Born in 1983

If you were born in 1983, Bob Hawke became Prime Minister in March after winning the election with a landslide so decisive it felt like the country had collectively decided to move on. Hawke — the former union boss, the Rhodes Scholar, the man who had wept on television and was seen having a beer at the pub — was loved in a way that Australian politicians rarely are. He felt like an Australian, not a politician.

And his government moved quickly: the Prices and Incomes Accord with the unions to moderate wage claims, financial deregulation starting, the early architecture of what would become a serious economic reform program. Australia III won the America's Cup in September, wresting the trophy from the New York Yacht Club after 132 years — and Bob Hawke declared it a national holiday, or suggested everyone should take one, and the country closed every pub early (to reopen them). The national pride was genuine and joyful.

The Ash Wednesday bushfires in February had been devastating — 75 people killed, properties destroyed across Victoria and South Australia — and the national response showed a community that could organise and grieve and help. INXS and Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil were the soundtrack. The country was alive.