson, Andrew Barton | Writer and poet [Waltzing Matilda] |
| Phillip, Captain Arthur | First Governor of New South Wales colony |
| Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich | Nobel Laureate [Physics] |
| Ruse, James | Convict, farmer |
| Sturt, Charles | Inland Explorer |
| Stuart, John McDouall | Explorer; North/South crossing of Australia |
| Sutherland, Dame Joan | Opera singer, soprano |
| Thomas, Andrew | Astronaut |
| Thorpe, Ian | Olympic swimmer |
| Tao, Terrence | Fields Medal [Mathematics] |
| Trumper, Victor | Cricketer |
| Tucker, Albert | Artist |
| Wentworth, William Charles | Explorer, politician |
| White, Patrick | Nobel Laureate [Literature] |
| Wilkins, Sir Hubert | Polar explorer, War Photographer, explorer |
Famous Indigenous Australians
| Bandler, Dr Faith | Campaigner for Indigenous rights, writer |
| Blair, Harold | Singer and Aboriginal activist |
| Bennelong | Mediator |
| Bonner, Neville | First Indigenous Senator |
| Burnum Burnum | [Harry Penrith] Advocate, activist |
| Dodson, Mick | Advocate, activist, representative, Australian of the Year |
| Dodson, Patrick | Activist, consultant, representative |
| Freeman, Cathy | Olympic athlete |
| Mabo, Eddie | Land Rights campaigner |
| Mokare | Indigenous guide |
| Monks, Rosie Kunoth | Film star, nun, social worker |
| Morgan, Sally | Writer |
| Namatjira, Albert | Artist |
| Nicholls, Sir Doug | First Indigenous State Governor, Footballer |
| Noonuccal, Oodgeroo | [Kath Walker] Poet, artyist, educator, activist |
| O’Shane, Pat | Magistrate, University Chancellor |
| Page, Stephen | Dancer, choreographer |
| Pearson, Noel | Lawyer, activist |
| Pemulwuy | Indigenous resistance fighter |
| Perkins, Charles | Activist, sportsman |
| Ridgeway, Aden | Senator, television presenter |
| Saunders, Captain Reginald | First Indigenous commissioned army officer |
| Smith, Shirley | Activist, helper [‘Mum Shirl’] |
| Truganini | Tasmanian Aboriginal spokesperson and leader |
| Unaipon, David | Inventor, spokesman |
| Yagan | Indigenous resistance fighter |
| Yindi, Yothu | Musicians |
| Yunupingu, Mandaway | Musician, teacher, activist |
Other Sources
Australian Biographies
- 200 Significant Australians
Grouped alphabetically and under specific headings. Information on how chosen. - Australian Biography Online
‘A web-based biographical resource profiling some of the most extraordinary Australians of our time.’ Film Australia and the National Library. - Australian Composers
‘The links [ ] feature a short biography, email & web links, and photo for each represented composer’. Nearly 400. - Australian Dictionary of Biography Online
Contains 10 000+ biographies of Australians, both famous and ‘infamous’. All died prior to 1980. Entries have been done by people from the field in which the person being covered was best known. Multiple search methods : surname, occupation, author, town, specific dates and more.
A fabulous site for everyone to use ! - Australian of the Year Awards
‘The Australian of the Year Awards were founded in 1960, when Sir MacFarlane Burnet OM AK KBE received the inaugural award.’ Information about the awards and all the recipients of Australian of The Year, Senior Australian of The Year, Young Australian of The Year and Australia’s Local Hero. - Biography
‘There are two Galleries of Australian Biography on the Civics and Citizenship Education website : Gallery of Contemporary Australians and Gallery of Historical Biography’. There are also Biography lesson plans and Biographical Writing information.. - Brightsparcs
Developed in Australia to give short biographies of famous Australians in the areas of science, invention, technology, etc.. Great resource. - Dictionary of Australian Biography
From Project Gutenberg comes this 1949 listing by Percival Serle. - Famous Australians [in 5 minutes]
ABC Australia site. Provides a ‘series of five-minute profiles on notable and interesting Australians aiming to inspire children with the lives of people who have taken risks, followed their dream or reached for the stars.’ - Ozlife
[Australian Biography Index]
‘OzLife : Australian Biography Index commenced in September 2000 and provides access to the citations of biographical articles in major Australian newspapers.’ Stopped in 2005. Covers biographical articles from a range of newspapers across Australia. - Tall Poppy Campaign
[Great Australian Achievers]
‘Some of Australia’s great men and women, past and present, whose achievements are celebrated.’ Primarily the scientific arena. - The Australian Women’s Register
‘The Australian Women’s Register is a rich and growing source of information about Australian women and their organisations. You can use the Register to find women, organisations, archives and publications.’ - Women’s History
Includes the Women’s Register and the AWAP Showcase [articles and online biographies]. Searchable database.
Indigenous Biography Sites
- Hidden Histories, The
‘The oral histories tell stories drawn from the life histories of individual men and women. To read a story select a name from the right hand column.’ - Indigenous
Australians
Done as part of the Australian Dictionary of Biography Online. Each of the 148 [at time of inclusion] links to further information. - Martyrs in The Struggle for Justice
‘A Gallery in Tribute to Heroes of the Political Struggle for Aboriginal Rights : 1905 - 2005. Click on photos for more information.’ - Some Famous Aborigines
A short selection of information on several famous Aborigines done by a Victorian Primary School.