Born in 2006

If you were born in 2006, two events defined Australia's emotional year. Steve Irwin — the Crocodile Hunter, beloved around the world, the bounding enthusiasm, the khaki shorts — died in September when a stingray barb pierced his heart while he was snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. The grief was immediate and global, but particularly acute in Australia: Irwin had represented something genuinely Australian — the genuine love of the bush and the wildlife, the larrikin energy, the complete absence of self-consciousness — and losing him felt like losing a piece of the national character.

The other event was the WorkChoices legislation, which made industrial relations the central political issue for the coming election and ultimately helped finish John Howard. The union campaign against it was one of the most effective political campaigns in Australian history. The Melbourne Commonwealth Games in March were warmly successful.

The World Cup in Germany saw Australia reach the round of sixteen for the first time, the "Socceroos" suddenly a national sporting story. Cricket's summer had Australia defending the Ashes at home, Shane Warne in his last home series, McGrath bowing out — the end of an extraordinary era. The barbie, the footy, the beach — the constants.

But the times, as always, were changing.