1975: Living in the Seventies

1975 was a year to remember.

Jaws and The Rocky Horror Show filled cinemas and Picnic at Hanging Rock and Sunday too Far Away proved that Australians wanted to see their own stories on the big screen. Australia’s favourite television show Countdown provided a soundtrack for suburban life with glam rockers Sky Hooks and the infectious pop of Swedish Eurovision champions Abba. Flared jeans, platform shoes, and burnt orange dominated fashion, all gloriously rendered on brand-new colour television sets.

Overseas the war in Vietnam finally ended, Papua New Guinea became independent, and conflict erupted in East Timor. At home Prime Minister Gough Whitlam struggled with rising energy prices, unemployment, and economic stagnation while also introducing major social reforms including universal health care and no-fault divorce. The year ended dramatically when Governor-General Sir John Kerr dismissed Whitlam’s government on 11 November, quickly followed by an election in December ushering in Malcom Fraser as Australia’s new prime minister.

Now, 50 years on, the National Library of Australia looks back on this amazing year and reflects on what it was like to live in the seventies.

Published September 2025
Paperback
96 Pages
230mm x 230mm
ISBN 9781922507914