1983:
* Tonka releases Bandai's Machine Robo toys as GoBots (known in Australia as Machine Men), sparking the transforming robot toy sensation in the west.
* Hasbro execs attend the Tokyo Toy Show and notice Takara's display of Diaclone and Microman Micro Change toys. They begin making plans with Takara for a joint venture...
Hasbro also makes a deal with Sunbow Productions to create a cartoon series for GI Joe A Real American Hero.
* Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi hits cinemas, marking the end of the Original Trilogy.
* NCP on ARPANET is replaced with TCP/IP protocols, giving birth to the internet.
* The Motorola DynaTAC becomes the world's first commercially available mobile phone.
* The Ash Wednesday bushfires ravage across SA and VIC, becoming one of the worst bushfire disasters in Australian history.
* Bob Hawke becomes PM
* Tokyo Disneyland opens
* Philippines Opposition leader Benigno Aquino Jr. is assassinated.
* US President Ronald Reagan declares January 15 to be a new public holiday known as Martin Luther King Day.
* Treasurer Paul Keating floats the AUD
* Nintendo releases the Family Computer 8 bit game console. It would be later released in the West as the NES.