Mapped states of origin: Where our Aussie all-stars come from
Which states and cities can lay claim to having produced the most high-achieving Australians? Use our exclusive online tool to find which famous Aussies came from your town or city.
National
Don't miss out on the headlines from National. Followed categories will be added to My News.
More famous Australians were born in Nigeria than you probably realise.
Hugo Weaving, Sussan Ley, Sarah Ferguson, Timomatic, James and David Reyne: high-achieving Aussies all, and all of them born in that populous, very-far-away West African nation.
That’s the thing about Australians. We come from literally everywhere.
A list compiled by this masthead of the home towns of more than 2500 high-flying Aussies in sport, the arts, business and politics revealed a surprising number come from smaller places, some of which punch far above their weight when it comes to nurturing talent.
NSW dominates as the state of origin for many great Australians. It’s produced half the captains of the men’s national cricket team, more than half of our grand slam tennis winners (26 of the 50 Aussies who have lifted the silverware after a major tournament), and 15 of the 39 Australians of the Year.
It’s also given more than its share of top film directors (Bruce Beresford, Peter Weir, Baz Luhrmann), film stars (Hugh Jackman, Toni Collette, Rose Byrne) and leading fashion designers (Camilla Franks, Pip Edwards, Bianca Spender).
Unsurprisingly, Victoria blows all other states away when it comes to legendary AFL players, but it’s also produced nearly one in three Gold Logie winners, and a bevy of big stars (Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana, two Minogues, three Hemsworths).
Victoria and NSW have together hogged the big seats of power: 56 per cent of our prime ministers, 60 per cent of our federal treasurers and 78 per cent of our High Court justices were born in the two biggest states – most in the capitals.
“Australia is kind of unusual in having two fairly evenly matched cities in terms of population, that have such a dominant place,” said Frank Bongiorno, professor of history at ANU.
“In the lead-up to World War One, Melbourne and Sydney were both large by international standards, and that gives its own momentum in terms of institutional power and the strength of a group of particular schools and universities,” he said.
In Melbourne’s case, we might add “comedy clubs” to its list of influential institutions. From Barry Humphries and Graham Kennedy to Gina Riley and Magda Szubanski, many of the country’s finest and funniest grew up in the Victorian capital.
Revered Aussie comedian Rod Quantock recalled “a little theatre restaurant in Fitzroy” that helped kickstart things in the 1960s.
“It encouraged a lot of people to come out of the woodwork, people who didn’t know really that they were comedians,” he said.
And the reason why Melbourne has so often brought the funny may have something to do with the weather, Mr Quantock suggested.
“The problem with Sydney is the weather is too nice, the beaches are too close, and it’s just a hedonistic fleshpot city. Melbourne is a very indoor city; it’s a city where people sit around tables and they talk about things.”
The weather has also clearly played a role in shaping Queenslanders, where those sometimes beautiful, other times perfect days have produced an abundance of Australia’s Olympic gold medallists, particularly in swimming. Emma McKeon, Cameron McEvoy, Keiren Perkins, Grant Hackett and Susie O’Neill float atop a very deep pool of talent, so to speak.
The Sunshine State also does a good line in performers, minting marquee names like Darren Hayes, The Veronicas, Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie.
South Australia can lay claim to its own dream cast of stars: from TV (Sarah Snook, Shaun Micallef, David Campbell), to the stage (Robyn Archer, Kate Fitzpatrick) and celebrated singer-songwriters (Paul Kelly, Sia, Kasey Chambers).
The Festival State has also done pretty well for Australians of the Year, supplying seven recipients in total, including three in recent years: Taryn Brumfitt, Dr James Muecke and Richard Harris.
Western Australians has its strong suits as the birthplace of mining magnates (Gina Rinehart, Twiggy Forrest), models (Megan Gale, Gemma Ward) and Matildas (Sam Kerr, Lisa De Vanna).
Tasmanians have also strutted their stuff on the international stage (Errol Flynn, Simon Baker, Hannah Gadsby) but the island state has also exported politicians far and wide, and it remains the only state to serve up an actual crowned royal (Queen Mary of Denmark).
The Top End also has its sporting champions (Cadel Evans and Leisel Jones), along with renowned performers (Jessica Mauboy, David Gulpilil) and artists (Emily Kame Kngwarreye, Albert and Vincent Namatjira).
The ACT’s cohort of homegrown high-flyers includes two Governors-General (William Deane and Samantha Mostyn), a surprising array of performers (Sigrid Thornton, Richard Tognetti, Genesis Owusu) and sporting champs (Nick Kyrgios and George Gregan, who was born in Zambia but grew up in Canberra).
Join the conversation
Australia’s top performing state revealed
Two mining powerhouses are officially Australia’s best performing state economies, with one topping the list for the second time since 2014.
Read more
Warning over mass Aussie skill shortage
Alarm bells have been raised over fears Australia will face a mass skill shortage across key industries, unless slipping education standards are halted.
Read more