Disastrous earthquakes are a reality on the Australian continent. Unfortunately it has taken the fatal 1989 New- castle earthquake to demonstrate to all Australians that we do not reside on a "stable continent". While the world accepts the potential of plate tectonics and its associated plate margin earthquakes, particularly around the active Pacific Rim, the realisation of devastating intra-plate, or continental, earthquakes is only now beginning to take effect. The 1989 Newcastle earthquake provides many lessons on which to further fundamental earthquake research and the applications to the future welfare of human civilisation. To mitigate the earthquake hazard in relation to the devastation to life, property and industry, research must be undertaken with the resulting informa- tion to be included in the nation's disaster management programs. The earthquake hazard is everpresent in east- ern Australia and the major step in its quantification is a more realistic determination of earthquake risk estimates through an integrated study of seismology, engineering, insurance and sociology.